WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.040 I love stories. 00:00:03.740 --> 00:00:05.799 I really love stories. 00:00:05.799 --> 00:00:08.580 But I wonder, what's your favorite story? 00:00:09.419 --> 00:00:10.820 What is your favorite story? 00:00:10.939 --> 00:00:12.859 Any offers? 00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:14.339 Your favorite story? 00:00:16.740 --> 00:00:19.960 I'm obviously alone in my love for stories. 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:21.379 What sort of stories do you like? 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:24.440 Ben. 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:26.560 The Gruffalo. 00:00:27.400 --> 00:00:29.760 It's a very short, small story. 00:00:30.660 --> 00:00:32.340 Who else has got a favorite story? 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:35.640 Ian. 00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:42.799 A mystery story, but it's probably quite a small story. 00:00:43.620 --> 00:00:44.719 Quite a small story. 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:45.200 Ollie. 00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:47.480 Lord of the Rings. 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:49.120 It's a slightly bigger story. 00:00:50.359 --> 00:00:51.340 Slightly bigger. 00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:52.359 Gemma. 00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:54.280 Percy Jackson. 00:00:54.379 --> 00:00:55.780 I have no idea what that is. 00:00:56.200 --> 00:00:56.760 Ben. 00:00:56.760 --> 00:00:56.820 Ben. 00:01:00.899 --> 00:01:02.119 Diary of a Wimpy Kid. 00:01:02.200 --> 00:01:03.520 I bet that's a book I could read. 00:01:05.459 --> 00:01:09.719 I want to tell you, not a small story, not a slightly bigger story. 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:12.760 I want to tell you the biggest story. 00:01:13.260 --> 00:01:16.500 The biggest story that's ever been told. 00:01:16.500 --> 00:01:21.879 It starts before creation and it ends after creation's finished. 00:01:21.959 --> 00:01:26.819 It is the biggest story in the whole world. 00:01:26.819 --> 00:01:30.659 How do all good stories start? 00:01:33.539 --> 00:01:34.179 Yes, Lulu? 00:01:35.079 --> 00:01:36.179 Once upon a time. 00:01:36.219 --> 00:01:37.000 Let's get going. 00:01:37.780 --> 00:01:41.059 Once upon a time there lived a man and a woman. 00:01:41.199 --> 00:01:43.699 They were the happiest people on the planet. 00:01:44.759 --> 00:01:45.259 True. 00:01:45.579 --> 00:01:50.459 They were the only people on the planet, but they were still terrifically happy. 00:01:50.459 --> 00:01:55.280 Their names were Adam and Eve and God made them. 00:01:55.519 --> 00:02:00.039 He made them in his image, little mirrors to reflect God's glory. 00:02:00.639 --> 00:02:04.219 And like everything else God made, he made them good. 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:10.319 It was a wonderful time to be God's children in God's wonderful world. 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:17.699 Unfortunately, things didn't stay happy and wonderful for long. 00:02:17.699 --> 00:02:24.679 On one very bad day, Adam ate from the only tree God had declared off limits. 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:25.699 Adam failed. 00:02:26.659 --> 00:02:28.719 It was a terrible day. 00:02:29.079 --> 00:02:32.280 The second worst day in the history of the world. 00:02:33.139 --> 00:02:38.039 A snake had tricked Adam and Eve and told them a lie about the fruits. 00:02:38.459 --> 00:02:44.120 He said they would be like God if they ate it, but actually the opposite was true. 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:49.560 When they ate the fruit, they found themselves far away from God. 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:57.200 They had disobeyed God's word and believed the lie that the devilish snake instead of the truth. 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:06.319 Being near to God and having him draw near to us would no longer be easy anymore. 00:03:07.580 --> 00:03:10.840 God was not happy with Adam and Eve. 00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:13.040 He wasn't happy with the snake either. 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:18.359 God put a curse on the man and the woman and the snake and everything else. 00:03:18.959 --> 00:03:22.439 He kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden paradise he had made for them. 00:03:22.780 --> 00:03:29.560 It wasn't possible for a people who were so bad to live with a God who is so good. 00:03:30.500 --> 00:03:31.519 They had to go. 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:35.399 But before they left, God made a promise. 00:03:35.719 --> 00:03:42.280 He promised that the evil serpent, the devil, would always be at war with Adam and her children. 