The document outlines a series on Handeling Christmas with five points: The Forerunner, The Virgin, The Light, The Son, and The Shepherd. It discusses the first two points on the promise of the Forerunner from Isaiah 40 and how the Forerunner, John the Baptist, prepares the way for a greater messenger as described in Malachi 3. It then summarizes that the promises of these two messengers are fulfilled by the births of Jesus and John the Baptist at Christmas as mentioned in Luke 1 and Matthew 11.
4. Handeling Christmas
1 Comfort, comfort my people, says
your God. 2 Speak tenderly to
Jerusalem, and cry to her that her
warfare is ended, that her iniquity is
pardoned, that she has received
from the Lord's hand double for all
her sins. (Mal. 3:1-2)
5. Handeling Christmas
3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness
prepare the way of the LORD; make
straight in the desert a highway for our
God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and
every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain. (Isa. 40)
6. Handeling Christmas
Isaiah 40:5
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together, for the mouth of the Lord
has spoken.”
8. Handeling Christmas
Malachi 3:1
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he
will prepare the way before me. And the
Lord whom you seek will suddenly come
to his temple; and the messenger of the
covenant in whom you delight, behold,
he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
9. Handeling Christmas
The Messenger of the Covenant
• His coming is hard to endure.
• He is like a refiner’s fire.
• He is like a “fuller’s soap”.
• He purifies the “sons of Levi”
13. Handeling Christmas
Matthew 11
8 What then did you go out to see? A
man dressed in soft clothing?
Behold, those who wear soft
clothing are in kings' houses.
14. Handeling Christmas
9 What then did you go out to see? A
prophet?Yes, I tell you, and more
than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom
it is written, “‘Behold, I send my
messenger before your face, who
will prepare your way before you.’
Series Outline
The Forerunner
The Virgin
The Light
The Son
The Shepherd
First Point
The Promise of the Forerunner was a message of comfort.
Read Isaiah 40:1-5
40 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare[a] is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.
3 A voice cries:[b]
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Second Point
The Forerunner is a messenger who prepares the way for a greater messenger.
Read Malachi 3:1-3
3 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.
Malachi 3
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
The Messenger of the Covenant
His coming is hard to endure.
He is like a refiner’s fire.
He is like a “fuller’s soap”.
He purifies the “sons of Levi”
Third Point
The promises of the two messengers are fulfilled by the two babies of Christmas.
Elizabeth Skit
Matthew 11
8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’