Ghosts Of Christmas Part 4 | The Christmas Promise with Chris Schlotterbeck

Hey, good morning everyone.

Now that you're all entertained and feel good, welcome to HCV.

If you're joining us from home, thank you for welcoming us into your space.

Shout out to our friends at HHC.

We love you guys so much.

You know, just as you heard in the announcements there, Aaron shared our Christmas Eve gatherings

are Tuesday, right?

We have three different options.

If you have kids, come show up to our family Christmas Eve service at four.

And then we have two candlelight gatherings, 530 and seven.

Invite your friends, invite your family, fill the house, pack it out because God is going

to be moving and changing lives.

And then for all of you that are looking for something to do on Christmas morning, right?

Wear your PJs.

You don't have to make your hair straight.

No deodorant required.

Just show up.

We're going to get real and worship Jesus at 10 a.m.

Jess will be sharing a kid's story and then talking about some stumps.

So the perfect topic for Christmas.

You'll want to be here at 10 a.m. Christmas morning.

I also want to reiterate, you may have missed it.

Next Sunday, next Sunday, there will be no in-person gatherings.

It's our weekend of rest.

So we are encouraging you.

Take next weekend, Sabbath, rest, spend time with your family and friends.

We want to give all those people that serve in HCV, we want to give you a Sunday off,

right?

And just say, we appreciate you.

We love you.

There will be.

That's right.

We do.

We do.

We love you guys.

We have over four or 500 volunteers, you know, so we appreciate you.

That's how this church operates and how we make things happen Sunday morning.

There will be an online end of the year weekend of Reflections devotional that will happen

Sunday morning.

You can tune in on our YouTube channel.

I will be sharing a simple five to 10 minute devotional that will challenge you to look

forward to the new year.

So be sure to tune in for that.

Now we are closing out our series, Ghosts of Christmas here this morning.

And this has been a great series.

If you missed any of our talks, we basically put ourselves in Elbin years or Scrooge's

shoes and we looked at the ghosts of past, present and future and we challenged ourselves

to grow and change.

And I want to close out this series by throwing out a question.

Why is it for the last 2000 years, people have gathered to worship and adore a baby

born in Bethlehem?

Why?

You know, because so often we go through the Christmas motions, we check some boxes, we

celebrate when Santa shows up.

We may or may not go to Christmas Eve gatherings.

And why is that?

Why does it happen each and every year?

So to answer that question, I want to begin by painting a picture of the different things

we do in our society that we don't even think about.

Right?

It's just kind of how Americans operate, how we function in society on a normal given day.

Now please understand these are shared experiences that we have all had just this past week.

For example, all of us have flushed our toilets and expected the waste to leave our house.

True or false?

True.

You're right.

We don't want to back up toilet.

Right?

Many of us in the past week have given out our credit card number either over phone or

on our computer without even talking to a person on the other side of it.

Right?

We did this willingly without anyone making a threat or accusations against us.

And we expected over the course of the next 48 hours to see a van pull up in our driveway

with an A on it and deliver the stuff we just ordered.

Right?

It's basically Santa without the sleigh.

Okay?

We do these things without even thinking about it.

We just assume that everything is going to work out for us.

Think about the last time you went through a fast food drive-through line.

You order your food into a speaker.

You pull up to the first window.

Pay a person the money for the food you just ordered.

Don't get any food.

And then drive another 20 feet expecting for the food to be put into your car.

Right?

We drive up to a stop sign.

And we expect and assume that the other cars coming to said stop sign are going to stop.

And it's not just a stop sign.

It's a red light.

We assume that the other people around us are going to do just as we've done.

Because that's the normalcy of life.

While in other parts of the world, people driving, they don't obey stop signs or red

lights.

They just move and operate and do whatever they want.

But as Americans, we operate with unspoken agreements of trust.

We just assume that there's certain things that are going to happen in our life.

And there's an unspoken agreement between us and the other people in society that we

never talk to.

But we simply trust that it's going to happen.

