Week 4 - The Heart of Christmas Is Love

SLIDE: Scripture

Ephesians 1:4 (NLT)

4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

SLIDE: This is the Word of God, for the people of God.

SLIDE: Prayer of Love

Before we start today let me offer a prayer related to our sermon today.

Prayer: “Gracious Father, thank you for sending your Son to live a sinless life so that we could experience eternal life with you. Thank you for loving the whole world, all of us, and making a way of salvation for all those who believe.”

AMEN

Scripture: Galatians 4:4-5 // Ephesians 1:3-14 // 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

SLIDE: Sermon Title

Introduction

For those of you joining us on the internet this is Curry’s Chapel Church in Greenfield, Indiana. And I am pastor Rich Bailey. Thanks for joining us.

Welcome Home.

Merry Christ-mas!

This is the final week before we come back to celebrate Christ’s birth together on Christmas Day. Over the past few weeks we have been in a sermon series where we have discovered the heart of Christmas. Often, we get lost in all the gifts, decorations, and parties and miss the central focus of the Christmas season. Here’s good news for today: Jesus was born to bring the gifts of hope, peace, joy, and love, which is the real reason for Christmas.

The first week we learned that we are offered hope in the middle of our circumstances because of God’s faithfulness. The second week we looked at the wonderful gift of peace that Jesus’s sacrifice makes available to us. We are made right with God, ourselves, and others because of Christ. Last week we learned that joy is ours no matter the circumstances because God dwells with us. For this final week of our series, we will take a look at a theme within the scriptures that truly holds all of it together. At the heart of Christmas is the great love of God for each and every one of us.

Story: When I was in high school I was infatuated with a cute neighbor girl that lived just down the street. We had been neighbors for about 5-years. We had nothing but brief encounters over those years. Those encounters were mostly hellos before boarding the school bus. In my sophomore year I decided to give here a Christmas present and a letter to let her know of my romantic interests. So, one night I took my present of several LP records, over to her house. Now I should tell I was very shy in those days, so shy in fact that I was scared to give the present to her face-to-face. So, I just left them at the door an went home. A few days latter, I got a present and note for her. The note thanked me for the records, and said she had no interest in me. Now you might be wondering what the present was. Well, it was a Chia Pet. I felt foolish. I really had no interest in that Chia. I didn’t know how to respond about the gift, let alone the note. So, I just let it pass by, we never spoke of the gifts or feelings ever again.

Let’s be honest. As we prepare to celebrate on Christmas day with friends and family, there will most assuredly be a gift that you have to figure out how to respond to without hurting someone’s feelings or feeling foolish. I want to offer you eight ways to respond to a gift that may be less than desirable. You may want to take some notes and arm yourself with Christmas gift gratitude.

SLIDES: Christmas Gratitude

8. Well, well, well, now, there’s a gift!

ANIMATION: Advance

7. No, really, I didn’t know that there was a Chia Pet tie! Oh, wow! It’s a clip-on too!

ANIMATION: Advance

6. You know, I always wanted one of these! Jog my memory—what’s it called again?

SLIDE: Advance

5. You know what? I’m going to find a special place to put this.

ANIMATION: Advance

4. Boy, you don’t see craftsmanship like that every day!

ANIMATION: Advance

3. And it’s such an interesting color too!

SLIDE: Advance

2. You say that was the last one? Am I glad that you snapped that baby up!

ANIMATION: Advance

1. You shouldn’t have! No, really, I mean it. You really shouldn’t have!

So, there you go. I hope this prepares you for any and all scenarios.

Today, I want to speak about a gift you don’t have to rehearse a response for. It is the greatest gift that has ever been given to us, and Christmas is the time in which it was presented.

Main Teaching

When God sent his son to be born, it was an expression of his unfailing and relentless love. His love is a gift that is thoughtful because it meets our greatest need—our sinful state. It is a gift that is priceless because it could never be purchased apart from Christ’s blood. It is a gift that is timeless because the grace of God is never ending. Above all else, at the heart of Christmas is love.

GOD’S GIFT WAS RIGHT ON TIME

Have you ever received a present from someone and you could not believe how perfect the timing was? Maybe because of something you were going through or because of a need that was met, it was as if the giver knew just what your heart wanted.

The book of Galatians talks about the timing of Christmas as Paul wrote to the church in Galatia.

Read Galatians 4:4-5

Galatians 4:4–5 (NLT)

4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.

SLIDE: The Rescue Plan

From the moment creation was broken by sin, God began to hatch a plan to restore and rescue all that he had made. The Bible is an account of his divine efforts and faithfulness to reverse the effects of the Fall. Motivated by love, God partners with those who love and trust him to enact the greatest rescue plan in history. Paul wrote that when Jesus came and was born to Mary, the fullness of time had come. It was the right moment in history to send his son to make a way for the world to be restored. Because of love, God was not content to sit back and watch his creation suffer forever. He went to great lengths to be with us and make us a part of his family once again.

It reminds me of a Facebook post I stumbled upon recently.

