Hateful or Happy - #ChristmasMood
Christmas Mood Series
A.J. Dummitt
Part of Christmas Mood—#ChristmasMood Sunday Series
December 5, 2020

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Happy or Hateful

Christmas Mood Series

TEXT: Matthew 2:1-18

Would You Rather…If you can only pick ONE…which MOOD do you identify with right now?

Let’s read the story we’ll discuss today…

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. —Matthew 2:1-18

The story of 2

.

King Herod - or Herod the Great thought

of his abilities and power, and spared no effort to impress the world with his greatness. He was a schemer who feared the loss of his power and ruthlessly destroyed all potential rivals with incredible cruelty and no remorse.

, the Messiah and King of the Universe, sought first to glorify God and humble Himself. Jesus came to bring people abundant life. This would be the solution for the sin of humanity. This would required Him to lose His life and then be resurrected from the grave.

Jesus was born in

, while Herod was born in Edom. Jesus the Messiah was sinless; Herod, the king of the Jews, was a cruel tyrant.

Jesus gave His life and ministry as a

so that the other’s might live and have eternal life with Him, but Herod’s life revolved around sacrificing others in order to bring glory and honor to himself.

Jesus’

continues to impact millions of people throughout the world. Even non-Christians have heard about His life and death.

King Jesus and King Herod two kings who couldn’t have been more

- together at the same moment in history.

To show us a

MOOD in Herod.

HEROD’s MOOD was HATEFUL.

Herod was HATEFUL, and sometimes…so am I and so are you, oh and:
- Selfish
- Power hungry
- Insecure
- Wanted to stay comfortable
- Deceitful
- Cruel
- Didn’t want to be inconvenienced
- Wanting to stay king…
- Would do anything not have Jesus as King

Oh, well maybe that is a WHOLE MOOD for some of us.

Contrast with the

MEN.
They were searching for Jesus.

When they saw the

- the Bible says they REJOICED with exceeding great !

In other words…FINDING JESUS made them

!

How does finding Jesus affect you?

Happy to Find

Happy to Make the

Happy to

Gifts

Happy to Present the Gifts and themselves to the King

Happy to

Because they were in tune with

- they were HAPPY!

So this CHRISTMAS - how are you relating? What’s your

?
Are you HATEFUL or are you HAPPY?