Blessed to be a part of West Green Baptist Church family! Pastor Kevin Bounds sermon this morning titled, The Muddy Manger a missional view of the Christmas Story. Through the years, we have formed an image of the nativity scene. Mens imaginations have taken flight as they have reflected upon that holy night. Traditions have been fashioned outside the biblical narrative and this has helped mold our perception. The first nativity was probably far from picturesque! Think about it. But we can find a very important message in the muddy manger. I invite you to view the Christmas Story in light of Christs mission of redemption. The manger illustrates the inconvenience of ministry by the political instability of the Era, by the seemingly moral scandal that God used to bring Christ into the world. Scholars believe that Mary was approximately 14 years of age. Mary was engaged to Joseph when she became pregnant. You can just imagine the murmurings. The inconvenience by the hardships of travel in this Era. Could you imagine being great with child on the back of a donkey, bandits and thieves along the journey, and after arriving; the city is overflowing and the only maternity ward is a stable! You may ask, how does this apply to us? The First Christmas gives us an example of how inconvenient ministry can be! Christ could have chosen anytime in history, but HE came at what seemed to be an inopportune time. We need to realize ministry is not convenient! The manger illustrates how messy ministry can be! Jesus manger was a food trough for the animals. Our King was laid in a trough where animal saliva and all kind of other things were present! Often we imagine a clean and pleasant sight but have you ever been in a stable? Our King was wrapped in rags! HE left the glory of Heaven and was clothed in a beggarly wardrobe. Christ humbled Himself and became a helpless infant! How does this apply to us? We must have this same attitude! We must be willing to be humbled. The characters surrounding the Christmas Story illustrates the scope of Christs mission of redemption. The angels announced it to the shepherds and they were considered the lower members of society. The Wise Men were from the east! (Probably Babylon) This reveals that Jesus was everyone Savior. How does this apply to us? We cant cherry pick who we reach out to with the gospel! Christ rolled up HIS sleeves and came to earth to redeem mankind. We must remember we are continuing this ministry! Luke 2:1-14
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 20:37:11 +0000
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