Reflection Questions: Matthew 1:18-2:13

For the message, God With Us & For Us given by Pastor John Ferguson
at New City Church of Calgary on November 27, 2016
These discussion questions are designed primarily to help you apply the message from the Scriptures
by helping you think through application to your personal life, your church life, and your citys life.
You can use these by yourself for reflection, or with your family or small group for discussion.
To review the sermon, go to NewCityChurch.ca/sermons
INTRODUCTION
Pray. Take a moment to pray asking God to guide you in reflecting upon the Scripture text.
Read the Scripture text: Matthew 1:18-2:13
A summary of the sermon:
We learn from this birth narrative of Jesus something about his identity: in his name, Immanuel, God is with us. And in
his name, Jesus, God saves us from our sins. In Christ, God is with us and saves us from our sins.
Key Quotes:
The Apostle John, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the
Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory (John 1:1).
John MacArthur, If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: God
with us. We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ. The greater truth of the holiday is His deity.
More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the
heavens and the earth!
Wayne Grudem, [The incarnation] is by far the most amazing miracle of the entire Bible - far more amazing than the
resurrection and more amazing even than the creation of the universe.The fact that the infinite, omni-potent, eternal
Son of God could become man and join himself to a human nature forever, so that infinite God became one person with
finite man, will remain for eternity the most profound miracle and the most profound mystery in all the universe.
Tim Keller, In the Christian view, the ultimate evidence for the existence of God is Jesus Christ. If there is a God, we
characters in his play have to hope that he put some information about himself in the play. But Christians believe he did
more than give us information. He wrote himself into the play as the main character in history, when Jesus was born in a
manger and rose from the dead.
Hebrews 1:3, He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by
the word of his power.
Bottom Line:
God became one of uswith us & for usin the person of Jesus Christ.
QUESTIONS
Introductory Questions:
Do you generally look forward to the Christmas season? If yes, why? If no, why not?
Do you find it a challenge to battle the sentimentality of this season?

1. How does this text speak to your life?

What do you find hard to believe about the birth narrative of Jesus? What do you find easy to believe? And why?

What do the names given to Jesus reveal to you about his identity?

In light of this birth narrative, how would you answer the question, What kind of me is God calling me to be?

2. How does this text speak to us as a church community?

How does this text keep us from becoming a community of self-righteous moralists?
Hoe does this text give focus to our community of faith & help us guard against the sentimentality of the season?

3. How does this text speak to our city?

How does this passage help us keep clear our message to the city of Calgary?
What kind of new life / future in Christ is this text calling our city to experience?

CONCLUSION QUESTION
What is the one thing you want to take away from this study to remember or to make a change in your life?

PRAYER
What are some ways you can turn what you are learning into prayer? List them as bullet points.
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