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:48.080 Now that doesn't sound like a very nice promise that bad guys and good guys would fight all the time. 00:03:48.500 --> 00:03:50.819 He wants to be in a war that never ends. 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:55.199 But here's where the good part of the promise comes in. 00:03:55.300 --> 00:04:04.080 God promised that one of Eve's children would someday, eventually, sooner or later, crush the head of that nasty snake. 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:10.880 Nobody knew when or how, but she would have a child to put things right. 00:04:12.320 --> 00:04:15.920 Sadly, things got a lot worse before they got any better. 00:04:16.540 --> 00:04:21.120 Adam and Eve had several kids, including two brothers named Cain and Abel. 00:04:21.480 --> 00:04:23.960 Abel trusted God, but Cain did not. 00:04:23.959 --> 00:04:29.459 And when God accepted Abel's gift and not Cain's, Cain got very angry. 00:04:30.479 --> 00:04:33.060 It was the first murder in history. 00:04:33.479 --> 00:04:35.959 He was so jealous that he killed his brother. 00:04:36.799 --> 00:04:39.759 The first murder, but not the last. 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:44.139 Things were not the way they were supposed to be. 00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:47.240 Everything fell apart after sin entered the world. 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:53.480 Things got so bad, so fast, that God decided to start over. 00:04:54.340 --> 00:05:02.300 The people on the earth were terribly wicked in their hearts all the time, every day, non-stop, evil thoughts. 00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:06.160 They didn't deserve to enjoy God's world anymore. 00:05:07.100 --> 00:05:09.280 So God took it from them. 00:05:10.300 --> 00:05:13.519 Or, more exactly, he took them from it. 00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:16.879 He sent a flood that wiped away everyone and everything. 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:19.920 Because it had all been stained with sin. 00:05:20.960 --> 00:05:23.079 Well, almost everything. 00:05:23.220 --> 00:05:25.199 God saved one family on the earth. 00:05:25.660 --> 00:05:28.699 One family that trusted him and believed what he said. 00:05:29.160 --> 00:05:32.379 Noah and his wife and their sons and their wives were spared. 00:05:33.280 --> 00:05:38.660 They lived for a lot of days with a lot of animals in a big boat called an ark. 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:41.680 It rained and it rained. 00:05:42.100 --> 00:05:44.879 God was going to start over with his creation. 00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:50.800 He was angry with the world that hated him, but he was still at work to save the world that he loved. 00:05:51.420 --> 00:05:53.680 That's why he rescued Noah and his family. 00:05:54.420 --> 00:05:56.639 God wanted to give his people another shot. 00:05:57.120 --> 00:05:59.360 God was going to start over with a new world. 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:03.480 And Noah was going to be a new kind of Adam. 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:07.939 The problem was that Noah was too much like the first Adam. 00:06:08.420 --> 00:06:13.240 It didn't take long after they got out of the boat for Noah to do some pretty bad stuff himself. 00:06:13.780 --> 00:06:17.300 He trusted God enough to build an ark when everyone laughed at him. 00:06:17.540 --> 00:06:21.300 But it turned out he could be just as foul as everybody else. 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:26.200 Even one of Noah's sons got cursed, just like everything got cursed back in the garden. 00:06:26.819 --> 00:06:28.500 History was repeating itself. 00:06:28.500 --> 00:06:33.720 Whether it was Adam or Noah, the first world in the beginning or the second world after the flood. 00:06:34.100 --> 00:06:36.879 People just couldn't get things right. 00:06:38.300 --> 00:06:42.480 One time a whole bunch of people got together to build a giant tower. 00:06:42.899 --> 00:06:45.480 They thought they could build all the way up to heaven. 00:06:45.740 --> 00:06:50.339 But it must not have been all that big because God had to come down just to see it. 00:06:51.300 --> 00:06:53.699 And when God saw it, he was not pleased. 00:06:53.699 --> 00:06:57.120 Everyone was working together, which was okay. 00:06:57.379 --> 00:06:59.199 But they weren't working for God. 00:06:59.379 --> 00:07:00.740 And that was not okay. 00:07:01.539 --> 00:07:05.000 They were trying to show how smart and impressive they could be all on their own. 00:07:05.500 --> 00:07:07.120 They thought they didn't need God. 00:07:07.339 --> 00:07:11.680 So God mixed up all their languages and scattered the people all over the place. 00:07:12.459 --> 00:07:16.300 Things were still not going well in the world God had made. 00:07:17.159 --> 00:07:20.819 Thankfully, God was still not done saving his people. 