From Manger to Mission

It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen, and good morning once again.

It's that time of year again to get ready for a new year.

And so we're passing from 2025 and we're moving into 2026,

and it's a great time to kind of reflect on what is taking place in 2025

and to anticipate what is going to happen in 2026.

And so maybe some of your highlights from 2025 have been some movies you've seen

maybe it's some music you've listened to,

maybe it's a vacation that you went on,

or maybe there are some lowlights to 2025 that you're just so glad you're moving on from.

Maybe you've got some bad news.

And as we turn to 2026, we move from reflection to anticipation,

maybe there's some things that you're looking forward to.

Maybe there's a movie coming out.

Maybe there's a show that's going to drop.

Maybe that you've got a book that you're wanting to read.

I've been given a book that I can't help.

I am really looking forward to cutting through it.

2026, what does it hold, right?

Maybe there's things that are going to happen where something's going to be painful in 2026.

Maybe it's a move.

Maybe it's someone who's ill right now.

It's going to go from bad to worse.

What I want to help you do this morning is just not reflect and anticipate 2026.

I want to help move your gaze Godward.

But I also need some new artwork in my office.

So here's the plan.

Everybody, I hope you have a bulletin.

The bulletin is this.

As you can see, I'm going to be using the whiteboard this morning.

I'm going to draw a diagram.

And there's two reasons why I'm drawing this diagram.

I need artwork in my office.

And so it's just kind of bland.

It's kind of blasé.

And so what I'm going to have you do is kind of follow my lead, write this diagram, and then give it to me afterwards.

I'm going to have you sign it and either leave it in your pew or hand it to me.

If you want to keep it, take a picture of it with your phone.

But if you're a child in the room, you're not going to King's Kids today, I need you to draw this picture with me and then give it to me.

Okay?

So this is very much I am in need of artwork in my office.

If you need a bulletin, would you raise your hand?

Or you need a pen?

Would you raise your hand?

We've got some people from our Connect team to help out with that.

Anybody?

Okay.

All right.

But the primary reason why we're doing this is to move your gaze towards your God and move from manger to mission.

And so this morning, the way I'm going to do that is going to highlight five distinct features of God's glory plan to make disciples of all the nations.

So five distinct features.

I'm going to draw them so that you can follow with me.

I hope they'll kind of sink in for you.

So here's what I'm going to be arguing.

The triune God is presently, actively at work in our world making disciples, gathering for him worshipers of his name.

He's doing that right now.

So here's the argument.

Here's what I'm trying to convince you of.

Let's join him.

Let's join him in what he is doing.

Let's do this together as a church.

Let's join our great triune God in his global work of gathering worshipers in his name.

And so with all that said, let's move to the first feature of this.

And it is, this is a, number one, this is a triune plan.

This big plan for the fullness of time is a triune plan.

So I'm going to ask, what's distinct feature number one?

And you're going to say triune.

What's distinct feature number one?

It's a triune plan.

So when we're talking about triune, we're talking about the triune God over all things.

Father, Son, Holy Spirit, three distinct persons, each are fully God, one God.

So three eternally existent people of the Godhead, each are fully God.

There is one God, there is one God, that is kind of the biblical idea of what the Trinity is.

And in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3 through 14, we have the Trinity.

Ephesians 1:3–14

In verse 3, you might not have seen it.

Blessed be the God and Father, first person of the Trinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ, second person of the Trinity,

who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

That spiritual blessing, it's probably better translated, spirit blessing.

Spirit given blessing.

So here in verse 3, we have a Trinity sighting.

But it doesn't stop there.

There's more.

And so if you look at verses 4 through 6,

even as He, God the Father, first person of the Trinity,

chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,

that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love,

He predestined to us.

So here we have God the Father who is ordaining our salvation,

choosing us and predestining us,

electing us.

It is His glorious work in our salvation.

So God the Father ordains our salvation from before the foundation of the world.

This is deep waters theologically.

