The Miracle of Incarnation
๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข What do you love most about Christmas? Why?
โข How would you describe to someone a person you admire or appreciate? What about this person stands out to you?
โข What does peace look like for you? Why do you think that?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฅ ๐ข ๐๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฐ๐ณ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ: ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฃ๐บ ๐ธ๐ณ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ด๐ธ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ.โ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, โ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ!โ ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ฎ:๐ญ๐ญ-๐ญ๐ฐ
God promised His people that He would send a Savior-King who would restore justice and righteousness. God indeed fulfilled His promise, but He did it way beyond what people expected. He actually sent His Son, Jesus, to miraculously become man and dwell with humanity. Some may wonder why Jesus chose to become a man. He could have stayed divine and redeemed His people from the get-go. But God had greater plans. Today, letโs look at why God chose to reveal Himself as a human and what this tells us about who He is.
๐ญ. ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ต๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐ด๐น๐ผ๐ฟ๐.ย
โ๐๐ก๐ค๐ง๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐จ๐ฉ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ!โ ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ฎ:๐ญ๐ฐ
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ต ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ถ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ก๐ค๐ง๐ฎ, ๐๐ก๐ค๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ง, ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ.ย ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ญ:๐ญ๐ฐ
The Bible narrates different stories of God revealing His glory to people. Sometimes, He would reveal Himself through nature. Other times, He would send angels. But Jesusโ birth is Godโs greatest revelation of His glory. Jesus is the radiance of Godโs glory. Because humanity is limited and fallen, it is impossible for us to fully grasp who God is. God the Son was incarnated as a man so that we may understand in human terms who God is. Since Jesusโ words, actions, and behavior perfectly reflect the Father, those who were around Him on earth had a glimpse of what God the Father is like. This miracle continues for us even today. We can know the Father and His nature through the Son. What have you realized about Godโs glory in your walk with Jesus?
๐ฎ. ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ต๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ.
โ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค๐ข ๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐จ๐๐!โ ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ฎ:๐ญ๐ฐ
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ฉ ๐๐ข๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ช๐จ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐จ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ, ๐จ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ข๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ.ย ๐๐ข๐๐ก ๐ญ:๐ญ๐ฐ
Because of sin, there was a huge gap between man and God. It seemed as if we would fall short of Godโs standard and glory forever. But because God loves us, He sent His Son to become human so that we could have favor with Him. As a man, Jesus was able to sympathize with our weakness (Hebrews 4:15). He felt our pain and suffered just like us. Yet, He showed how gracious God is and came near even when we were sinners. He became our High Priest so that we may be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to a right relationship with God. This is all by grace, Godโs unmerited favor. We do not earn forgiveness but we freely receive it when we put our faith in Him. How has Jesus shown you His favor in your life?
๐ฏ. ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ต๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ.
โ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ!โย ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ฎ:๐ญ๐ฐ
We often relate peace with tranquility and calmness. But the peace that God gives is much more than that. Jesus becoming human is Godโs way of bringing wholeness and well-being to humanity. In fact, shalom, the Hebrew word for peace, means wholeness. In Jesus, there is nothing missing or broken. His peace brings salvation and restoration. Not only is there peace within us, but we also have peace with God. Because of Jesusโ sacrifice on the cross, we who trust in Him are forgiven of our sins, and He also works in us to restore what was broken by sin. We donโt have to wait to get to heaven because even now, He is working in us to bring restoration. How have you experienced Godโs peace in your life?
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข Are there areas in your life in need of Godโs peace and favor? Do you want to trust in the perfect peace and forgiveness that only Jesus gives? Ask someone to pray with you in light of todayโs message.
โข How does Jesus becoming man affect your view of your humanity? Do you believe that God can use you, despite your weaknesses, for His glory? In what ways is He calling you to do so?
โข Jesusโ humanity and deity made known to people who God is. In light of todayโs message, how may you make God known to the people around you?
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God for Jesus, our greatest miracle, so that we can experience His glory, favor, and peace. Thank Jesus for dwelling with us and restoring our relationship with Him.
โข Pray that God would give you peace and wholeness in any area of your life that seems broken. Ask God to bring healing and restoration in your life and to those around you.ย
โข Pray that this Christmas season God would enable you to boldly proclaim Him and make Him known to others. Pray that you would be a living testimony of Jesusโ goodness and grace.