For example, we trust that we're going to connect to the internet because the Wi-Fi

single signal works.

We trust that the holiday pictures that we're going to take over the next few days are going

to be saved on a cloud somewhere out there.

Right?

Because there's enough room to save those memories.

We trust that when we're waiting to see the doctor in the waiting room that eventually

we will be seen by said doctor.

Right?

We just believe.

We trust.

That certain parts of life are going to happen for us within our society and we don't even

think about it.

That is.

That is until someone uses the phrase, I promise.

I promise.

See when someone says those two words, suddenly there's these expectations.

Right?

The stakes have been raised and people expect whatever was said to happen.

A simple example.

If I say to my children who play sports, hey, tonight I'll be at your game.

I'll be there.

They assume I'm going to show up.

But if I look at my kids in the eyes and I say, I promise you tonight I will be at your

game, suddenly everything changes because I put a guarantee on said statement.

And all of us understand that truth because our first thought, promises have power.

Promises have power because they bring expectations and anticipation along with them.

Right?

We get frustrated when the unspoken agreements of trust get broken.

Right?

You come to a four way stop.

You're waiting your turn.

Right?

It's your turn.

And then suddenly the person that just went, someone else goes.

That's frustrating.

But we get devastated when promises aren't kept or fulfilled because promises have power.

And that's why we read in Ecclesiastes chapter five, verses four through five.

When you make a promise to God, don't delay in following through for God takes no pleasure

in fools.

In other words, if you break a promise, you're a fool.

Keep all the promises you make to him.

It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.

Promises, see they come in all shapes and sizes and they affect us in different levels

depending on how old we are and what has been promised to us.

I will never forget a promise that was made to me when I was 12 years old from my father.

My dad was a lifelong smoker of cigarettes.

And as a kid growing up, that was one of the most frustrating things for me.

I could not stand the way the cigarettes made my house, my car and my clothes smell.

I absolutely hated it.

I was a good student in school, but I never really put in any effort.

It just kind of came naturally to me.

So I didn't have to study much.

But it was in the fall of my seventh grade year while I was at Northern Middle School

that I overheard my dad mention that he was trying to quit smoking, but couldn't.

He was addicted.

So I went to my dad and made him a deal.

I said, if I get straight A's for the rest of my seventh grade year in middle school,

will you quit smoking?

I'll never forget.

He looks back at me.

He makes eye contact and he says, I promise if you get straight A's for the rest of the

year, I will quit smoking.

I got straight A's.

And sure enough, my dad never smoked another cigarette in his life.

Now he chewed on a lot of toothpicks, but there was no more cigarettes.

Promises have power.

And all of us feel them as we walk through life.

I had a coach say to me once, I promise I will take care of your daughter.

Our employers promise us that we will have a job next year.

Doctors promise us that the treatment will work and our health will return.

A friend may say, I promise you that I will never talk to you that way again.

And at the altar, we promise for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer and sickness

and health, that I am committed to you until death do us part.

Promises have power.

And that is why Jesus said in Matthew five, just a simple yes, I will, or no, I won't.

Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

Now think about that.

Any promise is broken means that we're not walking or standing by our word.

Now some of the greatest joys in our life have been on the opposite side of a promise

that was fulfilled.

While some of the most devastating times and scars in our life come from unfulfilled promises.

And see, I would go as far to say that unfulfilled promises devastate us even more than the fulfilled

promises encourage us to make us happy.

So what is a promise?

A promise simply stated by definition is a declaration or assurance that one will do

a particular thing or that particular thing will happen.

So in other words, there's a situation with a pledge that ends in a result or lack thereof.

It's a guarantee that we look for in the promise.

You heard it in my example.

My father quit smoking because he promised.

Now some of you are sitting there thinking, Chris, why all this talk about promises?

Why are we discussing the definition, the truth that they have power?

What does a promise have to do with Christmas?

Well, it actually has everything to do with Christmas.

Everything.