It's a beauty to it.

It's His sovereign grace at work.

So in verses 4 through 6,

we see the first person of the Trinity getting,

kind of getting some air time.

And then in verses 7 through 12,

the focus shifts from God the Father to God the Son.

And in verses 7 through 12,

we see the Son accomplishing what God has ordained,

God the Father has ordained.

And so we have phrases like this.

In verse 7,

in Him,

the beloved,

verse 6,

we have redemption through His blood.

So it's the Son accomplishing what God the Father has ordained.

The word redemption,

by the way,

means to purchase someone from slavery at a price,

at a ransom price.

Do you remember what Jesus said in Mark 10, 45?

I came not to be served,

but to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many,

to buy sinners back from slavery to sin,

to set them free.

And so what we see in verses 7 through 12

is this time and again emphasis on what the Son has done.

And so Jesus has accomplished our salvation by ransoming us.

And so another way to talk about it is

those who are living in the domain of darkness

have been transferred into the kingdom of the beloved Son

through the redemption that's in His blood,

through the forgiveness that comes through Him.

And so the Son has accomplished what God the Father has ordained.

And then in verses 13 through 14,

the focus shifts to the Holy Spirit.

And so in verses 13 and 14,

we see in Him you also,

when you heard the word of the truth,

the gospel of your salvation,

and believed in Him,

you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

who is the guarantee of our inheritance

until we acquire possession of it.

Now there is a little bit of a risk

when you hear the word sealed by the Holy Spirit,

you start thinking like silicone caulk

and kind of doing kind of window work

or kind of sealing your kitchen sink

onto your kind of cabinet top.

That's not the kind of sealing we're talking about.

What we're talking about is a signet ring sealing

from God Himself.

The Holy Spirit is sealing you,

marking you as belonging to the triune God.

You're His.

And so it's a guarantee

that we are His possession,

that we belong to Him.

And that guarantees not only who we belong to,

but it guarantees the inheritance to come.

And that's the work of the Holy Spirit.

So what the Holy Spirit is doing,

the Holy Spirit is applying

the finished work of Christ,

that Christ accomplished,

to us in order to fulfill

what God His Father has ordained.

So it is a whole kind of triune working of salvation.

This plan, it's a triune plan.

You see it?

Is there a little amen?

Okay.

Who likes jazz?

All right.

Imagine a jazz trio.

Joodle-le-peep-ba-peep.

A saxophonist like Ryan Cook's.

Wee-da-peep-beep.

Wee-da-peep-beep.

And then you have a guy on the drums.

T-t-t-pa-te-te-te-peep-erp.

And then you have a guy on the bass.

B-ga-jig-a-de-ba-ga-jig-a-doo.

And so these three musicians

are working together,

bringing about jazz music.

The thing about jazz music is it's spontaneous.

The working of the triune God

is a plan that was established

before the foundation of the world.

And they are working together in harmony

in order to bring about

the rescuing of sinners

for the glory of God.

It is music to our souls.

This is the good news.

This is gospel good.

So we start with this big plan of God, right?

This God's plan for the fullness of time.

And the first thing you need to do,

it's a triune plan.

All right.

Second.

Second.

I need you to turn now.

Oh, I should have told you this.

I'm sorry to do this to you.

You're going to want to make sure

this is sideways.

Yes.

So I don't want you to, like,

cross out the Trinity in a bad way.

But think about this

as the triune God up here.

And now I'm going to have you

put an arrow like this.

You want to leave room on either side.

Okay?

So the second feature

is that this is a big plan.

And do a big arrow like that.

Sorry about messing up your diagram.

Now when I draw a picture like that

and say it's a big plan,

you say how big is it?

It's a big plan.

It's a God-sized big plan.

It's not a Mike-sized big plan.

It's a God-sized big plan.

This is a big plan.

And it's big in two ways.

Scope of it, it's all time.

And the scale of it is all things.

So it's scope and scale big.

