The Tale of Your Life

Good evening, and Merry Christmas.

I know the last few days have probably been a blur — last-minute gifts, wrapping presents, writing letters to Santa, cooking meals… maybe even cleaning the house faster than ever before.

But tonight — if only for a moment — I want to invite you to slow down.

To breathe.

To remember what this night is really about.

Tonight I’m going to ask you three simple questions.

With each one, I won’t ask you to respond out loud — Just reflect on them.

Here’s the first one:

What are your Christmas traditions?

Think for a moment about your favorite Christmas traditions.

The smells… the lights… the music…

There’s just something about this season that brings out that warm, nostalgic feeling.

We all have those things that make it feel like Christmas — the movies we watch, the songs we sing, the food we enjoy.

And I don’t know about you…

but I love leaning into that feeling every year.

So tonight, I want to share one of my favorite Christmas traditions from when I was a kid.

It’s a story that has stuck with me through the years — and I think it might stick with you, too.

It’s called “The Tale of Three Trees.”

And just like when I first heard it, I want to make this moment a little extra special.

When I was a kid, I remember sitting on the floor, wide-eyed, right up front — listening to every word.

So if it’s okay with you, I’d like to recreate that moment.

I want to invite all the kids to come sit up front with me.

Find a spot. Get cozy. This part is just for you.

And after the story, would you mind hanging out with me a little bit longer up here?

Read the story

The story always gets me.

Each tree had a dream.

Each tree wanted to do something great.

And they did.

But not in the way they expected.

The first tree wanted to hold treasure…And it held the greatest Treasure the world has ever known — Jesus in the manger.

The second tree wanted to carry kings…And it carried the King of Kings across the water.

The third tree wanted to point people to heaven…And it became the cross — the very place where heaven came down to earth.The place where Jesus gave His life… so we could find ours.

So here’s the second question I want to ask you tonight:

What is your dream?

Just like the three trees in the story — we all have dreams.

Some of us dream of doing something great.

Some dream of comfort, success, or stability.

Some just dream of getting through the next season.

Here’s what I love about the story we just read:

The dreams of the trees weren’t wrong…

They just weren’t big enough.

They dreamed of being special — a treasure chest, a mighty ship, a tall and towering tree.

The trees didn’t dream too big. They dreamed too small.

And I wonder…

What if the same is true for you?

What if the dream in your heart isn’t wrong — it just isn’t the whole story?

What if what you think is ordinary… is part of something eternal?

So what do we do with that?

If the trees’ dreams weren’t wrong — just too small…

Maybe the dreams you’ve been holding onto — the ones that feel forgotten, delayed, or redirected…

Aren’t being dismissed.

They’re just being rewritten into something greater.

God has a way of using the small, the simple, the overlooked…

To do something eternal.

Just like the trees, Bethlehem seemed small and overlooked.

But God delights in using the small to bring about something eternal.

And that brings us to the heart of the Christmas story.

Look at Micah 5 with me…

Micah 5:2–5 ESV

2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. 3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. 4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. 5 And he shall be their peace….

Micah wrote this 700 years before Jesus was ever born!

Isn’t that kind of crazy, kids?

Have you ever written something down way before it happened?

Now let me tell you a little bit about Israel at the time Micah was writing.

Israel was small, weak, and vulnerable to attacks.

It wasn’t powerful. It wasn’t impressive.

And then Micah says something strange…

That a ruler — a king — would be born in Bethlehem.

Now that’s a little weird.

Because Bethlehem wasn’t a big city.

It was maybe the smallest and most overlooked town in all of Israel.

And yet, that’s the place where God said the King would be born.

Not in a palace.

Not in a capital city…

But in a quiet, small village.

Never think you are too small for God to use.

God loves using small places… small beginnings… and even young people to do big things.

There’s a guy in the Bible named Paul, and he wrote a letter to a young man named Timothy — someone who probably felt overlooked or unsure sometimes, too.