00:07:20.819 --> 00:07:29.959 Not too long after the whole tower business, God called a man named Abraham to leave his home and to go to a new country. 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:34.480 Actually, his name was Abraham at this point, but everyone remembers him as Abraham. 00:07:35.339 --> 00:07:39.039 When God called Abraham, he made a lot of big promises. 00:07:39.959 --> 00:07:43.560 He promised to bless Abraham and to bless everyone who blessed Abraham. 00:07:44.180 --> 00:07:46.800 He promised to curse everyone who cursed Abraham. 00:07:47.240 --> 00:07:49.560 He promised Abraham a land and a child. 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:56.300 God promised that Abraham would be the father of a great nation and that all nations would be blessed through him. 00:07:56.920 --> 00:08:02.399 Pretty much all the blessing that God wanted to give Adam and Eve, he promised to Abraham. 00:08:03.100 --> 00:08:04.280 And the best part? 00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:11.800 This time, God was going to do everything himself to make sure Abraham got this blessing. 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:18.199 You might think that God wanted to bless Abraham because he was such a swell guy. 00:08:18.840 --> 00:08:21.639 But Abraham didn't know God at all when God called him. 00:08:22.060 --> 00:08:28.720 And even after he got the call and all the promises, Abraham could still be a liar and a bit of a scaredy cat. 00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:34.139 Abraham's life had a lot of ups and downs, but he had two things going for him. 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:37.019 And the only two things, it turns out, that really matter. 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:43.100 God's promise to bless him and Abraham's belief in God's promise. 00:08:43.899 --> 00:08:49.779 That's all Abraham had, which was a good deal because it was all that Abraham needed. 00:08:49.779 --> 00:08:55.000 At times, it looked as if God wasn't going to keep his promises to Abraham. 00:08:55.539 --> 00:09:02.120 For one thing, it was about a hundred years before Abraham and his wife Sarah, who used to be called Sarai, 00:09:02.339 --> 00:09:06.000 had a baby named Isaac, who thankfully was always called Isaac. 00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:12.019 And then when the baby grew up into a boy, God told Abraham to kill him. 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:16.659 That must have seemed like a not-so-funny way to make a great nation out of Abraham. 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:19.419 But Abraham listened to God anyway. 00:09:20.319 --> 00:09:25.459 And at the last second, God gave Abraham a ram to sacrifice instead of his beloved son. 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:29.000 It was God's way of saying, I'll take care of the rescuing. 00:09:29.699 --> 00:09:31.219 Just trust me. 00:09:32.459 --> 00:09:35.919 Eventually, Isaac grew up, got married and had some kids of his own. 00:09:36.059 --> 00:09:38.919 Twins, to be exact, Esau and Jacob. 00:09:39.899 --> 00:09:45.379 God picked Jacob to get the blessing, even though he was the younger brother and wasn't supposed to get the blessing. 00:09:45.379 --> 00:09:48.480 But God is God, so he gets to pick. 00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:54.620 Jacob had 12 sons, and this time it was the fourth son, Judah, who wound up with the best blessing. 00:09:55.419 --> 00:10:00.159 Jacob told Judah that a lion of a leader would come from his family. 00:10:01.500 --> 00:10:04.179 Great blessings, but not so great people. 00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:06.059 Isaac was a sort of a weakling. 00:10:06.600 --> 00:10:08.539 Jacob was a selfish trickster. 00:10:09.139 --> 00:10:13.379 And Judah did such dumb stuff, we don't even want to talk about it now. 00:10:13.379 --> 00:10:18.340 And yet, again and again, God kept his promises all the same. 00:10:18.659 --> 00:10:21.159 He blessed the whole lot of them despite themselves. 00:10:21.799 --> 00:10:30.799 Maybe the snake crusher would still come from the gnarled branches of the Abraham-Isaac-Jacob family tree. 00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:39.219 Several hundred years after God's promise to Abraham, it looked like things had gotten way off track. 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:44.099 When God told Abraham to leave his home, he promised to give him a new land in Canaan. 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:46.199 It was going to be a great land. 00:10:46.539 --> 00:10:50.000 It was supposed to remind God's people of the garden they once had. 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:54.339 It would be sweet and refreshing with plenty of milk and honey. 00:10:54.340 --> 00:10:58.800 But Abraham and his sons never really possessed the land they were promised. 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:03.560 And now it was 400 years later and they were slaves in Egypt. 