More Than A Tradition Pt. 1 | Chris Gross | Radiant Life Church

Well, this morning I am always pumped to

bring the word and we have a brand new

sermon series starting our Christmas

sermon series. And I'm pumped about it

because we get to talk about the word of

God and we also get to talk about

Christmas. Now, when I say that, some

people might say periodically I've been

called a Scrooge in the past. Chris, my

wife says yes. Uh, for sure. Um, and

I'll tell you what, I like Christmas,

but I also think this is very very

important and I I there's probably some

sort of line in this room and we should

like sit on opposite sides or something,

but to me Christmas clearly begins it

must begin after Thanksgiving. Like it

just needs to be an afterth Thanksgiving

sort of a situation. Um, it's not like

July. We don't set up Christmas in July.

Nor do we need to set up Christmas in

September, October, or early November.

like wait until after Thanksgiving and

then I'm all for it and I'm all for all

the fun. Uh maybe some of you I just

offended you and I apologize about that.

But hey, what can I say? But decorations

are a huge deal. Okay, for some of you,

how many of you decorations are a huge

deal? Like your house right now looks

like Hallmark. Yeah, there's there's

some How many of you if there was never

a decoration in your house, you would be

just fine. Like how many I I see some

folks actually you guys raised more

hands than the ones who said they like

decorations. So first service it wasn't

quite like that but I like this group.

This is wonderful. But Christmas is

wild. There's decorations. There's

things that happen. There's there's

parties. There all of the things. And

this morning, you know, when I was

thinking about decorations, uh this that

I have here before you, this is my

literally my favorite Christmas

decoration uh that's in our house. Uh, I

bought this for my wife when we or when

I was in Africa and in Tanzania. And I

don't know, it looks like someone spent

a whole lot of time, way too much time

creating this awesome little hut. And

then there's all of the little pieces

and parts to the Christmas uh story. The

angel, which I don't think it's made to

do this, but the angel up on top is

wonderful. And when you think of

Christmas, you have all of these things

and decorations, and maybe you're still

in the process of setting those up, but

they're kind of important. like you have

the wise man and you've got to get them

all maybe in your house. You've got to

put them at the right place and be sure

that they're where they should be. Uh

there's some more a kneeling wise men. I

think that's pretty important and we we

wouldn't want to forget him. And so we

we get those things placed where they

should be. Um I think another important

one when you get to this is a shepherd.

And it's probably not a dog because that

wouldn't necessarily I don't know if

they did that, but this looks like

there's a dog that this shepherd's

holding. So I like this guy. He's going

to be in a prominent place, right?

anybody else just you know whatever you

enjoy you you kind of make it happen. Uh

I think it's important the little

animals right and when we think of

Christmas we kind of place these things

all around our house all around our

community. Uh I think Joseph is probably

pretty important. So we'll put him in

here. Uh get him placed and and of

course we have to be sure and put Mary

uh because she's important. Very very

important. And the most important one of

all, of course, is Jesus. And in this

case, we have this nice little manger.

And we're going to put him so that

everyone can see him. But whatever your

uh your decorations look like,

most of us have decorations we love. And

if not, you can drive down the street

and see decorations. We were going I it

was somewhere in Pal. I forget what road

we were on, maybe hard road. And there

was a house that had I bet a hundred

inflatable

uh Christmas things in their yard. I

mean, there was no more yard left. It

was just inflatable after inflatable.

Like all of these things, some that had

a lot to do with Christmas. Some that

just put like a wreath on someone's head

or something and now it's Christmas. I

don't know why. I don't know how much

money they spent, but it was a lot of

money that they spent on decorations.

And when we think about Christmas and we

think about decorations,

um,

I think there's so much that we can

learn. In fact, Avery, my 16-year-old

daughter, the last couple of years, we

didn't put Christmas lights on the

outside of our house. And she was sure

that our neighbors would think we didn't

know Jesus because we didn't have

Christmas lights up. So, how could they

know we celebrate Christmas? And she

like, she was personally offended by

this. And I'm like, I don't think that

the Christmas lights on our house are

the thing that's going to tell them that

we love Jesus. I hope. If if so, I don't

think that's the best. We need to do

better. Right now, this year, I put I

did put Christmas lights on her house

and she's very very excited about that.

But decorations,

we decorate and we we build and we put

things together. If you drive by my

parents house, they've have the whole

like life-siz nativity out in front of

their house. There's there's decorations

and things that we are a part of.

