We begin this year's Advent series at the part of the story that we often tell last--the visit of the Wise Men. However, it may be that they were the first to hear about the birth of Jesus, if the "star" they saw appeared in advance of his birth, so that they could arrive in somewhat close proximity to his actual birth.
If you like astronomical stuff, go here http://www.astronomynotes.com/history/bethlehem-star.html to read some interesting information and speculation on what the star may have been.
People have always been fascinated with this story of the Wise Men, so much so that a host of traditions have developed around the account, especially trying to fill in the gaps in story. If you are interested in this kind of thing, click here http://ww2.netnitco.net/~legend01/wisemen.htm.
Also in this sermon I talk about the value we place on things. This year's Advent Theme is Seeking the Treasures of Christmas. We value things either because of their intrinsic worth (what they are worth in and of themselves, sort of on the open market) and/or because of their extrinsic worth (what something is worth to me, perhaps because of sentimental connection). In the case of Jesus, to sort of get a handle on his intrinsic worth, I walk us through Colossians 1:15-20. I do not have time in the sermon to dig into this passage in any depth, but if you have interest, I have posted a fine commentary on the passage, written by Robert W. Wall and published in the IVP New Testament Commentary Series. Link to it here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DvrJJi4wKcelv0J7oFXgMDTOmTDBRkYz9xaZ2ZoYoCw/edit?hl=en_US.
Thanks for digging deeper.
