Breathe His First Breath // This Is Christmas

Welcome to the Movement Church Podcast. We want you to know that God is

for you, and so are we. You're about to hear a sermon from

one of our weekend services in Palmer Lake, Colorado. We pray that your

faith is provoked, your mind is renewed, and your heart is awakened as

you engage the Word of God. Stay tuned. That's the message for ways

to get connected with us. God bless you. Thanks for tuning in.

Jesus changed every weeking, He's still changing everything, and that's why Christmas is

so special. Our souls feel a little deeper. People far from God him

calling them close. It's the one time every year when everybody everywhere, across

the whole world slows down and looks up. Look up. This is Christmas.

It's more than It's more than a field. It's more than decorations.

It's more than the gifts we exchange. It's more than family gatherings. It's

more than office parties. What's an office party? Everybody knows this is Christmas.

It's the moment every year when we remember together. But our God doesn't

just make common sense. He keeps them this is Christmas. This is Christmas.

This is Christmas. This is Christmas, this is Christmas, This is

Christmas, this is Christmas, this is Christmas, this is Christmas, this

is Christmas. Hey, good job, he's a skin all right, now

we need it is Christmas, this is Christmas, this is Christmas. One

more time. Let's give it up for our kids. Wasn't that amazing?

Mmm? I've watched it like ten times. It still makes me cry.

This is Christmas. Merry Christmas. Welcome to the first ever movement Church Christmas

Eve Service. Excited to have you here, So excited that you guys made

it out. Uh, the weather tried to stop us, but you would

not be stopped. I'm so pumped that you're with us today. We are

working through this Christmas series where we're talking through this idea called this is Christmas.

And just so you know, moms and dads, this is a family

service. We're gonna have kids in the room. I will not be stopped

by sounds of children today, So don't be bothered by them, and I

won't either. Okay. Can we all be okay with that? Okay?

Good? All right? So the first week of this series, I told

you about the song we sang it earlier. Today, I wrote this song

a few years back called This Is Christmas, and I wrote it from the

perspective of thinking about the idea that one time every year, everybody across the

world seems to be comfortable with the concept of Christianity. How do I know

this because we allow for these songs, these Christmas songs, to be played

at places like Starbucks and Target and all throughout the speakers that we're walking through.

In these secular environments, we're hearing songs like Oh Holy Night, Silent

Night, and Oh Come let Us Adore Him. We're hearing these songs in

these secular environments. And why is it that at Christmas we're comfortable for one

time a year allowing this to happen. Why do we allow the Christian message

to permeate? I think it's more than just the songs. It's more than

just the season. It's the message of hope that we all, somewhere deep

inside of us resonate with. This is Christmas. And so we've been sort

of interrogating this song verse by verse. Week one, we interrogated the line

when the fear that divides is a quieted voice, We talked about Mary and

Joseph and the fear that they confronted in allowing the Lord to work through them.

Last week we talked about when the tired and the herding are lifting their

heads. And I would just say to you, if you're here today and

you would say that this Christmas season, that you're walking into it, and

you say, that's me. I'm the tired and I'm the hurting. I'm

walking into Christmas morning tomorrow morning, going, men, this was a really

tough year. I would encourage you, like the kid said, look up,

look up today, Look up today, and see a God who sees

you, who loves you, and who has good for you Today. Amen.

Can the church say Amen? When the tired and the herting are lifting

their heads? This is Christmas. This is more than a season. It's

more than a feeling. It's more than the songs we adore. It's the

reason, it's the meaning. We're welcoming Jesus the Lord. And so today

we're gonna let the end. We're gonna end the series with the beginning of

Christian faith. I got to the end of the song and I realized I

hadn't really yet talked about the whole purpose of the Christmas season. I had

written all about this sort of idea of what happens at Christmas. But I

hadn't talked yet about what happened at Christmas, the first Christmas. And so

that little last verse at the end of the song that serves kind of as

an epilogue to the song is really the whole core of what Christmas is all

about. It says, when the timing was right and the moment had come,

when the promises made would be promises kept, When the essence of God

would appear flesh and blood, when the light of the world came to breathe

his first breath. This is Christmas, and that's what we're going to talk

about today, when the light of the world came to breathe his first breath.

