It's just a great story

Evening everyone, my name's Steve, I'm the city pastor here if I've not met you before.

I'm going to pray and then we're going to launch in to the next part of our Christmas story.

Gracious God, we thank you for your word as we have just been reminded as we celebrate Christmas of you coming into our world.

I pray that you'd come now by your spirit into our hearts so that we would understand with clarity,

build us up in hope, but also bring clarity to who you are, the world in which we live,

and what you've done to come and save it.

And we pray for your glory. Amen.

1961, a long time ago, the Russian Yuri Gagarin was the first person into space.

Nikita Khrushchev was the premier of Russia at the time.

And Khrushchev said that when Gagarin went into space, he discovered that God was not there.

You know, like he toured the world real quick, had a look out the window, couldn't see God,

and so came to the conclusion that therefore God does not exist.

In response to that comment by Khrushchev at the time, the Oxford professor C.S. Lewis wrote an article called The Seeing Eye.

Lewis writes in that article that if there is a God who creates us,

God would not relate to human beings or to his creation in the way that a person on the first floor of an apartment block

relates to the person on the second floor of an apartment block.

Both are the same beings, they're just at a different level.

Lewis wrote in this article that God would relate to humanity as the creator,

and we the creatures, he would relate to humanity the way that Shakespeare relates to Hamlet.

Shakespeare is the creator of Hamlet and the world that Hamlet exists in.

Hamlet would have no way of knowing Shakespeare existed,

no way of knowing his creator,

unless Shakespeare chose to reveal himself to Hamlet.

And to do that, Shakespeare would need to write himself into Hamlet, the play.

Lewis's point in the article is that the only way we can know God

is if God himself writes himself into his creation,

into the story of history,

so that the other characters within the story of history

would know their creator.

Now the claim of Christmas,

the claim of Christianity,

is that that is exactly what God has done.

God did not just write

about himself,

but that he wrote himself into the drama of history.

And so,

is that just too unbelievable?

Is it just too unbelievable?

That's the question I've been looking at in the last few weeks.

And as we've looked at the believability of Christmas,

James has suggested that the story of Christmas

isn't just a good story in our minds,

something that brings us a sense of joy at Christmas time,

once a year,

but it's in fact a true story.

It's a historical story.

He's looked at the evidence for Jesus being a real person in history,

the evidence that the New Testament accounts of his life

are not made up.

And that the miracles that are described in the New Testament

haven't yet been disproven by science.

Which leaves us with the,

so what question at the end of it all?

What does this all mean for us?

And the main point that I want to make tonight

is that if it's not true,

if Christianity and Christmas is not true,

you don't just lose the wonder of Christmas.

You don't just gut Christmas of all its meaning,

but in actual fact,

you lose everything.

Not just Christmas,

you lose everything.

We lose life.

We lose meaning.

We lose good and evil.

We lose you and me.

So, three points if you've got the St. Paul's app.

No news story, good news story, and which story?

So, no news story.

In his global bestseller,

Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind,

Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari

tells the story of humanity from the beginning.

Harari rejects the claims of Christianity himself personally,

but what he does do is he recognises the significant influence of Christianity

on the history of humanity.

And he actually argues in his book

that our deepest moral beliefs,

our sense of good and evil that we have,

are not in actual fact self-evident truths,

which are things that our culture argues today.

Racism.

Well, it's just self-evidently true that racism is bad.

What he argues, Harari argues,

is not actually self-evident truth at all.

They are, in fact, biblical beliefs.

This is how he puts it.

The idea of equality, for instance,

as one self-evident truth,

is inextricably intertwined with the idea of creation.

If you do not believe in the Christian myths about God,

creation and souls,

what does it mean that all people are equal?

Most people in our society

have a sense that human rights are good,

that racism is wrong,

that women and men are equal,

that murder is evil,

and that rich should not oppress the poor.

General acceptance of those things being right or wrong.

But why?

You see, if there is no God,

if God does not exist,

as Khrushchev says,

or said,

then these things are not moral facts.

They are, in fact, opinions,

and only opinions.

British historian Tom Holland makes a similar point.

He stopped himself,

stopped believing in God as a child,

but after years of historical research,

he found himself being drawn back to Jesus.

