12. The Gift God gave
the world that first
Christmas was to
remedy the
unpleasant realities
of sin and death.
13. “For God so loved the world that he
gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but
have everlasting life.”
John 3:16
14. “This is how much God loved the world: He
gave his Son, his one and only Son. And
this is why: so that no one need be
destroyed; by believing in him, anyone
can have a whole and lasting life.
John 3:16
19. –Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death
“Man is literally split in two: he has an awareness of his
own splendid uniqueness in that he sticks out of nature
with a towering majesty, and yet he goes back into the
ground a few feet in order to blindly and dumbly rot and
disappear forever. It is a terrifying dilemma to be in and to
have to live with.”
20. –Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death
“The knowledge of death is reflective and conceptual,
and animals are spared it. They live and they disappear
with the same thoughtlessness: a few minutes of fear, a
few seconds of anguish, and it is over. But to live a whole
lifetime with the fate of death haunting one's dreams and
even the most sun-filled days—that's something else.”
22. There’s non-existence.
And then there’s being judged
as sinners and suffering the
wrath of God.
MATTHEW 13:49 This is how it will be on judgment
day. The angels will come. They will separate
the people who did what is wrong from those
who did what is right. 50 They will throw the evil
people into the blazing furnace. There the evil
ones will weep and grind their teeth.
23. JOHN 3:35 The Father loves the Son and has put
everything into his hands. 36 Anyone who
believes in the Son has eternal life. Anyone
who does not believe in the Son will not
have life. God’s anger remains on them.”
24. ROMANS 3:23 For the wages of sin is death, but
the free gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
27. –Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death
“The irony of man's condition is that the deepest need
is to be free of the anxiety of death and annihilation;
but it is life itself which awakens it, and so we must
shrink from being fully alive.”
less than whole
28. JOHN 10:9 “I’m like a gate. Anyone who enters
through me will be saved. They will come in
and go out. And they will find plenty of food. 10
A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I have come so they may have life. I want
them to have it in the fullest possible way.”
30. Open the Gift of the Gospel with
Wide-eyed Wonder
MATTHEW 1:21 “Mary is going to have a
son. You must give him the name
Jesus. That’s because he will save
his people from their sins.”