Bigger than you, bigger than me.

And let me just show you

where I find that in Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

It's in verse 10.

Nine, making known to us

the mystery of his will

according to his purpose

which he set forth in Christ

as a plan for the fullness of time.

All of time.

To unite all things in him.

In Christ.

Things in heaven and things on earth.

So this is a big plan.

And it's a big plan

in terms of scope and scale.

The fullness of time.

When you think of your time

like I was born in 1991.

It's a joke.

I was born in 71.

And I have a start date.

God and his plan

doesn't have a start date.

It is,

this plan is from eternity to eternity.

It's a big plan.

And it begins and ends with God.

And this plan,

it encapsulates all of human history.

And you can sum up human history

in three words.

Creation,

fall,

redemption,

consummation.

When God brings everything together

in the end.

Creation,

fall,

redemption,

consummation.

God's plan for the fullness of time

captures it all.

And so the whole Bible

captures God's plan

for the fullness of time

from Genesis to Revelation.

And so God's plan

to gather disciples for himself

for the glory of his name,

it's a big plan.

All time.

Eternity past,

eternity future,

creation,

fall,

redemption,

consummation.

And the scale of it

involves all things.

In heaven and on earth,

God has a plan

for all time

to unite all things.

That includes

all eight plus billion people

on the earth right now.

And God will be glorified

when a number

of those eight billion people

are worshiping him

for eternity.

And then he will also

be glorified

when a portion

of that eight billion people

on the planet right now

are under his torment,

under his wrath

for eternity.

God will be glorified

regardless.

He'll be exalted.

He'll be praised.

He'll be honored.

His justice will prevail.

And this idea

of uniting all things

in his name,

there's this sense

of bringing it together.

There being this sense

of reconciliation.

There being this sense

of full and final

and forever shalom.

Our relationship with God

and with ourselves

and each other

and with all of creation.

This plan ultimately

is aimed at bringing shalom

as far as the curse is found.

It's to unite all things

in him.

Now, when you think about

big plans for your life,

you might be thinking

marriage.

Our marriages

typically span decades.

You might be thinking

about raising children

because raising children

isn't just about 18 years.

We all,

if you're beyond that,

you know that.

And then there's

grandchildren, right?

Maybe you're thinking

about your career.

Your career will span decades.

Maybe you're thinking

about your retirement.

So when you hit that,

you know,

68, 70,

70-something mark,

you're able to say,

you know what,

we were saving

for the last 50 years

and we were just

putting away things

year after year after year

and over those five decades,

we just kind of built,

built, built our nest egg

and maybe you're

on the other side of it

in your retirement right now

and you're kind of like,

we're benefiting

from that saving

or you're like,

I'm doing my best

to catch up right now

or maybe you're like,

I'm not even thinking

about my retirement right now.

But what we can do

is we can frame our lives

around our retirements

but you got to understand

that's just a drop

in the bucket

compared to God's eternal plan

for the fullness of time.

It starts to beg the question,

who are you living for?

Are you living for your 70 to 80 years

or are you living in light

of eternity,

God's plan for the fullness of time?

Are you living in light

of not just the scope of all things

but the scale of all things?

Is that in your mindset?

And so what we're talking about here

is God's big plan

and it's way bigger than any of us.

We'll live 70, 80 years, maybe.

This plan has been happening,

unfolding before us

and it'll unfold after us.

Whose plan are you living for?

Whose plan is central

to your thinking

and organizing your life around?

So this is a big plan.

So, so far,

this plan of God

for the fullness of time

to gather from self-worshippers

for the glory of His name,

we've learned it's triune,

Father, Son, Holy Spirit,

and we learned

it is a big plan,

bigger than any one of us.

And that should cause us

to step back a little bit

and say,

whoa,

I'm not that big.

This is God-sized big,

not Mike-sized big,

not fill in your name

in the blank big.

It's bigger than you.

Okay,

the third distinctive feature

right here.