This was mainly because

he found that many of the values

that he held dear to him

and that were dear to society

were intimately connected to Jesus

and the Christian faith.

human equality and rights,

equality of men and women,

love for foreigners,

care for the poor,

vulnerable and the marginalized

are specifically Christian beliefs.

Now, history shows us

that it was only as the Christian faith spread

in the first century

into the Roman Empire and beyond

that these beliefs

became generally accepted.

The ancient world prior to Christianity,

prior to Jesus,

laughed at the concept of equality of people,

laughed at the concept of good and evil,

of the necessity to care for the poor

and the marginalized.

The temptation of our society nowadays

is to assume that you can keep those values,

but you can get rid of the God

that lies behind those values.

And Harari makes the significant point

of what happens when you do.

As far as we can tell

from a purely scientific viewpoint,

human life has absolutely no meaning.

No meaning.

Humans are the outcome

of blind evolutionary processes

that operate without goal or purpose.

Our actions are not part

of some divine cosmic plan,

hence any meaning

that people ascribe to their lives

is just a delusion.

Now, he's saying that

on the assumption

that if you take God out of the picture,

that philosophically

is all that you're left with.

And this is a non-Christian saying this.

Now, I acknowledge

that there are obviously people in our world

who think their life

has no meaning at all.

I suspect, though,

deep down,

none of us really want

what Harari writes there

to be right.

None of us really wants

that to be right and true.

If there is no God,

then we are left

with the reality

that we live,

we die,

we decay,

and that is it.

That is,

it's not just a bad news story,

it's a no news story.

There's nothing to be declared there.

But Christianity

and Christmas

is the alternative.

It's the alternative story.

So let's look at the good news story.

It is, in fact,

Christmas is a good news story.

We just read out,

Nick just read for us

a portion

from the beginning

of John's Gospel

in the New Testament.

John begins

not with the birth of Jesus,

but he begins

with the birth

of the universe.

He mentions a key figure

who he calls

the Word.

I'll read the first five verses

again for us.

In the beginning,

that's the beginning

of the universe,

in the beginning

was the Word

and the Word

was with God

and the Word

was God.

He was with God

in the beginning.

Through him

all things were made,

without him

nothing was made

that has been made.

In him

was life

and that life

was the light

of all mankind.

The light

shines

in the darkness

and the darkness

has not overcome it.

Now,

as John

unfolds,

the Gospel of John

unfolds,

we discover

that the key figure

known as the Word

is, in fact,

Jesus Christ.

The Bible

teaches

that the creator

God,

the one who made

all things,

is three persons.

God,

the Father,

God,

the Son,

and God,

the Holy Spirit,

who have always

existed

in perfect unity

and love

together.

And the very

first Christmas

marks the moment

in history

when God,

the Son,

the Word,

the creator

of all things,

writes himself

into

his story.

He became

a human being

with a specific

purpose.

John tells

the story

of our lives

being part

of a God

and his loving

cosmic plan.

Let me pick it up

in verse 9

of John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

The true light

that gives light

to everyone

was coming

into the world.

He was in the world

and though the world

was made through him,

the world

did not recognize him.

He came to that

which is his own,

but his own

did not receive him.

Yet

to all

who did receive him,

to those

who believe

in his name,

he gave the right

to become

children of God.

Children born

not of natural descent

nor of human decision

or of a husband's will,

but born

of God.

the word

became flesh

and made his dwelling

amongst us.

We have seen

his glory,

the glory

of the one

and only son

who came

from the father

full

of grace

and truth.

And from

a little bit

further down

we read

in John's gospel

that the grace

and truth

came

from Jesus

Christ.

Christ.

So what

that text

is saying

is that

Jesus

is the

author

of the story

and

its

lead

character.

It's like

Shakespeare

has written

himself

into Hamlet

and has

become

the lead

character

of the

story

of Hamlet.

The God

who made

the universe

enters

into it

in order

to rescue

it.

Instead of

celebrated

we are told

there

he is

rejected.

Instead of

honoured

he is

killed.

But his

death

was written

into the

script.

It was

written

into the

script

as the

central

part of

the

script.

That is

his death

was not

an accident.

