The Incarnation of Christ | Resources
Memory Verse
“But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (CSB)
Discussion/Reflection Questions
1) What is the greatest Christmas gift you have ever received?
2) What does love have to do with Christmas?
3) What does the incarnation of Christ teach us about God’s love for us?
4) God’s love for you is infinite. How would you rate your love for God currently?
5) How can we keep Christmas about the love of God?
Devotional
I watched as my friend spoke a foreign language to the security guard as we tried to get past the checkpoint. They were joking back and forth in a friendly manner, clearly on common ground. The guard waved us through with a huge smile and we were on our way. My friend said with a smile, “He asked me what tribe I belonged to. I joked with him that I belonged to his tribe and he believed me for a minute!”
My friend had apparently perfected the language. A local couldn’t detect a hint of America in him—not in accent, body language, or cultural references. As we continued to talk, I noted his brotherly, affectionate posture towards the local people. He always spoke kindly towards them and only saw that they just needed to know Jesus. As much as he could, he erased his own cultural identity and immersed himself in that culture to reach them in the name of Jesus. He lived, ate, and drank 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (Paul became all things to all people to win them to Christ for the gospel).
I began to learn what it meant to truly love a people group, and consequently, what it meant for Jesus to truly love us. How much more did Jesus love us? He did not stay high above us and require us to come to Him, but He came to us. He lowered his divine status and lived as a human with us to the point of dying for us—staying fully God and becoming fully man—the Incarnate God (Philippians 2:5-11).
He loved us so much, He took upon our sin and deserved punishment before a Holy God, so now anyone who calls upon the Lord will be saved (John 3:16; Romans 10:13)!