1 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:07,600 Oh, Crossing Nation. On behalf of Jennifer and I, our 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:12,880 family, the Crossing staff, Merry Christmas. 3 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:15,360 We are so glad that we get to be here. 4 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:17,240 I know you guys are trying to find kids at all of our 5 00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:19,640 different locations. Some of you guys will be like, 6 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:22,120 you know what? The kids we got in our row, 7 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:24,080 we're keeping. OK, we get it. 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,480 I want to welcome you joining from all of our different 9 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,720 locations. Those of you watching online, we 10 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:35,080 are so thankful for the opportunity to share this moment 11 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,480 with you. Maybe you've noticed this 12 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:44,720 already, but Christmas has a tendency to magnify things. 13 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:47,880 Have you noticed that? If you haven't, maybe maybe 14 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:50,320 you'll see my point of view in just a second. 15 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:54,240 If things are going great for you, Christmas magnifies it, 16 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:56,240 right? Like if you're just killing it 17 00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:59,560 on on every front, you're like, Christmas is awesome. 18 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:03,760 And I want, you know, we see you, we see you in your matching 19 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:07,520 PJS, everyone's smiling on your Christmas card. 20 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:10,240 And just so you know, we threw it in the trash. 21 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,160 I'm just telling you, I mean, wherever you got it printed 22 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:17,480 from, we're happy for you, but we're not putting you on the 23 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:19,120 fridge. We're not that close. 24 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:24,920 If you're in love, Christmas magnifies it. 25 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:27,920 You've ever seen a dating couple around Christmas? 26 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:30,760 We're going to be together forever. 27 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:37,560 We'll see those of you who are engaged. 28 00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:42,640 Pro tip fellas, make up a family tradition for you and your 29 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:44,600 future wife to have. And here's the tradition you 30 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:47,160 want. When I was growing up, sweetie, 31 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,600 we hung a mistletoe in every room of the house. 32 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:54,080 OK? You will trust. 33 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:59,040 You will thank me later. If you made really good money 34 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:03,760 this year, Christmas magnified it right now. 35 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:05,320 You guys aren't going. Oh, that's us. 36 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,440 I get it. I want to know who is the target 37 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:11,600 audience for the Christmas vehicles with bows on them? 38 00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:16,320 Like, who are those people? Oh, yeah, kids, you're all 39 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:19,960 getting Lexuses. Like I've never seen a car with 40 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:21,360 a bow on it. I guess they don't put those on 41 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:25,600 Honda Civics. If OK, OK. 42 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:31,920 If you're antisocial, Christmas magnifies it. 43 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:37,680 You sat down with your husband and you said, all right, I'm 44 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:38,920 looking at the month of December. 45 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,240 I have to go to work. I have to go to the grocery 46 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:45,240 store. We have a kids play. 47 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:49,040 We have Christmas Eve services, Your Family Christmas, and my 48 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:54,160 family Christmas. Pick one, right? 49 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:56,800 You're like, I am not leaving this house. 50 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:04,640 If you are a procrastinator, Christmas magnifies it right 51 00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:06,160 now. Some of you are praying to Jeff 52 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:10,600 Bezos and the God of UPS, right? My gift for Jennifer just left 53 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,840 China. It's coming in. 54 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:17,000 Santa's going to pick it up mid flight. 55 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:23,960 If you're a control freak, husbands don't nudge, especially 56 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:27,160 if you're new to the crossing. OK, just be cool during this 57 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,680 part. If you're a control freak, 58 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:34,680 Christmas magnifies it. You decided, because you wanted 59 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,360 to be a Pinterest mom, to let the kids help decorate the tree, 60 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:40,040 and halfway through the decorating the tree, you realize 61 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:44,920 that your kids are idiots. So you let them go to bed, and 62 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:48,040 then you undecorated the tree, put all of their stuff facing 63 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:52,280 the wall and all of your stuff facing where people would sit if 64 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,760 you weren't antisocial, and you let people come over to your 65 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:56,240 house. I get you. 66 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,200 If you're struggling financially, Christmas magnifies 67 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:06,840 it. Why did we have so many kids and 68 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:10,320 friends this year? We're we're cutting some people 69 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:12,360 out, right? You're going out. 70 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:18,480 We we got to stop doing this. If you got a bad diagnosis, 71 00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:24,000 Christmas magnifies it. You're asking a question you 72 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:28,360 never thought you'd ask. Is this my last Christmas? 73 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:35,400 If you're alone, Christmas magnifies it. 74 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:44,080 Christmas magnifies everything. There is not a part of your life 75 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:48,400 that isn't magnified during the Christmas season. 