Sermon Notes
Key Thought:
We all respond to the Christmas story; the only question is how we respond. The wise men traveled hundreds of miles to worship the Baby King. When Herod asked the religious leaders where the Messiah was to be born, they quoted the correct answer from Micah 5:2. However, while they had the correct answer, there is no indication that they went to see the baby. Why is it that sometimes those who know the most end up missing the point completely, while those who know very little encounter God personally? This remarkable story demonstrates that God wants us to know more than facts about Him. He wants us to experience Him ourselves.
When it comes to missing the greatest gift, we need to understand…
All of Us Can Seek Jesus
All of Us Can Miss the Point
God Wants All of Us to Know Him
Application:
Consider what Jesus coming to earth means to you, and then take a few minutes to for Jesus coming that first Christmas.
Make a list of the unexpected things you think God might want to accomplish in your life in 2022? Ask God to help you be open to His unexpected work in and around you next year.
List some ways you can move from knowing more about God to experiencing God in 2022.
Ask God to help you cooperate with His plans for you. Ask Him to help you experience Him and know Him more intimately this year.
Matthew 2:1-12
Discussion Questions
TALK IT OUT:
- The wise men had traveled hundreds of miles to find the Baby King. They exerted a great deal of effort to find the “newborn king of the Jews.” What gets in the way of us seeking God today?
- The magi, or wise men didn’t understand everything about the baby, but they knew enough to worship Him. Pastor Tim suggests that we need not understand everything about God to put into practice what we do understand. What does Jesus coming to earth that first Christmas mean to you?
- Sometimes we think we know what God is going to do and end up missing what God is actually doing completely. Can you think of a time in your life when you did that?
- There are times when we get upset about little things which in the grand scheme of life don’t really matter and completely miss the fact that God is at work in some bigger ways than we imagine. Has there been a time in your past when God was up to something spectacular, but you didn’t realize it until much later?
- Pastor Tim points out that the religious leaders immediately knew the answer to the questions of where the Messiah would be born, yet none of them went to find the Christ child themselves. Why do you think most of us are so prone to missing God’s most dramatic work?
- God doesn’t want us to just know about Him, He wants us to experience Him for ourselves. What is the difference between knowing facts about God and actually experiencing God personally?
- The wise men sought Jesus with their limited understanding of who He was and where He would be born. Pastor Tim suggests when we act on what we know about God He inevitably shows us more of Himself. Have you experienced that yourself?
LIVE IT OUT
- In question 2 above you were asked to consider what Jesus coming to earth means. Take a few minutes to thank God using your answer.
- What do you think God wants to do in your life in 2022? Make a list of what you can do to cooperate with His plans for you.
- God wants us to not only know about Him, He wants us to experience Him. List some ways you can experience God in a more intimate way this coming year?
- Ask God to help you incorporate the things on the two lists you just created. Seek to cooperate with God’s plans and to experience God more intimately this year.