Three Things the Wise Men Did AND How You Can Do Them Too

Polaris is one of the most important stars in the sky due to its consistent location. It has been famously named the Northern Star because of its position being in the direction of true north. In American history, this star played a significant role in guiding slaves from the South to find freedom in the North. However, this was not the first star that led the way for a group of people.

The Star of Bethlehem is well known for its role in the Christmas story. As many know, the star appeared when Jesus was born, and it led the way for some Wise Men to follow it. We have previously talked about the gifts the Wise Men brought to Jesus, but let’s look at their journey and see how we can do the same thing they did.

When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. -Matthew 2:9-10

When the star appeared, the Wise Men did three things: they were Guided, they Stepped, and they had Joy. The Slaves had the Northern Star, the Wise Men had the Star of Bethlehem, but today we have the Spirit to lead us. So let’s see how we can incorporate all three things the Wise Men did by following the Spirit.

1. Guide

Just like a GPS guides your way while you’re driving, the Spirit will guide our life. He will show us the way and show us when we are getting off course. There is nothing worse than getting lost, especially when our phone is dead, or we have no signal. Thankfully, however, the Spirit is never dead and never low on signal. The Spirit wants to guide us at all times. The question we have to ask is, will we listen?

2. Step

That brings us to the second thing, stepping. The Spirit will always guide us, but it is our responsibility to step. We may have all the turns mapped out, but if we never get in the car and go, we will never get anywhere. Stepping is vital to our faith. The Spirit lights our path and gives us strength to push through, but it is up to us whether we will step.

3. Joy

Lastly, we receive Joy. I think it is interesting the order in which this joy appears. If you reread the verse, you will see that the Wise Men were not filled with joy when they saw Jesus, but when they saw the star. They were filled with joy because they knew something better, something more, was on the other side of their journey. The same is true for us, God has more for all of us, and we can receive Joy when we start stepping towards it.

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How The Bible Teaches Us To Celebrate Christmas

We celebrate Christmas because Jesus our Savior was born. We celebrate his birth because we know what his birth and death means for us. It means that we can have eternal life in heaven if we believe in him. The Bible gives us the reasons for our celebration, but it also tells us how to celebrate. We are to worship God and give to others.

After Jesus was born several different people wanted to see him. First an angel appeared to some nearby shepherds. The angel told them that the long awaited Savior had been born. They went to see Jesus and when they found him they told of everything the angel had told them. After they left they started worshipping God. We are to worship God in the same way, giving thanks to him for giving us a Savior.

Another group of people that went to see Jesus were the wise men. These wise men were from a far away land. They had seen a star arise and they wanted to worship this newborn king. They used this star as a guide to find Jesus. When they found him they also bowed in worship. These wise men also gave Jesus gifts. They gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (very expensive items for that time and region).

Christmas today is filled with people worshipping God and giving gifts because that is what the Bible tells us happened as a result of Jesus’s birth. We should all worship God and care for those around us because of what Jesus means to us.

Besides the story of his miraculous birth, we know strikingly little about Jesus’s childhood. This most likely means that he had a fairly normal one. He most likely played with his friends, went to school, and did chores around the house just like we do now. However, we do have one story from his childhood and that is also found in Luke 2.

When Jesus was 12 years old, his family traveled to Jerusalem for the annual Passover festival. After the festival was over and Mary and Joseph were traveling home they realized that Jesus had been left behind. They went back to Jerusalem and found him sitting with the teachers in the Temple. Jesus was astounding them with his understanding of the Bible and how wise he was at such a young age. It proves to us that we are never too young to learn and to grow.

The end of Luke says that Jesus continued to grow in many ways. Just like we grow in size, we also are to grow spiritually. The more we study and the more we spend time with God the more we will grow. That is what Jesus did. Jesus was just like us, but he grew in God and became the person we all know and love. It was through this growth that he gave his life for us. We are called to this same growth. This is what we have the opportunity to do day in and day out. The more we learn, the more we grow. And learning about God is the best thing to learn about.

Key Takeaways:

• Worship

• Give

• Grow

Parents, 3treesKIDS will be covering “Jesus is Born”, both in-person and online this week.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.

Jesus Is Born

Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays in the world. On December 25th, friends and families gather together to open gifts and spend time together. Most people that celebrate Christmas know about its origins. Christmas was and is still a day that Christians celebrate Jesus being born into the world. In hectic and busy times during the holidays it is easy to lose sight of the meaning behind Christmas. So, we must ask ourselves why we are celebrating in the first place?

The meaning of Christmas goes much deeper and further back than the night Jesus was born. In the Old Testament, God’s people were struggling. Because of sin, there was a gap between people and God. This gap made it hard to connect with God, therefore, people continued to sin and turn away from God. However, God gave them a promise. Throughout the Old Testament, the promise of a Savior emerges time and time again. This Savior would be a person that could bridge the gap between people and God and allow for a new relationship to take place.

For years God’s people waited for this promise to be fulfilled. The New Testament picks up with this promise coming into fruition. Matthew 1-2, and Luke 1-2 tell the story of Jesus being born.

Here we see that God sent angels to visit Mary and Joseph (Jesus’s parents). Even though Mary and Joseph were not married yet, the angels told them that the Holy Spirit would conceive a baby in Mary’s womb and that baby would be Jesus, the long awaited Savior.

The Bible explains that Jesus was God’s son, even though he had human parents. Because the Holy Spirit put Jesus inside Mary’s womb it became clear that this child was special. Mary and Joseph were entrusted to raise and care for Jesus, but they knew that Jesus was God’s own son.

The backstory behind Jesus’s birth is very interesting, but the reason we still celebrate it is because of what it continues to do for us. A significant part of the promise of the Savior was for God to be with humanity. Jesus was with his father in heaven but came to the world so that he could relate to us. While Jesus was 100% God he was also 100% man. Jesus knew what it was like to laugh and have fun, he knew what it was like to have pain and to be sad. Jesus was God with us, he helped those around him to see God in new ways and to further their journey with him.

But the promise did not stop there. Jesus was killed on the cross, but arose three days later. This proved to people that he really was the Savior that the Old Testament talked about. It is through Jesus’s death and resurrection that we can be saved from our sins, be connected to God, and have eternal life.

We celebrate Christmas because Jesus became God with us and became our Savior.

Key Takeaways:

• Jesus is the promise of a Savior

• Jesus is God’s Son

• Jesus is God with Us

Parents, 3treesKIDS will be covering “Jesus is Born”, both in-person and online this week.

Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.

To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.