Christmas Eve - Hope for the Holidaze

Well, it is great to have all of you with us.

This may be the biggest crowd we've had on the 23rd since we started doing this a few years back.

And it is so awesome to have all of you with us.

I want to say Merry Christmas.

My name is Russ.

I'm one of the pastors here at Church of the Grove.

And it's so it's great to have you.

It's great to have some of your family or maybe your friends with you.

I have some of my family.

I have some extended family here.

I've got uh my mom and my brother sitting over here, my sister-in-law, and um, and I know my wife and and my daughter and my son uh are here and missing one son tonight, but um excited to to be with you on this Christmas, excited to hear what God is gonna say to us.

Um what we're doing here is is believing that God is supernatural and he can come into our midst and he can speak to us.

And and a miracle can happen.

Where you feel a lack of hope, God can give you hope.

Where there might be some despair, God brings joy.

Not that he's gonna make all of the despair or the problems in your life go away, but he can give you peace in the midst of everything that you're going through.

I want to say welcome to those that are worshiping with us online, excited to have you with us as we're celebrating this weekend and celebrating our Christmas services, um, excited that you're with us.

And so uh that that song we just sang, Oh Holy Night.

There's a line in that song.

I read it a devotional maybe about a month ago, and it and it says, The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.

And man, it just I've heard that song many times, many times, but it just it it just it just God spoke to me in that devotional so much that I came and asked Brandon and our worship team.

I said, Man, is there is there any way we could do that song for our Christmas services?

I mean, this song was written probably over 150 years ago, but it captures the essence of probably how many of us feel right now.

We live in a weary world.

And so what that tells me that it was written 150 years ago is that probably not a lot has changed in the sense of how weary we can feel, how the world is broken, and maybe we have more technology in the 21st century, but we still have to deal with the consequences of a broken, sinful world, and our hearts can be broken.

We can experience despair and discouragement.

That word weary means to be exhausted, it means to be tired, it means to be exhausted in strength and endurance, it means that you're just beat.

You're worn out, burnt out.

Does anybody feel that way occasionally?

Let's just be honest about it.

Maybe the last two years you felt that way.

Um the weird world has been a weary place for a long time.

As we think about the Christmas story, 2,000 years ago, not a lot has changed.

That was a weary time.

It was a broken time.

Uh when Jesus was born, there was a ruler in Israel by the name of Herod.

And he was known for his deep paranoia.

He was just paranoid all the time, and he was ruthless and he was mean.

He had a long career, but he ruled by mass terror and and and through abuse and through putting uh the his heel on the necks of the people around him.

He ruled like what we would think of maybe back in the early 1900s when Stalin and other dictators um ruled um with with just uh surveillance and lacking freedom uh back in the days of communism.

Herod had multiple family members killed and his own family because he was paranoid that they were going to try to take his throne for him.

Uh shortly after the birth of Jesus, he he had all of the children in one region that were two years old and younger, all of them killed because he had heard the prophecies about this new baby king that had that was born, and he said, I'm just gonna have all of them killed in this territory.

Can you imagine the wailing and the sadness and the despair?

Rome was the occupying, conquering country uh of that time and that that day, and they ruled with brute force, and they they forced heavy burdens upon the Jewish people and the nation of Israel.

The Roma soldiers were vicious and mean and brutal and how they kept order and forced allegiance to Caesar.

And you think there's political division today?

It might have even been worse in the day of Jesus because you had not only the tension between Israel and Rome, you had tension even within the Jewish people.

You had the Pharisees and the Sadducees and all the different groups looking for a political Messiah, the zealots and the Essenes waiting for a Messiah that would come in a political manner.

Lots of division.

There was heavy taxation placed upon the Jewish people where they would collect up to 50 and 60 percent of what the Jewish people would make and what they would earn.

There was severe racial tension, even inside of Israel, between the Jewish people and the Samaritans and the and and also with the Gentiles and the Romans.

It was a difficult time, not to mention that it was a spiritually dark time.

God's people were disobedient.

They had forsaken the laws of God.

And as a result, and the consequences of that disobedience, there was this period of 400 years where there were no prophets, no voices where God was speaking.

It's known as the 400 years of silence, and it was dark.

And on the tail end of that, God came in to that situation, and he spoke to weary, hurting people dealing with despair.

He came into that situation.

I think many of us can identify with that.

We've experienced two years of weariness, and many of us are tired.

Many of us have experienced, we might not even know it, we've experienced levels of trauma because of the fear and the anxiety associated with this time.

In the midst of that, Jesus wants to come in and say, you don't have to live with fear.

You don't have to live with anxiety.

You can be given hope and you can be released as slaves to fear and anxiety and hopelessness.

