Christmas - the Perfect Gift
"Searching for
the 'Perfect Gift'"
By Missionary Jim Walterhouse
Iglesia Bautista Faro para sordos
(Lighthouse Baptist Church for the deaf) located in Tampico, Mexico
Topical: Christmas
Introduction: Do you have all your shopping done yet?
There are some folks that are hard to shop for-
- You have no idea what they need or want
- You don't know what size or color
- They are just plain picky (Years ago, I made the mistake of buying a tie for my dad- he never wore it)
But, God knows exactly what we need. He gives us good and perfect gifts. Just to help us keep our spiritual perspective in these last days leading up to Christmas let us be reminded of some of God's gifts to us.
I. The gift of the Savior- Luke 2:11 "Unto YOU"
If there ever was a gift where "everyboby needs one", "one size fits all", or "you can't do without it", this is it.
A. It was a promised gift- Gen. 3:15
B. It is a perfectly timed gift- Gal. 4:4
II. The gift of salvation
A personal relationship with the living God-
John 3:16
Eph. 2:8,9
Rom. 6:23
III. The gift of the Holy Spirit- John 14:16-18, 26
A. An indwelling Person
B. An empowering Person
C. An educating Person
IV. The gifts of grace-
A. Giving- II Cor. 8:19
B. Serving- Eph. 3:7,8
V. What do you do with a gift?
I suppose every parent has had the experience of searching for some special gift for their child and then after all that effort seeing the child spend more time playing with the box the gift came in than the gift itself. The feeling you have at that time approximates the feeling God must have about some of His children with their attitude towards His gifts to us.
A. Thank God for it- II Cor. 9:15
B. Use it- I Tim. 4:14
C. Share it- II Tim. 1:6,7
D. Add to it- II Peter 1:2-8
Conclusion: It was the week before Christmas. Parking spaces were hard to come by. There were long lines, crowded stores, rude people, and grossly inflated prices. In one long checkout line, one man was heard to say, "They should kill the guy who started Christmas." One wise and godly woman in the line said, "They did- they hung Him on a cross." Therein lies the REAL Christmas story.