In fact,

this third distinctive feature

is so significant,

I think there are three people

in the room

who have this particular symbol

tattooed on their bodies.

Okay, so here it is.

This is a Christocentric plan.

In the middle of this plan

is Jesus.

So you see the J,

do you see the cross?

And this little arrow

is not a roof,

it points to the resurrection

of Jesus Christ.

So Jesus Christ,

crucified and raised.

This is a Christocentric,

gospel-centered plan

for the fullness of time.

We also know that Jesus,

we saw this in John 1,

1 through 3,

is the creator of all things.

And we also know that

in Matthew 25,

as well as in Revelation chapter 20,

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

it's Jesus who's going to be

the judge of all things.

And so this is a Christocentric plan.

And what I love about this

is how it gets carried out

in this passage

in Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

It's a triune plan, yes,

but the focus is on Jesus.

Right now we are living

between the first advent of Jesus

and the second advent of Jesus.

We're living in between

here and here,

if you will.

in terms of a linear timeline.

In verse 7,

we read,

in Him,

Jesus,

we have redemption

through His,

Jesus,

Jesus' blood,

according to the riches

of His grace.

And if you keep going down,

you'll see

Him, Him, Him, Him,

Him, Him, Him, Him, Him,

Him, Him, Him, Him, Him, Him.

In verses 3, 4, and 5,

there's a lot of hymns.

Even as He chose us in Him

before the foundation of the world.

In love,

He predestined us for adoption

to Himself as sons

through Jesus Christ,

according to the purpose

of His will,

to the praise of His glory

of grace,

which He has blessed us

in the beloved,

in Him,

which He lavished upon us.

Verse 8,

in all wisdom and light,

making known to us

the mystery of His will,

according to His purpose,

which He sent forth in Christ

in a plan for the fullness of time

to unite all things in Him,

Jesus Christ,

to unite all things in Him.

In Him,

we have obtained an inheritance.

That's 11.

That's Jesus' hymn.

So this is just full

of references to Jesus.

7, 3, 4, and 5,

there's a number of them.

Verse 9, verse 10,

verse 11, verse 12,

verse 13,

in Him, in Him, in Him, in Him.

So this redemption,

that this whole plan is about

is accomplished

through Jesus Christ,

through His death

and through His resurrection.

Jesus is the hero

of God's story

for the fullness of time.

In Luke 24,

after Jesus has been raised

from the dead,

He appears to two different groups

of His disciples.

And on both occasions,

it's really interesting

what He tells them.

He tells both of them,

both sets, both situations,

that His coming,

that His death

and His resurrection,

they were in the fulfillment

of these full

and frequent

Old Testament passages

anticipating

the Messiah to come.

That what He was saying

is that the Old Testament

was pointing to Him

in very specific,

unique,

and frequent ways,

and not just to Him,

to His death

and His resurrection.

And so what Jesus says

in Luke 24

is a Christocentric

understanding

of the Old Testament.

that the Old Testament,

many very unique

and frequent ways

are pointing to Him.

And so what this means

is that our Bibles,

all of it,

is some way,

somehow,

pointing to Jesus Christ

because He is

the center of God's plan

for the fullness of time,

His plan of salvation.

He's the hero

of God's story.

When we read in 10,

as a plan for the fullness

of time to unite

all things in Him,

it's the Christ,

Jesus,

who is the shalom maker

on earth.

He's the unifier

of all things.

He brings it all together.

God's plan

of salvation

centers on the person

and work of Jesus Christ

to accomplish it.

That's why we call it

Christocentric.

Christ-centered.

Jesus is the controlling center,

of God's plan

for the fullness of time.

That's why He becomes

our controlling center

when we become Christians,

when we become followers

of Him.

This is good news.

This is what happens.

This is what's been happening,

whether you've been conscious

of it or not.

God has this plan

for the fullness of time,

and Jesus is at the center of it.