But see, many people believe that the idea of God and man interacting, reconnecting with

one another begins at Christmas.

We think that Christmas is the beginning of God and his story of connection with humanity.

And friends, that simply is not true.

In fact, Christmas actually find itself in a larger story of God that begins way before

Christmas even became a reality.

In fact, this story begins with God, just God and no one else.

Now imagine just for a second, God, no creation, no matter, no earth, only God, the God who

has always been, always was and always will be the Alpha and the Omega.

There's only one God.

And I can't explain to you why, but God, the father decided in his will, in his desire,

in his providence to create all things, including you and me.

And we read this in Genesis one verses 26 and 27 and 31.

Then God said, let us make human beings in our image to be like us.

So God created human beings in his own image.

In the image of God, he created them, male and female.

God created them, then God looked over all he had made and he saw it was very good.

So not only was creation very good, it was perfect.

I mean, think about this, the relationship between a man and a woman was perfect.

Just imagine that for a second, you married couples.

It was perfect.

But it's not just that, the relationship between people and God was perfect.

The relationship between people and his creation was perfect.

There was no thorns, there was no thistles, there was no hurricanes, no tornadoes, there

was no mosquitoes.

Everything was great.

Rest was great, play was great, fun was great.

Everything in creation was perfect.

Now theologians refer to this state of perfection as shalom, meaning that everything was the

way God intended it to be.

And this was the story.

This was the way it was supposed to go.

But humanity said to God, we don't need you anymore.

We don't trust you.

They rebelled against God saying, we want more.

We want it our way.

And humanity rejected God's original plan for us, committing cosmic treason.

See sin released brokenness into the world, Genesis 3.

You won't die, the serpent replied to the woman.

God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it and you will be like God

knowing both good and evil.

The woman was convinced.

So she saw the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious and she wanted the

wisdom it would give her.

So she took some of the fruit and ate it, then she gave some to her husband, noticed

who was with her.

He was there.

Man, watching the whole conversation, didn't step in, didn't say anything, just was kind

of listening.

Bystander.

And at that moment, their eyes were opened and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness

so they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

Listen, everything that has brought us pain.

Everything that has created tears.

Everything that brings us frustration began in that moment.

When sin, separation from God entered our world, everything changes, defining moment

in human history and in this story.

Which leads us to, you know, what happens next?

What is God going to do?

And by the way, listen, God doesn't have to do anything.

He is God.

He doesn't have to step in and act.

He doesn't have to assist.

He can do nothing.

But God walks into the bomb that just went off in his creation.

He walks into the wreckage that humanity made, humanity made, that we have made and leads

us to our next song.

God promised, he made a promise to restore the relationship between he and humanity.

See, God promises to restore the relationship between he and us.

He steps in and says, I'm going to make a way.

The world is broken.

And now that world is moving in trajectory away from me.

Sin was getting worse and worse, but I pledge that I will make a way.

I will restore Shalom to all creation.

There will be a day when there will be no more pain, no more suffering or crying or

shame.

There will be a day when all of humanity has restored relationships with one another.

There will be a day when humanity can once again reconnect with me.

God promises that what had been broken, what had been lost will be restored.

And he begins those promises right after sin came into the world.

He says these words in Genesis 3, 15.

I will make you and the woman hate each other.

Her offspring and yours will always be enemies.

Her offspring will crush your head.

And he looks at Satan and says, there will be a day when you will be defeated.

Your head will be crushed.

And then a large portion of the Bible throughout the Old Testament is humanity searching, hoping

that this promise comes into fulfillment.

Would God fulfill the promise?

Would humanity be restored to connection with his creator?

And it begins with God going to Abraham and sharing these words in Genesis 12.

The Lord said to Abram, leave your native country, your relatives and your father's

family and go to the land that I will show you.

I will make you into a great nation.

I will bless you and make you famous and you will be a blessing to others.

I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt.

All the families on earth will be blessed through you.

So Israel, God's chosen people is born.