If it

is true

that there

is a

God

who made

us

and loves

us

then that

is fantastic

news.

It means

that Christmas

is fantastic

news.

It means

that because

of Christmas

our lives

have meaning.

There is

such a thing

as good

and evil.

It means

that justice

and love

and all

of God's

purposes

will end

up winning

in the

end.

But Christmas

is also

terrible news.

It's

also

humbling

news

because it

means that

we actually

need saving.

Humanity

needs saving

from the

judgment we

rightly deserve

for rejecting

God, for

living as if

this God

does not

exist, for

trying to

find meaning

and satisfaction

outside of

him.

Now some

of us are

deeply aware

of sin

even if

we don't

use that

word.

If there

is a

God who

sees

everything,

knows

everything,

then we

ultimately

deep down

know that

that's not

good.

On one

level,

that is

good and

healthy.

The Christmas

story, the

message of

Christianity,

in the end,

is not a

self-help

message

where you

are told

that you

are mostly

good enough

but the

baby in the

manger will

just give

you that

little extra

prob that

you need

to get

over the

hurdles in

the end.

Every time

we see

Jesus helping

someone in

the gospel,

it's those

who knew

they weren't

enough.

They are

the ones

that Jesus

welcomes.

Those who

were considered

too bad

or too

broken were

in fact the

preferred company

of Jesus

in his

story.

If you're

unsure of

yourself,

let me ask

you,

how would

you feel

right now

if we

projected

onto these

screens

every thought

that you've

ever had,

every action

done in

secret,

if it

was projected

onto these

screens and

played,

replayed,

would you

be able to

hold your

head up

high right

now?

To be

frank with

you,

I'd be

crushed if

it was

just today's

tally.

Just today's

tally.

God sees

it all.

He sees

it all and

that is,

in the end,

terrible,

terrible news

for us.

Christmas.

But it's

not the

end of the

story.

In the

Christmas story,

we are told

Jesus is

presented with

three gifts

by the

astrologists who

come from

the east.

And one of

those gifts

would have

totally thrown

Mary,

myrrh.

It was

used to

embalm the

dead.

Who gives

baby toy

coffins to

kids at

Christmas time?

Under the

Christmas tree,

there's a toy

coffin.

Weird,

weird thing.

It was a

symbol of

death.

Jesus came

into this

world to

die.

That was

his purpose,

to die.

That's what

he needed to

do in order

to bring

about

reconciliation

between God

and humanity.

Jesus would

die for the

sins of

humanity.

And about

33 years

after his

birth,

he was

crucified just

outside of

Jerusalem.

But his

death was

not the

end of

the story

because three

days later

the tomb

was empty

and Jesus

appeared to

his followers

alive.

He faced

death.

He defeated

death.

He paid

for our

sin so

that we

don't have

to pay

for it.

He knows

every single

one of our

secret thoughts,

our deepest

failures and

our deepest

shame,

love.

But he

loves us

all the

way to

death and

back again.

And all

you have

to do

is trust

him.

The

Christmas

story

is part

of God's

story of

time and

eternity.

So I want

to ask you

which story

are you

jumping in

onto at

the moment?

God's

story has

three main

parts to

it.

Sorry,

four main

parts to

it.

In chapter

one,

the God

who stands

outside of

creation

always existed,

the one who

created all

things by

speaking to

existence.

It's the

only storyline

in the

history of

the world

through every

great religion

and philosophical

system.

It's the

only storyline

that has a

divine being

that creates

all things

out of

love.

The only

one.

In

chapter two

of the

biblical

storyline,

the Christmas

storyline,

people reject

the love

of God.

All people

live life

with no

consideration

for God

at all.

Relationship

with God

and each

other is

deeply

fractured.

All

brokenness

and evil

in the

world

is

connected

to

chapter

two.

Chapter

three

is

God's

plan

to

reverse

all

the

wrong

that

we

have

created

for

ourselves.

And

this

plan

is

worked

out

through

history

and

finds

its

culmination

in

the

life

and

the

death

and

the

resurrection

of

Jesus

Christ.

That

is

in

the

miracle

of the

Christmas

story

and the

miracle

of the

Easter

story.

Jesus

takes

the

judgment

of

God

for

our

rebellion

against

God

upon

himself.

