What Christmas Means...

“Amid a flood of techniques for self-fulfillment there is an epidemic of depression, suicide, personal emptiness, and escapism through drugs and alcohol, cultic obsession, consumerism, and sex and violence – all combined with an inability to sustain deep and enduring personal relationships.” - Dallas Willard, “The Spirit Of The Disciplines.”

LISTEN – what many people are trying & pursuing for contentment – just isn’t working… The prophet Haggai wrote to a people who were experiencing the same thing….

“You have planted much but have harvested little. You eat, but you do not become full. You drink, but you are still thirsty. You put on clothes but you are not warm enough. You earn money, but then you lose it all as if you had put it into a purse full of holes...You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little.” - Haggai 1:6

People are still empty – they have dug one well after another and they keep coming up dry. AND – this time of year is a powerful example of it….LISTEN - when you consider all the time (days, weeks, hours), all the energy and all the money that goes into this holiday season… Most people don’t get a very good return on their investment…

The food is gone

The family went back home

The decorations are in the attic

The tree is at the curb

AND deep down inside where no one sees but God and then they are still empty.. UNDERSTAND many people are not any more content then when they started and some are even worse off…

BUT – Listen Christmas (God sending His son) can change all that…

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all it’s fullness..” Jn 10:10 (NLT)

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Phil 4:11-13

If you want; fullness of life/contentment/ - there is only one answer Jesus Christ…!

Christmas Means…God Loves You

I’m just going to read some Scripture about God’s love for you… I’m not going to say anything about it… JUST – close your eyes and let his word refresh your spirit…

“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.” Ps 23:6

“Through each day the LORD pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.” Ps 42:8

For the LORD your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song. Zeph 3:17

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death?…No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39