Session 3

Worship the King

Matthew 2:1-12

Memory Verse: Matthew 2:11

Jesus the Savior is worthy of worship.

Most people share a love for Christmas,
but they may have different ideas of what Christmas means.
If you ask the average person about the reason for the season,
you may hear answers like family gatherings, gifts,
delicious food, beautiful decorations, moving music,
and special church services.
Scrooges among us might counter with words like family conflict,
extra debt, weight gain, heartburn, hard travel, and cold weather.

Honestly, both groups miss the point.
They are focusing on things, while Christmas is really all about a person.
They fail to see the Savior beyond all the stuff.

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, the Son of God.
No matter how many times His story gets told, it never gets old.
Christmas is about a child announced by angels, born in a stable,
visited by shepherds, and worshiped by wise men.
This child was unique-born to a young Jewish virgin
through a miracle of the Holy Spirit.
And this baby was born for one purpose-to live and die for you and me.
He is why I love Christmas.

FIRST THOUGHTS

Much of life is driven by value.
We want to know, ?It is worth it??
Advertising will speak of activities that are worth the time
and of possessions that retain their worth.
We speak of a person being ?worthy? of a certain honor.
An athlete plays for ?all he?s worth,? meaning to the full extent of his ability.
Our challenge is to identify and pursue that which is most worthy. (PSG, p. 30)

Ask:

ENGAGE

Context:

The first two sessions examined the early days of Jesus?s ministry on earth.
This session will backtrack a couple of chapters and focus on events related to His birth.

Recap:

Note that while Mark and Luke wrote for Gentile audiences, Matthew wrote to Jewish readers.
Content from page 31 of the PSG to
explain how this influenced Matthew?s style and approach:

Matthew incorporated numerous Old Testament prophecies
concerning the Messiah that were fulfilled in Jesus.
Two of these Old Testament prophecies [Isa. 7:14; Micah 5:2]
are found in the context for this week?s study.
Matthew began his Gospel account by tracing the genealogy
of Jesus through Joseph, who was engaged to Mary.

Explain:

Matthew?s point was that Jesus is the Messiah,
so He is worthy of our worship.
Note that while our earthly ventures may or may not yield dividends,
whole-hearted devotion and worship of Jesus is always
worth the investment.

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