You know,

in pretty much

every organization,

you think about

a football team,

football teams have quarterbacks,

orchestras have a lead chair,

a first chair,

theater has,

they have a lead actor

or actress,

a business has a CEO,

and so all of these organizations,

you have a leader.

And then we,

we as a culture,

we love our superheroes,

don't we?

We love Superman,

Batman,

and Wonder Woman.

I'm personally a big Aquaman fan.

We love our superheroes.

There's a reason why

we have this thing in us

for a perfect human being

to save us.

And Jesus is better

than any superhero.

He is the hero of heroes

because he's 100% man,

100% God,

and he has never sinned.

He has no weaknesses.

There's no kryptonite for Jesus.

He is all glorious

and all powerful.

He is the hero,

the center of God's plan

for the fullness of time.

This is a Christocentric plan.

So it's a big plan.

It's Christocentric.

Okay, everybody,

how are you doing

on your diagram?

So far, so good?

All right.

Do I have some good artwork

coming from my office?

I hope so.

Okay.

Okay, so we've moved this way.

This Christocentric plan,

what it does is

it changes people.

And so the fourth

distinctive feature

is that this is

a disciple-making plan.

It's a people-moving plan.

It's a Matthew 16, 18

church-building plan

in the words of Jesus.

And so it's moving people

from one domain

into another domain.

It's a movement

from eternity to eternity.

And so let me try

to illustrate that for you.

I'm grounding this,

by the way,

in a word.

It's the word we

in verse three.

Blessed be the God

and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ

who has blessed us,

it's actually the word us,

in Christ

with every spiritual blessing

in the heavenly places.

You see,

we who are blessed

in Christ

were once

under God's curse.

and that dramatically

changed because of

what Jesus has done.

So here's the disciple-making,

people-moving plan.

Before,

we became aware

of who Jesus is

and what he's done for us.

We are living

in the DOD,

not the Department of Defense,

the domain of darkness,

Colossians 1, 13.

Okay?

And we were running.

This is very powerful

artistry right here.

We were running

not to God

but away from him.

And the Bible describes this

as living in darkness.

We were,

Ephesians 2,

1 through 3,

we were dead

in our trespasses

and sins.

We were following

the prince of the power

of the air.

We were children of wrath

just like everybody else.

We were dead

in our sins.

We had no desire

to live for God.

In fact,

before you became

a Christian,

if you wanted God,

it was usually

because you were trying

to use God

for yourself.

And so we were all living

in the domain

of darkness

and we were dead

in our sins.

We were,

at this point,

underneath the wrath

of the triune God

justly.

And then something happened.

And so,

this disciple making

is a,

not bigger than God.

God is bigger than this.

And what God does

is he brings people

from the domain

of darkness.

He calls them to himself

through Christ,

Holy Spirit drawing them,

and he flips them.

He repose them.

He transforms them.

He gives them new life.

And now,

instead of living

apart from God

and running away from him,

God in his grace

calls us to him

through Christ,

Christ,

and because of Christ's

finished work,

he radically changes us

from within.

He gives us new hearts

that actually want

to live for God now.

And he makes us,

he gives us new life.

And it's by believing

in the person and work

of Jesus Christ.

That's the only way

you go from living

in darkness

to being brought

into the kingdom

of the beloved son.

It's simply by trusting

in the person and work

of Jesus Christ.

That's all that it is.

It's a gift.

You don't work for it.

You can't.

It's by faith.

And the moment that happens,

you're a new creation.

You've been changed.

You've been flipped.

Now,

in another kind of presentation

I do,

I talk about this

as the Copernican revolution

of the soul.

We were once believers

like in the old days

when people thought

that instead of the earth

orbiting the sun,

people thought the sun

orbited the earth.

It was a geocentric view

of the solar system.

But Copernicus helped us

realize that we live

in a heliocentric solar system,

that the earth actually

orbits the sun.

And what happens here is

when we're living this way,

we think that all things

orbit us,

that we're the center

of all things.

