The Gift of Presence - Christmas 2024

Introduction

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You know — there are some people who are just exceptionally great gift-givers. I mean, you know somehow know the perfect gift — for the perfect time — for the perfect person — EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

If that’s you — we don’t say it enough: STOP IT. YOU KEEP RAISING THE BAR AND YOU’RE MAKING THE REST OF US LOOK BAD.

I, on the other hand, are what you might call a “well-meaning gift-giver”. Like, most of my gifts are fine. Nothing to write home about. But they get the job done.

There was one Christmas though — that I had CONVINCED myself I had the best gifts ever picked out for my wife. I had been making notes all year long of stuff that she said she liked and I was going to make this the year to top all years. I was gonna win Christmas.

So let me walk you through my thought process:

First, there was a pair of pink converses we saw in the mall in Nashville. She went on and on about how much she liked them. They weren’t really my cup of tea but if she was happy, that’s all that mattered. So I was like, “Sweet. I can remember this.” We saw them in July and I was like, “Man, she’s gonna be really impressed that I remembered this six months later.”

And then she’d been talking about wanting a really expensive brand of a purse and how she just couldn’t justify spending the money on one for herself. So I took all year and saved up and bought one that I thought was really, really nice. It was colors of stuff she’d bought for herself. I knew she’d appreciate the thought and the concern and the deliberation that I put into it.

And then came Christmas morning. I think I was more excited for Blaire to open her presents than the kids were to open theirs. I was so excited because she was going to LOVE these gifts because I’d put so much thought into them.

So there were a few things she opened, and the response was okay. But I was waiting for the big gifts.

So first, she opens the shoes. And like, this is the moment where all the anticipation has been building. And I’m so excited. So she rips off the paper, opens the box, looks at the shoes, and man. There are no words to describe the look of disgust she had on her face. And no matter how hard she tried… she just couldn’t fake how much she hated them.

Not only did she HATE them… but she also had no memory of ever saying she liked them. I was thinking, “Am I living in the Twilight Zone? What is happening?”

I mean she is looking at these things like I just gave her a pair of Crocs with socks attached to the inside!

But we moved on and I was hoping the purse was going to somehow rescue me. Now mind you — I spent a lot of time picking out this purse, looking over all the options and thinking THIS is going to be the perfect one. So she opens it, pulls it out of the box, AND SHE HATED THAT TOO! Wrong size. Wrong Color. Wrong everything. It wasn’t just that it wasn’t her thing… she HATED it.

It was like one of those moments where the wind got totally knocked out of my sails because I was convinced this was going to be great, when it reality it was the absolute worst. Like if there was an olympic sport for bad gift-giving, I’d be wearing gold right now.

Thankfully the following summer I redeemed myself. And I have to say — I think my best gift ever — I’m talking about the one that just knocked it out of the park — was Blaire’s 30th birthday.

BLAIRE SHIRT PICTURE

Take a look at this. It’s a shirt — with my face on it. I mean… what else could you want, right? And it became one of Blaire’s most treasured possessions. In fact, she loved it so much, she told me she didn’t want to wear it out of the house because she was afraid something would happen to it. I mean, that’s special, right? She even keeps it tucked away in the back of a drawer now. She won’t even bring it out into the sunlight because she says she wants it to remain in pristine condition.

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Thankfully, the message of Christmas isn’t about us trying to give the perfect gift. It’s about God giving US the perfect gift — His presence. And let me tell you — God never misses. And the amazing thing about this gift is that it never runs out. It never goes out of style. And it never wears out.

See, from the very beginning — He planned to dwell with His people, and He fulfilled that promise through the birth of Jesus Christ.

And unlike some of my Christmas disasters, His gift was perfect. That’s why tonight we celebrate that the greatest gift isn’t under the tree.

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It’s that Christmas is the promise of God’s presence — forever.

Christmas is the story of a God who refused to leave us alone in our brokenness. Instead, He came to be with us. He came as Immanuel — God with us. But tonight — I want to take us beyond the manger and show you that Christmas is the beginning of a much bigger story: the story of God’s presence planned, purchased, and perfected.

Text

Tonight we’re reading from the Book of Revelation — Chapter 21 — Verses 1 through 4. This is the vision of the future that God gave the Apostle John. Let’s take a look at the Word of God together:

Revelation 21:1–4 NLT

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Teaching

There are three things we can understand from these few short verses about God’s relationship with us — not just in the here and now, but in the forever.

GOD’S PROMISE GRAPHIC

1. God’s Promise

First, let’s look at God’s Promise. Revelation 21:3 says:

Revelation 21:3 NLT

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.

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You see that? This has always been God’s plan. His presence here with us wasn’t some last-minute idea. God wasn’t sitting in Heaven going “Oops, we gotta fix this sin problem.” From the Garden of Eden, when God walked with Adam and Eve, His desire was to be with us. But when sin entered the world — this connection was broken.

