“Christmas beyond the Wrapping Paper” part 1
God’s Gift of Hope
Brian A. Moon
I recently heard a story of self-made millionaire Eugene Land, who greatly changed the lives of a sixth-grade class in East Harlem. Mr. Lang had been asked to speak to a class of 59 sixth-graders. What could he say to inspire these students, most of whom would drop out of school? He wondered how he could get these predominantly black and Puerto Rican children even to look at him. Scrapping his notes, he decided to speak to them from his heart. "Stay in school," he admonished, "and I’ll help pay the college tuition for every one of you." At that moment the lives of these students changed. For the first time they had hope. One student said, "I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me. It was a golden feeling." Nearly 90 percent of that class went on to graduate from high school.
Hope is an amazing thing. Hope can transform a life from meaninglessness into a life that is full of purpose and direction and it can even motivate 6th grade students! That is pretty amazing stuff!!! We are now into the month of December and all across this great country the malls are frantically decorating and setting out racks of sale items for that great time of year known as Christmas. Houses are being decorated with bright lights and empty lots are turning into evergreen forest of Christmas trees. The temperature is getting colder and the sounds, sights, and smells of Christmas are soon to be everywhere. For many of you this is your favorite time of year, you can’t wait until Christmas morning with family sitting around a tree and ripping open that brightly wrapped gift.
Unwrapping that gift… is that all this holiday is about? Is the shinny wrapping paper, and Santa Clause what the entire world gets ready for each December 25th? This week we begin a new series called “Christmas beyond the Wrapping Paper” which is going to look at Christmas time a little deeper. The true meaning of Christmas is about gifts, but it isn’t wrapped in paper with a bow, instead it is about God’s gifts to each of us. These gifts God gives us come straight from one source and one source alone, his Son Jesus.
The Bible says, “Though he was God… He laid aside His mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men. And He humbled himself even further, going so far as actually to die a criminals death on a cross.” Philippians 2:6-8 TLB
2,000 years ago in a little Middle Eastern town God sent the source of all Christmas gifts to come to earth in the form of a little baby named Jesus. This little baby would grow up to be a man, a man that lived a perfect life and then died a criminal’s death.
He died a criminals death because he traded all our shortcomings and sins for his perfect life. Jesus made us perfect in God’s eyes. He gave us HOPE. If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator; If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist; If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist; If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior. Jesus life and death gives us hope. Hope for our past, hope for our present, and hope for our future. Lets look at those in more detail, because of Jesus I have:
Hope for my past
If you are like me you can relate to this story. It was my senior year of high school and I was voted as the senior with most school spirit. This was a cool honor and something I made sure I lived up to… for better or for worse. It was at an away volleyball game that I made the slight error of listening to a girl who told me I should write some nice words for the opposing teams fans on my chest with her lipstick.
Me and a friend went to the bathroom and carefully wrote AHS on my chest and SU… well you know on his chest. We made our way out to the gym and displayed our artwork when the dean from our school grabbed us by the arm told us to see him first thing in the mourning, with our parents in his office. That night as I replayed the story to my parents I told them one little variation in the story, I said that my friends chest said stinks instead of the slightly more taboo version. The next day as always the truth came out and I had to face the fact that it was the first time I had lied to my dad. I could see the disappointment all over his face and I felt like garbage.
I share that story about a mistake in my life the Bible calls sin because not only did I feel like dirt and wish that I could have a do-over, But it also separated me from God. Sin does that, it separates us from a perfect God, and no matter how hard we try we can never bridge that gap back. That is why God’s gift of Jesus brings us hope. God’s gift of Jesus is the same thing as God’s gift of hope. In this case it brings hope for my past. The things in my life that I wish I could do over, the things that cause me pain and heartache can all be made right again because of Jesus Christ life and death.
The Bible says, “Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on.” 1 Peter 1:3 CEV
Circle the words “new life” and “hope”
We all have those deep, dark secrets that still hold us down, all those mistakes and poor choices from our past can be made right with a new life that gives us hope. That was God’s gift of hope 2,000 years ago when Jesus lived, and that is God’s gift to you this year.
This Christmas God wants to give you the gift of hope for your past. God says to us, “I understand that you have messed up in the past, I understand that you have made some bad choices in your life, And I know that you think there is no hope for them being forgotten, but I sent my Son to make all those bad things disappear.” God gives us the ultimate second chance by erasing our past and calls us into a new life, the life of Jesus.
The Bible says, “You will have greater understanding in your heart so you will know the hope to which he has called us” Ephesians 1:18 NCV
When we realize that our past can be forgotten, and that all those guilty feelings can be taken away this gives our hearts hope. If you are carrying around a past that you are not proud of tonight, then please understand that this Christmas can be the Christmas that you receive the best gift ever, God’s gift of hope for your past. Not only does God give us hope for our past this Christmas, but he gives me:
Hope for the present
A man approached a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded, "Eighteen to nothing--we’re behind." "Boy," said the spectator, "I’ll bet you’re discouraged." "Why should I be discouraged?" replied the little boy. "We haven’t even gotten up to bat yet!"
