A dog chewed up my first image of Jesus. I should probably explain that better, right?
When I was a child, we had a Christmas tree ornament that was a tiny nativity scene. I was allowed to hang it on the tree, and, being tiny myself, I hung it on a very low branch. Unfortunately, the following day we awoke to find that our normally well-behaved dog, Trixie, had destroyed the nativity. It was chewed into pieces and all over the floor. The following year, we found a similar replacement, and I learned to keep Jesus up higher, out of the reach of our dog's jaws.
Is Jesus fragile? Does he need our protection? Does he need our help? It's certainly possible to get that impression from the Christmas story, with him lying in a manger, surrounded by animals and pursued by old King Herod. But beyond Christmas, there are times when we forget just how powerful Jesus is and how he can completely change our lives and eternities. That vulnerable infant in the Christmas story is the conquering presence of the eternal God.
In this message, we will go to the first sentence in the letter to the Hebrews. It takes four verses to get through that one sentence! It's packed with powerful images of who that child is, and I can tell you for sure that my poor little dog Trixie would have been no match for the real thing!