You can experience the freedom that Jesus comes to give us.

There's a couple of families in our church that are going through cancer treatments right now.

One just had surgery this past week, and one had surgery maybe a few weeks back, and they're dealing with cancer.

We've got um uh families in our church that are experiencing a first holiday without a mother, a dad, a sibling, maybe even a child.

And they're experiencing despair, a bit of hopelessness, addictions, anxiety, depression are at all-time high.

In the midst of this, God wants us to know that there's hope.

Even in the midst of darkness, Emmanuel, God with us, I want you to hear from a young couple in our church that two years ago went through a very dark season in their life.

And their story is a story of redemption, a story of finding hope despite the difficult season they were in, and it's a story of faith, believing that God is good even if He doesn't answer your prayers the way that you want them to be answered.

So would you listen to Tyler and Tracy share their story?

Um on November 23rd, um, I had some pregnancy complications, and we went to the hospital, um, found out I had a partial placenta abruption.

The next day, Wednesday morning, um, you know, had some more complications.

Um, from that point on, they decided it was best for me to stay in the hospital just to make sure, you know, they could monitor everything.

On day 17 of bed rest, I started having contractions, went into labor, and three hours later, Hudson was born.

He was born at three pounds and one ounce, um, and of course was taken straight to the NICU.

Tyler was able to go with him from there.

So they took me down to the NICU, and I got to put my eyes on Hudson for the first time and without you know nurses all around.

And you know, it's very if you haven't ever been in the NICU, it's a very traumatizing place to be.

Um, everything's beeping, you know, Hudson's in this little tiny incubator, and every little alarm goes off and it makes you think what's going on, type of deal.

But um, it was very surreal to be able to sit there, just me and Hudson, you know, father with the son for the first time.

And of course, Tracy got to eventually join us after about an hour or so.

So when after Hudson was born, Tyler and I were able to stay in the hospital for three more days, and then we did have to be discharged from the hospital while Hudson stayed in the NICU.

And that was that was really hard, like having to leave you know the hospital without your child.

You know, you don't expect to give birth to your baby and then leave them at the hospital.

So that was that was definitely difficult going home um without him.

Just sitting there throughout the days knowing your boys in there struggling, he's fighting, and that was the biggest thing was he he fought so hard.

And um, I mean, yes, it's very difficult, but at the same time, uh, through all that darkness that we felt, we could also feel that God was still there holding our hands to it.

On Christmas Eve, um they kind of noticed Hudson, we all kind of noticed Hudson wasn't acting the same, and some numbers came back elevated and that sort of thing, and and we found out he had a fungal infection, um which was causing him to be really, really sick.

Um, so kind of from that point on, you know, the days got a lot harder.

Um, so I guess fast forward a little bit to January 4th, Hudson was super sick.

They told us not to leave the hospital, it had gotten to that point.

Um and so we actually they gave us a room upstairs so we didn't have to leave.

And um Tyler came in and we just had that conversation, that hard conversation of like, hey, we're we're at that point.

Yeah, I definitely felt something that they tell me.

You know, you need to have this difficult conversation that you don't ever imagine having.

Um, as much as neither one of us wanted to hear it.

I said, We need to figure out how we're gonna handle this even if we have to walk out of here without Hudson.

And oh that was definitely a very difficult conversation to have, but yeah, and um after that conversation, we were like, well, we'll we'll head down and see everyone, and something told us, hey, like, let's stop by the NICU first and and check on Hudson before we go see everyone.

And so we went in there and something was very different.

Um and at that point, the nurse practitioner that day was like, you kind of have a decision to make.

Um, he was bleeding internally at that point, just super sick, probably wasn't gonna make it through the night.

Um, they unhooked him and everything, um, except for a couple things, and um they let Tyler hold him that day.

And um then from that point, we they put us in a different room.

They have a parent room, um, and they brought Hudson to us and we were able to hold him and let our family come in and hold him.

You know, God blessed us tremendously with family and friends, you know, not just not just the family that we created at the hospital um with everyone, but just our our family and friends back home.

Um, the day Hudson passed away, we literally had a room full of people waiting on us to to grab us and hug us and you know be there for us in like the hardest moment of our life.

Um, and you know, those people are still supporting us to this day.

Um, it's still crazy to me that, you know, it's been two years now and we're still using God's still using Hudson's story um to reach other people.

And I know the holidays can be really hard, and whether you lost someone around the holidays or earlier in the year, you know, you still have that missing person and the holidays are all about family, and it's a nice reminder to know that one day we're gonna see them again if they're saved and they were a believer.

Um, we'll get to spend eternity in heaven with them.