So I think a lot about opening lines. Maya was talking to me

earlier this morning. He said that very often before church he can tell when

he sees this look on my face that I'm thinking, I'm in like game

mode. I'm thinking about, you know, what I'm going to do when

I get up here and preach, and I am I'm usually often thinking about

the first five to seven minutes of my sermon, because to me, once

I get past the first five to seven minutes. The rest of it is

just like, Holy Spirit, take me away, Like that's kind of how

it feels. But these first five or seven minutes of a sermon are very

important. I don't know if you have ever noticed, but the first five

or seven minutes of a movie, of a book, of a TV show,

the first really, the first line of a movie can be something that

really draws you in. I would quiz you and ask you some of this.

I looked this up online. What are some of the most famous first

lines in both literary and cinematic history? And I want to see if you

guys will recognize some of these? Are you ready for a quiz? On

Christmas Eve? Everybody good, let's tell you. It was the age of

wisdom. It was the age of foolishness. Anybody know what this is?

Say it loud if you know it, my man? Okay, that's right.

It is the Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. My man,

that's good. That's good. Okay. How about this one. Let's see,

and if you know this one you might be a nerd. Let's see,

the world has changed. I feel it in the water, I feel

it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once

was is lost for none. Now live, we'll remember it. This is

both a movie and a book, Lord of the Rings, Which one?

Which one? Okay? Nope, it's Fellowship of the Rings. Fellowship of

the Rings. Okay, so you got half credit for that. This happens

to be my second favorite movie of all time. So if you get it,

we are one. Okay. This one says, I'm thirty six years

old. I love my family, I love baseball, and I'm about to

become a farmer. But until I heard the voice, I'd never done a

crazy thing in my whole life. Build of dreams. That's right, If

you build it, Kevin Costner will come. Okay, how about an easy

one? How about an easy one. Hello, my name's Forrest, Forrest

Gump. You want a chocolate? That's Forrest Gump. That's the first line

of Forrest Gump. How about this one? Now, this will let you

know if you're a gen xer. The key to faking out the parents is

the clammy hand. This is the first line of a famous movie. It's

a Okay, you already know it. It's a good nonspecific symptom. I'm

a big believer in it. That's right. It's Ferrist Bueller's day off,

and it's a good tip for you teenagers. Okay, how about this one?

Uh? This this should be if you are literary. Okay. Uh.

It's a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of good fortune

must be in weight of a wife. What sorry, in want of a

wife? Excuse me? That does that help you to know it better?

Anybody who knows it? Who knows it? Huh, Pride and prejudice,

way to go. That's right, Pride and prejudice. All right. And

here's the last one. Does anyone know this one? Ooh Pennsylvania? Anybody

know this one? Ooh Pennsylvania. But I know what this one's from.

No, it's not die hard. Anybody know what if I said, like

what if I said, O Pennsylvania? Does that help you? Oh Pennsylvania?

Anybody know that one? Okay? Does it help you if I if

I were to say it like this, oh Pennsylvania. That's right. When

Justice Fight was eight years old, he came to me and he said,

Dad, I just have one question for you. I don't understand what does

Pennsylvania have to do with the jungle, and I said, I really don't

know, son, what are you telling me? He said, well,

why were they singing about Pennsylvania. I don't get it. This is the

true story. And I said, I really, he goes, he goes.

He said, oh, Pennsylvania. And I've never forgotten it. So

that is, of course from the lion King. Yes, the lion the

lion King. My guy's not working the lion king. So there it is,

all right. So opening lines are really important. And every Christmas,

when I get to this time of year and my responsibility is to preach the

Christmas sermon, I think about the first two or three chapters of the Gospels,

because that's where we get the story of the birth of Jesus Christ.

That's what we're supposed to talk about on Christmas Eve, right, the birth

of Jesus Christ. But what's interesting is that although all the Gospels ended up

in the same place, they all four of the Gospels end up with Jesus

Christ dying on a cross for your sins and for my sins, and resurrecting

from the grave for your and my sins, and ascending into heaven and promising

that one day he was going to come back for us. Although all four

of the gospels end up there, none of them start in the same place.

None of them start there. Matthew starts with this long list of genealogy,

and if it were a Netflix TV show, you'd all press skip intro.

Every one of you would press skip intro on it. Mark starts right

away into the adult life of the ministry of Jesus and Luke. He spends

the first chapter of the Book of Luke talking to a guy named Theopolis.

His whole book is written to one person. It wasn't even written to us.