76 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:54,240 And I don't know if there is a messier season of life than 77 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:58,120 Christmas. And if Christmas magnifies 78 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:04,000 things, that means that the Christmas mess gets magnified. 79 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:06,440 I mean, think about all the messes at Christmas. 80 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:10,200 You've got relational messes, you've got to buy gifts for 81 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:14,600 people you don't like anymore. You've got kitchen messes with 82 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:18,800 flour and icing everywhere. You've got tree messes. 83 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,480 How many of you have a flocked tree? 84 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:24,360 And I said that very carefully. A flocked tree. 85 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:29,160 Yeah, your house is trash. That thing just sheds all the 86 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,040 time. Your your wife's. 87 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:32,640 Like, why do you have so much glitter on you? 88 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,200 Like, I honestly was just putting stuff next to the tree. 89 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:39,560 Sweetie, I promise. The Garland sheds and it's like 90 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:41,920 there's ever your. And if you get a real tree, how 91 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:43,200 many of you are real tree people? 92 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:49,240 Psychos constantly just vacuuming up dead tree. 93 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,360 I don't get it. You don't keep a plant any other 94 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,440 time of the year, but when it comes to Christmas, we want the 95 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:58,280 smell of something dying in our house. 96 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:02,440 All right, good for you. How about this mess? 97 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:08,400 The post Christmas Day mess? And how come there's only one 98 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:11,240 trash day the week after Christmas? 99 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:13,760 Like, here's the side hustle for you. 100 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:18,400 You'll work one week out of the year and it is Christmas trash 101 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,880 special because they know that we've been dropping off Amazon 102 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:26,520 boxes for weeks. There is, and we already fill up 103 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:28,640 the trash can that they give us every week. 104 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,080 Before we get all the Amazon boxes, where are we supposed to 105 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:34,040 put it? So then you're driving around 106 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,840 late at night trying to find people's dumpsters. 107 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,800 I get it. I'm not saying we do it. 108 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,840 I'm saying, I know people who've done it. 109 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:45,320 Those of you who live in the country, like, I don't 110 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:47,240 understand. We keep burning everything. 111 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:54,160 Like, come on, America, all right, If your life or your 112 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:58,560 Christmas is a little messy right now, I have good news for 113 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:02,560 you. The first Christmas was messy, 114 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:06,880 too. It was a far cry from the 115 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:12,040 Christmas card Hallmark Hobby Lobby Nativity that we've seen 116 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:16,080 on Christmas Cards and In Your Yards and Inflatables and on 117 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:22,520 Fireplace Mantels. In 2014, an artist by the name 118 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:26,560 of Everett Patterson, who's incredibly gifted, made a 119 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:30,880 personalized greeting card to send to his friends and his 120 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:34,480 family. And when you see it, it 121 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:38,680 immediately evokes a ton of emotion and intrigue. 122 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:42,880 It forces you to go on an immediate hunt for all of the 123 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:45,520 hidden messages inside of the picture. 124 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,560 It pauses you. It slows you down to make you 125 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:54,360 think, What would the first Christmas have looked like if it 126 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:59,960 happened this year? I'm going to have them put the 127 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:03,680 picture on the screen and I'm going to give you a moment. 128 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:08,800 See how many of the references you can find. 129 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:11,320 Now, those of you who are sitting in the back at many of 130 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:13,560 our different locations, I apologize. 131 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:15,480 There's no way to blow the thing up any bigger. 132 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:17,600 But you can go home and you can find it. 133 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:23,400 It is called Jose E Maria and you can look at it a little bit 134 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:28,480 more for yourself. This is my favorite Christmas 135 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:33,840 picture. I have had it since 2015 and I 136 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,559 have already spent the hard work and energy to find as many of 137 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:41,080 the Easter eggs as I think can possibly be found. 138 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:47,600 How many have you found? He's clever in how he does it. 139 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:50,880 Let's start with the easy one that most of you probably got. 140 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:55,640 Dave's City Motel. Today in the town of David, 141 00:08:55,880 --> 00:09:01,080 Bethlehem, a savior has been born on the hotel or motel. 142 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:03,640 More appropriately, it says no vacancy. 143 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:09,720 There was no room in the end. Mary is not sitting on a donkey, 144 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:13,560 she's sitting on a coin operated horse. 145 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:16,520 Some of the fellows already noticed Star beer. 146 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:18,360 Like I didn't even know they made that anymore. 