But when we think about the word of God

and when we think about what he has for

us, I think decorations are the absolute

maybe lowest on the list of Christmas

importance. Right? I'm just being real.

I don't want to offend anybody. Uh but

we are decorating our homes and I think

heaven continues to announce King Jesus.

Continues to talk about, continues to

point to Jesus. continues to say, "There

he is. Let's go after Jesus." And today,

we're going to learn a few things out of

the the story of the wise men that I

think can help us focus on what we

should do and how we should act and what

should happen out of and because of

Christmas.

The first thing that we could look at is

that we see Christmas is about seeking.

It's not only celebrating. It's not only

a party. It's not only about Friday

night or next Sunday morning's going to

be a great time with family and friends

and we're going to have church. We're

going to have kids sing some songs. It's

going to be a great time together. But

Christmas is way more than celebrating.

In verse two, Matthew chapter 2, we saw

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

it says, "For we saw his star when it

rose and have come to worship him." This

seeking is an important part of what

Christmas is all about. And when we

think of Christmas, I think we could

also just lose the must and just put

Christ when we're seeking after Christ,

right? We are all about and we should be

about seeking. And I don't care if

you've been at Radiant Life Church for

months or years or maybe this is your

first time at Radiant Life Church or

maybe you're like, I was drugged here by

a family member and I don't even know

about church. Guess what? This is what

Christmas is. It's seeking. It's saying,

what do you have? We believe the word of

God. We believe in Jesus. And if you

say, "Hey, I want to know more." You

begin to seek. You begin to walk a

journey and say, "Lord, what do you have

for me?" That is what it is all about.

Just like the wise men who they saw a

star when it rose and they came to

worship.

When I think about these wise men, it

wasn't about tradition.

They didn't come for this yearly moment.

They didn't come for this this thing

that had to be just certain way, but

they came because they saw something.

They experienced something that was

different and they responded to that

thing. They responded to what was

happening. They began to seek because

they did not necessarily fully

understand, but they knew enough to say,

"Wow, there's something. There's someone

that's different and I need to

experience this person."

They understood enough that they say,

"I'm going to seek and I'm going to

find." And when we think of the star and

we think of decoration,

it's not just a decoration, but it's

something that should remind us that

Jesus is worth pursuing. Just like the

wise men, they saw the star and they

begin to go and follow him.

I pray that all of the decorations, all

of the things, all of the nativities,

that they're not just stuff that we have

in our house, but they're things that

help us focus on what matters most.

That they help us focus on Jesus.

Christmas is about seeking. Christmas is

also it's a direction. It's not just a

decoration. It's not just the things

that we have. In verse 3-8, uh, pulling

out some parts, it says, "When Herod the

king heard this, he was troubled and

gathering all the chief priests and

scribes, he inquired of them where the

Christ was to be born."

Christ Christmas is about seeking and

it's about finding the direction and

saying, "Where is Jesus?" The wise men

began this journey and they began to ask

uh including going to Herod the king

saying where is this one? Where is he?

We want to worship. We want to go to

him. We want to find him.

And Christmas needs to be about saying

Lord we're open to you. But then also

Lord am I going the direction that you

would have me to go? Am I following your

plan? Am I following your path for my

life?

And we find out throughout the word of

God and in history and with friends and

family that so often the same Jesus that

we read about here from the wise men and

from Herod, they experienced him in

different ways. Their response was

different. The same Jesus but a

different response.

Herod because he wanted power because he

wanted to reign because he didn't want

anybody to come against him. Herod.

Herod was threatened by Jesus. Herod

said, "No, no, this is no good." And in

his heart, he wanted to kill Jesus. He

wanted to get rid of Jesus. He wanted to

to remove the threat as he would see it.

Whereas the wise men, when they heard

about Jesus, they were thrilled. They

wanted to give their lives. They wanted

to give their time and their treasure,

their their talent, everything they had

to go and to find this Jesus.

One that was going towards Jesus and one

that was running away from Jesus and

wanted to get rid of Jesus.

So often we can think about the

direction or we can think about

decorations and we might even put all

the right decorations out. We might have

all the right things. It might look

good, but

on the inside, we're not decorated at

all. We're not prepared. We don't have

our heart made right with the Lord.

