In a game of telephone, a few people are enough to make a simple sentence unrecognizable, so what happens to the truth about God after two thousand years of retelling? This Christmas sermon asks who the Child laid in the Bethlehem manger really is, and answers with the words of the Apostle Paul from Colossians (Colossians 1): he is the image of the invisible God, the Creator of all things, and the head of the Church. Instead of the porcelain baby Jesus of holiday commercials, we discover the ruler of the universe who shed his blood to reconcile us to God. Listen before Christmas becomes ordinary to you again.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Colossae was a city where pagan beliefs, Judaism and all kinds of new ideas were mixed together. How does this background help explain why Paul so strongly emphasizes who Christ is in Colossians 1:15-20?
- Paul writes that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the Creator of all things, the head of the church, and the one who reconciled all things through His blood shed on the cross. Which of these descriptions moves you most, and why?
- The speaker compared the distortion of the truth about God to the game of telephone. What distorted images of God (a bearded grandfather, a wish granting goldfish, a strict punisher, a distant idea) do you notice in people around you or in yourself?
- The sermon says that distorted truth leads to a distorted life. How does a false picture of God affect your relationship with God, with people and with the world?
- In James's story the boy avoids his father's eyes and then hugs him in tears. What does this scene teach you about what separates us from God and how Jesus removes that barrier?
- What can you do this week to celebrate Christmas with wonder at who the Child in the Bethlehem manger really is, rather than only enjoying the tree and the presents?
