Series Outline for Christmas Surprises
The story of the first Christmas, recorded in Matthew 1 and 2, is full of surprises, each of which reveals an aspect of the Gospel that still has the power to amaze us today.
Christmas Surprises
The story of the first Christmas, recorded in Matthew 1 and 2, is full of surprises, each of which reveals an aspect of the Gospel that still has the power to amaze us today.
Matthew 1-2
Surprise Pregnancy
Jesus’ miraculous conception confronted Joseph and Mary with a scandalous, faith-testing situation that required radical obedience, revealing how God fulfills His ancient promises through the most surprising means.
Matthew 1:18-25
We Believe – In the Deity of Christ
Christians believe that Jesus is the One True God, our Creator and Redeemer, Who became human for us and for our salvation.
John 1:1-18
What is Freedom?
Freedom is the ability to live in accord with human nature as created by God, which was marred by sin but is restored in Christ and revealed in Scripture.
John 8:31-36
The Last Supper
On the night He was betrayed, Jesus announced the beginning of the New Covenant as He celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples.
Mark 14:17-31
The Last Passover
On the night He was betrayed, Jesus celebrated the last Passover with His disciples, for in His sacrificial death He fulfilled Passover by delivering and redeeming His people.
Mark 14:12-26
Zechariah’s Song of Prophetic Praise (Benedictus)
After a season of silence and deep meditation, Zechariah erupted is a song of praise for God’s saving work, which had been prophetically promised, and was now coming to fulfillment with the birth of John who would prepare the way for Jesus the Messiah Who would save God’s people.
Luke 1:67-79
Mary’s Song of Exaltation (Magnificat)
Worship is focused on God and His Gospel, is formed and filled by the Word of God, and arises from personally experiencing God’s faithfulness to His people through the ages.
Luke 1:46-55
What is Justification?
Question 38: What is justification? Justification is the gracious act of God in which He declares that we are totally righteous, as if we had never sinned and as if we had positively obeyed all of God’s law perfectly.
2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:33
Life After Death
Jesus showed that Scripture teaches that life continues after death when God’s people experience the fullness of life and the promises of God.
Mark 12:18-27
Lessons for Disciples – True Sight
The interaction of Jesus and Bartimaeus that led to his healing and salvation is the picture of true sight and the model of real discipleship.
Mark 10:46-52
Lessons for Disciples – A King’s Ransom
Jesus the King is the Servant of the Lord Who will lay down His life to ransom His people, taking their sin and punishment on Himself, setting them free from death and restoring them from exile to be the people of God.
Mark 10:45
Lessons for Disciples – The Kingdom and Wealth
Disciples of Christ must recognize and reject the temptation to trust in riches, look to God alone as their source of identity and salvation, and use their wealth to be a blessing to others.
Mark 10:17-31
Transformed by Trinity
Trinity makes salvation possible and Trinity makes salvation sweet. Only with a God of Trinity can we be freely welcomed in together as brothers and sisters to share the joy of God and cry together, “Abba Father!”
Genesis 1:1-3; John 1:1-3
Lessons for Disciples – Entering The Kingdom
No human can enter the kingdom of God by their own works or efforts but only by the grace and work of God.
Mark 10:17-31
The Great Reversal
Easter celebrates the Great Reversal, when God overruled the wicked decision of humanity to reject and crucify Jesus, raising Him from the dead so that life has swallowed up death for all who trust in Him.
Acts 2:22-24
Christ the True and Better Deliverer
Jesus the Anointed One fills out the redemptive patterns (or “types”) in Genesis 22, revealing that our salvation rests on Jesus’s perfect, lifelong, patient, vicarious obedience to the point of death a cross and on his vindicating resurrection from the dead.
Hebrews 3:1-6 (ESV)
King’s Cross
Jesus is the Messianic King Who came to suffer, be rejected, die, and be raised so that He might save us from our sin.
Mark 8:31-33
Truly Clean
Jesus teaches us that impurity, which is the violation of God’s moral law, arises from inside our hearts rather than from outside sources, and therefore true cleansing is not a matter of external religious rites but rather an internal change of heart.
Mark 7:14-23
Savior of the Outcast
Even those who are outcasts from society and whose situations are hopeless will receive salvation when they reach out to Christ through faith.
Mark 5:21-34
Lord Over the Demonic Legion
Satan’s demonic forces want to confuse, enslave, and destroy, but Jesus has the authority to restore people who can then go forth to tell others of all He has done.
Mark 5:1-20
The (Un)expected King and Kingdom
The long-expected King coming to save God’s people came and did His work in a manner totally unexpected and inaugurated an (Un)Expected Kingdom that is very different than the kingdom of this world.
Zechariah 9:9
The Beginning of the Gospel
The Gospel of Mark is a dynamic fast-paced book giving the story of Jesus the Messiah, God’s Son, the King Who came to suffer and die to save His people.
Mark 1:1
Delivered…and Declaring It!
David sought the Lord in a dangerous situation and God delivered him; David reflected on God’s goodness and promised to praise God in every circumstance.
Psalm 34