A Right Relationship Series

Introduction: Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?

Was there a new X-Box 360 or Ipod under your tree, Maybe it was a new outfit or some jewelry. Everyone wants something for Christmas

Our society is conditioned to getting at Christmas. The other day I read an article entitled Christmas is…

• Christmas is everybody wants his past forgotten and his "presents" remembered.

• Christmas is when Santa comes down the chimney and your savings go down the drain.

• Christmas is the time when mothers have to separate men from their toys.

There is a lot of truth in those statements

I am reminded of a boy named Brian. For weeks, he bugged his parents about getting a watch for Christmas. Finally, his dad told him, “Brian, if you mention the watch again, you are not going to get it. Now stop bugging us!” Brian stopped mentioning the watch

One night Brian’s parents asked him to say grace before dinner.

Brian said, “I’d like to quote a Scripture verse before I pray. His parents were thrilled he was showing such spirituality. Then he said - Mark 13:37: “What I say to you, I say to everyone: ’Watch!’"

Now that is appropriate use of Scripture!

You know, we spend most of our Christmas season SEARCHING: searching for the perfect gift, the huge bargain, the ideal decoration, and the last parking spot.

At the first Christmas, many people missed it because they were too busy looking for other things.

• The politicians missed the first Christmas.

• The business community missed the first Christmas.

• The innkeeper missed the first Christmas.

• Even the religious establishment missed the first Christmas, because they were looking at other things.

The only people, who enjoyed the first Christmas, were the people who were looking for it.

Angels: “You’ll find the baby ... lying in a manger.”

Shepherds: “Let’s go and see!” (See Luke 2:12, 15)

The shepherds found Jesus because they were searching. They were seeking Him. And later on, another group, the wise men, found Jesus because they were looking for Him, too.

Wise men came from the East, asking, “Where is the baby...? We have come to worship Him.” (Matt. 2:1-2)

Now let me ask you: What are you going to find this Christmas? I will tell you what you are going to find: You will find what you are looking for.

I don’t know if you’ve caught it or not, but in our society today there’s a new emphasis on seeking spiritual truth. The media have caught it. Over the past few years Time, Life, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report have all run articles on spirituality. For instance, one had “Life after Death” as the cover story. Another offered a “Clear View of Heaven.” Life magazine asked, “Who Was He?” with a picture of Jesus on the cover. U.S. News covered the question of “Who Wrote the Bible?” One magazine even boldly implied that it could answer the question “Who Is God?” ABC ran a special this week regarding heaven

Clearly, the media don’t cover these topics unless they make money. This means there is an intense interest in spiritual things in our society.

A Newsweek article “The Search for the Sacred” said this: “Maybe it’s just a critical mass of Baby Boomers in the contemplative afternoon of life. Maybe it is anxiety over the war and uncertain economic conditions, or maybe it is a general dissatisfaction with the materialism of the modern world. For these reasons and more, millions of Americans are embarking on a search for the sacred in their lives.”

In essence, people have a gaping hole in their souls, and this is a seeker’s quest – to fill the hole with a new source of meaning.

While we seek out a meaning to this life, I want you to know it can only come by having a right relationship with God

God knows all about you; He wants you to know Him. Moreover, there is no better time than Christmas to become the kind of seeker the wise men embodied. Wise people will seek Christ.

This Christmas God wants to give you three Christmas gifts that you will find if you seek them. Because whatever you are looking for is what you will find.

The Key to Christmas is finding a Right Relationship with God

The miracle of Christmas is not on 34th street; it is in Bethlehem. Through Jesus, God offers you a relationship that provides forgiveness for your past, peace of mind in the present, and a solid future in eternity.

1. This Christmas, You Can Find Forgiveness from your Past

“Today your Savior was born... He is Christ, the Lord.” (Luke 2:11 NCV)

Note that word Savior. That is the significance of Christmas. Why do we need a Savior anyway? Well, let me just cut to the chase. The Bible says that heaven is a perfect place. There are no mistakes or inconsistencies; it is perfect. Because of that, only perfect people get to go there. If God let imperfect people into heaven, it would not be perfect anymore. That means I do not stand a chance in a million of getting into heaven on my own effort, and neither do you. I lost my chance at perfection a long time ago.