So, how well do you think
that you know the Christmas story?
And when I say the Christmas story,
I mean specifically just the words of the Bible,
just what Matthew and just what Luke reveals to us
about our savior and his birth.
Because a lot of times what we think we know
or what we have in our mind of the Christmas story
is a little shaded, a little colored
by all the Christmas songs that are out there.
So, I have a challenge for you, a challenge for you
to take a Christmas quiz
to see how well you actually know what God said.
I thought it'd be fun to kind of end the week this way.
We've had some pretty heavy stuff that we've talked on.
Let's walk our way into the weekend really well.
Here we go.
10 questions.
How well do you think you'll do?
10 out of 10?
Eight?
Five?
If you're watching this with someone else,
tell the person next to you
how well you think that you'll do.
All right.
Ready?
Here we go.
Number one,
shortly after Mary became pregnant.
A, Joseph married her.
B, Mary left Nazareth.
C, Joseph wanted to end the relationship.
D, an angel told them to go to Bethlehem.
E, Both B
and C.
Or F,
both B
and D.
This is going to be tough just so you know.
Hopefully you wager where you think
that you're going to get this right.
So, give me a little extra time to reread
some of the answers or the choices that are there.
By the way, I'll reveal all the answers at the end.
So, hopefully you got your answer locked in.
Number two.
Here we go.
On the journey to Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph walked,
rode a bus,
probably that's what it is.
Oh I shouldn't give you help.
Never mind that.
C, Joseph walked and Mary rode a donkey.
Or the last choice,
the Bible doesn't say.
All right. Got your answer locked in on that one?
The next one.
Who directed Mary and Joseph
to go to Bethlehem?
An angel,
Caesar,
Herod,
or Tiny Tim.
Clearly it's probably not Tiny Tim.
Don't answer that one.
All right.
Next one. Here we go.
Number four.
This one might be tricky.
Let's see how well you do.
How many angel or angels first spoke to the shepherds?
So, we have a couple of answers in here.
You got one, two, Gabriel and Michael.
Next answer, a multitude.
Or the final one,
none of the choices.
Which of those is right?
All right.
Five.
What are the first words
the angel in the angel song to the shepherd?
What are the first words in that song?
A, joy to the world.
You maybe hear it singing in your head right now.
B, glory to God in the highest.
C, Mary, did you know.
Or D, none of those choices.
Think through what did the angels sing.
All right, six.
What animals were present at Jesus' birth?
Cows, sheep, and camels,
Cows, sheep, and Joseph's donkey,
Lions, tigers, and bears.
Please, someone say "oh my" if they haven't already.
Or the last choice, the Bible doesn't say.
So, what animals were present at Jesus' birth?
Got it?
All right. Here we go.
Next one, seven.
When did baby Jesus cry?
When he saw the wise men,
whenever babies cry,
no crying he makes,
or when the cattle started lowing.
And of course the baby wakes.
Which one was it there?
Eight.
What sign were the shepherds to look for?
A star that was over the stable,
a barn with Christmas lights,
a baby in a manger,
or A
and C.
So, what sign were the shepherds to look for?
All right. Some of these will be tricky.
Not that I'm saying the last one was tricky.
This one might be tricky.
We'll see.
Here we go.
Nine.
What did the innkeeper say?
I have a stable available.
There's no room in the inn.
Both A and B,
or none of the choices.
What did the innkeeper say?
Final question.
If you've been not doing well, here it is.
You can rock this.
You're going to get this.
10,.
When the wise men came, where did they find Jesus?
In a manger,
in a house,
in a church,
or none of the choices.
Where did the wise men find Jesus?
All right. You did it.
You completed it.
You got the 10 questions down.
Now we're going to see, now we're going to figure out
how well you did on this.
So, number one, shortly after Mary became pregnant,
the answer there of course, of course is
E.
Mary left Nazareth
and Joseph wanted to end the relationship.
Most people remember about the relationship ending
but not Mary leaving.
Did you get that one right?
Two.
On the journey to Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph,
D is correct.
Christmas cards, everyone you see,
Mary's riding the donkey.
And I get it, she's great with child as the Bible says.
But it doesn't ever tell us that in the Bible.
That's what you see on Christmas cards.
So, D is the correct answer there.
Three, who directed Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem?
I'm guessing a lot of people got this one right.
The answer there is B
because Caesar Augustus issued a decree
that a census should be taken.
That led them into Bethlehem.
So hopefully you got that one right.
Four.
How many angel or angels first spoke to the shepherds?
And the answer there
is not a multitude.
It's A.
It's A!
Did you know that?
Only one angel first appears.
Later, the multitude shows up.
I might have tricked you there.
Sorry on that one.
Five.
What are the first words in the angel song?
And if you're going through your Bible in your mind,
if you've heard this for you
like glory to God in the highest,
that's what the angels sang.
No.
The words are right, but the angels didn't sing.
So, this question is wrong.
The angel spoke those.
Yes, I am tricky.
Now you don't want to be in my classroom
because I teach and I might trick the students.
I might be tricking you.
I'm sorry.
All right. Six.
What animals were present at Jesus' birth?
And the answer there is not lions, tigers, and bears,
but it's D, the Bible doesn't say.
It doesn't mention any animals specifically there.
So, the answer is D.
Seven.
When did baby Jesus cry?
And the answer here is
whenever babies cry, B.
The song Away in a Manger says no crying he makes,
but the Bible doesn't say that.
So, whenever babies cry.
B is the correct answer.
Eight.
What sign were the shepherds to look for?
And the answer there for the shepherds
is C.
The wise men followed the star
but not the shepherds.
The shepherds were only told to find the baby in a manger.
Two left.
Nine.
What did the innkeeper say?
And the answer here is
D.
D, did you know that?
The Bible never mentions an innkeeper.
That's in song after song after song,
but it's not in the Bible.
That was added in.
If you've not been doing well,
last chance to redeem yourself.
Here we go.
Question number 10.
When the wise men came,
where did they find Jesus?
And the answer is
B.
Did you know that every single nativity scene
that you've seen is wrong?
It shows the wise men coming in and Jesus is in the manger
in a stable, and the stars.
False.
The Bible says that when the wise men got there,
Jesus was in a house.
So, how'd you do?
Did I trick you
on a number of these?
So often our understanding of what the Christmas story is
is shaded or a little different because of songs.
So, my encouragement to you is this,
go into Book of Matthew, go into Luke,
Matthew one and two, Luke one and two.
That's where you're going to find the story of Jesus.
And just read it.
Read it again as if for the first time
and see how God pours the gift of his son into our lives.
Have a great Christmas season.
I hope you had fun with the quiz.
I hope you did well.
Have a great day.
God bless you all.
I hope you enjoyed the Christmas quiz
that I put together for you.
Although it was a little tricky at spots,
how did you do?
Man, I'd love to hear from you
what question just tripped you up.
You thought man, I nailed this one,
and then you were shocked, just shocked by the answer.
Put that in the comments below
what question were really hard for you.
And then dig in.
Dig into God's word
and just see how much God truly does love you.