But it quickly ends up in slavery because they could not follow God's commandments.

It doesn't look like this promise is going to work.

Then Exodus happens.

The sea is parted and it brings some hope, which is quickly followed by war after war

after war.

Oh, they need better leadership.

So Israel appoints judges.

That doesn't work.

What they really need, what we need, God is a king and it doesn't seem to be working.

Then David comes along and there's a little bit of hope, but then he quickly falls into

sin.

And on the day he is about to die, God makes another promise, second Samuel seven.

Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you, a dynasty of Kings for

when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your

own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong.

He is the one who will build a house, a temple for my name and I will secure his royal throne

forever.

I will be his father and he will be my son.

Then as Israel, God's chosen people continue to fall further and further away from God,

not following his commandments, right?

They received these words from the prophet Jeremiah.

Now much of the prophets were challenging them to change, calling them out on their

sin.

But notice what Jeremiah writes, but this is the new covenant I will make with the people

of Israel after those days says the Lord, I will put my instructions deep within them

and I will write them on their hearts.

I will be their God and they will be my people for everyone from least to greatest will know

me already says the Lord and I will forgive their wickedness and I will never again remember

their sins.

However, after those words are spoken, civilizations go by the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the

Persians, ultimately the Romans and the Greeks while God's people sit and wait for 400 years

in silence.

No words are spoken, no prophecies given, just complete silence.

And all the people began to question, is God going to fulfill the promise?

He told us a Messiah was coming.

He told us he would put it back together.

He promised us.

Is God trustworthy or not?

And it's in that context that the Christmas story shows up.

It's in that context that we find ourselves in a random city 2000 years ago in the Middle

East.

Now I'm going to look at the gospel of Luke chapter two for just a few moments and please

understand that Luke was a doctor who had been hired to go and record an account of

the story of Christmas.

So he goes out and he interviews witnesses and he does a journalistic expose on who was

there, what they saw and what had happened and it begins this way.

Luke two one through four.

At that time, the Roman Emperor Augustus decreed that a census should be taken throughout the

Roman Empire.

This was the first census when Quirinius, the governor of Syria.

Now I just want to pause there a second and if we're honest when we read this, we question

what's this have to do with Christmas?

You know, why are you giving us this information?

Who cares who the governor is?

Who cares about a census?

What about the Messiah?

Well, we should care because Luke is saying to his audience, including us, if you don't

believe this is real, go and fact check me.

Go and do the research and guess what?

We're going to discover that all this actually happened, that this was the governor at this

time the census was taken.

Go ahead and investigate it because I did.

And he's trying to get us to see that this is not a story.

This isn't a fairy tale in a land far, far away.

This is actual history.

So he continues.

All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for the census.

And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem and Judea,

Jude's ancient home.

And this is a Joseph that had been promised to a wife who was a virgin, then suddenly

became pregnant and he wrestled with whether he was going to divorce her or not quietly

only to be visited by an angel who told him to marry Mary because the child she was carrying

was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

So they traveled in verse five from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.

He took with him Mary to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.

And while they were there, the time had come for the baby to be born.

She gave birth to her firstborn son.

She wrapped him in snuggling in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there

was no lodging available for them.

The town was completely filled because of the census.

So they placed this baby in a feeding trough for horses.

And while all this is happening, that night there were shepherds.

Shepherds remember outcasts forgotten of society in fields nearby guarding their flocks of

sheep and suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared among them and the radiance of the Lord's

glory surrounded them.

They were terrified.

But the angel reassured them.

And so many people like, well, why would they be so afraid?

Remember God had not spoken to his people for how long?

400 years.

They were terrified.

Right?

They were terrified.

Don't be afraid.

I'm telling you good news that will be great joy for all people.

See promises have a when and aware to them.

And basically Luke is saying, Hey people, listen, today, the savior, the Messiah, the

Lord has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David.

And you will recognize him by this sign.

You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth lying in a manger.

And the shepherds, they realized that they had to find the one that was lying in the

horse's trough.

