BIG IDEA

On the first Christmas, the wise men gave their worship.

MESSAGE NOTES:

WHAT: 

There are a few other people who came to see baby Jesus shortly after He was born.

You may have heard of "the three wise men" from Christmas carols, nativity sets, and Christmas stories. We don't know much about these wise men, but we do know a few things:

• They followed a star in the night sky to find baby Jesus.

• They brought Him gifts that carried a lot of significance.

• And their story probably didn't happen like this . . .

  After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod called the Wise Men secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. Matthew 2:1-7

SO WHAT:

These men were important, wealthy, and intelligent, but when they learned this new King had been born, they knew they had to go and honor Him. The wise men responded to this new King with worship.

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Matthew 2:11-12

When the wise men finally found Jesus, they honored Him by giving Him gifts — gifts that meant something significant.

With their gifts, the wise men gave Jesus their worship. They honored Him, gave Him their best, and communicated that He was . . .

• Worthy of their best.

• Worthy of the long, exhausting journey it took to find Him.

• Worthy of everything they could give Him and more.

NOW WHAT:

By giving Jesus gifts that were costly and meaningful, the wise men set an example for us. We may not be rich, and there's not really a way for us to give Jesus physical gifts, but as long as we have breath, we can give Jesus our worship.

WE WORSHIP WITH OUR WORDS: When most people think about "worship," they think about music. Praising God through music is definitely part of worship, and we're going to do that together in just a minute. But there's more to it than that. We can worship Jesus with our words by . . .

• Singing praise to Him.

• Telling Him thank you.

• Telling Him how incredible He is.

• Telling others about Him, like we talked about last week. Sharing our stories of faith with others can be an act of worship.

  WE WORSHIP WITH OUR ACTIONS: The wise men worshiped Jesus with their actions by giving Him gifts and bowing down before Him. We can worship Him through our actions by . . .

  • Letting go of the things that keep us far from Him.

  • Making time for Him daily.

  • Choosing to obey Him.

  • Loving and serving the people He loves — and that's everyone. Our community is full of people who need help, love, or a friend right now.

  When we use our actions and our words to give honor to Jesus, we follow the example the wise men set by worshiping Him.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Q1: What’s one thing you love about Christmas you wish you could experience all year long?

Q2: If Jesus was born today, and money wasn’t a concern, what would you buy him?

Q3: This Christmas, how can you give Jesus your worship?

Q4: Which one is easier for you to do, worship with your words or with your actions?