Look what Paul says to him:

1 Timothy 4:12 ESV

12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

In other words — Don’t let anyone look down on you because you’re young.

God can use the small and the unlikely to do great things.

That’s exactly what He did with Bethlehem.

A place that seemed too small… too insignificant…

But 700 years later — just like Micah prophesied — Jesus, God in the flesh, would be born there.

Not in a palace.

Not in a powerful city.

But in a quiet village… in a borrowed cave…

Because God isn’t limited by what looks impressive — He’s drawn to what’s available.

So think about this…

We’ve read a fictional story tonight about three trees that showed us a glimpse of how God can make our dreams even better and bigger than we ever imagined.

Then we read in the bible how 700 years before His birth God announced where he would be born. not in a popular big city. but a small and seemingly unimportant city.

Here’s what Christmas reminds us of:

God sees the small. He uses the unexpected.

He brings glory out of ordinary places.

Bethlehem wasn’t the center of anything — until God showed up.

And your life may not feel significant right now —but it matters more than you know in the hands of the One who was born in Bethlehem.

Kids you’ve been amazing. Thanks for letting me share this moment with you!

Before I ask the third and final question kids go ahead and head back to sit with your families now.

Can we honor our kids!

Pause

And now… here’s the third and final question I want to ask you tonight:

What story will your life tell?

What will be the tale of your life — the real, unfolding story of who you are… and what you live for?

When people look back on your life one day, what will they see?

And more importantly… will Jesus be at the center of it?

Because if tomorrow comes and goes…

And all we experienced was the feeling of Christmas…

If all we touched was the nostalgia — the lights, the music, the warmth — Then we’ve missed it.

Christmas isn’t about a feeling or a memory, it’s about a messiah.

Jesus, Emmanuel, God in Flesh, God with us, The Savior of the World. The perfect Spotless lamb of God.

You see, the Christmas story isn’t just about a baby in a manger — It’s about a Savior on a cross.

Jesus didn’t just come to be born… He came to die — for us.

Because every one of us has sinned.

We’ve all gone our own way, and that sin separates us from a holy God.

But the good news — the gospel — is that Jesus came to rescue us.

He lived the life we couldn’t live.

He died the death we deserved.

And He rose again to offer us life — full, forgiven, and forever.

And that offer still stands tonight.

So let me ask again…

What will be the story of your life?

Because when Jesus becomes your Savior — your story changes forever.

Maybe tonight, you realize…

You’ve been living your own story.

Trying to hold it together.

Trying to make sense of it all.

But tonight, something’s stirring.

And maybe, just maybe — you’re ready for something more.

You don’t need the perfect words.

You don’t need to raise a hand or walk an aisle.

You can simply say to Jesus:

“I believe. I need you. I want to follow you.”

That’s where the change starts. If that’s you tonight — don’t let this moment pass by.

Come talk to me after the service.

I’d love to pray with you and talk you through next steps.

Christmas isn’t just about something that happened.

It’s about what can happen — when you say yes to the One who came.

Earlier tonight, I told you I was going to ask you three questions.

And now that we’ve reached the end, maybe you can see what they were really pointing to.

I started by asking about your Christmas traditions — not to dismiss them, but to remind us that there’s something even deeper beneath them.

The songs, the meals, the memories — they matter, but only because they stir our hearts toward something deeper: the story behind the season.

Then I asked: What is your dream?

Because so often, our dreams don’t unfold the way we imagined.

But that doesn’t mean they’re lost — it might mean God is doing something greater.

And finally… What story will your life tell?

Because Christmas isn’t just about something to celebrate — it’s about Someone to follow.

Jesus didn’t come to give us a tradition.

He came to give us a new story — one that starts with Him.

In just a moment we are going to conclude this christmas eve service with another tradition.

Another nostalgic Christmas moment for many people.

We’re about to have a candle light moment and sing Silent Night.

This Moment isn’t about nostalgia.

It’s about the night the Light stepped into the darkness.”

As we sing, remember this Jesus didn’t come to give us a feeling. He came to be our Savior.