S120901 The best Christmas gift John 3:16
Beginning:
Ask this rhetorical question: What was the most expensive gift you ever received for Christmas? What was the most expensive gift you ever gave?
A pastor friend of mine says most of us go too far into debt buying gifts we can’t afford to give to people we really don’t like all that much anyway.
He is right. We assign different value to the people in our lives. I have to be honest, my children and grandchildren will receive the most valuable of my Christmas gifts and from there we use an imaginary sliding scale of lesser and lesser value. Some of you will be lucky to even get a Christmas card from me. I hope you have a good sense of humor today.
Occasionally people will lovingly seek to bless us with a love gift. It usually follows a time when Gail and I have helped a family through a life-changing event like a funeral or a wedding. The size of the love gift is not as important as you would think because we are independently wealthy. (Humor). More importantly the gift says we love you and appreciate your help. What is interesting to me is how the family decides on the size of the gift. I wonder do people give in relationship as to how they value my time? Maybe the family sat around the kitchen table discussed what would be normal to give, or what is average. You give an average gift for average help. Did they actually debate my gift like this, “His help was not worth $30 but it surely was worth more than $10. Lets give him $15. As a help to me in the future, please, if you ever feel inclined to give Gail and me a love gift, make it end in a 0, like $10 or 20 etc. You can’t imagine what went through my mind when I opened an envelope from a family one time and there was a check for $7.25.
Illustration:
Engage the congregation in a pricing game. Ask them to estimate the value of objects in the worship room. Enlist assistants to tape a blank piece of paper on each object and write the estimated value. After the congregation has estimated several object values ask for a child to come and stand by you on the stage. Ask, “What value is this child?” Tape a blank piece of paper on the child and then draw the sign on the cross and say, “This is how much God thinks (the child’s name) is worth.
The gifts the Magi lavished on Jesus reflected the value they placed on the child. They gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The value of gold is classic. It has always been the standard of commerce. It is the most valued of all metals. It was the best you could give anyone.
Frankincense was more of a symbolic gift. It was valuable, but more so by what it represented. It was used by people of the ancient near East as an aid to their praying. The incense was fragrant and spoke of the pleasant smell their prayers had in the nostrils of God. It rose as smoke upward into the air as did their prayers. Frankincense was a gift of prayer. It was a spiritual gift.
Myrrh was essentially medicinal oil. The Magi gave this valuable oil to the child as a visible affirmation of prophecy. They knew the Jewish prophets of the captivity said this child king would be for the healing of the nations. Myrrh stood for what his life would produce.
Mary Magdalene, of New Testament times, poured an essence of perfume on Jesus that was worth thousands of dollars in our economy. She dramatically demonstrated her value system lavishly in front of God and everybody.
Background
Matthew, Mark and Luke begin their Gospels with lineage and Earthly family. John begins his account with the heavenly pedigree. In John 1:1 he goes as far back as is possible to go, “In the beginning . . .” His tracing of God’s footprints advance through chapter two until in chapter 3 he details in absolute clarity the values of God and the extent to which He was willing to go to follow through with His gift. God truly is the greatest lover. He gave the greatest gift that could be given all because of the value He placed on you and me.
Burden of the message
This message deals with values. I hope this message will help all of us assign value as would Jesus.
Basic Truth:
God has given great gifts before, but Jesus is the best.
Burning Question:
Why is Jesus the best Christmas gift?
Because He is what we really need most
John 4:10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."
The Samaritan woman really needed to have her understanding enlightened. She believed life was dark and full of disappointment. She thought she needed H2O, but her need was much greater.
Illustration:
Christmas shopping, though fun, can be difficult. Did you hear about the guy that bought his wife a beautiful diamond ring for Christmas? A friend of his said, "I thought she wanted one of those sporty 4-Wheel drive vehicles." "She did," he replied. "But where am I gonna find a fake Jeep?" Some of have suggested that things would have been considerably different if these wise men had actually instead been wise women. And things sure would have been different. If it had been ‘Wise Women’ instead of ‘Wise Men’, they would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought practical gifts from Baby’s-R-Us, including diapers, wipes, bibs and formula.
Because He is better than we all really deserve
Acts 8:18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." 20 Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! Eph. 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. Romans 6: 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Simon needed his spiritual insights brightened up a little too. He acted as if the material world was all that existed and he tried to use material things to gain spiritual.
The gift of God can’t be earned or bought.
Illustration
A small boy was writing a letter to God about the Christmas presents he badly wanted. "I’ve been good for six months now," he wrote. But after a moment’s reflection he crossed out "six months" and wrote "three". After a pause that was crossed out and he put "two weeks". There was another pause and that was crossed out too. He got up from the table and went over to the little crib scene that had the figures of Mary and Joseph. He picked up the figure of Mary and went back to his writing and started again: "Dear God, if ever you want to see your mother again…!"
Receive God’s greatest gift with humble appreciation.
What do I hope my hearers learn from this message?
Our time, our lives and our resources are finite.
There is urgency about receiving the gift.
What do I hope my hearers do?
Learn the values of heaven and activate them in your life.
I hope that when you dance through the gates of heaven people from the Orient who heard about Jesus as a result of you gift to missions will meet you. I want you to know the pleasure of heavens applause as you hear American Indians from the Dakotas thank you for your investment in their understanding of Jesus the Great Spirit. I want you to see the appreciation in the eyes of the Mexican people who came to know Jesus because you cared enough to go and tell them about the real Jesus that takes away the sin of the world.