Story: Tracy Howell of Leonard, Texas, found a unique way of showing her husband both her love and fellowship in his daily life. On December 1, 2020, she shared the following in a Facebook post, which has since racked up hundreds of thousands of shares.

“Clifford and I have been married almost 41 years, and I have made his lunch every working day since day one. On occasion I would join him on the job site and have lunch with him. He made the comment once that lunch tasted better when you share it with someone you love. Soon after that, while fixing his sandwich one night, I took a bite out of it before putting it away. When he got home (long before cell phones) he commented that someone took a bite out of his sandwich. I told him that since I couldn’t join him for lunch, I took a bite so he knew I was joining him. I continue to do this frequently (unless it’s tuna or pimento cheese) and he still says, 'Saw you joined me for lunch today and it sure was good.’”

Tracy wanted her husband to know she wasn’t just thinking about him, she was actually “joining” him in his daily experiences. She was still “with” him. She’s “taking a bite” out of whatever struggles or hardships he encounters. (Hotsermons.com)

What is perhaps most amazing is that when Jesus came, he came to meet us exactly where we are. He was born under the law of God in order to redeem mankind from the regulations of the Law. In doing so, his perfect life met the requirements that the law demanded.

SLIDE: Jesus Succeeds

Where we fail, Jesus is successful.

WE ARE LOVED INTO THE FAMILY

According to Galatians 4, the full expression of God’s love is demonstrated in our spiritual adoption. We become children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ. We are given all the privileges of son-ship and daughter-ship with God as our Father. The late pastor J.I. Packer wrote about this incredible expression of love that came to us at Christmas.

SLIDE: Incredible Love

“Adoption is the highest privilege that the gospel offers: higher even than justification. To be right with God, the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God, the Father is greater.”

Many of us live our lives every day missing the fact that God loves us. When we miss the fact that we have been adopted into his family, we have a hard time loving ourselves. In turn, we have a hard time loving others who are also valued and treasured by God. The reason this aspect of Christmas should not be missed or avoided is because it is central to us living the full lives that God wants for us.

Paul tells us about all of the benefits of being in God’s family and being recipients of his love in the book of Ephesians.

Read Ephesians 1:3-14

Ephesians 1:3–14 (NLT)

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. 9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. 12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

Now let’s take a look at those verses in an expository manner:

SLIDE: Exposition

Verse 4: As a part of God’s family, we are made blameless in God’s sight.

ANIMATION: Advance

Verse 9: Our sins are washed away by his love. God’s will and way are made known to us as a father might share with a child.

SLIDE: Advance

Verse 13: We are chosen to receive hope and salvation.

ANIMATION: Advance

Verse 14: We are marked with a seal to ensure that we are filled by the Spirit of God and will inherit eternal life as one of God’s precious possessions.

All of this is only made possible by the arrival of Jesus at just the right time to one day sacrificially give his life on a cross to validate God’s amazing love for us.

LOVE FREELY RECEIVED IS LOVE FREELY GIVEN

SLIDE: Tragedy

The reason love must be at the heart of Christmas is because, if we miss this being the central message of the season, in the midst of the lights and presents, we may never receive it for ourselves. What is perhaps most tragic about this oversight is that we often give the kind of love that we perceive to be ours. If we have not experienced the grace of God, it is difficult to offer the grace of God. If we do not know the compassion of God, it is difficult to express the compassion of God. But when we recognize the kind of love that God has for us, it becomes the way in which we treat others around us.

The most famous of all passages in the Bible about love helps us understand God’s feelings toward us and the way we should feel about our spouse, children, friends, and neighbors. It comes from 1 Corinthians 13.

Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

1 Corinthians 13:1–13 (NLT)

1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. 11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

SLIDE: Love as Motivation

We can get caught up in all kinds of things, even good things, and miss the whole point if love is not our motivating factor. Love like we have been given from God should cause us to be patient and kind to one another. It should cause us to avoid being envious of one another or proud. Love drives us to honor others and to keep a cool head. Love is present when we avoid evil and rejoice with good. Does this sound like the love you have received from God? Does it sound like the love you display in your life?

The way this passage might sound during Christmas would be like this:

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights, and shiny ornaments but do not have love, I’m just another decorator.

If I work hard in the kitchen baking Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals, and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime but do not have love, I’m just another cook.

If I work at a soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all that I have to charity but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties, and sing in the choir’s cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse. Love is kind even when harried and tired. Love does not envy another’s home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens. 
Love does not yell at the kids to get out of the way but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love does not give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who cannot. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and 
endures all things. Love never fails.

Conclusion

“Toys will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust; but giving the gift of love will endure.” (Ministry127.com)

SLIDE: Live it Every Day

So, this Christmas, look upon the arrival of Jesus as the ultimate gift from God. The kind of gift where the only proper response is to receive. May that love you receive in your heart cause you to live it out every day of the year.

Let’s pray together

Prayer: “Gracious Father, thank you for sending your Son to live a sinless life so that we could experience eternal life with you. Thank you for loving the whole world, all of us, and making a way of salvation for all those who believe.”

Amen