But praise be to God,

he gives us new eyes

and a new heart.

And now,

we have Jesus Christ

as the controlling center

of our lives.

And so,

this is what this means.

This is the part

of the illustration

I'm trying to develop

more for us.

And so,

here's what happens.

On this side of Jesus,

someone is living

with Jesus

as the controlling center

of their life.

So,

they're in Jesus' orbit now.

Jesus has always been

at the center.

It's just now that they are

actually functionally

trying to live that out.

Now,

when you have multiple people

living with Jesus

at the center

of their lives,

in the same time,

in the same place,

under the same leadership,

you've got a church.

So,

we are a people

with Jesus

as the controlling center

because we've been

flipped by Jesus.

We've been repoed

by Jesus

and placed together

by the living God.

I've been saying repo a lot.

Do you know

what a repo man is?

A repo man is someone

who's hired by a bank.

Let's say that

this has never happened

in the room,

I'm sure.

You fall behind

on your payments

for your car.

A repo man,

what he does is

he actually steals back

the car

because it belongs

to the bank.

You know,

you default

on your payments

and you get reclaimed

by the bank

and the bank

sends out the repo man.

Jesus is the great repo man.

You defaulted on God,

giving him the glory

that he deserved.

And so God,

in his love for you,

wanted you to be in,

right relationship

with him.

So he sent Jesus

to steal you back

to himself

out of his love

for you.

You got repoed.

If you're a Christian

in the room,

you got repoed.

Repoed by the risen

and reigning Christ.

And so now we live

for him

and we don't do

that individually.

We do that as a church

and we do that together,

together following

our repo man,

Jesus.

And so what we have here,

this people moving plan

is part of God's plan

for the fullness of time.

We are making disciples.

That's why Jesus commands us

to go make disciples

in Matthew 28.

It's not just an original idea.

It's him making a command

because this has been

God's plan all along

to go make disciples

of all nations,

to gather worshipers

for yourself.

So the question becomes,

are you aware of the plan?

Are you joining

in what God is doing

in moving people

from the domain of darkness

into the kingdom

of the beloved son?

Now this process here

is also called sanctification

of growing in Christlikeness

and we're all helping

each other do that.

But this is part

of discipleship.

This is all part

of following Jesus.

How are you presently

participating

in this aspect

of God's plan?

Right now,

how are you

participating

in moving people

towards Jesus?

It's a good question

to ask,

to reflect on,

and then to anticipate

for 2026.

So we've covered

four of the five.

Will you repeat after me?

Distinct feature number one

is a triune plan.

Distinct feature number two,

it's a big plan.

Number three,

it's a Christocentric plan.

Number four is a disciple-making plan.

And number five,

and this tends to be my favorite,

it's a glory plan.

You know how we were singing Gloria

just a little bit ago?

It's a glory plan.

This is really cool

in this passage.

Look at verse six.

To the praise of His glorious grace.

To the praise of God the Father,

the first person of the Trinity,

for ordaining salvation,

praise to His glorious grace.

You see the word glorious?

Now,

look at verse 12.

After talking about

the work of Jesus,

the second person of the Trinity,

so that we who are the first

to hope in Christ

might be to the praise

of His glory.

There's that word glory again,

but this time,

after referencing

the work of the second person

of the Trinity.

And then,

after referencing the work

of the third person

of the Trinity,

in verse 14,

to the praise of His glory.

Glory.

Glory.

Glory.

Glory is a wonderful word

in your Bible.

The Greek word is doxa,

D-O-X-A.

And the Hebrew word is kabod.

Just say it.

Kabod.

Doesn't it come up?

He said,

Kabod.

Now,

the word kabod

actually has,

as its root,

it means heavy.

It means weighty.

And so,

to give God

His kabod,

His weight,

is to give Him glory.

It's to give Him worship.

It's to recognize

who He is

and what He's doing.

It's to see His

kind of like

accumulative

kind of weight

and majesty

across all of who He is.