God has given us hope for the past, he has taken away our past, given us a fresh start, taken away the 18 runs scored against us, but what about when we get up to bat? God’s gift of hope is also good for right now, this very moment. God has given us hope for the present.
The Bible says, “Because of this, my heart will be glad, my words will be joyful, and I will live in hope.” Acts 2:26 CEV
Circle the words “live in hope”
What does that mean, to live in hope? It means that because of what Jesus Christ did we can be free, free and living in that hope. When Jesus rose from the grave, he rose from a grave of our sins, all those sins that each of us struggles with Jesus defeated them. It might be your temper, or your careless words, maybe you struggle with drugs, or even things like pornography, and bad sexual decisions… All of these things Jesus defeated! God says I will take away your past, and I will set you free from all those things that still come back to haunt you. Thousands of things try to control us each day, our schedule, our emotions, our past, our circumstances, our struggles with sin, but you do not have to be a slave to any of them! You are free because of God’s gift of Jesus, which gives us hope for our present.
The Amplified Bible says, “Therefore if any person is engrafted in Christ the Messiah he is a new creation a new creature altogether; the old previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Before you have found this gift of hope you look at the world in a totally different way. You interact with people differently, you live by whatever controls you at the moment, and you have no reason to live a life that is moral. But now God gives you hope; he gives you a fresh start, and he changes the way we look at the world. We now realize that our lives are made meaningful by God’s gift and that his gift should not be wasted on the old way of life. This Christmas you can enjoy God’s gift of Jesus by living in the freedom that he gave us which gives us hope for our present situation. God’s gift of hope erases our past, sets us free in our present situation and God’s gift gives us:
Hope for the future
An interesting map is on display in the British Museum in London. It’s an old mariner’s chart, drawn in 1525, outlining the North American coastline and adjacent waters. The cartographer made some intriguing notations on areas of the map that represented regions not yet explored. He wrote: "Here be giants," "Here be fiery scorpions," and "Here be dragons." Eventually, the map came into the possession of Sir John Franklin, a British explorer in the early 1800s. Scratching out the fearful inscriptions, he wrote these words across the map: "Here is God."
This Christmas God’s gift of hope is so you can always say in the future, “Here is God.” God gives us hope by erasing our past, gives us hope by setting us free, and he gives us hope by making our future sure.
The Bible says, “I will bless you with a future filled with hope--a future of success, not of suffering.” Jeremiah 29:11 CEV
Even though you might be in a tough situation now, you can have hope that your future is in God’s loving hands. No matter what you are facing today, God says I have won the victory for you and will bless you with a “Future filled with hope.” You see this life is only temporary, you were made to exist forever and this body, this earth, is only the first chapter in a novel with no ending. Because of God’s gift of Jesus we have been forgiven of our sins and we once again have been restored to a right relationship with God. We are no longer separated from him and because of this the Bible says,
“This truth gives them the confidence of eternal life, which God promised them before the world began--and he cannot lie.” Titus 1:2 NLT
You are the “them” in that verse, you are the one that will have eternal life with God! So the things of this life, the worries, the stress, the fear for our future is pointless because our hope is that this life is just the rehearsal for the real production. We don’t have to get all worked up about what will happen to us because God has taken away our past, given us freedom in the present, and secured our future all because of his gift of Jesus this Christmas.
The Bible says, “You will live secure and full of hope; God will protect you and give you rest.” Job 11:18 TEV
Circle the words “secure” and full of hope”
That is what your future is, it is secure and full of hope! God’s gift of hope through Jesus is so amazing! I get excited just talking about it because it has given my life purpose, security, and even excitement.
The Bible says, “God cannot tell lies! And so his promises and vows are two things that can never be changed. We have run to God for safety. Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us.” Hebrews 6:18 CEV
For some of you tonight you might not know about all this hope because you have never taken hold of the hope that is right in front of you. You have never said to God, I need you to come and save me from my past, give me freedom right now, and give me a hope of being with you one day forever. But you can because it is so easy. God has done all the work through Jesus and if you ask him he will come and give his Christmas gift of hope to you tonight. Will you accept his gift?
Prayer Time ---------
God thank you for your Christmas gift of hope in Jesus! You have given us so much hope and joy and we thank you for it!
If you have never started a relationship with God through his Son Jesus, and tonight you need this hope then cry out to him as best you know how and say God come and save me and give me hope. Forgive me for my past, help me to be free from it now, and thank you for eternal life with you one day. Help me to walk away from my old life and accept your new life for me. Amen.
If that was you then the Bible says God will give you the power to be saved and that one-day you will spend forever with him in heaven.
God help all of us to fully understand and accept the gift of hope that you have given to us. Amen.
