And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.Being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
5 sermons cite this verse
I'd like you to have a seat. So I grew up, this is the, here we are, the last Sunday in Christmas season. It reminds me of this, this is the whole thing. I grew up in Brainerd, Minnesota, which is the vacation area of, one of the vacation areas of Minnesota. and one of the things we have, our claim to fame is that Brainerd is the quote-unquote birthplace or the home of Paul Bunyan. So if you know the tall tale of Paul Bunyan, tall tale, we recognized that we had a thing called Paul Bunyan Amusement Park and it was in my hometown, in town basically, kind of right on the outskirts of town, Paul Bunyan Amusement Park and we begged our parents to be able to, that we could go to Paul Bunyan. They never took us, never, the only time we ever got to go to Paul Bunyan amusement park was when the cousins came to visit, which was relatively rare. And they would say, okay, now we can go to the amusement park. It was one of those situations where I'm like, but we live here. We should be able to go here all the time. Now, obviously, if you've ever been to Paul Bunyan amusement park, you know that it's not, as an adult, it's not that big. It's kind of a small thing. But as a kid, it was the place I wanted to go more than anything. But it seemed like one of those situations where it was so, so close to home that it was too close to home, …
… and the scribes of the people, and he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said, well, dummy in Bethlehem of Judea, for so it's written by the Old Testament prophet Micah, the Christ child will be born in Bethlehem. Now, there's a profound symbolism at work in this also. Stars and signs and spiritual questions are never in themselves enough to bring you fully to God. They can get you looking the right direction, but only the scriptures can complete your journey. This book, friend, this, this is the gateway to God. And that is why at this church every single week, somebody like me stands up here, opens this book, reads from it and teaches straight out of it. I am not up here telling you about my relationship with God or giving you my insights into spiritual life. I am attempting to open up to you the scriptures week by week, which are God's guide to salvation, regardless of who you are or where you're coming from. …
… And when they opened their treasures, they presented gifts to him, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then being divinely warned in a dream, they would not return to Herod. They departed to their own country another way. So I want to talk to you about this star. The star of the story is Jesus. It's not the star, but the star plays an important part in your life, whether you recognize it or not. I was thinking about it this week, this star, this miraculous star that began to shine at the perfect time of God on these men who were far from Jerusalem, far from God, far from any prophecies, knowing anything about who Messiah was, who was prophesied to come. They knew nothing. They were of other religions. They were into mysticism. They were into the reading of the stars and astrology and all kinds of gods in that area, the Hindus and all of that, even the Islamic faith. It all comes from that Persia area. That's what they studied. …
… of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warmed in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. Let's talk about a few good men as we look at the wise men. I think I can say without fear of debate or denial that the wise men are critical to the account of the birth of Jesus Christ. You've never been to a Christmas play and there were no wise men. You've never seen a manger setting outside of a church or on your neighbor's lawn, and there'd be no wise men. The wise men are responsible for our tradition of sharing gifts at Christmas. The same way they brought gold and frankincense and myrrh to Jesus, we share gifts with one another as family and friends in the tradition of the wise men. Who are the wise men? Well, tradition and legend has added a whole lot more than what Matthew describes. As a matter of fact, our tradition and our legends around the wise men are most clearly seen and heard in that carol, We three kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we travel afar, Field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star. …
… the child with his mother Mary and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they were turned to their country by another route. You may be seated in God's presence. I want to put a tag on this text and for a few moments with your prayers, I want to raise the question, do you need directions? Do you need directions? Erykah Badu in Didn't You Know has a luminous line about direction. Ooh, hey, I got to decide which way to go. I think I made a wrong turn back there somewhere. It's a luminous line about direction. I made a wrong turn back there somewhere. Why? Because she's recognizing that there is a correlation between what? dreaming destinations and direction. There is no wrong way to get to the right place. We get that. And if you're not careful, you can discover that you aren't where you're supposed to be because you don't have or you lack a sense of direction. …