And so while we're hurting sometimes here on earth from missing them, you know, it's it's that finding the joy on earth while longing for heaven, you know, it's it's finding that balance of of grieving and being happy while you're still with the family that you're around.

It's it's both, you know, it's okay to be sad in one moment and happy in the other.

Um, you know, I think just as a mom, you know, it does bring me peace to know that Hudson is sitting at the feet of Jesus and that he's spending eternity in heaven right now, and and that one day we'll be reunited as a family.

And, you know, don't get me wrong, I'm we miss him every day.

Um, but just having that that promise of eternity with Jesus um just helps a lot.

Absolutely.

Um, I was really struggling a while back after Hudson passed and was in a very, very dark place um mentally, and it came to a point where I had to come home to Tracy and say, I'm not okay.

Um I need your help.

We need to sit down and pray and just ask God to help not only me but us through this because I know you're struggling too.

And I mean, I was with the help of Russ, you know, we we sat down and prayed multiple times, and before you knew it, I was feeling good, and I'll talk about Hudson quite often now.

I mean, it still hurts every now and then, but I mean, like Tracy said, it helps to talk about them and just have those memories, no matter how short of a time it was or how long of a time it was.

Those memories will help you in the dark times.

And I think a lot of it is your perspective on the situation that you're going through.

I mean, looking back, I mean, obviously, would we do we want Hudson to be on earth with us?

Yes, that's you know our selfish nature.

Um, but at the same time, I mean, we were able to spend 23 days with him, and some people don't even get that for various reasons, you know.

Um, so we were able to spend 23 days with our son, and I will never take those days for granted.

I mean, you know, they were hard days, but you know, they were days that we got to love on him and pray for him and and just be with him.

So, um, you know, fast forward a little bit.

Um, in July, I found July or August, I found out I was pregnant with our rainbow baby.

Um, and so God gave us the biggest blessing with Kennedy.

Um, she's nine months old now, and she's just the happiest little baby ever.

Um, we refer to her as Hudson's little sister, you know, Hudson will always be our child.

And um, you know, I tell people we have two kids and that sort of thing.

And it also gives us an opportunity, you know, when people ask to talk about Hudson and to tell people our story and you know the goodness of God, even in hard situations.

So until we get to be with Hudson again in heaven, we'll be finding the balance between finding the joy here on earth and and longing for heaven.

Isn't that powerful?

The hope that we have in Christ, even in the midst of the weariness and the dark times that we experience.

Tremendous stories.

Some of you have stories.

You have stories of going through a valley, and you experience the presence of God in a more real, tangible way in that valley than any other time in your life.

God showed up and he was with you.

You know, John chapter 1, the Gospel of John is a little different than the stories that we see telling the Christmas story in Matthew and Luke.

John 1 · chapter mention

John, who actually was given charge by Jesus while he's hanging on the cross to John to take care of his mother, John would have had the most detail of any of the disciples concerning the Christmas story, the story of Jesus' birth, because of his closeness with Mary.

But rather than get into the details of the story, he focuses his gospel on the identity of Jesus.

And here's what he says in John 1, 1 through 5.

He says, in the beginning, the word already existed.

The word was with God, and the word was God.

And that word, that word that says word here is capital W, O-R-D, and it's a title for Jesus.

He existed in the beginning with God.

He created everything, God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.

The word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought life to everyone.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

And so John gives this biographical account of Jesus focusing on his identity, who he is, what he's capable of.

If he is the creator, if he existed before he was born, then he is fully God, while at the same time being fully man.

Verse 14, same chapter.

It says, So the Word became human and made his home among us.

He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son.

Now there's another translation called the Message that says that same verse this way: 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.

And so the unthinkable happens.

God comes to us.

He doesn't send a messenger, he doesn't send an ambassador, he comes himself and puts himself in our world, in our life, in our situation.

The Creator comes down to this earth.

He lives this perfect, sinless, sinless life.

And that's important because God knew there would have to be a sacrifice.

There would have to be a payment for the penalty of sin.

We would need forgiveness.

We would need to be bought back by the Heavenly Father through redemption.

And so He comes to live a perfect life and become the spotless Lamb to be sacrificed on our behalf.

And in that, he says, I'm not going to leave you alone.

I'm going to be with you.

God with us.

Even in the midst of our sin, even with our flaws, even with our imperfections.

These beautiful words that we've already heard, read and heard through song this morning.

Isaiah 9, 6 and 7 says, For a child is born to us, a son is given to us, the government will rest on his shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His government and its peace will never end.

He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.

What does he mean by wonderful counselor?

It means that God, through Jesus, comes to us and he is able to guide us into the light.