It was written to a guy named Theopolis. The only person who has

this incredible large view of the story of Jesus that's broader than the Birth of

Jesus is the Gospel of John. And so that's what we're going to discuss

today, the Gospel of John. Because the Gospel of John starts with creation,

not just the Jerusalem, not just the Bethlehem, as our little guy

said, And it's in the story, not just the moment with the barn

and the angels and the farm animals. But John starts with Jesus all the

way back in the beginning. And I think this is fascinating. So the

story of Christmas is actually the story of creation, and that's what we're going

to talk about today. The story of Christmas is actually the story of creation,

when the light of the world came to breathe his first breath. So

look at this. This is going to be In John chapter one, it

says this, in the beginning was the Word, and the word was with

God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made.

That was made in him was life, and the life was the light

of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not

overcome it. Okay, So here's what John's saying. He's saying, something

new has happened this Manger scene. Something new has happened. But it's not

a new story. The Old Testament is still part of the New Testament.

It's one large story. It's the same story that God's been writing since the

beginning of time. It's the story of a God who sent his son to

rescue his people, a God who has been from the beginning of time doing

whatever it took to reunite you and me with him. It's the same story.

And so the question we're going to ask today, and I'm gonna give

you four answers to this question, is how does Christmas connect to creation?

How does Christmas connect to creation? I want you to hear this. This

is from Christianity today. This is an awesome paragraph about the book of the

Gospel of John. It says, this, could there be a more profound

opening to a book than the one to John's Gospel? One could search the

great ideas of mankind, and probe the ponderings of the philosophers and the poetry

of the artist, and find no idea higher than God, nor a more

concise yet expressive statement about Him than the one John makes at the beginning of

his Gospel. He says, It's like a bomb of meaning that goes off

without warning, irrupting suddenly, and the sublime and inexpressible, the infinite and

unsearchable, the personal and ineffable reality of God comes exploding onto the consciousness of

John's audience in the words of John one one through five. Here John proclaims,

listen to this the Word as God through whom the world was made,

in whom is life, and who is unquenchable light. Another writer said that

it's almost as if John is holding up a beautiful diamond before an audience and

he says, I want you to look at the clarity of the diamond.

I want you to see its beauty. And right when you think you've got

a clear understanding of the gorgeousness of this diamond, he just turns it in

the light and you see a different side of this stone. That makes you

understand that you haven't seen anything yet. That's kind of what God, That's

kind of what John is doing with the Gospel of John. He's saying,

no, no, no, He's saying, what I want you to understand

is in the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God.

So he's plural from the beginning, and the word was God. So the

word was with God. The word was God. So just kind of just

take a moment, puff puff, give, just have a moment and just

think about that for a second. Okay, he was in the beginning with

God. All things were made through him, and without him was not.

Anything that was made In him was life, and the life was the light

of man. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not

overcome it. This is a huge, beautiful, gorgeous diamond. And as

you keep turning this diamond, I promise you theologians twice my size have tried

to make sense of this passage. And we could preach hours and hours on

this passage alone, and it would blow your mind to think about all that

is revealed in this passage. But the point is that in the beginning,

in the beginning, Jesus was God. And so here's the question, how

does Christmas connect to creation? Here's what I want you to understand is that

Jesus always was the way, I think we can get it into our minds

that there was God and then there was Jesus. There was God, and

then there's Christmas, and now there's Jesus. And what you need to understand

is that is that Jesus always was. He was before the beginning, in

the beginning, and he is now. He always was the way. One

of the most absolutely divisive things that Jesus ever said was this right here.

He said it in John fourteen. He said, I Jesus Christ am the

Way, the Truth and the life. No one, how many, no

one comes to the Father except through me. Now here's what he didn't say

i am away, a truth, a life. I'm one of the way

people find their way to the Father. That's in the NIYB. That's in

the not in Yo Bible. Okay, he didn't say that. He didn't

say I'm away, I'm a truth, I'm a life. He said I'm

the way, the Truth, the life. No one comes to the Father

except through me. Later it says God so loved the world that he gave

his only begotten son. And that word at Christmas, begotten is so important.

I think we just skip right past that word because we don't really know

what it means, but it's such an important word for us at Christmas.