147 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:24,160 But yeah, there's the star. How about Wiseman smokes the 148 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:29,360 Good News banner? Then there's the white dove. 149 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:34,720 For those of you who are Bible nerds, he calls him Jose instead 150 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:37,600 of Joseph. He's there, turning through the 151 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:39,720 Yellow Pages, looking for a place to stay. 152 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:42,040 For those of you who don't understand Yellow Pages, you 153 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:44,120 were driven by somebody here who does. 154 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:49,120 There's Gloria on the telephone stand. 155 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:53,880 This is where it gets to maybe a little bit more controversial. 156 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:58,840 Mary is wearing a Nazareth High School hoodie. 157 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:02,760 It captures the scandal of the circumstances. 158 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:10,720 There's the makeshift Halos around Mary and Joseph, and 159 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:15,160 Mary's is carefully crafted. Instead of saying save money, it 160 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:19,360 almost hints at Ave. Maria for those of you who have 161 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:23,800 a Catholic heritage on the in instead of a new manager. 162 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:27,240 Like most motels, the words are not or the letters are not all 163 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:29,400 there. And it says Manger. 164 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:33,240 If you look around Joseph's hip, you'll see a political sign 165 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:36,160 which, just so you know, next year we're going to be electing 166 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:38,600 a president. So buckle up. 167 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:41,920 But there's a political sign promoting Herod. 168 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:44,680 This one might be a bit of a stretch. 169 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,000 Down in the lower left hand corner, you're going to see a 170 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:50,680 beer bottle that looks like it, says Gabe. 171 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:55,040 Male. Gabriel the Angel was the one 172 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:57,920 who told Mary that she was going to be with child. 173 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:01,800 Perhaps some of you, with really, really good eyesight, 174 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:05,960 you were able to make out the tag at the base of the horse 175 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:09,040 word on one side, flesh on the other. 176 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:11,920 It points to John Chapter one, verse 14. 177 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:19,440 Many of you probably know this John 114 The Word became flesh 178 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:24,280 and made his dwelling among us. In the ancient text, it's 179 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:28,040 basically he built or He put his tent next to our tents. 180 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:30,800 He brought EU Haul into your neighborhood. 181 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:34,520 We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son. 182 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:36,640 That's Jesus who came from the Father. 183 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:40,120 That's God, full of grace and truth. 184 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:46,760 There's this tender shoot coming up out of the concrete, pointing 185 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:51,160 to the fact that even in the darkest of night and a gloomy 186 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:53,680 evening, there is the hope of life. 187 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:57,800 It points all the way back to Isaiah 53, verse two. 188 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:02,680 He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out 189 00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:07,120 of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to 190 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:10,960 attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should 191 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:14,640 desire him. The riding on the side of the 192 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:16,680 payphone. Everyone used to go places and 193 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:19,480 they'd have somebody's number on the side, and usually not some 194 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,920 really good stuff around That phone number it on the picture 195 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:25,240 it says Zeke and then it makes it look like a phone number 196 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:29,920 341516. That's supposed to queue you in 197 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:31,960 to look at Ezekiel. Chapter 34. 198 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:36,000 And this is what it says. I myself will tend my sheep and 199 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:38,920 and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 200 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:44,360 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. 201 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:47,560 I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the 202 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:49,680 sleek and the strong I will destroy. 203 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:53,240 I will shepherd the flock with justice. 204 00:12:56,120 --> 00:12:58,400 On the newspaper laying on the ground, there's an 205 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:00,880 advertisement. There's an advertisement for 206 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,280 GLAAD and there's an advertisement for tide. 207 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:09,840 Glad tidings we bring. And then right above that, 208 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:14,160 there's an advertisement for a brand of watches. 209 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:22,040 Shepherd watches Luke Chapter 2, verses 8 through 20, and there 210 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:26,200 were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch 211 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:30,080 over their flocks. At night an Angel of the Lord 212 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,760 appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. 213 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:38,480 And they were terrified, which is relatable, because if an 214 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:45,440 Angel appeared to you tonight, some of you, most of you, would 215 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:50,120 have to change your drawers. But the Angel said to them, do 216 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:54,240 not be afraid. I bring you good news that will 217 00:13:54,240 --> 00:14:02,200 cause great joy for all people. Today in the town of David, a 218 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:09,400 Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. 