The Real Christmas Carol: Act Three - Subversion
Written by Ed Allen
Sunday, 13 December 2009 09:00
Sermons - The Real Christmas Carol
Sermon Notes
Subvert
- To overthrow
- To cause downfall, ruin or desctruction
- To undermine principals of, corrupt.
Jesus was a threat to Herod’s delicately achieved political order
Jesus was even more of a threat to the practices and mind-set of “establishment” Judaism
Jesus is most dangerous of all to us. He is in the business of subverting our lives.
Small Group Study Questions
Passage: Matthew 2:1-18
Approach Question/Ice breaker:
When was the first time you heard the Christmas story and what was your initial response?
Study Questions
- How many Magi or wisemen were there? How do you know?
- What do we know about the Magi from vv. 1-2? What was their mission and how did they get there? Why do you think a star was used?
- Since the passage tells us very little, how do you imagine their journey looked like? How were their lives “subverted”—overthrown? What would you have expected as a result, e.g., their careers, their families, their religious establishment?
- What can you say about these men based on these few facts? What can you say about the God who so led these men?
- What was the Magi’s response when they neared and then finally arrived at their destination in vv. 9-11? How does this compare with expectations above?
- Based on Pastor Ed’s message today, how did King Herod view himself—over a people and over his own life? How does Herod respond in v. 3, and how do you think his view of himself affected his response to the Magi’s news about “a king of the Jews?”
- What is the pretense under which he asked for more information regarding this baby king in vv. 7-8? What was the means by which his hidden agenda is frustrated in v. 12, and what was his response in v. 16?
- How was his life subverted, and what was the result? How does this compare to the result in the Magi’s lives?
- How do we feel when we anticipate such changes in our lives? What is your tendency to respond or react? What is one area in which you see God wanting to subvert? How does the story of the Magi—those who apparently didn’t have any ”Christian” background—give you comfort and courage and hope in anticipation of the subversive work of God in your life? (FYI…Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace offers a wonderful fictional account of the Magi’s journey.)