The Grinch Who Tried To Kill Christmas

Introduction:

I want to welcome you again this morning.

First, to those joining us online, we are so thankful for our online technology that allows you to be a part of our church family today.

I also want to welcome those who may be joining us in person for the first time today. I hope your time with us is encouraging and helpful, and I look forward to meeting you.

I would also say if you’re new to our church, it would be helpful for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.

What that means, is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then breaking them down from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse.

In doing so our goal is to better understand not only what God’s Word says, but what it means in our lives today.

And for the last couple of years we have been doing that through the NT book of Acts.

However, through the month of December we are going to take a break from our study of Acts as we focus in on the Christmas and New Year season.

That being said, for the last couple of weeks we have been walking through the Christmas story. And in doing so we’ve looked at some of the main characters in this amazing story.

In week 1 we looked at Mary and Joseph, who were the first to be introduced to Christmas, and in a rather unexpected way. A way that forced them to trust God, be obedient, and put their faith in God’s plan regardless of how abnormal the circumstances were.

And what was true for Mary and Joseph is still true for us today. Because the fact is, 2020 has been an abnormal year. A year that has tested our trust in God. A year that has tested our obedience. A year that has tested our faith in God’s plan.

But as Mary and Joseph demonstrated, if we are willing to trust God, be obedient to His will, and put our faith in His plan, it’s in the abnormal that two things happen.

First, it’s in the abnormal that we are reminded where true joy and hope come from. That true joy and hope don’t come from the temporal hope of this world, but in the eternal hope that God has provided through the gift of His Son Jesus.

Second, we learned it’s in the abnormal that God often does His greatest work.

In other words, sometimes God has to take us out of the normal so He can do the supernatural.

We saw that with Mary and Joseph as an abnormal year led to a supernatural birth, and the greatest hope and joy the world would ever know.

And I believe what was true for Mary and Joseph is still true for us today. Because the fact, is through Covid God has worked in some ways I don’t think a normal year would have allowed for.

In fact, I believe because of Covid, the greatest days of our church lie ahead. And if that’s true for our church, then I know it’s true for individual lives as well.

This then led us to week two as we looked at two other groups of people in the Christmas story. Two groups that God displayed the first Christmas too in a spectacular way.

The first group were the Shepherds who saw what you might call the first Christmas Light Show. Luke records it like this:

Luke 2:9–14 ESV

9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

As I said last week, this would have been a spectacular display and announcement of Christmas. A display that highlighted what Christmas is really all about and how it should be celebrated.

And what we learned, is as great as the Christmas seasons is. And as great as the lights, trees, movies, music, and decor are. At the end of the day Christmas isn’t just a holiday that is to be celebrated once a year. Instead, Christmas is about a savior named Jesus. A savior who is meant to be worshiped, celebrated, and put on display throughout the year.

But not only that, as we learned through our study of the Wise Men and the Christmas star, it’s a celebration that is to be carried on and through us as we display the light of Christmas to a pagan world. As you and I literally become the signs of light that lead people to Jesus. Jesus puts it like this in Matthew 5:

Matthew 5:14–16 ESV

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

All that to say, if we truly want to celebrate Christmas, then we need to make sure we haven’t lost sight what and who it’s about.

That it’s about savior named Jesus. And that in order to celebrate it, we need to make sure the light of who He is shining through us, not just once a year, but throughout the year.

So, if you missed the last couple of weeks, I would encourage you to go online to www.mcf.life where you can watch those messages in their entirety.

With that said, today we are picking back up in the Christmas story as we look at yet another Character in this amazing story.

So, in order to introduce you to this Biblical character, I want to begin by referencing one of my favorite fictional Christmas characters. A fictional character that I think some of you may have already seen lurking around the church this morning. Do you know who I’m talking about? Has anybody seen him?

He’s behind me?

Oh, there you are. Mr. Grinch, I was just talking about you and how you are one of my favorite fictional Christmas characters.

Sound Clips:

Can we all give the Grinch a hand as he makes his way back to Mount Crumpit.

