Little Johnny comes home from school asking whether Christmas is not simply one big lie, and gets an answer from his father he never saw coming. From that small scene the sermon moves to the very opening of Luke’s Gospel (Luke 1), where the evangelist promises Theophilus a certainty as solid as Roman asphalt. The announcements to Zechariah and to Mary show two people for whom God’s promise was humanly impossible: one because of his past, the other because of her present. Listen and see what an impossible story from two thousand years ago can change about your tomorrow.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- At the start of his Gospel, Luke says he investigated everything carefully so that Theophilus could have certainty. What does the image of the Greek word asphaleia, the hard substance that bound Roman roads and aqueducts together, tell you about trusting the Christmas story?
- Zechariah asks, "How can I be sure of this?" and Mary asks, "How will this be?" How are these questions different, and what made the angel's message seem impossible to each of them?
- The speaker notes that Zechariah was held back by his past and Mary by her present. What in your past or current situation makes it hard for you to believe God can work in your life?
- The sermon raises the thought, "What could God do through someone like me?" What does the story of Mary from Nazareth, with no status or impressive background, show about whom God chooses?
- John was to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and Scrooge asks whether it is too late to change. In which relationship do you need humility today to make something right?
- What is one concrete step of faith you can take this week so that what you celebrate at Christmas becomes more than gifts and traditions?
