Jesus Saves Christmas from Your Boredom
Sermon Notes
In Mark 6:1–6, Jesus returns to His hometown after performing miracles and teaching with authority across Galilee. Instead of worship, He is met with offense. The people who watched Him grow up cannot reconcile His power with their familiarity.
This passage shows us how easily awe can fade into boredom. At Christmas, the danger isn’t rejecting Jesus outright. It’s becoming so used to Him that we stop seeing Him clearly.
Jesus calls His people back, not through novelty, but through remembrance. Remembering who He is. Remembering why He came. Remembering the gospel that once stirred our hearts.
Key Takeaways
Familiarity with Jesus can slowly dull our awe for Him.
Astonishment can turn into offense when hearts grow cold.
Christmas loses power when the gospel becomes background noise.
Jesus calls us back to our first love, not to something new.
Remembering the gospel renews wonder and joy.
Discussion Questions
Where has Jesus become familiar instead of marvelous to you?
How does familiarity affect your worship during Christmas?
What distractions crowd out your attention to Christ?
What does it look like to remember the gospel this season?
How can you return to simple devotion this week?
Transcript
When Familiarity Replaces Wonder
Christmas is full of images we know by heart. The songs. The decorations. The story itself. And while those things are good, they carry a quiet danger. Familiarity can make something holy feel ordinary.
In Mark 6, Jesus returns to Nazareth. He teaches with wisdom and authority, just like He does everywhere else. The people are astonished, but only for a moment. Then they start naming what they know. His family. His past. His hometown. And slowly, astonishment turns into offense.
Knowing About Jesus Isn’t the Same as Knowing Him
They knew Jesus as a carpenter’s son. They knew His siblings. They knew His history. And because they thought they knew Him completely, they couldn’t see Him clearly. Familiarity became a barrier to faith.
That same thing can happen to us. We can grow up around Jesus, hear the story every year, and still miss the weight of who He truly is.
How Christmas Loses Its Power
Christmas doesn’t become boring because the gospel is weak. It becomes boring because we stop sitting with it. When the story becomes background noise, wonder fades. The manger becomes decoration instead of astonishment.
The Invitation to Remember
Jesus doesn’t call us to something new. He calls us back. Back to remembering why He came. Back to repenting of distracted hearts. Back to returning to our first love.
Christmas still holds power. Joy still waits to be found. But it begins when we slow down long enough to see Jesus again.