John Piper,

in his book,

Providence,

talks about

God's glory

as not a distinct feature

of His character,

but it is the

accumulative

kind of

effect

of all

of His

perfections

when they are

seen and valued.

It's when you

start to understand

that God is big

and He is

wonderful

and you start

understanding

these different

kind of

perfections

or characteristics

of God

and how He has

been acting

in human history

and in your history.

when you start

understanding

who God is

and what He's doing

and He's greater

than you,

you want to give Him

kabod.

You want to give Him

doxa.

You want to give Him

glory.

And when that glory

gets visibly

manifested,

it's spectacular.

It can be blinding.

It's about glory.

This plan

is a glory plan.

It's about making

worshipers.

The Westminster

Catechism

says it this way,

the chief end

of man

is to glorify

God

and enjoy

Him

forever.

Not to us,

O Lord,

not to us,

but to Your name

give kabod,

give glory

because of Your

steadfast love

and faithfulness.

We're seeing

God's glory a lot.

There's a reason

for that

because He is

majestic

and He is

wonderful.

This plan

for the fullness

of time

through Christ

delivers image

bearers who

are in the domain

of darkness

and transfers

them into the

kingdom of the

beloved Son

and it

results

in God's glory.

So let me try

to illustrate it

this way for you.

when you have

people who are

spiritually dead

made spiritually

alive,

their eternities

change,

you're populating.

You're populating

heaven

with worshipers.

believers.

And so right

now,

we know this

from Revelation

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7,

all around

God's throne,

you have

myriads of

people from

every tribe,

tongue,

and nation

who are giving

praise and glory

to our God.

They're worshiping

Him.

They're making

much of Him.

And so,

you know,

it all starts,

and we don't

wait to start

singing to God

until glory.

We're worshiping

Him now,

right?

We're delighting

in things that

are very different

than when we were

living in the

domain of darkness

because our hearts

have been changed.

That's what the

gospel does.

It radically

changes our hearts.

It radically

changes us.

God gets the

glory for what

He's been doing

in us.

You know,

whenever you

have an

organization,

a team,

a band,

you have

objectives.

You're trying

to accomplish

something.

There's an aim.

There is a goal.

There's a telos,

a reason for

your being.

And this is our

reason for our

being.

God's glory,

His worship,

His praise.

I was telling

someone yesterday

on the phone

that worship

actually comes from

an old English word

that means

worth-ship,

giving God

His weight,

giving Him His

due,

helping people

see Him.

Imagine this.

Has anybody

been on a night

flight?

Yeah,

you're flying over

the United States

at night.

It's a lot of fun

because you're

looking out the

window and you

are going through

just big sections

of darkness

darkness and then

you hit this

concentrated,

brilliant light.

It's a city of

some sort.

And big cities

shine real bright.

Think of that

as the worship

lens with which

God sees the

world.

Not in terms of

kind of night

and day,

but in terms of

spiritually alive

or spiritually dead,

people who are

giving God

worship or not.

When God looks

down on this

planet,

He is seeing

the brightness,

the light of

those He's made

alive in worshiping

Him among this

darkness of dead.

People who are

worshiping things

other than Him.

And so what God

is doing is He's

radically changing

people's hearts

through the gospel

to make worshipers

for His name.

And what it sounds

like is that,

man, God is very

self-centered.

And He is.

And He has every

right to be

because He's God.

We get to give

Him the glory

that's due His

name.

One of my

favorite quotes,

this is probably

my favorite quote

on why there's

mission is by

John Piper.

And he says,

missions exists

because the

worship of God

does not.

It's a beautiful

way to think

about this.

And so the idea

here is we

mobilize and we

reach out to

our neighbors and

friends and families

ultimately for the

worship of God,

for the glory of

His name,

for populating

the heavenlies

with worshipers.

It's a wonder.

It's a wonder.

God's plan for the

fullness of time

is a glory plan.

Okay.

