INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• What is the greatest gift you have ever received? Who gave it to you? FROM A MATERIAL STANDPOINT.
• I remember when I was young, the excitement of coming into the living room on Christmas morning and seeing all of the gifts under the tree.
• I remember how the anticipation built each day as Christmas approached, the gifts under the tree would increase, and I could not wait to get my stuff!
• As an adult, one of the things that I love is giving gifts, I have to be careful because when I buy I Christmas gift, I want to give the gift as soon as I get it.
• In my home, we pass out all the gifts and we open them one at a time. (This is something my wife started so the opening would last longer and so she could open the last gift).
• Before a gift is opened, it is announced who the gift is from. The person who gave the gift watches intently as to look for some kind of reaction from the person who receives the gift.
• When the time comes to open the presents, what kind of system do you use to decide which gifts you are going to open first?
• Do you go for the BIG gifts first? Do you go for the small ones first? Do you go for the one with the pretty wrapping?
• Have you ever had gifts under the tree that no one claimed or that remained opened? OF COURSE NOT!
• God has a most excellent gift that He wants to give to all people. It is often the unclaimed or unopened gift of Christmas. It is the gift that many people leave under the tree or the gift that they will not claim.
• This Christmas season open your eyes, open your mind and open your heart to the most GREATEST GIFT OF ALL!
• SLIDE #2
• Romans 5:6-8(ESV) 6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
God’s gift is the greatest of all gifts because…
I. The gift is needed by everyone!
• Have you received that infamous pair of socks? You have 20 pair already and here is
• Getting folks gifts can be difficult because one size usually does not fit all. Plus everyone has differing tastes and interests.
• Some of the latest toys would excite a child, but not many adults.
• Something that would excite one person would do nothing for another.
• Robyn says it is hard to buy stuff for her father because he has a lot of stuff.
• Then if we happen to get a gift that is interesting for a person, sometimes they do not need it.
• Everyone seems to have a differing idea as to what it means to need something. When Apple comes out with a new phone. That is a NEED!
• We get toys that break or we outgrow.
• We get books that we read and put down, we get clothes that we outgrow or that go out of style or wear out.
• We get food that we eat and it is gone (except what for stays around the waist).
• We see that Jesus wanted EVERYONE to have this gift; He did not just offer it to “GOOD” people!
• SLIDE #4
• 1 Timothy 2:4(ESV) 4who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
• SLIDE #5
• John 3:16(ESV) 16“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
• Who do you know other than Jesus who was or is perfect? None of us, so this gift is the greatest gift ever because we ALL need it!
• SLIDE #6
• Romans 3:23(ESV) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
• Can you think of something in your past that God cannot forgive?
• The Bible tells us that when we are immersed into Christ that our sins are forgiven (NO EXCEPTIONS).
• We need not be separated from God!
• SLIDE #7
• Romans 8:39(ESV) nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• Your past does not limit your ability to receive the gift God has for you. If anything, your past is the reason you need God’s most excellent gift!
• SLIDE #8
• 2 Corinthians 9:15(ESV) 15Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
• Next we see…
• SLIDE #9
God’s gift is the greatest of all gifts because…
II. The gift is so awesome words cannot describe it!
• Have you ever received a gift that was so awesome words could not describe it?
• I bet we have all received some real nice gifts, but they are pretty much describable.
• You may get something so neat that your jaw drops, but once you recovered you could tell folks you got a .50 cal or a new car.
• SLIDE #10
• When we are in Las Vegas, I saw some neat cars. They were USED! Could get them, they would be AWESOME gifts, but I can describe them!
• The word INEXPRESSIBLE means what it says, something that cannot be expressed by words.
• How can you describe to a person what the gift God has to offer to them can do for them and for their lives?
• I have trouble conveying to people at times what God’s gift has done for me. We tell people about heaven, but even that is beyond our description.
• How can you describe the gift that God has given to you? It is hard to put into words.
• Things like the peace that God offers.
• SLIDE #11
• Philippians 4:7(ESV) 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
• How can we describe to people how God provides and protects us even when in may not look like He is doing anything for us?
• How can we describe to people a God who loves them so much that He gave His Son to die for them? How can we describe to people that we cannot earn the gift by our own works?
• In a world that seems to be drifting further and further away from God, how do we tell that God still loves them in spite of what they have done in the past?
• HOW DO YOU TELL PEOPLE HOW JESUS ACCEPTED YOU AND CHANGED YOUR LIFE!
• If you really love and appreciate what God has done for you, you will sometimes have a hard time describing it to others.
• There are times when I have to just shake my head in awe that God would allow me to have His most excellent gift and that He would even consider using me in His kingdom.
• SLIDE #12
• Hebrews 13:8(ESV) 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
• SLIDE #13
God’s gift is the greatest of all gifts because…
III. There will never be a new and improved version next year!
• I LOVE this aspect of the gift!
• How many of you parents’ bought your children the latest gift craze last year? If you bought your child the craze of last year.
• That means you do not have to buy them this year’s craze since it is the same right? WRONG!
• I have an IPhone, not a Droid. I am sure for the most part a Droid phone is as good or in ways maybe better than the IPhone.
• But here is the reason I will not get a Droid as long as Apple makes the IPhone. EVERY week there is a NEW one! That would drive me NUTS!
• I know new IPhones come out every couple of years, but Droids come out it seems like every WEEK.
• I like the fact that my phone is not outdated 3 months or 3 weeks after I got it.
• The gift that God has to offer does not change from year to year. If you have already received God’s gift, you do not have to wait for God to come and tell you that the gift He has given you is out of style, out of date or too small.
• You do not have to worry about wearing out your gift, it is the same as when you first received it.
• SLIDE #14
• Romans 6:23(ESV) For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• SLIDE #15
God’s gift is the greatest of all gifts because…
IV. Everyone can afford this gift!
• How do you like the idea of FREE!
• Everyone can afford FREE!
• A gift is usually free by definition.
• SLIDE #16
• Ephesians 2:8-9(ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
• All of the man-made religions in the world that I know of give you some way to earn the ultimate gift that the religion offers.
• If you pray so many times a day, if you give so much money, if you make a trip to a certain spot on the globe you will get the prize.
• The Jews of Jesus time and of the Old Testament took a lot of pride in being able to follow rules; they felt following certain rules gave them the privilege of God’s presence.
• They took God’s Ten Commandments and turned them into several hundred or thousand rules for you to follow in order to please God, down to the number of steps that you could take on the Sabbath.
• Aren’t you tired of trying to earn God’s favor? Why don’t you just give up on that and accept God’s gift that He gives to us by His grace.
• God’s gift is something that we cannot earn!
CONCLUSION
What is the Greatest Gift of All that GOD wants you to have? It is the gift of salvation through the shed blood of Jesus.
This is a gift that God wanted you to have so bad that He sent His Son to die in your place so that you could receive the gift of salvation.
This Christmas as you opened your gifts and enjoyed the holiday, did you forget to open or forget to claim the God’s most excellent gift that He was sent to you?
This Christmas season open your eyes, open your mind and open your heart to the most excellent gift of Christmas.
The gift is here and it is being offered to you this morning, will you claim it, will you open it, or will you leave it under the tree for another year?
I want to invite you to receive God’s most excellent gift, the gift of salvation through Jesus!
