Opening Thought:
Get the Right Picture
Heroes.. idols.. father figures… “I wanna be like Mike!” The world knows about the value of having role models in your life. We are blitzed from all sides with images of supreme personas that capture the epitome of what we know we should be – athletic, brilliant, articulate, musical, rich, powerful, profound, beautiful… get the picture?
God wanted us to get the right picture, so He sent His Son to live with us here in our world. We should pick something up right away about this picture when we read about His birth. Then in order for us to be able to do something with that picture, His Son died for us, and rose again.
Our faith in Christ and resulting new life is just the beginning of a remarkable adventure God has planned for us as His children. We get to become like… not Mike, but the Son Himself, the Master of the Universe, the Rock of all ages.
Study Notes
Where is the Image?
1. What if... ?
If God were to come to earth as a man, I would expect Him to…
Would you look for Him to display magnificent power?
Would you expect Him to let you know what kind of person He is?
Would He be interested in helping you figure out life?
Matthew 16:13 -- ...who do people say that I am?
Matthew 27:54 -- ...surely this was the Son of God.
There are scoffers -- Jon Murray, pres of American Atheists: "There was no such person in the history of the world as Jesus Christ. There was no historical, living, breathing, sentient human being by the name. The Bible is a fictional, nonhistorical narrative. The myth is good for business."
Thankfully, we have an amazing amount of historical record, not just in the Bible, but from other well-recognized sources as well, that settles the reality of Jesus Christ very clearly. He really did come to earth. He really did show Himself to man. He really did reach down to us and draw us to Himself.
2. And so He did!
Jesus Christ did exactly what we would hope that God would do -- He showed Himself to us!
- He fulfilled the promises of God -- Luke 1:26-33
- He took on the Form of a Servant -- Philippians 2
- He "tabernacled" among us -- John 1
- He taught us -- Matthew 5
- He encouraged us -- John 14:1-6
- He challenged us -- Matthew 28:18-20
3. Who IS this man?
- Luke 8:25 --“ Who is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?” Read this story again and put yourself in that boat. What an amazing experience to watch as this remarkable Man you just met calms the storm.
- John 1 – the True Word of God, eternity past, the Creator of the universe
- Hebrews 1 – the exact image of God
4. Our mandate: Put on Christ
- Ephesians 4:13 -- ...to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
As we mature in Christ, we see Him as our benchmark. He is the measure against which we view our progress, our success. The extent to which we are "like Him" is our focus. - Colossians 1:27-28 -- ...Christ in you, the hope of glory.
We have an incredible confidence, the knowledge that God expects to replicate His Son in each of us, bringing us to final point of completion in Him. - Galatians 5:22-23 -- ...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...
The Holy Spirit's work in us is to manifest the character of Christ in our lives. As we demonstrate Christlike love, joy, peace, etc., the world sees Christ in us.ds
For Further Study:
1. Start reading through the Gospel of John this week – see how far you can get by next Sunday! Look for more than just the historical narrative – write down observations about how Jesus responds and interacts with people.
2. Think about your picture of Jesus – write down some of the features. Look up some scriptures to help you along.What would need to change in your life before people could walk away from you thinking they had caught a glimpse of Jesus
3. What would need to change in your life before people could walk away from you thinking they had caught a glimpse of Jesus?