That's who we need to look for.

And this story when it's played out is more than just an incredible, weird, unique story.

It's more than that, which leads us to our final thought.

Christmas is the fulfillment of a promise.

Christmas tells us that we can trust God because of all his promises to his people.

He kept the most important one that he would restore connection with his creation, with

humanity, with you and with me.

Second Corinthians 1 20 for all of God's promises.

Look at this.

They've been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding yes.

And through Christ our amen, which means we are going to be able to live in Christ's

power.

Amen.

Which means yes, the sense to God for his glory.

God said, I will make a way.

And he provided the way maker.

God said, I will provide a king.

And he sent the Messiah.

God said, I will set you free.

And he sent us Jesus.

The baby would grow up to be the man hanging on a cross.

The baby would grow up to live a sinless, perfect life and die in our place.

The baby would prove that not only would he set us free on the cross, but that he would

save us from the power of sin when he rose from the dead on the third day.

The baby was the fulfillment of a promise that God made in the Garden of Eden when everything

blew up.

And he told Adam and Eve that their offspring would crush the head of a serpent.

And Jesus makes us a promise that is living, that are living right now.

Luke 24.

And now I will send the Holy Spirit just as my father promised.

But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with the power of heaven.

Christmas screams to all of us that we can trust God because he kept his promise to all

of us.

And what are those promises?

Well, those promises reveal three simple truths that all of us can walk in this morning.

Three promises from God for us this Christmas.

God is waiting for us to open and realize.

And the first is this, hey, church, God is near.

There's so many people that believe that God is off somewhere in the distance in some unknown

galaxy up there in heaven waiting for us to mess up so he can slap us around.

Or he's just up there blessing people with riches and fame, but it's not me.

And that God, uninterested or unengaged with us, I don't know about you, I'm not interested

in that kind of God.

I don't want to know that kind of God because if God is distant and not in my space and

not in my life, I don't want to be a part of it.

But Christmas tells us that God is, that Jesus is, Emmanuel.

Matthew 1.

The Virgin will conceive a child.

She will give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God is with

us.

I love the way Eugene Peterson writes in the message paraphrased in John 1.14, the word

became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.

God moves into our neighborhood.

He took on flesh and became a part of our space, of our life.

And we all know what it's like to have someone meaningful walk into our space.

Even if it's superficial, meaningful, right?

Even if it's just superficial, things change in our life and how we respond.

And you say, how do you know that?

All right, you ready?

Think about eighth grade or freshman year of high school when you had your first crush

on him or her.

Remember that?

Some of you think back a little way far.

It's there.

It's in there.

And it's funny, back then, anytime you would see them, your demeanor would change.

You'd have these butterflies in your stomach.

Then you find yourself at the first dance.

You're there with your friends only to see them walk in.

You whisper to your friends, he is here.

He's here.

He's here.

Don't look up.

Don't look up.

Don't make eye contact.

Just the fact that they walked in the room, you became nervous.

You were uneasy.

You know, you're like, we didn't have phones back then.

Is my hair right?

Right?

Do I smell?

Then he or she begins to walk over towards you and you see them coming out of the corner

of your eye and your mouth's getting dry, your heart's beating faster.

You begin to sweat and you're worried because your armpits are all wet.

You ask your friend, what should I do?

What should I do?

They're coming here.

They're coming here.

Don't make eye contact.

Don't make eye contact.

Then she's so close, she looks up and says, hi, Rudy.

Because we know how handsome Rudy was in eighth grade.

We all saw that picture.

And at that second, you find yourself speechless.

You can't even say a word because some random girl, boy, who you had a crush on simply walked

in the room.

Now, if this is true, that God is Emmanuel, that God is with us and that he walked into

our neighborhood, you know what that means?

This means that there's not a single situation that we will ever face in this life that God

is not there.

It means that we should never be afraid because God is with us.

It means that if we lack wisdom or question life, we should ask God because he is with

us.