Able to give his wisdom to us through the Holy Spirit.

He's able to counsel you.

You've been through difficult times.

You've been through crossroads where you need some divine direction.

And somehow God brought somebody or God gave you a verse or God spoke through a sermon or God spoke to you directly and gave you guidance and direction.

He said he's a mighty God.

He's the creator of the universe.

He has all power.

And he says, I'm not going to keep that to myself.

I'm going to make it available to you through the Holy Spirit.

And the Bible teaches us that when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us.

And so the power that created this universe is made available to us personally.

He's an everlasting father.

What does that mean?

He has no beginning, he has no end.

He just has always been.

He is.

He's everlasting, but he's a perfect father.

He's a heavenly father.

And what that means is he has the desire to adopt you.

He doesn't want to leave you an orphan.

He wants to adopt you into his family.

And you become his child.

And you have the ability to sit in your daddy's lap through prayer and through his presence.

And talk to him just as you would talk to another human being.

And he hears you.

He promises to be with you.

And he says, Prince of peace, we live in a world that's full of conflict and strife and division.

And Jesus brings the peace, not the kind of peace that's just going to do away with difficulty and this kind of world peace, but he brings an eternal peace with eternal hope.

And even in the midst of chaos and darkness and difficulty, we can experience peace on this earth because we know something better is coming.

And so this Christmas season, you may find yourself a bit weary.

This weary world that we live in, and you need a touch of God's peace.

You need a touch of hope.

You need a touch of joy.

Maybe you can identify with Tyler and Tracy, and maybe your story is a little different.

But all of us have had some heartbreak.

All of us have dealt with loss.

All of us have had to travel through the valley of the shadow of death.

And God says, I'm with you to the end.

And so I want to just ask you for a second, if you would just bow your heads.

And I just want to pray for you.

And also want to invite you into a personal relationship with Jesus.

Maybe that's you.

You find yourself here.

You find yourself here because somebody invited you.

Maybe somebody in your family or a friend invited you.

You find yourself in this room, and you think maybe it was just by chance that somebody invited me or brought me here, but no, it's not by chance.

It's by divine intervention.

God has brought you here because he wanted you to hear his word.

He wanted you to have the hope that Jesus provides and offers, and he invites you to come.

Come.

Jesus says, Come all of you who are weary.

All of you who are weary, come.

For I am gentle and lowly.

It's the only place in Scripture that Jesus Himself describes his own character.

He says, I'm gentle and lowly.

And he says, I will give you rest.

I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and you will find rest for your weary souls.

For my burden is easy, and it is light.

And so he invites you to come.

Come.

How do you come?

How do you come to Jesus?

You come through faith, you come inviting him, and you come through repentance.

Jesus said in Mark 1.14, he said, the time is here.

The kingdom of God is here.

Repent and believe the good news.

And so how do you invite Jesus in your life?

You just didn't, you ask him, you pray to him, and you admit that you need him, you admit that you need forgiveness, and then you turn and you believe.

You believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And you put your faith in him, you turn away from trying to gain hope or meaning or significance or eternal life in your own strength and you simply surrender to Jesus.

And the Bible says you confess Him as Lord and you begin to follow the weight of Jesus.

You become a disciple, a follower of Jesus.

And the promises in Scripture are too many to even dive into at a moment like this.

But the promises of Scripture are you going to be a you're going to be a child of God.

You're going to have a new identity.

Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.

The Apostle Paul said, the old is past.

Behold, all things have become new.

And you're now no longer an orphan, but you're a child of God.

You're no longer an outsider, but now you're a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.

And you'll find yourself in moments of despair, having a supernatural strength inside of you that will give you hope in the midst of chaos.

Joy in the midst of despair.

And so I want to pray over those who might be in a weary time.

You might be struggling with some weariness.

If that's you, just raise your hand.

I'm tired.

I'm just spent.

Just raise your hand, hold it up.

And I'm going to pray for you.

Maybe the invitation is for you to come back to Jesus.

Come back into that personal place where He's real, where you are dependent upon Him.

Father, I pray that you would see these hands, these hearts.

God, that you would bring rejoicing to these weary souls and weary hearts.

God, would you just supernaturally bring joy, bring hope, bring identity?

Even in the midst of difficulty, God, would you, through the power of your Holy Spirit, become real and tangible to these people who are reaching out, asking for prayer tonight.

Father, continue to speak, continue to work, continue to move.

It's in Christ's name we pray.

And we say together, Amen.

Hey, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

If y'all are looking for more ways to stay connected with Church of the Grove, please download our app or visit us online at church of the Grove.com.

Just know that we are praying for y'all.

We love y'all, and we hope y'all have a great rest of the week.