Here's what begoden means. It's real simple, generated by pro creation. I'm

trying to keep it super PG in this audience. Okay, generated by pro

creation. Here's what that means. That Jesus is the only person who has

ever lived on the planet Earth that can say rightfully that he is the son

of God. He is the only begotten son of God. You and I

are sons and daughters of God because we were adopted by him. Jesus is

the son of God. God didn't adopt Jesus. Jesus is the only begotten

son of God. So when he says God so loved the world that he

gave his only begotten son, that's a big statement. So how does Christmas

connect to creation? Not only is Jesus the only begotten son of God,

not only is Jesus the Way, the Truth, and the life, but

Jesus always was the way. He always was the way. Now look at

what he says next, because he's gonna clarify something that's really coing. Portods

like he wore like locusts, and he smelled of honey, and people were

really attracted to him. He had a long beard, and he was always

in the beadartist and John, our guy, John the Beloved, is going

to talk about him. Look at this. He says, there was a

man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to

bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. He was not

the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light,

which gives light to everyone, was coming back in. Light was only

meant to shine on one person, the Messiah, Jesus. But the Messiah's

light was meant to do much more than that. So how does Christmas connect

to creation. Jesus gives his light away, and this is so important.

This is really really important as we think about Christmas and what we celebrate at

Christmas, because this is a direct parallel to Genesis. And this is why

John is drawing this parallel. If you've ever read the Book of Genesis,

Genesis is the very beginning of time and space. It says this, in

the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without

form and void, and darkness was over the face of the earth, and

the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And I

listened to this, and God said, let there be light. And there

was light, and God, God saw that the light was good. And

God separated the light from darkness. God separated light from darkness. And by

the way, that's a moment where you ought to say, amen, God

separated light from darkness. Because if he didn't separate light from darkness, you

wouldn't know the difference. You wouldn't be able to tell the difference between light

and darkness. But because He's separated the light from the darkness, we can

tell the difference. And now John is saying in verse nine, the true

light, which gives light to everyone. Now that He's given us the light,

we have the ability. We have the ability to separate light from darkness

on our own. He showed us by his light the difference between good and

evil, the difference between love and selfishness, between pride and humility, between

the kingdoms of heaven and the kingdoms of man. He showed us the difference.

And so at Christmas every year, that's why we celebrate the light of

the world, celebrating the difference between darkness and light. It's why we put

lights on our houses. It's why your neighbor every year tries to one up

you. It's why he does this. It's why your electricity bill goes so

high in December, because we're celebrating the light of the world. Right It's

why we put the big star on the mountain here in Palmer Lake. It's

why we do this. Yesterday Dana and I went and visited some homes from

people in our church. We went and saw our friends Dave and Marty Walner,

and they had this tree in their home. And this is a spectacular

How tall is that tree? Marty is twelve feet tall. I mean their

house looked like Christmas exploded in their house. It was unbelievable. But it's

just a beautiful This is why we do this, it's why we celebrate this.

We are commemorating the arrival of the light of the world. That's what

Christmas is about. That's why we do this. And Jesus didn't take his

light with him when he left the earth. That's the point when God said,

let there be light and Jesus said, I came to give light.

There's this beautiful parallel because when Jesus spoke to his disciples, he said,

look, I'm going to tell you something that maybe you don't know. You're

the light of the world. I know you think I am. I came

to give light away, so you are now the light of the world.

Jesus did not go up to heaven and take his light away with him.

Wouldn't that be tragic if Jesus had taken his light with him. No,

he left it with us. He didn't take his light with him. He

modeled his light and then he gave it away. And so how does Christmas

connect creation Jesus gives his light away. Look at this next section. It

says he was in the world and the world was made through him, yet

the world did not know him. John's going to give us a moment here,

even at the very beginning of his gospel, where He's going to give

us a bit of a warning. For those of you that are all in

on Jesus, this is a moment where you have to think about the people

in your life who don't know Jesus, who have not yet accepted the love,

the grace, the mercy, the kindness of Jesus Christ. For those

of you who have come to a Christmas service and who are not sort of

regulars, and who are not sort of all in on the concept of following

after Jesus, I want you to listen super close to this moment. He

was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the

world did not know him. He came to his own to his own people,

and his own people did not receive him. I did not receive him.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name,

he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of

blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of

man, but of God. So how does Christmas connect to creation Jesus offers

life by faith. Jesus offers life by faith. If you've ever wondered what

is it that distinguishes the Christian faith, it's this right here. It's that

Christianity. What we can say about our faith is that we have found life

in Jesus. We have found life because we accepted him. Others have rejected

him, others have decided that they don't accept him. We have accepted him.