219 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:15,320 This will be assigned to you. You will find a baby wrapped in 220 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:20,240 clothes and lying in a Manger. Suddenly a great company of the 221 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:24,160 heavenly hosts appeared, with the Angel, praising God and 222 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:29,080 saying, glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth, 223 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:35,000 peace to those on whom his favor rests. 224 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:42,160 When the angels left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds 225 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:48,040 said to one another, Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing 226 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:51,680 that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. 227 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,840 So they hurried off, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby 228 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:01,320 who was lying in a Manger. And when they had seen him, they 229 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:07,360 spread word concerning what had been told them about this child, 230 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:11,920 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherd said to 231 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:15,440 them. But Mary treasured up all these 232 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:20,080 things, and pondered them in her heart. 233 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:25,080 The shepherd's returned, glorifying and praising God for 234 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:29,040 all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as 235 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:34,520 they had been told. The shepherds hold a special 236 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:39,000 place in my heart, and I think they should hold a special place 237 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:43,200 in your heart, too. You want to know why I think the 238 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,720 shepherds are the most relatable people in this story? 239 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:54,560 How many of you have been pregnant while you were still a 240 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:57,520 virgin? So that rules Mary out. 241 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,440 How many of you have been engaged to a woman who was a 242 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:04,080 virgin? That rules most of us out. 243 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:08,520 How many of you are a donkey? That rules most of us out. 244 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:11,080 How many of you have been known as being a wise man? 245 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,960 That rules most of you out. Some of you been known as a wise 246 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:20,120 donkey, but that is not in the story. 247 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:25,800 So I think that kind of just leaves us with the shepherds. 248 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:31,360 It seems a whole lot easier to put ourselves in their shoes 249 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:36,200 than any of the others. And it's interesting that when 250 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:41,320 the angels came to announce the birth of King Jesus, they didn't 251 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:47,560 announce it to kings, to elected officials, to those who were 252 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:52,760 socially connected. Now he chose shepherds who were 253 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:58,160 social outcasts who occupied the lowest rung of the social 254 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:02,600 structure. Good people, good Jewish people, 255 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,760 when they saw a shepherd would walk on the other side of the 256 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,000 street, so that way they didn't have to bump into him and get 257 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:14,560 pickpocketed. However, God sends the heavenly 258 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:20,480 hosts to these unpolished, unremarkable, uneducated 259 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:24,880 shepherds to declare the greatest news in the history of 260 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:27,560 the world. And what is this great news I 261 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,160 already told you, Luke, Chapter 2, verse 11. 262 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:34,440 Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. 263 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:40,200 He is the Messiah, the Lord Messiah. 264 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:44,760 That means promised One, the one the entire Old Testament has 265 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:49,480 been pointing to, the anointed one specifically put together 266 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:53,040 for this task. What task, you might ask, to 267 00:17:53,040 --> 00:18:00,800 save people. There might be some of you in 268 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:04,720 one of the rooms where you're watching this service and you're 269 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,920 thinking to yourself, I don't fit in here. 270 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,680 You're looking around at all the couples holding hands, kids 271 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:17,120 wearing matching outfits, people smiling, people who look like 272 00:18:17,120 --> 00:18:20,280 their lives are all neat and tidy and put together, and 273 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:24,280 you're going. I don't think I fit in a person 274 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:26,720 with my story. A person with my life 275 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:32,120 experiences probably isn't going to make a great Christian. 276 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:37,040 Probably not going to make a great follower of Jesus, 277 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:40,680 however, and my staff will back me up on this. 278 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,360 One of the privileges of being around this church is we 279 00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:53,880 actually know these people, and if you knew what we know about 280 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:57,920 the people that you're sitting next to, you wouldn't sit so 281 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:03,200 close to them. If I were to pass the microphone 282 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:11,200 around any of the rooms in any of the rows, you would be amazed 283 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:15,040 at the people who call this church home. 284 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:19,240 You would be amazed at the people who call themselves 285 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:21,760 Christians. Some of the people sitting next 286 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:26,640 to you have had affairs, multiple marriages. 287 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:29,320 Some of the people sitting next to you. 288 00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:33,040 There is not a single thing that they haven't watched on the 289 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:35,880 Internet. There's not a substance that 290 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:39,600 they haven't smoked, snorted, swallowed or injected. 