00:11:04.540 --> 00:11:07.879 How Abraham's family got to Egypt is a long story. 00:11:08.340 --> 00:11:09.620 But here's the short version. 00:11:10.620 --> 00:11:13.080 They went to Egypt because there was a famine in Canaan. 00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:16.160 And when they got to Egypt, Jacob's sons found their long-lost brother Joseph, 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:18.680 who helped them get their food and a place to live, 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:22.519 even though he was still there because his 10 older brothers had been jealous 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:25.939 and sold him into slavery after they almost got killed because of his fancy coat. 00:11:26.739 --> 00:11:29.719 I told you it was a long story. 00:11:30.939 --> 00:11:33.879 Well, delivering them from famine was one thing. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:38.819 That's when Israel's family was still pretty small. 00:11:39.539 --> 00:11:41.559 Israel, by the way, was Jacob's new name. 00:11:41.639 --> 00:11:43.659 I guess everyone needed two names back then. 00:11:44.500 --> 00:11:47.240 But hundreds of years later, the family was huge. 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:51.620 How would God save a couple of million people from slavery? 00:11:52.340 --> 00:11:55.299 It's not like he could just turn the Nile River into blood 00:11:55.299 --> 00:11:59.180 and send frogs and gnats and flies and disease and boils and hail 00:11:59.180 --> 00:12:03.299 and locusts and darkness and death until the king of Egypt let them go, could he? 00:12:04.299 --> 00:12:07.360 Well, actually, that's exactly what God did. 00:12:08.299 --> 00:12:13.200 God raised up Moses to deliver his people, but in reality, God did all the work. 00:12:13.620 --> 00:12:14.740 He sent the plagues. 00:12:14.740 --> 00:12:17.139 He led the people with fire and clouds. 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:21.000 He made the sea turn to dry land so the Israelites could walk through, 00:12:21.460 --> 00:12:25.299 and he turned the dry land back to sea when the Egyptians tried to cross over. 00:12:26.100 --> 00:12:31.000 It seemed that no matter what the Israelites did or what everyone else did to them, 00:12:31.100 --> 00:12:34.060 God always found a way to save his people. 00:12:34.059 --> 00:12:43.399 It was a very good thing God was always rescuing his people because it seemed that no matter how many times God saved his people, 00:12:44.079 --> 00:12:47.479 the Israelites were never quite safe from themselves. 00:12:48.439 --> 00:12:52.239 See, after God delivered his people from Egypt, he gave them a lot of commandments. 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:57.120 This wasn't to punish them, but to help them and protect them. 00:12:57.120 --> 00:12:59.120 They were good commandments. 00:12:59.120 --> 00:12:59.440 They were good commandments. 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:03.320 And if they obeyed the commandments, God's people would be blessed. 00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:08.060 There would be food and children and long life and protection and a new home. 00:13:08.060 --> 00:13:11.200 It would be just like they were in paradise again. 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:15.620 That's where God wanted to lead them all along, back to the garden. 00:13:16.340 --> 00:13:23.100 But if they didn't obey, there would be curses like the one that fell on Adam and Eve and the serpents. 00:13:24.020 --> 00:13:27.660 As you might have guessed, the people didn't do so well obeying God's commands. 00:13:27.659 --> 00:13:32.039 And after Moses and his helper Joshua died, they disobeyed even more. 00:13:32.740 --> 00:13:34.759 They ignored the most important commands. 00:13:35.500 --> 00:13:40.159 And when they did work hard at some rules, like getting their sacrifices right, 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:42.939 they didn't really obey those rules from the heart. 00:13:43.159 --> 00:13:49.259 They just checked them off their list and forgot about the whole, the more important commands like loving God. 00:13:50.199 --> 00:13:55.279 Not that God's people deserved it, but God finally gave them their promised land. 00:13:55.279 --> 00:14:01.679 God did the work to get them in, but God's people didn't do the work to drive everyone else out. 00:14:02.179 --> 00:14:04.079 This caused them a lot of trouble. 00:14:05.299 --> 00:14:11.860 They constantly had enemies to fight, and worse, they constantly had to fight the temptation to be just like their enemies. 00:14:12.779 --> 00:14:17.559 Sometimes things would go well for Israel when they had a good leader and when they obeyed. 00:14:17.899 --> 00:14:21.199 But most often things went poorly. 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:25.400 God gave the Israelites rules, but they didn't follow with them. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:30.340 God made his dwelling among them, but they didn't act like they wanted him to stick around. 00:14:30.860 --> 00:14:33.520 God sent prophets, but Israel didn't listen. 00:14:34.100 --> 00:14:37.160 God provided priests, but the priests didn't know how to be holy. 00:14:37.580 --> 00:14:41.060 Later, God gave them kings, but the kings were a royal pain. 00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:43.200 Israel was a mess. 00:14:43.820 --> 00:14:46.460 Of course, God still had his promises to keep, 00:14:46.460 --> 00:14:51.000 but most days it was hard to imagine how anyone could save the stubborn people. 00:14:51.740 --> 00:14:59.280 It would have been even harder to imagine how the promised man could come from among this people. 00:15:00.680 --> 00:15:05.000 God's people had a hard time not copying everyone else around them. 00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:07.560 This was especially true when it came to having a king. 00:15:08.160 --> 00:15:12.240 Although God warned them how bad kings could be, they just had to have one. 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:14.620 So eventually God gave them a king. 00:15:14.620 --> 00:15:17.000 The first king was Saul. 00:15:17.419 --> 00:15:21.620 He was very impressive height-wise and pretty disappointing in every other way. 00:15:23.159 --> 00:15:27.200 The second monarch, young David from Bethlehem, was definitely much better. 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:34.240 In fact, before we get to the king, there's almost no one more important than this king, David. 00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:38.820 When David wasn't busy sinning, which he did in some really big ways, 00:15:39.139 --> 00:15:41.240 he was a good, wise, merciful king. 00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:45.180 Many good things happened to God's people when David was in charge. 00:15:45.680 --> 00:15:48.960 They were victorious and prosperous and blessed. 00:15:49.659 --> 00:15:52.299 But the best thing that happened was that God promised, 00:15:52.919 --> 00:15:55.159 was that what God promised would happen. 00:15:55.860 --> 00:15:59.320 God told David that he would always have a son to sit on the throne. 00:15:59.779 --> 00:16:01.879 He promised David an everlasting kingdom. 00:16:02.740 --> 00:16:05.960 This was good news for David and even better news for God's people. 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:10.280 It meant that God had not forgotten the guarantee he made back in the garden. 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:12.639 A deliverer was on his way. 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:18.400 And now everyone who had ears to hear knew he would be a son of David. 00:16:19.560 --> 00:16:23.360 But the next son of David was not the one they were looking for. 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:27.960 Solomon started off on the right foot, but he ended up tripping quite spectacularly. 00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:31.480 After Solomon, the kingdom split in two. 00:16:32.040 --> 00:16:36.040 With Israel in the north and Judah in the south, neither kingdom was very good. 00:16:36.920 --> 00:16:40.540 God punished Israel first, then Judah. 00:16:41.340 --> 00:16:45.720 In the course of 400 years, God's people would go from top dog to dog food. 00:16:46.519 --> 00:16:48.540 They had been kicked out of their promised land, 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:51.320 just like Adam and Eve had been kicked out of their paradise. 00:16:52.019 --> 00:16:55.280 And worst of all, David's house and David's throne were no more. 00:16:55.279 --> 00:17:00.379 The future looked bleak, especially for the promises of God. 00:17:01.779 --> 00:17:06.079 Believe it or not, God's promise hadn't gone anywhere. 00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:09.859 In fact, God kept on making more promises all the time. 00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:14.680 God promised that the snake crusher, Abraham's child, Judah's lion, David's son, 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:16.420 would come from Bethlehem. 00:17:16.920 --> 00:17:19.000 God promised he would be born of a virgin. 00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:21.799 God promised a messenger to prepare the way. 00:17:21.799 --> 00:17:26.240 God promised that the deliverer would die and live again and be light to the nations. 00:17:26.879 --> 00:17:29.899 God promised lots of amazing things. 00:17:30.859 --> 00:17:35.259 But Israel was too busy disobeying God's commands and ignoring God's warnings to notice. 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:39.000 God sent miraculous prophets like Elijah and Elisha, 00:17:39.419 --> 00:17:41.680 and rebuking prophets like Amos and Malachi, 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:43.839 and sad prophets like Jeremiah, 00:17:44.220 --> 00:17:46.039 and good news prophets like Isaiah. 