Triune, big,

Christocentric,

disciple-making,

glory.

These are the five

distinct features of

God's plan for the

fullness of time.

It moves us from

manger to mission.

And so just a few

questions for you

and then we'll wrap

it up.

Question number one.

Looking back on

2025,

what has God

personally done in

your life that you

can thank Him for?

What has God done

in your life in 2025

that you can thank

Him for?

I would say,

take some time today.

Go for a walk.

And if you're having

a hard time thinking

about things,

ask God to show you.

God, how have you

worked in my life

this past year?

And then when you

are shown that,

give Him thanks for

that.

So this exercise is

one towards

thankfulness to God.

God, thank you so

much for getting me

through that hard time.

Thank you so much,

God, for showing me

that sin in my life

and helping me

take a step to

become more like

Jesus.

Thank you, God,

for my friends.

Thank you, God,

for the support.

Thank you for my

church.

Thank you for saving

this person.

So there's so much

that we can be

thankful for.

So take some time

to ask the question,

God, what have you

done for me this

past year?

So that's reflection.

Question number two.

This is a prayerful

question.

Looking forward

into 2026,

here's what you pray.

God, would you

change me?

No qualifications,

no limits,

no reservations,

no conditions.

Would you change me?

Would you conform me

to the image of Jesus?

Would you make me

holy as he is holy?

Would you do a work

in me in 2026

that I can look back

on?

If you don't return,

I can look back on

and say, all glory be

to your name.

Thank you for doing

this in my life.

God, would you do

this work in me?

Looking forward

to 2026,

make it a glory prayer.

God, help me to bring

glory to you

through a changed life.

And question number

three is this.

It's another

prayerful question.

Where are you

working, God,

that you would

have me join you in?

Where are you

working that I can

join you,

that I can step in

and be a part

of what you're doing?

If you're married,

the answer starts here.

God, what are you

doing in my,

the question is,

what are you doing

in my spouse's life

and how can I join you

in what you're doing

in my spouse's life?

Or your parent,

God, in each of your

children, God,

what are you doing

in this child's life

and how can I join you

in what you're doing

in his or her life?

These are the questions.

God, what are you

doing in my midst,

in my orbit,

that I can be part

of what you are doing?

If you're a student

in the room,

you're middle school

and you're in high school,

here's a question to ask.

Think about your friends.

They're extremely

important to you.

God, what are you doing

in my friend's life

and how can I join you

in what you're doing

in them?

It changes the way

you think about

your friendships.

How can I be a part

of what you're doing

in my friends?

Our church,

God, what are you doing

in and through our church

and how can I be

a part of that?

God, I want to join

in what you are doing.

So, we end 2025

and we start 2026

with a Godward gaze.

God has a plan

for the fullness of time

to make disciples of Jesus.

It's a glory plan.

Now, here's what

I'd like you to do.

That little diagram

you just did,

would you sign it?

Date it?

And after we're wrapped up,

either bring it to me

or just put it in your pew.

We'll collect it

and I'll hang them

this week in my office

because I need artwork.

But we all also need

to have our gaze renewed

from manger to mission

and it is a glorious mission.

I mean, that's why

Jesus went to the manger.

God, I'm going to pray

so that you hang on a cross

so that he would gather

worshipers for his name

for eternity.

Let's pray together.

God in heaven,

thank you so much

for giving us eyes

to see this plan.

We are delighted

to be part of what

you are doing.

God, we confess this morning

that you don't exist

for us.

We exist for you

and we want to bring you

honor and glory

in all that we do.

God, we don't know

what you have for us

in 2026,

but we would ask

that you would

continue to

make your presence

known to us,

that you would grow us,

that you would grow us

individually,

make us more like Jesus

and you'd grow us

numerically.

Not for numbers,

but for worshipers,

that you would get

all praise and glory

and honor.

God, would you

fill us

with your spirit

that we would make

much of Jesus

in all that we do

for the glory

of your name.

Amen.

Amen.