A Surprising Birth (Chantilly Sermon)
December 21, 2025
Isaiah 55:8-9 CSB – “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not my ways.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 “For as heaven is higher than earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
2 Corinthians 8:9 CSB – For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
The Surprising Timing of Jesus’ Birth
Luke 2:1 CSB – In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus …
Galatians 4:4 CSB – When the time came to completion [perfect], God sent his Son, born of a woman…
Luke 2:1,3 CSB – In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. 3 So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town.
Luke 2:4,6 CSB – Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David,…While they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
Proverbs 3:5,6 CSB – Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways know him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Romans 8:28 CSB – We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
The Surprising Place of Jesus’ Birth
Luke 2:6 CSB – While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
1 Corinthians 1:27,28,31 CSB – God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28 God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world… as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.
The Surprising Ordinary Nature of Jesus’ Birth
Luke 2:5b-6 CSB – the time came for her to give birth. 7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn son…
God does His greatest work in ordinary ways.
If we’re not aware, we’ll miss it.
Whoaa This B-List Actor Just Said Something Remotely Christian Whoaaaa
Why Does God Usually Do Great Work in Ordinary Ways
- Christianity is a relationship with God—not just dramatic experiences
- We Walk by faith, not by emotion
Hebrews 11:1 CSB – Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.
Matthew 12:38,40 CSB – “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