We're distant on the inside. Christmas,

Jesus, isn't about a moment, not about a

story, not about something that happened

a long time ago. But Christmas is about

Jesus who is at the right hand of the

father because he came as a child. He

lived a sinless life because he then

died on a cross to take our sin away and

then he rose again and ascended to the

right hand of the father. He's not

something we remember, but he's

something we experience and we walk in.

And I pray that the decorations of

Christmas, the season of Christmas, the

gatherings of Christmas, I pray that all

of them help guide us and point us even

more towards Jesus, towards the star, to

where we are called to be.

When I think about this direction, I

think so often people say Jesus is

welcome. In fact, you're here on Sunday

morning. I bet all of us would say,

"Jesus, you're welcome. Jesus, I I'm all

here for you. Jesus, do something. But

the thing that we have to understand is

that when we're in a plan with Jesus,

it's not only about saying we're

welcome, but it's about letting him

change our lives. It's about letting him

transform us. It's about saying, "If I

was going that way, but now I see the

star. Now I see you, Jesus, and I'm

going to follow you. Then my life looks

different, and I'm letting him change me

from the inside out. I'm letting him

renew me. I'm letting him do something

in me that as I seek and as I find and

as I move towards him, my life will be

transformed. Which means for each one of

us, is our heart open to the things of

God? Is our heart open to say, Jesus,

you move. Jesus, you show up. Jesus,

anything you ask, I will do. Even if I

didn't even know before, but today you

reveal. Lord, I'm going to let your word

be everything in my life, and I will

respond to you.

Christmas, it's a decoration. I mean

it's a direction not a decoration.

As we seek him, as we look for the

direction of Christ, I think we realize

that Christ Christmas that he is the

light.

Christmas isn't about entertainment.

It's not about what we can see or the

special moments that we can experience.

But Christmas, it's about Jesus. It's

about realizing who he is. Verse 9 and

10 it says, "The star which they had

seen in the east went before them. When

they saw the star, they rejoiced with

exceedingly great

joy.

They understood that Jesus is what the

celebration was about. Jesus is where

they needed to go. Jesus was the light.

Jesus is the one." And I want to

encourage us as a church family not to

get distracted by the things and the

entertainment and the opportunities and

miss the light, miss who he is this

season and all year long.

The joy can't be from the lights that

are on our house, but it's from the

light through Jesus in your soul.

When we get to Christmas season, my

wife, she loves it. It just brings her

so much joy, the Christmas lights and

going down through the the neighborhoods

and it, you know, the rest of the year

it's normally fairly dark and it's it's

whatever. There's just not that much

light, but at Christmas there's houses

and and there's people that have all the

fun things. It's like, woo, this is

awesome. We do those same things in our

house and now you've got a Christmas

tree and for some reason we have I think

three Christmas trees in our house and

it brings my wife joy. She loves it.

It's fun. Maybe some of you are like

that. But you know what? No matter how

many houses have lights or no matter how

many trees we have in our home, if we

don't understand that Jesus is the one

that brings true joy, then after a

moment of oo happiness, after a moment

of this is awesome, we're going to fall

back into the uh I just don't feel it. I

don't know. I I don't have what I need.

We must walk in the joy of the Lord and

let him do something in our lives.

Now, a few weeks ago, uh, the church

staff, we went and, uh, soon you're

going to be receiving here in the next

couple weeks before Christmas a

Christmas card. And I just have to say,

I'm going to build it up right now. This

is my favorite Christmas card we have

done as a church staff in a long, long

time. I mean, a long time, it's

hilarious. If you don't get it, if you

don't laugh, number one, if you don't

get it, that means we don't have your

address and you need to go to the new

year table, be sure that we have it so

that, you know, if by Christmas you

don't get it, please be sure to fix

that. But secondly, if you don't laugh

when you get this card or at least smirk

or something, then I apologize. I guess

we missed the mark. But it's funny. It's

a funny card. And on the other side, you

can have more of a serious experience if

you just want us all lined up nice and

neat. And then you can get that side,

too. But we went to this tree farm and

we were goofing off and taking pictures

and you'll see when the card comes. It

was a lot of fun. But we wanted to get

the things and we wanted to get the tree

and we wanted to figure it out. And so

Paul, the guy that had the tree farm, he

let us come out on, I think a Tuesday.