Now, at this point some of you might be thinking, “Ok pastor, that’s all fun and great. But why in the world is the Grinch your favorite fictional Christmas character? I mean the guy hates Christmas.”

To be honest I think there are three reasons why the Grinch is my favorite fictional Christmas Character.

First, the Grinch reminds me of a character in the Christmas story. A character that like the Grinch hated Christmas. Actually hated it enough to try and kill it.

You say, “Who’s that character?” Hold tight, we’ll get to him in a minute.

Second, the Grinch is my favorite fictional Christmas character, because I believe the Grinch really exists?

Now I know what some of you are thinking. You’re thinking, “Pastor, I hate to tell you this, but the Grinch isn’t real. Pastor, you know that was Matt Schmelzle dressed up in a Grinch outfit, right? Not only that, but you said it yourself pastor, the Grinch is a fictional Christmas character.”

You’re right, the Grinch is a fictional Christmas character, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t real. In fact, before we leave today, I’m going to prove to you that the Grinch really does exist.

Third, while the Grinch hates Christmas, the Grinch highlights what Christmas is all about.

In fact, I think there’s more to learn about Christmas from the Grinch than any other Christmas character.

So, with that said, maybe the best way to get us started would be to introduce you to the Biblical Christmas character that I believe resembles the Grinch.

So, who is he?

Well, like the Grinch he was a man who was not a fan of Christmas.

In fact, like the Grinch, this biblical Christmas character went to extreme measures to stop Christmas.

The character I am referring to is a man that secular history calls Herod the Great. A man we are Biblically introduced to in both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

And while Matthew’s Gospel gives us greater insight concerning Herod, both gospels combined paint a picture of who Herod was. So what does the Bible tell us about Herod?

Let’s start with Matthew. Matthew writes:

Matthew 2:1 ESV

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,

While Matthew will have a lot more to say about Herod, what I want you to notice the first detail Matthew gives us about Herod. He says Herod was a king. So, that’s kind of a big deal, right?

So, hold that thought as we jump over to Luke’s Gospel and lets see what Luke has to say about Herod. Because Luke writes this about Herod:

Luke 1:5 ESV

5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

Notice what Luke says. Like Matthew, the first thing Luke tells us about Herod is that he is a king.

But what I want you to notice, is that Luke gives us a little more detail. Luke tells us what he’s king over. And apparently he’s the king over Judea. Which means, he’s the ruler over Israel just prior to the first century.

So, why is that important? It’s important because this information is meant to give the reader insight into the situation Jesus was born into, and the circumstances that surrounded his birth.

The challenge for you and I though is we didn’t live at the beginning of the first century. Which means, without a little context we can’t appreciate what both Matthew and Luke are trying to communicate with this statement.

Let me illustrate it like this. Let’s say somebody was writing a story or book about the terrorist attack on the twin towers in that took place on September 11, 2001. And let’s say they started the story out by writing this:

“Now after the twin towers were destroyed in New York City, in the days of Osama Bin Laden…”

Now, isn’t it true that a statement like that paints a picture of a certain point in history? Something like this:

Picture of towers burning:

And for somebody who was living during that time, especially somebody who lived in New York City, you don’t have to elaborate much more on what happened on September 11, 2001 and who Osama Bin Laden was. That’s true, right?

The same is true in Matthew 2 and Luke 1. Because the mention of the birth of Jesus, a significant event in history, during the time of King Herod, a significant historical figure, painted a rather graphic picture for the first century Biblical reader.

So, for us to truly understand to what degree Herod is connected to the Christmas story, we need to know what everybody in that day knew about Herod.

So, what did they know?

Well, according to secular history, Herod was the appointed leader by the Romans over the Jewish providence of Judea from 74 BC to around 4 BC.

And as we learned last week, this put’s Jesus birth somewhere in the 6-8 B.C. range.