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:49.539 It didn't matter which ones God sent or how many. 00:17:50.099 --> 00:17:53.139 The people never listened, not for very long anyway. 00:17:54.359 --> 00:17:55.700 And so one day it happened. 00:17:56.599 --> 00:17:59.480 God stopped sending the prophets. 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:03.920 No more warnings, no more direction, no more word from the Lord. 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:05.480 Only silence. 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:09.259 For 400 years. 00:18:10.180 --> 00:18:12.139 God had sent prophets, priests, and kings. 00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:15.139 He started out with Adam and started over with Noah. 00:18:15.140 --> 00:18:17.280 He chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 00:18:17.380 --> 00:18:18.440 He gave Moses the law. 00:18:18.540 --> 00:18:19.580 He sent Israel judges. 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:21.400 He raised up deliverers. 00:18:21.540 --> 00:18:22.680 He conquered enemies. 00:18:22.820 --> 00:18:24.140 He provided sacrifices. 00:18:24.580 --> 00:18:27.880 He lived among his people in a tent and in a temple. 00:18:28.660 --> 00:18:31.480 God gave them every opportunity and 10,000 chances, 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:34.820 but still sin and the serpent seemed to be winning. 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:38.360 Until, all of a sudden. 00:18:38.359 --> 00:18:46.019 After all these downs and not too many ups, 00:18:46.099 --> 00:18:48.919 we come to a manger in the little town of Bethlehem. 00:18:49.740 --> 00:18:51.359 This is where we meet the new Adam, 00:18:51.479 --> 00:18:53.439 the child of Abraham, the son of David. 00:18:53.879 --> 00:18:56.379 It's with the stinky shepherds and the singing angels 00:18:56.379 --> 00:18:59.379 where we see the real deliverer, the real judge, 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:01.419 the real conqueror. 00:19:01.420 --> 00:19:04.420 No one understood it completely at the time, 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:06.860 but when Mary pushed out her baby, 00:19:07.360 --> 00:19:10.759 God pushed into the world the long-expected prophet, 00:19:10.980 --> 00:19:12.340 priest, and king. 00:19:12.840 --> 00:19:14.800 God gave his people a new law, 00:19:15.400 --> 00:19:16.500 a new temple, 00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:18.480 and a new sacrifice. 00:19:18.640 --> 00:19:20.940 Best of all, he gave his people a new beginning, 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:23.560 just as he promised. 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:28.000 Of course, some things were different than people had expected. 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:32.039 The stable with the animals and the scandal with unmarried Mary 00:19:32.039 --> 00:19:33.720 were surprises to most folks. 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:36.279 The miracles were remarkable. 00:19:36.500 --> 00:19:39.559 The teaching was unlike anyone had ever heard. 00:19:39.859 --> 00:19:42.200 The bumbling band of hand-picked disciples, 00:19:42.460 --> 00:19:43.920 that was curious. 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:47.000 But the biggest surprise to everyone 00:19:47.579 --> 00:19:49.599 was that the chosen one of God 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:52.039 was chosen by God to die. 00:19:52.819 --> 00:19:54.240 It just didn't seem right 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:56.339 that the one destined to crush the serpent 00:19:56.339 --> 00:19:57.660 would be crushed himself. 00:19:58.740 --> 00:20:00.259 So when Jesus, the Christ, 00:20:00.339 --> 00:20:01.519 the Son of the living God, 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:04.059 died on the cross that Friday afternoon, 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:06.680 it seemed a shocking evil beyond belief. 00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:08.440 And it was 00:20:08.440 --> 00:20:11.559 the worst thing that's ever happened 00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:12.980 in the world. 00:20:15.220 --> 00:20:17.259 But it was also the best thing 00:20:17.259 --> 00:20:18.819 that's ever happened in the world, 00:20:19.059 --> 00:20:20.859 just as we would expect from God, 00:20:20.940 --> 00:20:23.299 and just as God promised it. 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:25.519 We break promises, 00:20:25.799 --> 00:20:26.960 but God keeps them. 