It means that if we need peace and we're frustrated and stressed out, he's the prince of peace

and he's right there with us.

And it doesn't matter if we win or we lose.

It doesn't matter if we're rich and famous.

God is right here in this room with us right now.

And how do I know that?

Because I see it on your face every Sunday.

And for those of you who deny it, I see it in your tears as you walk past me.

And for those of you who question it, I know it's real because you have said to me, it's

like you have a camera in my house and you speak right to me every single Sunday.

And to that I say, it's not me, God is in your house.

And he knows everything that we do because he is near and God kept his promise.

But Chris, it doesn't feel like God is with me after everything I went through last year.

I get it, but here's one thing I've learned.

God doesn't always take us out of it, but he walks us through it and he's with us every

step of the way.

There is never a moment in your life without the presence of God because Christmas says

that God kept his promise.

Which leads us to our next truth.

Hey, not only is God is nearest, but God forgives us.

And this is the one that makes all of us a little uncomfortable because it means that

you and I have a problem.

And that problem is we're separated from God because of our sin.

What is sin?

It's a wrongdoing in our hearts that we have committed against God.

It's us saying, God, hey, we don't need you in this space.

We don't need you in this area of my life.

It's the lies, it's the greed, it's the anger, it's the adultery, it's the stealing, it's

the posture that we can be our own God and we have it all together.

We are separated, disconnected from God when we sin.

And if you have a problem with this reality, this is where I challenge you and anybody

that says it, hey, guess what?

We can't even live up to our own standards.

In our own strength, we can't even live up to our own standards of morality, of humanity,

of whatever you want to call it.

We fail ourselves every day.

We think lying is wrong and we do it anyway.

We know we shouldn't get mad or angry at the TV during the big game, but we do it anyway.

And that was a big game too.

I'll just leave it at that.

Stick my chest out a little bit more.

So when we're separated from God, what should we do?

This is what you don't want to do.

Don't try to earn your way back into connection with Him.

Don't try to be religious enough and play the part that God will accept you back.

Christmas tells us that we will never be good enough, never be righteous enough to match

the holiness of God.

But here's the good news, Romans 3.

But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him.

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.

And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are, for everyone has sinned.

We all fall short of God's glorious standard.

And God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight.

And He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty of our sins.

For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin.

People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrifices life, shedding His blood.

Jesus did it for us.

God has been so good.

He's been so true to His promise that He sent His Son as a sacrifice for our sin.

And there's nothing we can do to earn our way to heaven.

There's only one way.

And that is to believe that Jesus took on all of our sin.

The lying, the lust, the stealing, the anger, so that we can be reconnected with God, which

leads us to our final thought.

I mean, the first two are good enough.

But the third truth is God loves us.

Don't be afraid, He said.

I bring you good news or it will be great joy to all people.

The Savior, that's the Messiah of the Lord, has been born today in the Bethlehem, the

city of David.

This is the good news that will bring great joy.

And we currently live in a culture where everyone wants to be loved, wants to be cared for,

wants to be appreciated, wants to be accepted.

That's not a bad thing.

It's the longing in our hearts.

Like my Instagram post, follow me on TikTok.

Love my image on Facebook.

People want to be seen and heard.

And how do we actually define, right, if we're favored and loved and seen?

Because ultimately what that means is that we are valued, that someone is for us.

How do we determine what value is?

Well, I was thinking about that statement this week and this image popped into my head

because I'm a baseball fan, right?

Take a look at this image.

This is a 1952 Topps Mickey Mano rookie card right there.

All right.

It's the baseball card of baseball cards.

It's been bought and sold at the highest price in the history of trading.

Someone paid, are you ready for this?

$12.6 million for that baseball card.

And it's a piece of cardboard with ink on it.

True or false?

It's a piece of cardboard with ink on it.

See value is determined by how much someone is willing to pay for it.

And you were worth so much to God that God paid for our sins with his son.

How loved are you?

I don't know if your parents love you.

I don't know if your friends or family loves you.