What people also knew, is that while the title of king was significant for Herod, the title was given too Herod largely as a mockery to the Jews, who did not accept or recognize an appointed false king. But like it or not, Herod ruled over them enforcing his given title, “King of the Jews.”

That being the case, a great question might be, “What kind of king was he?”

Well, by hall accounts Herod was a wicked and ruthless king and if you wanted to sum up who he was, you could say it like this:

Herod was a crazy, evil, genius.

So, what about him made him crazy, evil, and a genius all at the same time?

Well, he was crazy because he was often given to paranoia and delusional thoughts.

For example, throughout his life Herod lived in constant fear that those closest to him were trying to kill him and take his power from him.

As a result his behavior was unpredictable and erratic meaning a person never knew what they were going to get when they encountered King Herod. Because he was convinced people were out to get him, and he didn’t trust anybody.

This then led to how evil he would become as his paranoia eventually led to multiple unethical and immoral acts.

For example, because of his paranoia, through the course of his life he murdered seven of his ten wives, 2 of his sons, his brother-in-law, and eventually his own mother, all of whom he thought were conspiring against him.

And you thought your family was dysfunctional.

As a result these actions earned him the saying by Caesar Augustus: "It is better to be Herod's pig than his son." The irony of this statement is that the Greek word for “pig” and “son” sound strikingly the same.

But it didn’t stop there. Because along with murder came sexual deviancy as Herod was given to all forms of sexual indulgence including necrophilia.

In fact one of the wives Herod killed happened to be one he deeply loved but he didn’t trust her. So to maintain his relationship with her after he killed her, he encased her in honey and would “visit” her regularly. Yes, it’s what you’re thinking.

You see, what we need to understand is that by all accounts Herod was a sick, demented, and twisted man.

However while crazy and evil, he was what you might call an archeological genius, as through the course of his lifetime he built some of the most magnificent structures of his day.

One is a fortress called Masada located on the Dead Sea.

The second is a palace called Herodium located 3 miles southeast of Bethlehem.

Both structures are still partially intact today and continue to baffle modern architects as to how they were designed and constructed.

I actually had the privilege of visiting Masada in 2006, and I can tell you I found myself wondering how in the world Herod built such an amazing structure.

So, while crazy and evil, we was an architectural genius.

All that to say, when Matthew and Luke connect the birth of Christ with the days of Herod the king they are making quite a statement. What they are really saying is:

“In the day when a maniac ruled the land, Christmas was born.”

Kind of makes for a pretty exciting Christmas story doesn’t it?

Are you beginning to see why Herod may qualify as a Grinch? Because this guy has some serious issues.

But there’s more. Because listen to what Matthew tells us next about Herod:

Matthew 2:1–3 ESV

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;

We looked at this passage last week, but hopefully after learning a little more about Herod, you’re beginning to see why the question asked by the Wise Men, “Where is he how has been born King of the Jews” might have gotten Herod’s attention?

That when they said, “Where’s the new King of Jews?”, why Herod might have been a little troubled by that question?

I mean can you imagine the scene? A bunch of world renown and respected astrologers show up and ask the Roman appointed king of the Jews where the true King of the Jews has been born.

I’ll bet that was an uncomfortable moment in the room. I’m sure some of Herod’s servants were thinking, “Uh oh. These guys just asked the wrong question. Everybody stand back.”

And it’s at that point the paranoia sets in. It’s at that point evil thoughts begin to flood Herods’ mind as he begins to consider what should be done with the person who wants to take his throne.

To coin a phrase from the Grinch movie, it was probably at this point Herod thought, “I must stop this whole thing! I must stop Christmas from coming... but how?”

And then like the Grinch, Herod got an idea. An awful idea. Herod got a wonderful, awful idea.

And his idea and plan involved two phases:

First, since a new king represented a threat to his throne, he would need to discover where this king was to be born. Listen to what Matthew tells us:

Matthew 2:4–6 ESV

4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”

According to this passage, Herod needed to know where the threat was located. So recognizing the Wise Men were looking for the Promised Messiah of Israel, Herod calls for the religious leaders of Israel and asks them where the scriptures say the Messiah would be born. And according to the Bible, the location would be Bethlehem.