291 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:42,320 Some of them were kicked out of school. 292 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:49,560 Some of them have been arrested, others have served time, and 293 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:52,400 that's just the testimony of the people we employ. 294 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,680 I haven't even got to the people. 295 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:05,520 That's just who works here. The reason you can sit by them 296 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:13,160 is because there's a savior, and this savior changes people. 297 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:20,440 And they allowed Jesus into their life, and he changed them. 298 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:26,040 And just like the shepherds, God gives people like you and like 299 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:31,960 me a new purpose to seek after Jesus and to tell other people 300 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:35,160 about him. And God, all throughout 301 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:41,040 Scripture has chosen the unlikely to do the extraordinary 302 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:45,200 to carry the beautiful message that a savior is here. 303 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:49,600 Someone who doesn't just save us from our sins, handle our 304 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:51,760 failures, deal with our mistakes. 305 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:55,920 But a Messiah who is not afraid of your mess? 306 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:59,520 Who's this message for? Who is this savior? 307 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:03,200 Come for? Well, for all people, for 308 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:09,320 everyone, for all time. That means this savior is for 309 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:13,680 you. If you have a past. 310 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:19,720 A savior has been born. If you have an addiction. 311 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:25,400 A savior has been born. If you have parenting problems, 312 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:30,360 marriage problems, financial problems, a savior has been 313 00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:33,200 born. If you're sad, there's a savior. 314 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:35,360 If you're alone, there's a savior. 315 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:37,600 If you're hurt, there's a savior. 316 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:40,160 If you're in sin, there's a savior. 317 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:42,440 If you're depressed, there's a savior. 318 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:44,560 If you're worried, there's a savior. 319 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:48,440 If you're suicidal, A savior is here. 320 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,440 No matter what you've done, no matter what you've gone through. 321 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:55,360 The good news is for all people, no matter where you're at, no 322 00:21:55,360 --> 00:21:58,960 matter what you've done, a Savior has come into the world 323 00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:02,160 to move into your neighborhood, your mess. 324 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:09,000 And this Savior came to save Jesus, put on our sin so that 325 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:13,840 you and I could be made holy. He gives us this message, and 326 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:18,920 guess who he gives it to? Messy shepherds to remind you 327 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:23,840 and me that no one is too far from God's reach, no one is too 328 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:28,520 low for God's love, and no sin is too great for God's grace. 329 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:34,000 No matter how big and wide and deep your mess, it is not 330 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:41,080 greater than this Messiah who has been born to you and to me. 331 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,200 And I hope you'll ask yourself this question. 332 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:47,560 What am I supposed to do with this Savior? 333 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:49,680 We're moving to a time of decision. 334 00:22:54,160 --> 00:23:03,680 The angel's final word in the story was peace on earth to 335 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:12,880 those on whom his favor rests. I don't care who you are. 336 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:24,520 You could use some peace. I don't care how good your year 337 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:27,400 was. You could use some peace. 338 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:35,840 And maybe the greatest peace you need is a spiritual peace 339 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,840 answering the biggest questions of life. 340 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:45,040 Why do I exist? Why am I here? 341 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:50,000 What is my purpose? What happens after I die? 342 00:23:51,360 --> 00:23:54,880 If you don't have questions to those, or if you don't have 343 00:23:54,880 --> 00:24:00,200 answers to those questions, how could you possibly have peace? 344 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:07,840 The good news is, I know where to find it. 345 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:15,080 Listen, if you could buy it, you would already have peace. 346 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:21,120 But this piece isn't for sale. If you could earn it, you would 347 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:25,720 already have two, and it'd be collecting dust somewhere. 348 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:35,080 But you can't earn it. The only way to get God's peace 349 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:38,640 in your life is to have the favor of God. 350 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:44,000 Rest on you. The peace comes because of God's 351 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:47,520 favor. And some of you are going, OK, 352 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,600 I'm interested. So how do I get God's favor to 353 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:59,480 rest on me? Oh, if you want to know, we get 354 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:08,720 together like 52 times every year to talk about how to get 355 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:12,880 God's favor in your life. And we make it clear every 356 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:18,040 single week that God's favor rests on you when you begin an 357 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:21,800 intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 358 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:26,800 And hear me, this is not just the message of Christmas. 359 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:32,520 This is the offer of Christmas. That Jesus came down to purchase 360 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:36,040 something on your behalf that you cannot buy, that you cannot 361 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:38,440 earn, that you have been disqualified from. 362 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:43,120 But he purchased it for you on your behalf, and he holds it out 363 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:47,040 to you and says, do you want it? Do you want my favor? 