The Gift of Jesus 12.18.22

The Gift of Jesus Sunday, December 18, 2022 Good morning and Merry Christmas to everyone! We are in the midst of one of the favorite times of the year and Shelley and I are praying this is your best Christmas ever. Don't forget that we will be having Christmas Eve service this week at 11am here on campus and we hope you will invite someone to be with you this week. It is very likely that your family and friends WILL come if you ask them. Let's pack this house out-we have several special things planned for that service so I don't want you to miss this incredible opportunity to worship together on Christmas Eve. Sunday, January 1st will mark the new year and we are planning for a grand kickoff with service that will begin at 11am (note the special time-after this Sunday we will go back to our normal start time). We will begin a monthlong series called How to Pray and along with the teachings, we are planning days of renewal and spiritual focus as well as resources to grow your prayer life. It is prayer that makes the difference in this world. Today, I want to draw your attention to a passage of Scripture (Ephesians 2:8-10) God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Introduction: When I was about 5-6 years old, our family was living outside of Asheville, North Carolina. We did not have much, lived in a rented home across the dirt road from my dad's parents. As Christmas approached, I asked my parents for a bicycle, because all the other boys in the neighborhood had bikes and I didn't own one. As it turns out a neighbor's son was getting a new bicycle, so dad bought the older bicycle from them and started getting new parts and on our back porch at night after work, he rebuilt the bicycle. When I would inquire, he would tell me he was fixing the bicycle for a boy in the neighborhood. On Christmas morning, that bike had a bow on it and it was mine...I was so excited to have a bicycle and while it was not new, it was mine and best of all my dad had built it for me. Maybe the best gifts are the expressions of love from the ones who give them. Maybe you have a story like that-something given that carried someone's love and devotion to you. When we come to think about Christmas and what it means to us-we realize that Christmas is Jesus and the gift of God to each and every one of us. Christmas is not about food, family or parties, although there are many events and elements to the season, at the end-- Christmas Is Jesus! His name is in the middle of the holiday. CHRIST-MAS So for a few minutes, let's unwrap the gift of Jesus. Jesus Is The UNSOLICITED Gift * Have you ever felt obligated to give someone a gift at Christmas? You hear that someone has bought you a gift and you did not get them anything-awkward! (Romans 5:6-8) When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. * It was God, our Father who foresaw our need for a Savior... o Once Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, God made a plan to save us. (Revelations 13:8) ...the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made. o We did not seek for him-he sought for us-that's the crazy thing-we did'n't know we needed a Savior-He did-and He came looking for me. Jesus Is The UNLIMITED Gift * For most of us, there is a budget to what we can give and spend on Christmas gifts ... and that's a good thing. * But God's Christmas Gift is unlimited. (John 3:16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. * Jesus Christ was God's Gift to the entire world. * No one, no matter how poor, broken, unworthy is excluded. (I John 2:2) He is the propitiation (substitution) for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world (Hebrews 2:9) ... that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. * The Bible says that Jesus died for everyone o no matter how educated or uneducated o no matter how wealthy or poor o no matter how privileged or underprivileged o no matter how unloved or unwanted. * No one will die and go to hell and look back to heaven and say, "I wanted to be saved, but Jesus Christ didn't die for me!" o The Gift is available to one and all, and no one is excluded except those who choose not to accept the gift of Jesus. (Revelation 22:17) The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely Jesus Is The UNCHANGING Gift (Hebrews 13:8) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. * Have you ever gotten a gift that eventually becomes old and irrelevant * Does anybody remember? o Cabbage patch dolls? o Power Rangers? o Tickle Me Elmo? Jesus Is The UNDESERVED Gift (Ephesians 2:8-9) God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. * The words "believe" and "receive" are used synonymously in the Scriptures. * To believe is to receive! (John 1:12) But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. * The Bible word "believe" means to trust, to depend on, to rely on. * To receive the Gift Of Jesus simply means * You admit that you are a sinner, * Believe Jesus Christ died for our sins at Calvary and that He will forgive you completely. Conclusion: Maybe you've never know or felt love like I'm describing. Perhaps your story is one of rejection and loneliness-then today is the day to receive the free gift of Jesus- Accept that you are sinner Believe that Jesus died for you Confess your sin and be forgiven