Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (Matthew 2:1-12), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• [1] Christianity is no fantasy fiction, no mythical tale, no set of ethereal “spiritual” teachings. The Gospel is history, firmly located in time and space. “Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the days of Herod the king.” Do you believe that Jesus really was born, really lived, really died, really rose again from the grave? Do you speak as if the Gospel were true history? Do your friends believe it, or do they think it’s more like a fairy tale? What difference does it make whether the Gospel is real history or not?

• Solomon received foreign dignitaries and their gifts because of the great wisdom God had given him (see 1 Kings 10). Jesus was born King of the Jews, the Greater Son of David, whose mere birth was cause for the whole world to come and celebrate him with gifts, as is represented in these magi. If you want to come to God’s King, you must come to Jesus—and all are welcome to do so with joy. Are you okay with the exclusivity of this Good News, that salvation is found only in Jesus, that there is no other way to God than through him (John 14:6)? Are you okay with the inclusivity of this Good News, that people from any tribe, tongue, or nation are invited to come into his presence?

• In the Scriptures, magi (the “wise men”) are usually villains opposed to God’s people. The magi who visited Jesus were “the wrong kind of people” to be coming to the King of the Jews, but God had led them there, God had arranged for this meeting, God had invited and received them in Jesus’ presence. Are you “the wrong kind of person” to be welcome in the Lord’s presence? Why or why not? Do you ever feel tempted to disdain others as “the wrong kind of people” to be worshiping in the church? Why or why not?

• FOR THE CHILDREN: Can you imagine what it would be like to visit a humble family living in a rural village in a foreign country, and to know that the baby was the King of the whole world? How would you feel about being able to find that house and to be in the same room with that baby?