God Comes to the World at Christmas Through the Unexpected

God Comes to the World at Christmas Through the Unexpected

Dear Champions,

The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the Scripture is 1 Corinthians 1 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

God penetrates the world through the womb of a poor, unwed, Jewish teenage girl. We know that in those days women had a very, very low status. For example, a woman?s testimony was not admissible in court because of prejudice against women.

God is deliberately working with people the world despises. The very first witnesses to his nativity and resurrection are people whom the world says you can?t trust, people the world looks down on.

You don?t despise women, but you despise somebody. (Oh, yes you do!) You may not be a racist, but you certainly despise racists. You may not be a bigot, but you have certain people about which you think, They?re the reason for the problems in the world.

There?s a place in one of Martin Luther?s nativity sermons where he asks something like, ?Do you know what a stable smells like?? Do you know what that family would have smelled like after the birth when they went out into the city? And if they were standing next to you, how would you have felt about them and regarded them? He is saying, I want you to see Christ in the neighbor and in the type of people that you tend to despise.

Jesus Christ was the judge of the earth who came not to bring judgment but to bare judgment and to go to Hell for His enemies. Jesus says, I lost my glory, I lost my Father, I lost my life, and I lost everything, so that I wouldn?t lose you. The church should be a group of people who love one another for Jesus? sake. So be patient, it? ll take time, but Jesus has the power to transform your heart to love the despised of this world.

Champions, have a great week!-David Vining