Now, what’s interesting about Bethlehem being the location, is that this entire scenario with the Wise Men probably took place at Herod’s palace, the palace known as Herodium.

Remember, the one I mentioned a few moments ago. One of the magnificent structures Herod built. A structure that stood 2500 feet above sea level and was the highest point in the Judean desert, located just three miles from Bethlehem.

Which means, when the chief priests and scribes identify Bethlehem as the birth spot of Christmas, they do so as Herod sits at the highest point in the land, looking down on the village of Bethlehem located just three miles from this mountain top vantage point. Rather Grinchy don’t you think?

Next comes phase two of this wonderful, awful idea. Listen to what Matthew tells us:

Matthew 2:7–8 ESV

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

Phase two involves what you might call a search and destroy mission.

First Herod wants the Wise Men to search for the boy, find him, and report the location back to him.

Second, once he has the location, Herod says he wants to go and worship him.

But is that really what Herod wants to do? Does Herod really want to worship Jesus?

I’d say probably not. Because knowing what we know about Herod, he doesn’t worship anybody does he? He’s has some dead sons, wives, and a mother that will testify to that.

So, more than likely his plan is to take Jesus out. In fact, we know that’s his plan. Because after finding baby Jesus, the Wise Men are warned in a dream not to return to Herod. Matthew writes:

Matthew 2:12 ESV

12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

And as you can imagine, Herod didn’t take this very well, because Matthew writes:

Matthew 2:16 ESV

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.

Matthew says having been tricked, Herod is now more determined than ever to take out this Christmas threat. Why?

Because Herod wasn’t about to let anybody take his throne from him. Nobody but Herod was going to be King. Nobody was going to take his kingdom from him. Not his sons, not his wives, not his mother, and especially not some punk kid born in nowhereville Bethlehem.

So without any remorse or concern he decides to snuff Christmas out. And so he sends soldiers to Bethlehem and he has them kill every child 2 years and under. Why 2 and under? Well, as we learned last week, the Wise Men arrived at least a year after Jesus’s birth, and so with that as his timeline Herod rounds up to two. He’s going to make sure Christmas comes to an end.

And the crazy thing is, Herod probably thought his plan worked. Like the Grinch Herod stood from his mountaintop view, gleaming with excitement, watching and waiting for news of success. Waiting to hear the woes that would signal Christmas is dead.

And what appeared to be success did come as Herod began to hear a sound rising over the valley, it started in low, and it started to grow.

Was it the sound of singing? Was it the sound of cheer and good will?

No. Matthew records what Herod heard:

Matthew 2:18 ESV

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Matthew says there was no singing. There were no shouts of joy coming from Bethlehem. The only sound coming from Bethlehem was the sound of weeping and wailing.

Yo see, Unlike Dr. Seuss’s Grinch, our Biblical Grinch heard exactly what he hoped he would hear.

We can only guess what was running through Herod’s mind at his point. If I had to guess I would say it was something like, “I gotcha you little twerp. I’ve stopped Christmas from coming. I’ve killed this would be king. My kingdom is secure. The threat is no more.”

And if the Christmas story ended like that, what a hopeless story it would be. It would be a story that wouldn’t surprise us in 2020. It figures, right?

But the good news is, while Herod may have thought his wonderful, awful idea worked, we in fact know it didn’t.

Because unknowing too Herod, right before his soldiers arrived, an angel had warned Joseph. Matthew describes it like this:

Matthew 2:13–15 ESV

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Matthew says just like an angel had appeared to Jospeh in a dream to confirm Mary’s supernatural pregnancy, the angel appears in a second dream to warn Joseph of imminent danger.

And apparently the warning is so compelling that Joseph gets up in the middle of the night and escapes with Mary and Jesus to Egypt, right before the soldiers show up in the morning hours.

And the according to Matthew, they stay there until Herod later dies.

