What’s in the Box
Intro: Talk about the Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays thing… Seems like every year there are a group of Christians who get irate over some piece of Christmas tradition. We have heard it and many of us have said it… Don’t take the Christ out of Christmas… Santa is not my Savior… Don’t tell me have a happy holidays, it is Christmas, say merry Christmas… it should be Christmas break, not winter break… and the list goes on. I would like for you to think about this… in all of this things, we miss the point.
Christmas is not about hearing the words you like to hear. It is about taking time to reflect on what Jesus Christ means to you as an individual… what he means to us as a church.
Big Idea: The act of Jesus coming to earth was an act of love… he was, in every sense of the word, a gift. This is rarely disputed by those who have a relationship with Jesus. The question for each of us is this… how are you giving Jesus to those around you?
Gift: Something that is bestowed voluntarily and without compensation.
I will take the next several minutes and share a few points that I hope will help you take one more step towards Christ.
Jesus as a gift of love, in a time when love is cheaply giving and easily brushed aside.
John 3:16-17
16"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. 17God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. (The Message)
Jesus as a gift of peace, in a time when conflict and frustration rage all around us as individuals.
Romans 5:1-2
1Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
Jesus as a gift of “enough”, in a time when we can never to too wealthy, too beautiful, or too successful.
Philippians 4:11-13
11Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. 12I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.
Jesus as a gift for you right now.
2 Corinthians 6:2
2For God says,
"At just the right time, I heard you.
On the day of salvation, I helped you."
Indeed, God is ready to help you right now. Today is the day of salvation.
Without Jesus at the center of your life, you cannot experience the gift of love in it’s true sense… any love you give or receive is lacking.
Without Jesus at the center of your life, you experience a sense of unrest… you will take that unrest with you wherever you go.
Without Jesus at the center of your life, you will never have enough… because you will always being trying to fill a place that only he can fill.
Jesus, in the words of the Apostle John on the Island of Patmos says, “I stand at the door and knock”… those words are not just for those who don’t know him. But some of you who sit here today have a relationship with Jesus, if you were to die, you would spend eternity in heaven… but you have let Jesus into your life… but you have surrendered your life. The receiving of a gift is surrendering to what is in that gift… not knowing what is in it, but knowing that the one who gives it would only give you something you could not live without… maybe, just maybe… love… peace… contentment. Will you receive that this morning?
Call to Action: What will do you with the gift now?
