The Opened Gifts
That's Christmas to Me • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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That’s Christmas to Me: The Opened Gifts
Opener idea: This past Christmas, gifts were opened up and various responses were felt by those that received or did not receive the gift they wanted. We all have been there.
You were:
Excited: When the gift was exactly what you wanted or needed.
Surprised: When you got the gift you never thought you’d receive.
Shocked: When you got a gift you felt you didn’t deserve.
Slightly Happy: When you like the gift, but don’t love it.
Disappointed: When you got something you don't need or want.
Greatly Disappointed: When you didn’t get anything you wanted.
(Core Verse)
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Excited: When the gift was exactly what you wanted or needed.
Recognizing God as the source of our provision.
God doesn’t just give "stuff"; He gives exactly what is required for needs and the season you are in.
19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
This verse reinforces that our excitement isn’t just about the gift, but about the God who knows our specific needs before we even ask.
The joy of answered prayer
Sometimes the gift we are excited about is the physical manifestation of a long-term prayer.
27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.
Hannah’s excitement was rooted in God’s faithfulness. When we get what we wanted, it’s an invitation to testify that God listens and gives the gift we asked for.
The excitement of a human gift fades, but the excitement of God’s gift remains because His character is constant.
9 The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
We are excited because the gift proves the Giver’s heart is for us.
The Gift of Strength for the New Year.
As 2025 ends, the excitement is often finding the "strength" we need to face 2026.
31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
The "needed" gift is often the spiritual stamina to keep going.
Surprised: When you got the gift you never thought you’d receive.
God’s ability to exceed our imagination.
God is a God of "much more." He surprises us by going beyond our shopping lists.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
Surprise is the result of God’s "immeasurably more" breaking into our "limited expectations."
Surprise often comes when God provides a solution through a door we didn't even know was unlocked.
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
This helps us realize that God’s "surprises" are better than our "plans."
God surprises us by revealing beauty in places we previously ignored.
3 I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
A surprise gift is a personal "shout-out" from God that He knows your name.
Sometimes the gift is a surprise gift of a sudden "way out" of a 2025 trial.
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed.
This describes the "pinch-me am I dreaming" moment when God surprises us with a breakthrough.
Shocked: When you got a gift you felt you didn’t deserve.
We enter 2026 shocked that God doesn't hold 2025 against us. - Grace
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
This is the theological core of the "undeserved gift." It is the definition of Grace.
We are shocked to be invited to the table when we felt like outcasts.
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
The word "lavished" implies a gift that is far beyond what is earned.
We are shocked when God takes our 2025 failures and turns them into a gift.
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
We don't deserve the crown; we earned the ashes. This is the shock of the Gospel exchange.
Even when we were far off, He gave us the gift of His Son.
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This is the ultimate "unwrapped gift" that no human could ever deserve.
Slightly Happy: When you like the gift, but don’t love it.
Being "slightly happy" with God’s gift. (Warning)
15 So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease among them.
In the wilderness, the Israelites were so intent on getting the food and water they wanted that they became blind to what God wanted. They were more concerned about immediate physical gratification than lasting spiritual satisfaction. They did not want what was best for them, and they refused to trust in God’s care and provision
Don't let a "good" gift keep you from seeking the "perfect" gift found in James 1:17.
Whether the gift is a "home run" or just "okay," our joy shouldn't change.
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
We need to realize that "slightly happy" is an opportunity to practice deep-seated contentment and appreciation.
That "okay" gift is just a placeholder for the glory God is preparing.
12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
If our earthly gifts are just "okay," it’s because our hearts were made for heavens perfection.
Seeking the giver over the gift: Redirecting mild happiness toward major worship.
11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
When a gift is underwhelming, it reminds us that true "pleasure" is only found at God's right hand.
Disappointed: When you got something you don't need or want.
Trusting God’s sovereignty in unwanted gifts.
The "ugly sweater" of discipline and pruning.
Sometimes God gives us "discipline" for Christmas. We don't want it, but we need it.
11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Discipline is a "good gift" (James 1:17) that feels like a "bad gift."
The gift of the "No".
God often gives us the gift of protection by not giving us what we wanted.
9 In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.
Disappointment in a gift is often God’s way of redirecting our steps toward something better.
Trusting the Father’s gift.
Earthly parents make mistakes; the Heavenly Father does not.
11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
If God gave it (or allowed it), it is good, even if we haven't seen the "good" in it yet.
The "unwanted gift" of a trial is actually a weight of glory.
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
If you had a "bad year" see your disappointment as an investment in eternity.
Greatly Disappointed: When you didn’t get anything you wanted.
When life leaves you no gift “emptiness”, God offers Himself as the gift “joy”.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
This is the ultimate "gratitude" point. Even if the "tree" of 2025 is bare, God is still our gift of “joy”.
The gift of "My grace is enough".
When we don't get the "gift" of healing or provision, we get the gift of His “presence and power”.
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
If you feel 2025 was a year of loss, this verse reminds us that God's grace is the only gift that truly matters.
Waiting is a gift, not a delay.
Sometimes the "missing" gift is simply a "waiting" gift.
25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
The Hebrew word for hope is “wait”. A good waiting hope in Him.
The "goodness" of God is still active while we wait for the gift to manifest.
The final gift of the "New".
Closing the year: Even if 2025 was a disappointment, God is the God of the New.
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
I need to bridge the sermon to the New Year, offering the ultimate "unopened gift" of a fresh start in Christ.
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Back to James 1:17. I would like to remind the teenager that their new tech will break. Remind the seasoned saint that their health may shift. But emphasize that the "Father of the heavenly lights" does not "change like shifting shadows."
Whether we are excited, shocked, or disappointed today, the Giver remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. Open the gift of His presence as you enter 2026!
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed. 20 I remember it all—oh, how well I remember— the feeling of hitting the bottom. 21 But there’s one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: 22 God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. 23 They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! 24 I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left. 25 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. 26 It’s a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. 27 It’s a good thing when you’re young to stick it out through the hard times. 28 When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. 29 Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. 30 Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face. The “worst” is never the worst.
