07-25-21 Kevin Goins - Christmas In July

“Christmas in July”

John 10:22-39

You may believe that it was retailers who dreamed up the idea of Christmas in July in order to increase their sales in the doldrums of summer.  In fact, it is the Bible that brings up this issue and that is what our text today is all about today. 

What does this text have to do with Christmas?                                        

I               First, there is the d________________ of our text (10:22-23).

 

1. The Feast of Dedication celebrates the Jew’s victory over the Syrian King Antiochus _______.

 

1. The Messiah had been born and was now in the world teaching and healing, but they were not thinking of him. Instead, they were celebrating, not a religious holiday, but a n____________________ holiday.

 

1. Christmas is just something almost all Americans __________.

 

II             Second, this text and Christmas are about s_________________________ (10:24).

 

1. There are two things about this suspense:

 

1. First, whatever kind of suspense it was, it was i__________________________.

 

2. Second, their suspense is specifically about whether Jesus is the _______________________.

 

1. If Jesus had said, “I am the Messiah,” we know they would have understood it p_______________________________.

 

III            Third, this text and Christmas are both focused on ______________ (10:25-30).

 

1. Christmas is a birthday party for Jesus, and yet everyone gets a gift e______________________________ him.

 

1. The easier and more n________________ way to translate verse 29 is: “The gift my Father has given to me is greater than all.”

 

1. The reason Jesus sees us as the greatest of all gifts is not because we are the greatest to ever be loved, it is because he is the greatest ________________.

 

IV            Fourth, this text and Christmas both demonstrate the insidious nature of i___________________________ (10:31-32).

 

1. Revenge returns evil for evil, but ingratitude returns evil for ____________________.

 

1. When we say, “Is that all there is?” what we are actually saying is, “All I have been given is not __________________ enough.”
2. We cannot feel disappointment about the one thing we do not have without setting aside and i____________________ the myriad of things we do have.

V             Finally, both this text and Christmas ask one question: “_________ is _____________?” (10:33-39)