But even then — God didn’t give up on us. Through the prophets, He promised to restore what was lost. Isaiah foretold of a virgin who would give birth to a Son, and His name would be Emmanuel. Ezekiel spoke of a day when God would place His dwelling among His people forever. God’s presence was planned — promised — and perfected.

And Christmas? It’s the moment when that promise came to life! It’s the moment when God’s plan took on flesh and bone. The manger isn’t just a sweet story — it’s the promise of God being fulfilled — and it’s one that He planned from the beginning of time.

From the garden — to the manger — to eternity — God’s presence was planned and promised.

God’s presence isn’t just an afterthought — it’s His promise and His plan from the beginning.

Look again at verse 4 of this passage:

Revelation 21:4 NLT

4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

But how can this be? In a world so full of brokenness — and hurt — and sin — how can it be wiped clean? It’s because Jesus purchased it for us. Jesus paid the ultimate price to bring us the ultimate peace. And His promise to dwell with us was never just words. We experience that through:

2. God’s Provision

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At Christmas, we see God making good on that promise. And when Jesus came into the world, He didn’t come into comfort. He entered this broken, messy place that desperately needed a Savior.

Born in a stable — laid in a feeding trough — He left the glory of Heaven to enter the chaos of Earth. And why? So He could bring us peace.

On the Cross — Jesus bore our sin and sorrow. He experienced the pain and separation that should’ve been ours to bear. And in doing so, He made a way for us to exchange our brokenness for His wholeness. This is what Christmas points to: the God who exchanged Heaven’s glory for Earth’s pain so that we could exchange our suffering for His eternal joy.

Jesus paid the ultimate price to bring us the ultimate peace.

3. God’s Presence

GOD’S PRESENCE GRAPHIC

And finally, we have to look at His presence perfected. Verse 3 declares, “God Himself will be with them.”

That’s the culmination of this story. If you have been saved, you get to experience the perfection of this presence forever. His presence with us isn’t just temporary. It’s timeless — it’s total — and it’s true.

The same God who walked with Adam and Eve — who dwelled among His people in the tabernacle — who came in the form of a baby in Bethlehem — that same God will one day make His home with us, forever.

What began in a manger will end with a throne. Christmas isn’t the end of the story — it’s the beginning of eternity. One day, God’s presence will be perfect — permanent — and personal. There will be no more distance — no more barriers — and no more pain. Just the joy of being with Him forever.

God’s presence isn’t temporary. It’s timeless — it’s total — and it’s true.

Application

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So what do we do with this incredible gift? There are three simple steps:

Prepare for His presence: Make room for Him in your life this Christmas. Clean out the clutter. Prepare your heart — prepare your mind — and prepare your life. Don’t let the business of the season crowd Him out. You know on Sunday mornings we’ve been walking through this series called “The Gift Exchange” where we’re learning about what God is calling us to hand over to Him in exchange for His peace, presence, and power in our life. What if this Christmas you laid down all the things that are holding you back from Him? What if you handed over the unforgiveness — and the shame — and the anxiety?

Next, we have to Practice His presence: We have to spend time with Him daily — through His Word — through prayer — and through worshipping Him. Practice seeking — practice savoring — and practice sharing. The gift of His presence isn’t something we have to wait for until Christmas or for eternity. It’s a gift that we can each enjoy right now.

And third, we have to Pass on His presence: We have to share His love with other people. We’re not called to just be consumers, but to be distributers! That’s what the Christian life is all about right? We come to know Jesus and then we go tell others about Jesus. Let others see the presence of Christ in you this Christmas season.

Call to Respond

Church, God’s presence was planned — God’s presence was purchased — and God’s presence will one day be perfected. This Christmas — don’t miss the greatest gift of all. It’s not under the tree — it’s the presence of Jesus with you — in you — and for you.

And not only that, but His presence isn’t just found in this moment. Christmas is the promise of God’s presence — forever. For eternity.

Let’s think about that in light of all that we’ve sang tonight:

We’ve heard that Jesus Christ is born

We’ve experienced seeing the face of God

We’ve sang about that Holy Night when Christ came to Earth to rescue us from this brokenness.

And in the song we just sang, we shouted “Noel” for the joy of Jesus Christ being born.

That’s just the celebration of His coming this Christmas season.

But what if we treated every day of the year like we do Christmas — as we look forward with anticipation of spending eternity with Him.

Call to Repentance

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If you don’t know Him — if you’ve never come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ — what an amazing Christmas gift it would be for you to become a Christian: to know that you too will get to experience His perfect presence for all of eternity.

Invite Him into your life. Trust the promise of His presence. And look forward to the day when we’ll see Him face to face.

Guys, it’s not about making sure the perfect gift is under the tree this Christmas. It’s the One who would be born to hang on a tree. This Christmas, let’s understand that the perfect gift has already been received — and in this life we’re just getting a small taste of how great it’s going to be in eternity.

Christmas is the promise of God’s presence — forever.

In light of that, let’s continue to worship the newborn King tonight.