They were weren't even open. And so we

were all over this place and he was

trying to get us to go to where the nice

trees were for this year. We however

found the tree that we wanted and it was

like this tall. And so we're like, we

found the tree and I we brought him

over. Pastor Nate and I we we got him

and he was coming. He's like, you want

that tree? And like, yep, that's the

one. I think Rachel was like hugging it

or something. And it was just a weird

moment. And Paul, I'm pretty sure,

either loved this moment or he thought,

"These people are nuts." Maybe both. He

might have loved it and thought these

people are nuts. It was so much fun. We

had conversation. We got to talk about

various things. We got to pray for Paul.

We got to just have a great moment where

the Christmas tree and the Christmas

card we were creating with all of this

Christmas tree stuff.

It was fun. But it all comes down to,

are we walking in the power of God or

was it a fun hour or so at this

Christmas tree farm? Because I like

having fun with friends. I like having

fun doing things. I like the enjoyment.

I like the entertainment. But I so much

more than entertainment for me and for

you. Pray that we walk in the power of

God. That we walk with the joy of the

Lord being our strength, being who he is

in us, calling us to greater things.

that we let the goodness of God

overwhelm us. That there's such joy that

even when life doesn't feel like we're

messing around at a Christmas tree farm,

I can have joy because I walk in the

power of God and the presence of God, I

can have joy because he is the one

that's the light in my life. Not a

Christmas tree, not a light, not any of

that stuff, but I make him the Lord and

I experience him. Now, just in case you

want to see this tree, it is in the

great house. As you exit uh this morning

on the right hand side in the window,

you can see it. It's it's up high. So,

you can see the whole tree. It's a very

beautiful tree in that window. Uh you

can also stop by anytime. We'd love to

show it to you. But it's just this

little nice tree, but that tree only

brings joy for so long. And in fact, if

I'm going to be real, you know that

tree, the very next time that I went

into the office, all of a sudden, there

are now green uh things all over the

needles are all over the floor. It

begins to die immediately. And if we're

looking for entertainment and we're

looking for our joy from the things of

life, we're going to miss it. But

Christ, he is the light. That's what

Christmas is all about.

Christmas is about seeking. Christmas is

about a direction. Christmas is about

the light. It's about Christ. And fourth

today, Christmas is humble surrender.

Verse 11 says, "And when they had come

into the house, they saw the young child

and fell down and worshiped him. They

fell down. They give him glory and

honor." And I'm just saying when I think

of this moment, they've come from a far

off. They followed a star. In fact, if

someone said, "Hey, I followed this star

and now I'm here." If you're like me,

you're probably like, "You're a little

nuts." Herod, he didn't think they were

nuts. He thought it was real, right?

Because he said, "Come tell me where he

is." But I'm just saying sometime that

would be a little weird. But these guys

had such conviction in their hearts that

they left what was normal. They took a

journey to come and to find Jesus, to

put the pieces together, to ask the the

political leaders to say, "Where is this

Jesus?" to be led to Bethlehem. The star

came and what did they do when they got

there? They kneel down in humble

worship. They came with gifts. And this

little piece shows they kneel before the

Lord. They humbled themselves.

These people were worth way more. Way

more.

They went to poor people. They went to

environment that probably wasn't at all

what they were used to. But they

understood the power of God. And they

come and they surrendered themselves.

They realize it's not about the moment.

It's not about the stuff. It's not about

what even Jesus and Mary and Joseph had

about the decor, but it's about the one

that they came to find and they humbled

themselves.

And when we think about Christmas and we

think about what God has called us to,

church, I want to encourage not to just

make a big show of it, not to make a

special thing of it. And we do all that

stuff. There's Christmas and lights and

nativities and all of the things, but

church, it can't be about the nativity.

It has to be about Jesus. And it has to

be about us coming and kneeling down

before him, offering him our life. And

not just in action, but literally

everything. Lord, I give you every part

of who I am. I humble my heart, my

spirit before you. We make him truly and

give him the rule of lord of our lives.

When we humble ourselves, we see some

things happen. We have a position

change, right? They fell down and

worshiped him. They had a heart change

or they they they worshiped. They gave

him glory and honor. It wasn't about

them. It wasn't about what they had done

or who they were. It was about Jesus.

I think there was a life change.

They opened their treasures. They opened

who they were and laid those down and

gave them the King of Kings and Lord of

Lords. And I'm just being real with you.

If you are putting yourselves in their

spot, they finally get here. The star is

in the sky and they realize, "Oh, wow.