Quite a story, right? And like I said, from Herod’s perspective, he thought Christmas had been eliminated. In fact, he went to his grave believing he had stopped Christmas from coming.

But he hadn’t. Because the truth is, you can’t steal or kill Christmas. You can try. You can convince yourself it’s possible. But it’s not.

Unfortunately Herod discovered this the hard way. Because while Christmas lived on, eventually Herod died, and with death comes judgment.

And you can only imagine the surprise Herod will have at his Judgment as he has no choice but to kneel at feet of the king who he thought he had killed.

And this is one of the main reasons I like the story of the Grinch, because it demonstrates an important truth about Christmas. That regardless of what a person does, or how far a person is willing to go, Christmas is something that can’t be killed.

Yes, you can take out a village. Yes, you can murder innocent children. You can do your worst. But in the end, you can’t kill what can’t be killed. And this is an important reminder for all of us, especially this year.

Because the truth is, whether you want to blame it on Covid, the government, the election, on Trump, on Biden, on the democrats, on the republicans, or on the Chinese, 2020 has been a year that has tried to steal and kill our hope and joy. And to some degree, it even feels like it’s trying to steal and destroy our Christmas.

But the good news this morning, is that despite what 2020 has thrown at us, Christmas remains unscathed. Christmas doesn’t even need a mask or a vaccine. Christmas 2020 can’t be and won’t be stolen or destroyed not matter what happens. How do I know? I know because Jesus didn’t just overcome Herod, he overcame death itself. I know because Jesus isn’t just a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, Jesus is the risen savior and King. And as a result, Christmas lives on.

That’s our hope today.

However, that doesn’t mean that somebody or something wont’ try to steal or destroy your Christmas hope and joy.

Which brings us to the second reason the Grinch is my favorite fictional Christmas character. Because while we can rejoice that Christmas can’t be stolen or killed, the story of the Grinch reminds us that the Grinch isn’t just a fictional Character. That he’s not just something from Dr. Seuss’s imagination. That the Grinch does in fact exist.

No, he’s not a creepy green guy. No he’s not living in a cave on Mount Crumpit. He’s actually something much worse and he lives where you would least expect.

So who is he and where does he live?

Let’s begin with who he is. The Apostle John actually tells us who the Grinch is. Listen to how John describes the Grinch in 1 John 4. He writes:

1 John 4:3 ESV

3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

Now, you might be thinking, “Great verse pastor, but where is the grinch in that verse?”

Well, while John doesn’t use the actual word “Grinch”, he does use a word that is very similar. A word that doesn’t necessarily describe a person as much as it does a spirit that represents the grinch. A spirit called the antichrist. Which John says has come into the world.

Show Scripture:

A spirit that is adamantly working to deny that Jesus is Lord. A spirit that will go to great lengths to eliminate Jesus. A Grinch Spirit.

Which means the Grinch is anybody or anything that refuses to see Jesus as Lord and King. Anybody or anything that works to destroy the message and hope that Jesus offers.

This is what made Herod a Grinch. It wasn’t because he was green. It wasn’t because he lived on a high mountain fortress. He was a Grinch because he refused to see Jesus as Lord. He was a Grinch because he was an antichrist.

And so in the spirit of the antichrist, Herod tried to kill Christmas. Why? Because it threatened his position. It threatened his control. I threatened his kingship.

Because that’s what Christmas does? Christmas announces the coming of a new king. A king that not only comes to save us but to rule and reign in our lives.

But Herod wasn’t going to have it. He was king and nobody was going to take that from him, which not only makes Herod the first Grinch, but in a real sense the first of many grinches to come.

And the proof of that can be seen in the world we live in. A secular culture that says, “I have a right to live my life how I choose. I have a right to rule my life as I see fit. I have a right to be the king of my life. I have a right to kill Christmas if I want to.”

But Christmas runs contrary to that kind of thinking. Because Christmas has one message when it comes to our self rule. And the message is, “He’s King, not you.”

