Sermon Discussion Guide
Sermon Title: What Child is This? Date: December 15, 2024: Third Sunday of Advent: Joy
Scripture: Luke 2:25-38
Understanding the Message:

1. The message began with the Christmas pageant telling the story of the birth of Jesus from 108
   BC through the eyes of the elderly prophetess, Anna. She married but had only been married
   seven years when her husband died. Anna saw many political and religious struggles during her
   lifetime but remained faithful to the Lord and His temple. As a widow, Anna lived a life devoted
   to the Lord. From her early twenties until the age of 84 Luke tells us, ‘she never left the temple,
   serving day and night with fastings and prayer’ (Luke 2:37).
   Take a moment to reflect on the story of the birth of Jesus as told in the Christmas pageant. How
   did this enactment of the biblical story of Christ’s birth and Anna’s dedication to the Lord
   encourage you? _____________________________________________________

2. A Special Child. Pastor Matt began his message with this question, ‘What child is this that…
    Angels sing?
    Wise men seek Him?
    Simeon was promised to see the ‘Lord’s Christ’ before his death.
    Anna waited to see ‘the redemption of Israel?’
    He alone is worthy?
   Read Revelation 5:1-10. Take a moment to reflect Pastor Matt’s 5 points regarding ‘what child is
   this? and the words of Revelation 5:1-10. Take some time to think about John the Baptist’s
   response to Jesus, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29).
   Listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you (He speaks in the quietness of your thoughts –
   Christians refer to this as God’s ‘still small voice). Record your thoughts. ________

3. The Baby and the Cross. Pastor Matt reminded listeners that this baby, Christ the Lord, was
   destined for the cross. Consider the following prophecies 1 :
    Simon’s prophetic words regarding the Christ child in Luke 2:34-35. Especially ‘and a
   sword will pierce even your own soul’ given when Jesus was 8 days old
    For further reflection. Read Genesis 3:15. This is the first prophecy regarding Jesus and
   the conflict He would endure given 4,000 years before Christ
   Why is prophecy important? ___________________________________________
   Was the cross a tragedy or victory? Why? ________________________________
   1 Biblical prophecy deals with future events that will happen
4. Thinking Rightly. Pastor Matt had some fun using the song ‘Santa is Coming to Town’ to
   demonstrate the similarities and differences in a worldly (Santa) and biblical (God) worldview 2 .
   Santa Worldview God Worldview
   Has a ‘Santa’ standard for behaviour (conforms to
   the cultural standard)

Has a ‘God’ standard for behaviour (10
Commandments, Great Commandment)

He sees and knows all He sees and knows all
He knows if you have been good or bad He knows if you have been good or bad
He rewards good behaviour He rewards good behaviour
He gives ‘coal’ for bad behaviour (punitive) He disciplines us for bad behaviour to help us to

become more and more like Jesus
We can be good We can’t be good (see Rom. 3:23 – ‘all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God)

We need to be good ‘for goodness sake’ (to be
loved by Santa & get good gifts)

Our ‘goodness’ is a result of the Holy Spirit living
in us. We do good in response to God’s love to us
Only we can make ourselves good (trust in self) Only Christ makes us good (trust in Jesus)
Reflect on Matt’s message and the chart here. Do you agree or disagree with the differences in
the two worldviews? Why? ____________________________________________

Why is it important to have a biblical worldview? __________________________
How do we develop a biblical worldview? ________________________________

5. What’s Your Credit Score? Pastor Matt used the example of how using credit irresponsibly to
   buy Christmas gifts is like our lives. Consider the following taken from Romans 3:23:
    We are over our (sin) limit. Our debt is beyond our ability to pay
    We fail to do what God desires
    We fall short of God’s glory
   Does the above describe a Christian or non-Christian? Why?

6. The Wonder of Christmas. Read Colossians 2:14 and answer these questions:
    What did God do in/through Christ? _____________________________
    What is our ‘debt’ (see v.13)? __________________________________
    How was our ‘debt’ cancelled? __________________________________

2 Worldview is your core beliefs about the world – God (His existence, goodness, etc.), Satan (evil), others, and
yourself. Your worldview is demonstrated in your behaviour. Proverbs 23:7a ‘For as he thinks within himself, so is
he.’

Pastor Matt concluded, ‘Jesus makes us right with God. We don’t get in by the skin of our teeth.
It’s not just having our credit card paid off but having an infinite balance in Jesus Christ’s
account. So, we don’t need to fear God’s judgement but can look to a loving father.’
How do these words encourage you? ____________________________________

Making it Personal:
Pastor Matt closed by encouraging listeners to consider the truths of John 3:16 and Romans 8:32. Read
these verses, think deeply (meditate) and explain how you would use the truth of each verse to share
Christ and the hope, peace, joy and love of this Christmas season with someone needing this truth.
 John 3:16: __________________________________________________________
 Romans 8:32: _______________________________________________________

For further reflection:
Pastor Matt’s use of a credit card deficit and poor credit rating to describe our position before God
reflects Paul’s use of justification – the process by which God declares a righteous or just in His eyes –
which in Greek, is a legal term. Jesus, Paul and others often used common terms to describe complex
spiritual truth. Learning to use common terms to help people (Christians and non-Christians) to
understand spiritual truth is a skill every Christian, can, and should learn.
Grace Connection: 
Today’s grace connection is found in Romans 5:12-21. As you read it think about these things:
 Sin and death entered the world through Adam and spread to all men
 God’s ‘gift’ is not like Adam’s sin (transgression)
 God’s grace and His grace gift, Jesus, abounds to many
 God’s free gift (His grace) arose from many transgressions, resulting in justification
 We can ‘receive the abundance of grace’
 The Law came so transgression would increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the
more
 Grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord
As Pastor Matt summed up, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. It is easy to put your trust in the Him.
So, like Anna, in good and bad times, you can worship Him.
Rejoice! God’s grace gift, Jesus, is the best Christmas gift of all time!
My prayer: ________________________________________________________________