There's a baby that was maybe one or two

years old somewhere in that range like a

little kid. I nobody but I'm not I'm

just saying if I'm showing up, I'm not

going to worship your kid, right? Like

that's weird." But they understood that

this kid wasn't just a kid. This star

wasn't just a star. It wasn't just

something that was happening, but it was

God revealing himself to them. That God

was showing up and they understood, I'm

going to surrender even to what seems

like a baby, what seems like a small

child.

And church, we have the full story. We

understand that Jesus, he came, he

lived, he didn't just stay in heaven,

but he came to walk as a baby, a man.

He lived a perfect sinless life. He died

for us. He then rose again. He sits at

the right hand of the father. And if

they could humble themselves, how much

more, church, we must have hearts. We

must have homes that are humbled to the

God of the universe. It's not about the

decor of your life or Christmas season,

but it's about humbling ourselves before

Jesus.

Point five today is Christmas is life

transformation.

As we head towards close, I want someone

to hear today, it's not about holiday

tradition. It's not about what has been

for years or been for decades or

something you can't remember it not

being like, but it's about

transformation. And this may be a word

for somebody, but sometimes I think we

get so worked up about the tradition. We

get so worked up about the things. We

get so worked up about how things have

to be that we can miss the point of why

we are celebrating in the first place.

And I want to throw it out there. If you

skip a tradition, but you experience a

little more of Jesus, I want that in my

life every single time. If something

happens, maybe even in a family

gathering, you can overlook something

someone does. You don't have to pick a

fight in that situation because it's

okay. Even if it messes up the

tradition. Even if it messes up the

moment to you, we can bring peace and

joy. Why? Because it's about life

transformation. It's not about the thing

or the tradition or the decoration. It's

not about the moment except saying,

"Lord, what do you want to do and how do

you want to show up?" And the word would

call us to be peacemakers. The word

would call us. In fact, that word

overlook yesterday. We were praying

right up here for Saturday morning

prayer and that word came up that we

could pray that we would overlook

things. We wouldn't cause problems or

others could overlook things. And my

prayer for us as a church and that when

we get together with family that maybe

there's some things and some moments

where I would have said something in the

past or I would have done something that

maybe I shouldn't have said or done in

the past but this year Lord help me to

overlook things I don't need to respond

to. And help me be led by you so I know

when I need to speak up right Lord I

don't know what to do but you do. And

when we walk with the Lord we realize

it's seeking him. It's direction finding

him. It's going after him. We realize

he's the light. And as we surrender to

him, there can be life transformation

for us continual. And there can be life

transformation for the people around

you. God wants to do something. And true

worship always produces direction. It

always produces an obedience in a

different way, a transformation in our

life. And that's what Christmas, that's

what Christ is all

about.

So maybe we need to give up a tradition

that actually doesn't matter so that we

can experience transformation that will

change us and will matter for eternity.

Maybe we need to give up something that

we'd say that's just how I am. No,

that's not how we are. Instead, Lord,

would you transform me and would you

make me new and make me whole?

These wise men in verse 12 we see they

came one d way but they left another

because it says then being divinely

warned in a dream. They departed for

their own country another way. And

church, I just believe there's some

moments in our life where we must come

to the Lord and where we must say, "God,

I'm going to come one way, but I'm

leaving a different way because you've

spoken." And when you speak, no matter

what Christmas with family has been like

before, Lord, what do you want it to be

like now? Lord, whatever Christmas has

been like at my work, Lord, what do you

want it to be like now? What about with

friends? Lord, what it was, I'm going to

do what you've called me to do. And so,

Lord, what do you want Christmas to look

like now?

Let transformation happen in our lives

that we're focused on the King of Kings

and the Lord of Lords. That maybe we

came in one direction, but like the wise

men, we say, "Lord, you've spoken and

I'm going to go out a different

direction."

Church Christmas is way more than one

moment. It's way more than even a day

2,000 plus years ago, although that's

what it's about. But it's about what

Jesus did from that moment. until now.

It's about who he is in our life. And as

we celebrate and we have decorations and

we have all of the things of of life and

maybe nativities and Santaas and all the

things that whatever you have fun with

at Christmas, great church. We can't get

distracted by these things and miss what

he wants to do. And my prayer is that we

would open our hearts to him. We'd open

our lives to him and say, "Lord, how do

you want to move? How do you want to

speak? What do you want to do in me that

I look different at the end of December

than at the beginning of December?

