Sermon preview--Jesus our King

We live in a world full of people who want to rule. This past week, Kim Jong Il, ruler of North Korea, died. This was a man who lived in opulence in a palatial estate while his people starved to death by the millions. According to his official biography, there was a double rainbow in the sky on the day he was born. He claimed that the first time he played golf, he shot 11 holes in one. He mandated that a song about him be played constantly over loudspeakers in the capital city of Pyongyang. The King God was sending would be much different. His invasion would begin with the pregnancy of an unwed teenaged girl, and a birth in a cattle stall. He would grow up in a town so obscure, it isn’t even mentioned in the Old Testament. He would be a blue-collar worker as a young man, then at the age of 30, would become an unemployed, wandering teacher who was rejected by the mainstream religious authorities. He would never write a book, command an army, own a company, or hold political office. On the day of His death, His own people disowned Him as a traitor. The governing authorities mocked Him by placing a crown of thorns on His head and nailing a sarcastic sign over His cross that said, “King of the Jews.” His closest friends ran away. And He died owning nothing except the clothes on His back, and the soldiers who crucified Him gambled for those clothes at His feet as He died.

Yet of all the people who have ever lived, no one else has influence this world as Jesus Christ did. No one else even comes close. Is He your King? This Christmas morning at 11:00 we will celebrate His birth in a simple service with familiar carols and a short message. We will examine His claim for the throne of your life...and the difference it will make if you will receive Him as King.