He

dies

the

death

that

we

should

have

died

and

he

rose

victorious

over

sin

and

death.

And

everyone

as we

read in

John

chapter

one

everyone

who puts

their

trust

in

Jesus

is

gathered

back

into

relationship

with

God

and to

each

other.

chapter

four

of

God's

story

is

not

the

end

of

the

story

it's

the

beginning

of

the

chapter

that

has

no

end.

It's

a

chapter

where

God

reigns

forever

with

his

people

in

the

world

recreated

in

perfect

peace

and

harmony.

This

is the

good news

of the

Christmas

story

written

of

God

writing

himself

into

history.

You

see the

Christmas

story has

got to

be

connected

with

the

whole

story.

It's

just

one

part

of

the

chapters.

But

we

exist

in

our

culture

at

the

moment

dominated

by

many

stories

but

there

is

one

particular

story

which

stands

out

and

it's

permeating

culture

in

every

kind

of

way.

It's

the

one

that

was

raised

by

Nikita

Khrushchev.

It

was

highlighted

there,

Harari

highlights

it

himself.

It's

a story

that's

taken up

residence

in the

soul

of

Western

society

for the

past

60

years

in

particular.

The

technical

term

for this

story

is

philosophical

naturalism.

It's

a fancy

name for

materialism,

secular

materialism.

person.

It's

a three

chapter

story

and it's

a story,

it's a

three

chapter

story

that

most

people

in

our

world

are

living

to

day

by

day.

The

first

chapter

of that

story

says that

there is

no

supernatural

or spiritual

power that

rules the

physical

universe.

Everything

that can

be seen

and measured

is a

result

of an

explosion

that appeared

out of

nothing

billions

of years

ago.

Scientifically

unproven.

Can't

prove it

scientifically.

Chapter

two of

this story

is that

against

all odds

humanity

evolved

from

prehistoric

soup

to be

the dominant

species

of the

earth

right now.

Despite

what people

might feel

there is

no absolute

right or

wrong.

If you

feel that

something is

right or

wrong

then that's

due to a

chemical reaction

in your

brain that

is again

not

scientifically

proven.

Everything

is an

accident

and so

therefore

life has

absolutely

no meaning

or purpose

at all.

And so

therefore

if that's

the case

make the

most of

life right

now.

Make it

as happy

as you

possibly

can.

Buy

everything

you

possibly

can.

Consume

every

experience

you

possibly

can

because

chapter

three

is

coming.

And

chapter

three

is just

simply

the

end.

The

sun

will

burn

up.

Humanity

will

become

extinct

and there

is no

form of

afterlife

or survival

of the

conscience.

the

story

of

materialism

is

that

only

what

you

can

see,

taste,

touch,

feel

has any

is the

purpose

of life.

That's

it.

The

Christmas

story says

that we

have a

loving

creator

who

has

triumphed

over

evil

at

great

cost

to

himself

to

love

you

dearly.

and we

look

forward

to a

day

when

everything

wrong

will be

made

right

and we

will

live

with

him

in

joy,

blissful

joy

for all

of

eternity.

Historically

plausible,

philosophically

satisfying.

Science

can't

disprove

it.

this

Christmas

story

is

unbelievably

good

news.

So

which

story

is your

story?

Which

story

drives

you

day

by

day?

Joining

Jesus

story

is the

most

real

and

wonderful

thing

that can

happen

to you

in your

life.

But

to get

to that

point,

we have

to start

with seeing

what

humanity

is,

who we

are,

we have

to come

to the

awful,

awful

realisation

that in

God's

story,

we're the

villains.

love,

we have

to come

to the

world.

And

Jesus is

the hero.

He's the

hero.

He's the

main character

in the

story.

And so

this

Christmas,

the biggest

thing you can

do with your

life is to

get written

into Jesus'

story by

in fact

giving your

life to

him.

make your

story a

good one,

one that

will go on

living as

Jesus himself

lives and

reigns right

now.

Up on the

screen, if

you're not

sure where

you sit with

the Christian

faith, on

the screen

is a QR

code.

And I

would encourage

you just

to take that

extra step

this Christmas

to get into

Jesus'

story with

your life.

to

his

child

that

'll

...