This story that John is telling is equal parts majesty and tragedy that his

own people, who had been waiting for forty two generations for the Messiah to

come, that they would see all of the criteria that he lined up with

and say, nah, I don't believe it, I don't receive him.

That they would crucify him. That that's what they would do to Jesus Christ.

It's a tragedy, But it's majesty for us because we have accepted him,

because for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten,

the Son. And this is where we fit in that whosoever believes in Him

shall not perish, but have everlasting life. And we say it all the

time, and I know it's trite, I know it's corny, but come

on, guys, Jesus is the reason for the season. This is Christmas.

It's more than a season. It's more than a feeling. It's more

than the songs that we adore. Right, this is Christmas. It's the

meaning, it's the reason. It's it's welcoming Jesus as the Lord. Jesus

is the reason for the season. Tomorrow morning, kiddos, you guys are

going to open a bunch of presents. Who's excited about opening presents? Kiddos?

Are you excited? All? Right? Before you open your presence tomorrow

morning, little ones, I just want you to remember that the reason that

we open presents on Christmas Day is because the greatest gift. You heard it

in the video, the greatest gift that we have ever gotten, was the

gift that God the Father gave to us in Jesus Christ, the Son.

That he gave his son to us. And what does that mean? What

does it mean that he gave him to us? It means that Jesus gave

his whole life. This little baby, this sweet little eight pounds seven ounce

baby Jesus that's in the manger grew up to become a man, and he

was beaten, and he was mocked, and he was killed, and he

gave his life because of our sin. And he gave his life for us.

And so at Christmas when we exchange gifts, that's why we do it,

to remember that Jesus is the greatest gift that we've ever gotten. You

ought to say, Amen, Amen. So how does Christmas connect to creation?

How does Christmas connect to creation? Jesus offers life by faith. This

might be my favorite verse in the whole book of John. I love this.

Look at verse fourteen, and we'll end with this. And the word

became flesh, the word, the word that was in the beginning, the

word that was dwelling with God, that beautiful diamond, the word became flesh

and dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory, glory as of

the only son from the Father, full of grace and truth. How does

Christmas connect to creation? So we said that Jesus always was the way.

We said that Jesus gives his light away. We said that Jesus offers life

by faith. And here's the last point, that from the throne to us

he came. Jesus left Majesty the throne, room of heaven, majesty for

mess. He left all of it. He left the absolute, beautiful glory

of heaven for the mess of earth. He left perfection for dysfunction. He

left it all for us so that he could give his life away for you.

From the throne to us he came. The message says it like this.

Listen to how beautiful this is. The word became flesh and blood and

moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the

one of a kind, glory like father, like son, generous inside and

out, true from start to finish. The bridge of the song that we've

been talking about, it says this. It says, commodore, on bended

knee, Come lift him high, the low born King. Oh, praise

him now, as heaven sings, he is Lord. Come, weary saints,

come, rebel hearts, lay down your lives. Come as you are,

Oh, praise his name, Emmanuel. He is Lord. That word

Emmanuel. What it means is that God is with us, that He's with

us. The word became flesh. He moved into the neighborhood. That's who

God is. When the timing was right and the moment had come, when

the promises made would be promises kept, When the essence of God would appear

flesh and blood, when the light of the world came to breathe his first

breath. This is Christmas. So how does Christmas connect to creation? Jesus

always was the way he always was. He didn't come to heaven. He

didn't come from heaven to earth and become the way. He didn't leave heaven

and decide, you know, I think I'll become the way now. He

always was. From the dawn of time, God the Father, God the

Son, and the Holy Spirit were conspiring about when the right time was going

to be for him to come down and make everything right. He always was

the way. He gives his light away. That's what he does. I

need it, am I unmuted. Yeah, he gives his light away.

That's what he does. He doesn't hoard his light, he gives it away.

Jesus is always always sharing who he is with everyone else. He offers

his life by faith. You today, if you have never accepted Jesus as

your Lord and savior, you can do that today. You can accept the

free gift of grace that Jesus offers because from the throne to us, He

came and that's what we celebrated Christmas. So let's stand together. We're going

to sing this song. We're gonna sing this bridge. Come adore on bended

knee, Come lift him high, the low born King. Praise him now

as heaven sings. He is Lord. The worship you've got. So what's

God leading you to do next? And how can we help? Would you

send us an email to info at Movement Church dot co and tell us how

we can pray for you and help you take the next step in your spiritual

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God bless you, and remember God is for you, and so are we