364 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:51,000 So you want my peace. And if you haven't started an 365 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:55,440 intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, it is the 366 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,600 greatest gift that God could give. 367 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:09,880 And those of us who have it have been transformed by it and those 368 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:11,920 of us who have it. And if you don't have to believe 369 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:15,720 me, you can ask them on out in the lobby or when you're driving 370 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:19,360 home. But I'll just tell you, those of 371 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:20,840 us who have it would tell you this. 372 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:23,920 It's the greatest gift that you could ever give your family. 373 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,640 It's the knowledge of where you will be when you die. 374 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:38,200 And they're not asking us. So where's mom or where's Dad or 375 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:39,760 where's Grandma or where's Grandpa? 376 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:43,560 They'll know that you surrendered your life to Jesus 377 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:47,200 and said, you give me the peace, you give me the favor and I'll 378 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:50,040 give you me. As busted up and broken as it 379 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:52,280 is. And hear hear me. 380 00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:55,400 It gets better. When you come into an intimate, 381 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:57,360 personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 382 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:01,640 He gives you His Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit comes into 383 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:05,600 your life and He guides you. He directs you, He shapes you 384 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:09,160 and He empowers you. How many of you are excellent 385 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:12,080 decision makers? Don't raise your hand. 386 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:16,120 We see you. We see you dress. 387 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:18,880 We see you drive. We see you. 388 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:22,320 Parents, you suck at making decisions. 389 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:27,120 You're like, I didn't know that that church was like this. 390 00:27:28,120 --> 00:27:29,960 It will be for the rest of the night. 391 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:37,760 I'll change it by Sunday. But when? 392 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:42,240 How many of you could use a better decision maker, a better 393 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:44,200 guide? How many of you are going? 394 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,920 I don't have the energy to get through what I'm going through. 395 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:49,960 Well, what? How many of you could use the 396 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:53,800 Holy Spirit to empower you to do the thing that you didn't think 397 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,480 you could do? He gives you that. 398 00:27:57,280 --> 00:27:59,520 Hear me? You want to give your family a 399 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:01,920 gift this Christmas? You know what your wife needs. 400 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:04,640 You know what your husband needs. 401 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:09,160 You know what your kid needs? A spirit filled Father. 402 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:13,360 A spirit filled mother, a spirit filled child. 403 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:16,760 A spirit filled husband. A spirit filled wife. 404 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:21,160 Somebody who's been transformed by the grace of God that was 405 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,880 sent to us in Jesus. And if you don't have that 406 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:26,760 relationship, it's just a moment. 407 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:28,680 People around you can do something a little silly. 408 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:30,720 They're going to start praying. They're going to maybe come up 409 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:32,200 to the steps and get down their knees. 410 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:33,320 They're going to start worshipping. 411 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:34,600 But you can do something different. 412 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:38,120 You can turn to one of them, or you can come up here by the 413 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,680 baptistry right over there. I'm actually pointing to it, and 414 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:42,680 me and somebody else will be there. 415 00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:45,400 And we would love to talk to you about how to start the 416 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:49,160 relationship with Jesus Christ that changes and transforms 417 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:53,080 everything. And to those of you who already 418 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:57,640 have a relationship, God doesn't just give you a new life. 419 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:02,000 He has given us His new spirit, but He's given us a purpose to 420 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,440 fulfill. And our purpose is the same as 421 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:10,600 the shepherd's to seek after Jesus and to tell everybody 422 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,000 about it. And would you join me in that 423 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:17,520 sacred mission? Would you stand, Heavenly 424 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:24,280 Father, bring about a change in every single one of us? 425 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:27,880 There's not a single person listening to my voice who 426 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:32,240 doesn't need to be more like you and God. 427 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:34,880 There's people in here right now that are asking questions. 428 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,280 I mean, God's got to be good for some people, but there's no way 429 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:40,920 that he's good for me and God. I pray that you would just quiet 430 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:46,080 the lies of the enemy, give them the courage to take the next 431 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:48,880 step that they need to take to begin the relationship that 432 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:52,360 changes at all. And God, for those of us who've 433 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:56,640 been following you for a while, rekindle in us a fire, a passion 434 00:29:56,800 --> 00:30:00,080 to point people to you so they can be changed too. 435 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:02,680 And you know my pray. Amen.