Orientation, Disorientation, Reorientation: The Christian Life

TITLE: ORIENTATION, DISORIENTATION, REORIENTATION: THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

TEXT: LUKE 2:8-21

Context:

This is the story of Jesus’s birth and how it was made known to the world and the people who came to visit Him.

Main Point:

The events surround the birth of Jesus is a gospel story that causes us to do the following:

1) Reveals our personal orientation of who we think Jesus is and what it means to be a Christian.

2) Disorients us when we encounter the biblical Jesus and the difficult events surrounding His life as well as our own hardships.

3) Reorient our thoughts and action to whom Jesus says He is and what it means to follow Jesus.

1) Orientation:

Luke 2:8-9 (Isaiah 9:5-7, 42:1-4)

In orientation we have self centered reference vs. savior centered reference.

2) Disorientation,

Luke 2:10-12 (Isaiah 53:3-7, Matthew 1:23, Psalm 13)

In disorientation we have the Lord vs. the law which always leads to greater love vs. legalism.

3) Reorientation

Luke 2:16-20 (Jeremiah 29:13, John 14:26, John 6:63, Romans 8:26)

In disorientation God calls us to repent vs. repress.

God was our orientation, Jesus became our disorientation, Holy Spirit is now our reorientation.

“If we do not recognize the depths of our sin, Jesus will always remain a saint, and never a savior.”

Questions to ponder this week:

1) What has been your orientation of God?

2) What events or thoughts have caused you to be disoriented with God?

3) What caused you to embrace or reject the reorientation of God?

4) How are you currently living out of the reorientation? If so, how?