I don't know if your kids love you or your coworkers love you.

I don't even know if your neighbors love you.

But the one thing that I'm certain of is this.

Jesus loves you.

And God kept his promise and he showed up and sent his son to reconnect you to him.

And God says you are loved.

You have value.

You are wonderfully created.

In my image I know every single hair on your head.

I know everything about you.

The good and the bad.

Remember a few weeks ago, right?

Chris or God has a Chris Facts, right?

Or God has a Ronnie Facts or a Patricia Facts.

He knows everything we have done.

Yet he says I'm all in for you to live abundant life.

He looks at that car Facts, that Chris Facts, that Tom Facts, and he rips it up.

And if you've wondered how much you were loved, listen to 1 John 4.

God showed us how much he loved us by sending his one and only son into the world so that

we might have eternal life through him.

This is real love.

Not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to sacrifice for our sins.

Christmas says, church, that we are loved.

And listen, I want to throw this out to some of you.

Simply knowing the Christmas and Easter stories do not make you a follower of Jesus.

It doesn't.

It means that you have the same theology that the devil has and God says I'm inviting you

to more this Christmas season.

So I'm not giving you an action step.

I'm giving you a reflection question.

Has the promise of God giving a Christmas become personal?

Has the promise of God become personal?

Because notice the angels returned.

What did the, what did the shepherds do?

They ran to see the baby.

They didn't wait.

They didn't question.

They ran and they found Mary and Joseph and there was a baby lying in the manger.

And after seeing him, they knew and believed and they went and told everyone.

You want to live for God?

Do you want to experience the good news and great joy?

Today here's the reality.

The baby born 2000 years ago was not born to stay there.

He was born so we could now have the Holy Spirit in us.

And if you were questioning is Jesus for me?

Listen, it doesn't matter what you've done, what you're doing or what you will do.

That baby is for you.

And it doesn't matter if your year was hard and difficult and it doesn't matter the challenges

you have.

I don't need to know your story to know that Jesus is for you.

Now I want to close with this.

There was a poll taken in society a number of years ago asking a simple question.

What are the phrases you love to hear the most?

And I want to share with you the top three.

The number one phrase people wanted to hear was I love you.

The second phrase that people wanted to hear was I forgive you.

And the third phrase people wanted to hear the most was dinner is ready.

And we laugh, but listen, God kept his promise and Jesus is saying to you this morning, I

love you.

You are forgiven.

Now come and dine with me at my table.

So this morning, let's stand together.

You know we pray a simple prayer every single week because I believe God brings people into

our midst that are distant, far from God, never been in that relationship or have walked

away.

We're going to pray a simple prayer and then listen church, I'm not going to give you an

action step, I want you to declare that you're alive in the name of Jesus.

Can you do that with me?

So that's a prayer, a simple prayer.

Jesus, I'm broken.

I'm full of doubt, shame, regret, sin.

Change me.

I believe you're God's son.

I believe you died for me.

Make me new.

Set me free.

Fill me with your spirit.

Help me to serve others in Jesus name.

Amen.

Now if you prayed that prayer for the first time, see me when you leave, text me, hug me,

let me know you did it so I can tell you to get baptized on January 12th.

Now there was listen, four words of knowledge.

Our prayer team will be here on the right to pray with you.

If you have pain on the right side of your throat, you need healing.

If you have pain in your lower back, right side that shoots down through your buttocks,

you need healing.

If your right Achilles is hurting you and you're unable to walk correctly, you need

healing.

And if you're struggling with grief this Christmas, you need set free.

Our prayer team will be here on my right to pray for you.

And what I want you to do is real simple.

I want you to declare that you're going to come alive in the name of Jesus this holiday

season.

Amen.

And I want you to blow this roof off like you've never sung before.

Can we do that?

Let's go.

I'm in the presence of being pure and learning that prayer is the only logical cure.

And when the evil comes knocking at my door, I close my eyes and pray I won't hear those

voices anymore.

Amen.