And we have one of two choices when it comes to that reality. We can either accept it or reject it.

But what we have to understand, is if we reject it, like Herod one day we will stand accountable for our rejection of Christmas. Jesus puts it like this:

Matthew 10:32–33 ESV

32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Jesus says, “For the person who denies that I’m king, for the person who refuses to submit to me, for the person who refuses to put their hope in me, there will be judgment.”

Now you might be thinking, “Wow pastor, that’s heavy. That’s not a very hopeful Christmas message.”

And you’re right, it is heavy. But it’s the reality of what happens when somebody tries to kill Christmas. It’s what happens to Grinches.

But the good new is, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Which brings us to the third reason the Grinch is my favorite fictional Christmas character. Because unlike our Biblical Grinch, King Herod, Dr. Seuss’s Grinch actually has a more positive ending.

Because if you recall from Dr. Seuss’s story, in what you might call a moment of inspiration, the Grinch is hit with the realization that maybe Christmas is something worth putting your hope and faith in. I love how Dr. Seuss puts it as the Grinch comes to this realization:

And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day. And then the true meaning of Christmas came though, and the Grinch found the strength of ten Grinches plus two."

In a moment of clarity, the Grinch realized what Christmas was all about, and in that moment, a heart that was small, cold, and dying, was revived and transformed.

Now you might be thinking, “Ok pastor, great ending to a fictional Christmas story, but what does that have to do with you and me?”

It has everything to do with you and me.

Because it’s not the end of a fictional Christmas story, it’s the true meaning of the Biblical Christmas story.

The Christmas story that tells of a loving God who sent his Son into a dying world so that we could be transformed and live. A Christmas story that proclaims:

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

You see that’s what Christmas is all about. It’s about a savior who desires to transform and renew us. A savior that wants to give us a hope. A savior that wants to radically change the way we think and live. The Apostle Paul puts it like this:

1 Corinthians 2:12 ESV

12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

Paul says God wants to transform you from the inside out and give you a new way of viewing and living life.

But for that to happen, you have to make a decision. And the decision is this.

Decision - Are you going to have the spirit of Jesus, the spirit of Christmas living in you, or the Spirit of the antichrist, the spirit of the Grinch that refuses to make Jesus Lord and king?

That’s the decision. That the choice. Will you allow Christmas to live in you and through you or not?

And that’s a question we all have to answer. That’s the Christmas question. That’s the question that will determine if you are a Grinch or a Christ follower.

You see being a Grinch has nothing to do with a lack of Christmas spirit or a lack of desire to give gifts. Being a Grinch is an unwillingness to embrace the greatest gift God has ever given us, the gift of His Son.

So, that being the case, as we close this morning, let me ask you this, “Are you a Grinch?”

Another way to ask it would be this, “Is Jesus Lord of your life or not? Have you allowed Christmas in your heart? Have you come to the place where you’ve recognized you are a sinner in need of a savior?”

Or, are you living your life the way you want? The way you see fit?

That’s the question?

And if you haven’t made that decision, the good news is that it’s not too late. The good news is you don’t have to be a Grinch. The good news is that Like the Grinch you can have a heart change. You can embrace Christmas.

How do you do it? Well, like Dr. Seuss’s Grinch, you have to be willing to say, “I am the Grinch who stole Christmas…and I’m sorry.”

Because that’s where making Jesus Lord starts. That’s where embracing Christmas begins. It starts with you and I being sorry. Sorry that we’ve sinned against a righteous God. Sorry that we’ve refused to make Him King. Sorry that in our rebellion we’ve tried to kill Christmas.

So, let me ask you, are you sorry today and are you ready to make Jesus Lord and King? Are you ready to let go of the Grinch?

My hope and prayer is that if you haven’t made that decision, that today you would. Because I can’t think of a better time of the year to embrace Christmas then during the Christmas season. To make Christmas 2020, the year everybody wants to forget, the year you never forget, as this year, you embrace Christmas for what it truly is as you make Jesus Lord and King of your life.

Let’s Pray