Christmas Eve 2025

The generational impact of a shared faith

There isn’t a memory of my childhood Christmas that doesn’t have my grandparents at a candle light service with me in it

Every Christmas meant a late night candle light service with them as a family

it wasn’t a once in a year thing

It was part of the febric of what my grandma shared with me my whole life

When i was scared she would speak Psalm 23 over me

She would sing what a friend we have in Jesus at night before i fell asleep

The Gospel was my grandpas hope as he lost his battle with cancer

That faith became my own over a long hard road to it

But I wouldn’t know its hand rails that brought me back if they weren’t passed down

An interesting part of the Christmas Narrative happened because parents and grandparents shared the hope of the Gospel in the midst of the worst experiences of life

Matthew 2:1–2 “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.””

(Fun fact the bible never says there was 3 of them)

They represent the world coming to worship Jesus, demonstrating humility and an honest pursuit of truth

The things the Gospel has always meant to do

But how did these guys thousands of miles away geographically

Thousands of miles spiritually know to go the Bethlehem

They knew because the Gospel hope was shared by parents and grandparents to their kids and passed down generations

Over 500 years of faithful living

The book of Daniel is about the worst circumstances we can imagine

Taken away from home to be a slave as a teenager never to see home or parents again

A nation and what they knew gone through the conquering through Babylon

But God was working out the Gospel in the worst circumstances

Daniel 5:11 “There is a man in your kingdom who has a spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your predecessor he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, mediums, Chaldeans, and diviners. Your own predecessor, the king,”

A believer was made head of the school of magicians …magicians are called Magi

He took advantage of the position and taught the gospel at the school

He taught the prophecies and hope of the Psalms, the prophets before Him and the God of the Old Testament

Promises like Micah 5:2 “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times.”

Some Magi believed the promises and were saved through faith

And they wanted that hope to be their families

The passed it down and the next generation passed it down

For 5 generations

And here we are in the christmas narrative

How did magicians know to look for a sign in little ole bethlehem?

Because the hope of the gospel was what each generation before them had passed on

Their gifts tell the got it

Gold- the gift for a king and the very thing Babylon stole from the temple when God’s house was destroyed

Giving God back what was His

Frankensence - the aroma of prayer to come to God

And Myrh- a strange thing for a baby

It was a spice for a funeral…they knew this King came to die to save His people

We hear this cultural statement all the time “Jesus is the reason for the season”

But what does that mean?

What does it really mean to make sure your kids aren’t punks over toys but keep Christmas about Jesus

It means that we are like the Magi’s grandparents

It means we live out Deuteronomy 6:5–7 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

And it means we do it in July as much as we do it at Christmas

it means when life Hits on a regular day in March we talk the Gospel

I didn’t remember a single toy my grandparents gave me when my life crumbled and i was in a jail cell in Alabama

I remembered Her words when I was scared at night

I asked for a bible in that cell to see if it was true and was for me

If you only say Jesus is the reason for the season in December it won’t be remembered when life hits your life or your kids or grandkids

But if he is the reason for every day and you share it when life is at it’s worst

It will be the anchor that changes generations

It it is your greatest love and you show it and live it and share it people will see rival loves don’t stand a chance compared to it

What are you showing to the generations in front of you is your hope and greatest love?

Christmas is a time for sharing the Gospel

Christmas was the invasion of light into the darkness that held us captive

Christmas is the time we remember we were dead but God had a plan to bring us back to life

And it is the time where we share that life and all it means with a dying searching and broken world around us

That is what saved Magicians did for generations

That is how the promises of the nations coming to Jesus was fullfilled that very first christmas

You never know the generational impact you will have

People won’t remember a present

They will remember the Gospel and all it means when life hits and rival loves fail them

Let the great grandparents of these Magi set the example

And let us run with endurance the race before us to get us home where everything sad comes untrue