Its been great seeing some of the toys and presents you all got this year. I wonder though if some of your presents came with a sign like this “Some Assembly Needed” And a set of instructions. I must admit when I see a notice like that my heart usually sinks, Because the instructions are usually very difficult to follow, And I always end up with either to few bits to build what I need, Or with some bits left over at the end.
I heard the story of a man who bought his family a tree house for Christmas, It came with this notice
Some assembly required, So he was already to build the tree house on Christmas day. When they opened the packaging they found the instructions and began to build their tree house, But as they carried on, They began to realise that what the instructions said, And what they were doing were very different, Very soon it seemed as if their tree house didn’t look like a tree house at all, In fact it looked more like a boat. They gave up,
And the next day the man typed up a letter on his computer complaining to the company. A few weeks later he received a letter from the company, They apologised that he had been sent the instructions for a tree house, The letter read -
However, it might help to consider the possibility that somewhere there is a man out on a lake trying to sail your tree house.”
Anyone know what the Taj Mahal is?
It’s a wonderful building in Agra in India,
But its was actually built as a beautiful grave for the wife of the Emperor Shah Jahan
Shah-Jahan, the powerful Mogul emperor, was in grief.
He loved her deeply and he was devastated by her loss.
He decided to honour her in a special way.
He would construct an incredible temple,
the likes of which the world had never seen.
The temple would serve as her tomb...
and would be a memorial tribute to her...
and the dramatic symbol of his love for her.
Her coffin was placed in the centre of a large parcel of land
and construction of the temple began around it.
No expense would be spared.
He wanted to make her final resting place magnificent and breath taking.
But as the weeks turned into months,
the Shah's grief was eclipsed by his passion for the building project.
He no longer missed her.
He hardly thought of her at all anymore.
He no longer mourned her absence.
He was now totally consumed with the details of the building project. He was completely obsessed with the construction of the temple. It's all he thought about.
I heard the story of a man who bought his family a tree house for Christmas, It came with this notice
Some assembly required, So he was already to build the tree house on Christmas day. When they opened the packaging they found the instructions and began to build their tree house, But as they carried on, They began to realise that what the instructions said, And what they were doing were very different, Very soon it seemed as if their tree house didn’t look like a tree house at all, In fact it looked more like a boat. They gave up,
And the next day the man typed up a letter on his computer complaining to the company. A few weeks later he received a letter from the company, They apologised that he had been sent the instructions for a tree house, The letter read -
However, it might help to consider the possibility that somewhere there is a man out on a lake trying to sail your tree house.”
Anyone know what the Taj Mahal is?
It’s a wonderful building in Agra in India,
But its was actually built as a beautiful grave for the wife of the Emperor Shah Jahan
Shah-
He decided to honour her in a special way.
He would construct an incredible temple,
the likes of which the world had never seen.
The temple would serve as her tomb...
and would be a memorial tribute to her...
and the dramatic symbol of his love for her.
Her coffin was placed in the centre of a large parcel of land
and construction of the temple began around it.
No expense would be spared.
He wanted to make her final resting place magnificent and breath taking.
But as the weeks turned into months,
the Shah's grief was eclipsed by his passion for the building project.
He no longer missed her.
He hardly thought of her at all anymore.
He no longer mourned her absence.
He was now totally consumed with the details of the building project. He was completely obsessed with the construction of the temple. It's all he thought about.
It was on his mind night and day, the building of this magnificent Temple.
Then, one day while hurriedly walking from one side of the construction site to the other,
he accidentally bumped his leg against a wooden box.
The prince was irritated.
Impatiently, he brushed the dust off his leg and ordered the workers to throw the box out immediately.
What was that box doing here in the middle of the building anyway? Get it out of here right now!
You have already guessed.
The box was the coffin of his beloved wife.
Shah threw out her coffin. He forgot she was there.
The one the temple was built for was cast out.
The one who inspired the whole project in the first place was now forgotten.
The one the Temple was intended to honour was harshly pushed aside,
Absent-mindedly thrown away.
Isn't that amazing?
Could someone build a temple and forget why?
That’s much worse that just throwing out the instructions for one of our Christmas gifts.
Do you know that a few years ago, Some people went out onto the streets of towns in Scotland and asked people why we celebrated Christmas, and only about 3 in every 10 people knew that it was because of the birth of Jesus.
Just like the emperor, so many people have forgotten why we have Christmas at all!
Its great to get presents,
Its great to have all the family around us,
Its great to play with all our gifts with all the lights of Christmas all around us.
All of that is brilliant,
But the most important thing about Christmas,
Is that we remember that Jesus was born,
And when we remember that,
We remember also that his birth shows us how much God loves,
That Jesus was willing to leave heaven,
Which is even better than Christmas day with your family,
Jesus was willing to leave,
And become a person just like us,
To show us that God loves us.
Christmas is really about Jesus
His name is even in the title of the day
Christ (mas).
Yet so often we forget about Jesus today.
Lets not,
Lets remember that Jesus is with us,
Lets remember that Jesus is here,
Let us remember that we each and everyone of us are loved by God.
Jesus is here thank you God Amen
Then, one day while hurriedly walking from one side of the construction site to the other,
he accidentally bumped his leg against a wooden box.
The prince was irritated.
Impatiently, he brushed the dust off his leg and ordered the workers to throw the box out immediately.
What was that box doing here in the middle of the building anyway? Get it out of here right now!
You have already guessed.
The box was the coffin of his beloved wife.
Shah threw out her coffin. He forgot she was there.
The one the temple was built for was cast out.
The one who inspired the whole project in the first place was now forgotten.
The one the Temple was intended to honour was harshly pushed aside,
Absent-
Could someone build a temple and forget why?
That’s much worse that just throwing out the instructions for one of our Christmas gifts.
Do you know that a few years ago, Some people went out onto the streets of towns in Scotland and asked people why we celebrated Christmas, and only about 3 in every 10 people knew that it was because of the birth of Jesus.
Just like the emperor, so many people have forgotten why we have Christmas at all!
Its great to get presents,
Its great to have all the family around us,
Its great to play with all our gifts with all the lights of Christmas all around us.
All of that is brilliant,
But the most important thing about Christmas,
Is that we remember that Jesus was born,
And when we remember that,
We remember also that his birth shows us how much God loves,
That Jesus was willing to leave heaven,
Which is even better than Christmas day with your family,
Jesus was willing to leave,
And become a person just like us,
To show us that God loves us.
Christmas is really about Jesus
His name is even in the title of the day
Christ (mas).
Yet so often we forget about Jesus today.
Lets not,
Lets remember that Jesus is with us,
Lets remember that Jesus is here,
Let us remember that we each and everyone of us are loved by God.
Jesus is here thank you God Amen