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:28.460 We run from God, 00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:29.980 so he comes to us. 00:20:30.180 --> 00:20:31.559 We suffer for sin, 00:20:31.660 --> 00:20:34.279 so the Savior suffers for us. 00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:37.100 Our story is the story of God 00:20:37.100 --> 00:20:38.500 doing what we can't, 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:40.440 in order to make up for us 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:41.759 doing what we shouldn't. 00:20:42.299 --> 00:20:44.039 The Christ suffers for our sin 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:47.039 that we might share in his sinlessness. 00:20:48.299 --> 00:20:50.220 And so deliverers are born to die. 00:20:50.840 --> 00:20:53.019 Things fall apart so they can come together. 00:20:53.019 --> 00:20:54.759 God kicks his people, 00:20:55.180 --> 00:20:56.539 own people out of paradise, 00:20:56.799 --> 00:20:58.099 and then does whatever it takes 00:20:58.099 --> 00:20:59.039 to bring them back. 00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:02.759 As you may have heard, 00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:04.819 and should definitely tell someone else, 00:21:05.240 --> 00:21:07.440 the snake crusher who died on the cross 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:08.480 didn't stay dead. 00:21:08.900 --> 00:21:09.799 He couldn't. 00:21:10.339 --> 00:21:11.819 Death had no claim on him, 00:21:12.119 --> 00:21:14.039 the devil had no case against him, 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:16.139 and sin had no wages for him 00:21:16.139 --> 00:21:17.139 that he couldn't pay. 00:21:18.140 --> 00:21:20.140 Jesus just couldn't stay dead, 00:21:20.840 --> 00:21:23.780 and God just wouldn't let him rot in the tomb. 00:21:24.420 --> 00:21:25.560 So on the third day, 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:28.120 God raised him from the dead. 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:30.840 A whole bunch of people saw him 00:21:30.840 --> 00:21:31.540 and ate with him 00:21:31.540 --> 00:21:32.620 and told their friends 00:21:32.620 --> 00:21:34.400 that he was really alive. 00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:36.400 Forty days later, 00:21:36.500 --> 00:21:38.100 God lifted him into the sky 00:21:38.099 --> 00:21:39.980 and gave him the seat of honour 00:21:39.980 --> 00:21:41.159 at his right hand. 00:21:41.859 --> 00:21:43.939 And do you know what the snake crusher did next? 00:21:44.519 --> 00:21:45.980 Because his work was done, 00:21:46.059 --> 00:21:46.859 he sat down, 00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:49.719 and God gave him the name above all names, 00:21:49.980 --> 00:21:51.259 so that at the name of Jesus, 00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:52.939 everybody and everything 00:21:52.939 --> 00:21:54.119 would start to sing 00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:55.119 and shout 00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:56.319 and worship. 00:21:57.679 --> 00:21:59.919 Then, just to make things even better 00:21:59.919 --> 00:22:00.939 and to make good 00:22:00.939 --> 00:22:02.240 on even more promises, 00:22:02.419 --> 00:22:03.219 God the Father 00:22:03.219 --> 00:22:04.579 and God the Son 00:22:04.579 --> 00:22:06.500 sent the best present of all time 00:22:06.500 --> 00:22:07.359 down to earth. 00:22:08.099 --> 00:22:10.480 They gave the gift of the Holy Spirit, 00:22:11.139 --> 00:22:12.379 and because of the Spirit, 00:22:12.500 --> 00:22:13.779 we can have power and peace 00:22:13.779 --> 00:22:15.099 in the presence of Christ 00:22:15.099 --> 00:22:17.419 with us all the time. 00:22:18.919 --> 00:22:20.019 As you can tell, 00:22:20.099 --> 00:22:21.259 this is a big story. 00:22:21.419 --> 00:22:21.980 In fact, 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:23.959 it's the biggest story. 00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:26.079 It's a familiar story 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:26.939 to some of us. 00:22:27.259 --> 00:22:28.459 It's a true story 00:22:28.459 --> 00:22:30.000 for all of us. 00:22:30.359 --> 00:22:31.359 But we haven't seen 00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:32.299 the end of the story, 00:22:32.419 --> 00:22:33.019 not yet. 00:22:33.779 --> 00:22:34.959 We live in the beginning 00:22:34.959 --> 00:22:36.219 of the end of the story 00:22:36.220 --> 00:22:37.360 that we are still 00:22:37.360 --> 00:22:38.259 in the middle of. 00:22:38.779 --> 00:22:40.200 We know it's not the end 00:22:40.200 --> 00:22:41.360 because we haven't made it 00:22:41.360 --> 00:22:42.140 back to the garden. 00:22:42.940 --> 00:22:44.519 We get glimpses of the garden 00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:45.380 here and there 00:22:45.380 --> 00:22:46.660 in our hearts, 00:22:46.759 --> 00:22:47.500 in our families, 00:22:47.620 --> 00:22:48.420 in the church. 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:50.600 But anyone who loves this story 00:22:50.600 --> 00:22:51.860 longs to see the one 00:22:51.860 --> 00:22:53.860 who is the center of the story. 