Series: What Child Is This?
Sermon: What Child Is This?
Speaker: Japhet De Oliveira
Writer: Japhet De Oliveira
Kids Sections: Jessyka Albert

Refresh: Open with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.

Read: Luke 2:22-38 in the English Standard Version (ESV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.

Reflect: We continue from yesterday with the final examples of how Jesus is all through the Bible. These are taken from Timothy Keller's book Preaching, Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism in which he paraphrases a statement by John Calvin.

Jesus is the true and better Moses, who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant (Hebrews 3).

Jesus is the true and better rock of Moses, who, struck with the rod of God’s justice, now gives us water in the desert.

Jesus is the true and better Job—the truly innocent sufferer—who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends (Job 42).

Jesus is the true and better David, whose victory becomes his people’s victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

Jesus is the true and better Esther, who didn’t just risk losing an earthly palace but lost the ultimate heavenly one, who didn’t just risk his life but gave his life—to save his people.

Jesus is the true and better Jonah, who was cast out into the storm so we could be brought in.

As you prepare to celebrate Christmas, may the the most beautiful face of Jesus appear in your thoughts frequently. 

Recalibrate: What do you need to see in order to recommit your life to Jesus?

Respond: Share a pray for thankfulness with Jesus. 

Research: Read one of the recommended commentaries in the bibliography on this passage.

Live Wonder (ages 0–3)
Anna spent her time in the temple worshipping God. Ask your child what they think worship is. In what ways can you convey or explain worship to your child? Be intentional this week about discipling them in worshipping Jesus.

Live Adventure (ages 4–11)
Worship is a lifestyle. We worship Jesus in church when we sing and when we learn more about the Bible. We worship Jesus when we pray before our meals or before bed. We worship Jesus when we share our toys and invite others to play with us. What are some other ways that you worship Jesus?

Live Purpose (ages 12–16) 
What makes you feel most connected when worshipping Jesus? Is it study, music, fellowship, silence, journaling, nature? If you don’t know, try a few different methods and see which way makes you feel most connected.