The Door Series: Thresholds of Faith

 

Session 9: The Door of Incarnation

Based on Luke 2:1–7 and John 1:14

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I. A Door Opened in the Ordinary

The coming of Christ does not begin with spectacle.
It begins with census forms and travel.
With fatigue and inconvenience.
With a young couple displaced from home.

“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born.” (Luke 2:6)

The door through which God enters the world is not impressive.
It is ordinary.
It is human.
It is small.

Christmas reveals a door God opens quietly.
Not into power, but into flesh.

Henri Nouwen wrote,

“God became man not to impress us with His power, but to walk with us in our weakness.”

The threshold of Christmas is humility.

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II. No Room and an Open Heart

Luke tells us there was no guest room available.

“She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger.” (Luke 2:7)

The closed doors of Bethlehem did not stop God’s arrival.
They shaped it.

God does not wait for ideal conditions.
He enters where there is room enough, not perfection.

Thomas Merton wrote,

“Christ is born wherever men and women are willing to make room for Him.”

The door of incarnation opens wherever hearts are available.

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III. God Crossing the Threshold

John names the mystery plainly.

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” (John 1:14)

God crosses the ultimate threshold.
From eternity into time.
From glory into vulnerability.
From heaven into human skin.

This is not God shouting from outside.
This is God stepping inside.

Dallas Willard wrote,

“God’s way of overcoming evil is not force, but presence.”

Christmas is the door through which presence enters the world.

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IV. A Door That Changes Everything

The incarnation redefines where God is found.
Not only in temples.
Not only in power.
But in bodies.
In breath.
In the everyday.

The manger becomes a doorway.
From fear to hope.
From distance to nearness.
From waiting to fulfillment.

Henri Nouwen wrote,

“In Jesus, God reveals that closeness is His deepest desire.”

The door of incarnation stays open.

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V. The Invitation

Christmas invites us to receive God not as an idea, but as presence.
Not as a solution, but as companionship.

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you.” (Luke 2:11)

The door of incarnation asks only one thing.
Room.

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Practicing the Door of Incarnation This Christmas

1. Make room intentionally.
   Create space for quiet presence amid the season’s noise.

2. Welcome God into the ordinary.
   Notice His nearness in simple moments.

3. Release the need for perfection.
   Trust that God enters imperfect spaces.

4. Receive Emmanuel personally.
   Pray,
   “Lord, dwell with me here.”

5. Pray with gratitude.

   “Jesus, thank You for crossing the threshold into our world.
   Make Your home in my life.
   Teach me to recognize Your presence in the ordinary.
   Amen.”