00:22:54.600 --> 00:22:55.680 The snake crusher 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:56.740 is coming back 00:22:56.740 --> 00:22:58.900 to wipe away all the bad guys 00:22:58.900 --> 00:23:00.500 and wipe away every tear. 00:23:00.500 --> 00:23:01.839 He's coming to make 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:02.579 a new beginning 00:23:02.579 --> 00:23:03.420 and to finish 00:23:03.420 --> 00:23:04.200 what He started. 00:23:04.859 --> 00:23:05.920 He's coming to give us 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:07.359 the home we once had 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:08.720 and might have forgotten 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:09.539 that we lost. 00:23:10.299 --> 00:23:11.720 So keep waiting for Him. 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:13.759 Keep believing in Him. 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:15.819 Keep trusting that the story 00:23:15.819 --> 00:23:16.900 isn't over yet. 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:19.000 God's promises never fail 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:20.539 and the promised one 00:23:20.539 --> 00:23:21.880 never disappoints. 00:23:22.420 --> 00:23:24.180 One day we will see Him. 00:23:24.619 --> 00:23:26.519 One day we will be with Him. 00:23:27.200 --> 00:23:28.740 One day there will be nothing 00:23:28.740 --> 00:23:29.799 but the best days, 00:23:29.900 --> 00:23:31.940 day after day after day after day. 00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:33.920 And forever and ever, 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:36.140 it will be a wonderful time 00:23:36.140 --> 00:23:37.240 to be God's children 00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:40.099 in God's wonderful world. 00:23:40.819 --> 00:23:41.440 Let me pray. 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:50.440 Father God, thank you 00:23:50.440 --> 00:23:52.579 that this is the biggest story 00:23:52.579 --> 00:23:53.620 ever conceived. 00:23:53.740 --> 00:23:55.200 Thank you that it's a true story. 00:23:56.059 --> 00:23:56.920 Father, thank you 00:23:56.920 --> 00:23:57.819 that it's a story 00:23:57.819 --> 00:23:59.419 you invite us into. 00:24:00.299 --> 00:24:01.460 That you want to take 00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:02.559 the little stories 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:03.339 of our lives 00:24:03.339 --> 00:24:03.859 and join them 00:24:03.859 --> 00:24:05.379 to your enormous story 00:24:05.379 --> 00:24:06.279 about your Son 00:24:06.279 --> 00:24:08.079 who came into the world 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:09.019 to save us. 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:10.579 And Father, 00:24:10.659 --> 00:24:11.859 if we trust Him, 00:24:13.019 --> 00:24:14.139 our little stories 00:24:14.139 --> 00:24:14.859 become joined 00:24:14.859 --> 00:24:15.960 with your biggest story 00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:16.679 that will go on 00:24:16.679 --> 00:24:17.500 forever and ever 00:24:17.500 --> 00:24:18.259 and ever and ever 00:24:18.259 --> 00:24:19.039 and ever and ever and ever. 00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:22.259 Join to that story 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:23.679 because our sin is forgiven. 00:24:24.679 --> 00:24:26.519 Our life is transformed. 00:24:26.519 --> 00:24:29.519 Our eternity is changed. 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:31.900 all because of your Son 00:24:31.900 --> 00:24:32.779 who loved us 00:24:32.779 --> 00:24:34.279 and gave Himself for us. 00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:35.879 Father, thank you 00:24:35.879 --> 00:24:37.839 that you are so wise 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:40.319 that even before Adam and Eve 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:41.019 made a mess, 00:24:41.079 --> 00:24:42.519 you had a way to clear it up. 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:44.059 Thank you that it cost you 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:44.819 the most 00:24:44.819 --> 00:24:46.240 because it meant 00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:47.200 sending your Son 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:48.779 and seeing Him 00:24:48.779 --> 00:24:49.720 die for us. 00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:50.920 So Father, 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:52.019 I pray we would trust Him 00:24:52.019 --> 00:24:52.559 and love Him 00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:53.360 this Christmas 00:24:53.360 --> 00:24:55.259 but not just this Christmas 00:24:55.259 --> 00:24:56.640 but on 00:24:56.640 --> 00:24:58.180 so that we might be part 00:24:58.180 --> 00:24:59.640 of your big story. 00:25:00.259 --> 00:25:00.460 Amen.