Lord, what do you want to speak to me

from your word? How do you want to

change my life that what I thought was

just who I am? That by the end of

December, I don't think that's who I am

anymore because you've spoken and I've

left different than when I came.

Church, Christmas, it's more than just a

moment. It's more than just a day, but

it's about a savior who is alive and

well. It's about a savior that loves

you. It's about a savior that has the

greatest things for you. That wants to

wrap you in his arms. That wants to take

care of your problems and your

situations. That wants to celebrate in

the victories. It's about a savior that

loves you so so much. And let's not miss

who he is. Let's not get distracted

because of the stuff, the decorations,

the traditions, but let's let him move.

Let's let him speak this morning. Maybe

you're here and you'd say, "You know

what? I don't really have a relationship

with this Jesus." Maybe you'd say, "I I

don't even understand all of it, but I

know there's something going on inside

of me." And the Bible would say that he

stands at the door. He knocks. He wants

us to let him in. That Jesus, the savior

of the world, he created you and he

wants to save you and make you new and

invite you to be his son or daughter

this morning. And if it's for the first

time or maybe you need to rededicate

your life because you just haven't been

walking in him. You haven't looked like

his word lately. You say, "Jesus, I one

more time want to welcome you." He

welcomes you and he would say yes to

you. And all that you have to do, the

Bible says, is to repent, to proclaim

his him as Lord, to believe in your

heart that he died, he rose again, and

he will welcome you today. In fact, as a

church family, if we could, if we could

just bow our head, close our eyes today.

You don't have to pray with your head

bowed or your eyes closed, but just to

focus on him,

you'd ask him, "Lord, am I where I

should be with you?

Do you have a relationship with Jesus?"

And if you'd say, and he would reveal

that, "No, you don't." Then today is the

day. Today is the day I believe. All you

have to do is believe in your heart of

salvation. The number one thing, the

reason we are here as a church family,

if you say, "I want life transformation

this Christmas season. I want it today."

And I'm going to ask you all over this

room just to raise your hand. That you'd

say, "That's me." If you're here and you

say, "I want to make Jesus the Lord of

my life." Would you just raise your

hand? I just want to catch your your

eye, see that hand, and uh pray. Then

we're going to pray together. Anybody in

this room, you say, "That's me." Today,

I don't want to miss anybody. This is

the most important thing that we can do.

Also, maybe you're at home today and if

you'd say, "Hey, I want to know Jesus."

All you have to do is ask him, "Lord,

forgive me of my sins.

I make you Lord of my life. I repent of

the things I've done against you or

others." In your own words, whatever it

would be, and he welcomes you in.

There's nothing more important than

that. Church family, could we r uh just

stand this morning? I want to pray a

prayer of blessing over you all if

you're able today.

But Lord, we're thankful. Lord, we love

you. And Lord, I pray for these people,

for the Rad fam, Lord, that we would be

radiant in all we do. Lord, that our

faces would demonstrate, Lord, what

you've done in our lives. That joy would

flow from us, Lord, that you would use

us. And even as we've looked at today,

Lord, help us continue to seek you,

continue to find the direction towards

you because you are the light,

Jesus. You are everything. So we come

and we humbly surrender ourself. We lay

our lives down before you and ask you,

Lord, would you heal us? Would you make

us new? Would you transform our lives?

We want to look like you, Jesus, more

than ever before. So Lord, make us new.

Lord, I pray people that maybe have a

problem or a situation or an issue

today, maybe that even sin issue in

their life, Lord, would you transform

that area? Would you make it new? bring

life to them so that we can come one

way. But Lord, we choose in you and your

power to leave another. Bless your

church. Let us walk in you. Walk in your

life. Lord, we thank you. We praise you

and we worship you. You are so so good.

Thank you for these people. Bless them.

In your name we pray. Amen. And amen.

Well, come on church. Our God is good in

this place. He's so good. Thank you for

coming. And before you leave, I just

want to remind you if you're not signed

up for the Christmas party Friday night

6:30, sign up. Let us know you're

coming. Food, entertainment, it's going

to be a blast. We're going to have a lot

of fun fellowship. We're going to be

right in here enjoying each other's

company. It's going to be a great time.

Sign up. Let us know. Radiant.Family or

the church center app. But pray you or

have begun your Christmas season in a

good way. And pray God blesses you this

week. Be careful what you watch. Be

careful what you listen to. Be careful

what you talk about. Savor the presence

of Jesus.