Christmas Present

Introduction

Welcome again to our Christmas Eve Service. We are so glad you are with us tonight on this joyous occasion.

I don’t know about you, but I’d have to say one of my favorite parts of Christmas is the giving and receiving of gifts.

You know, that moment when everybody gathers around the Christmas tree as gifts are exchanged and gifts are opened.

In fact, I’m typically the one in our home that already has the gifts sorted in the order they are to be opened so that the unexpected gift is saved for last.

And oh how love that moment. And what I love most about that moment is watching the look of surprise and joy on my wife or kids faces as they open up that unexpected gift.

Surprise because it’s a gift they weren’t expecting.

And joy because it’s exactly what they were hoping for but thought they’d never receive.

And if you think about it, that’s what a gift typically is. It’s something we weren’t expecting. And probably something we never thought we’d receive.

I remember years ago my parents gave my brother and I gifts like this one Christmas.

It was Christmas 1981, which is hard to believe was 40 years ago, and the only present under the tree for my brother and I was wrapped in a small package.

As you can imagine we were concerned about that because it didn’t seem like we were getting much for Christmas. I can remember shaking the gift wondering what in the world could be in it. I was also wondering why a joint gift. Because the last thing I wanted to do was share my Christmas gift with my little brother.

And then Christmas finally, and I was even more concerned as we opened up the package only to find an envelope.

My first thought was, “Maybe there’s money inside, $100 for me and $10 for my brother?” But as we opened up the letter I could see there was no money and only a letter.

Trying not to seem disappointed we opened the letter to find a map of our farm that represented a treasure map. A little confused I remember my dad saying, “You boys better put your coats on. We have a treasure hunt to go on.”

My brother and I quickly grabbed our coats and the treasure hunt began.

The first clue led us to the shop where after searching we found another envelope with another letter and clue inside. This then led us to the barn where we a final clue awaited. A clue that pointed us to the white stock trailer sitting in the middle of the yard.

Excitedly we ran over to the stock trailer, opened the back door, and sitting in the middle of the stock trailer was a brand new Honda XR 80 motorcycle and a Honda 110 Three wheeler. We were shocked.

In fact, here’s a picture of my brother and I right after we recieved the gifts.

Show Picture

I’m the cute one.

Maybe you’ve experienced a Christmas like that. A Christmas where you recieved that unexpected gift that you couldn’t buy or you’d never buy for yourself.

Or maybe you’re hoping that will happen this Christmas. That as you go home tonight tor open gifts in the morning, that under your tree is that unexpected gift.

You know what, how about instead of waiting until later tonight or in the morning we start right now. Because if you haven’t noticed, we have a Christmas tree here and we have gifts under the tree.

So, how about we give away some unexpected gifts to some unexpected recipients right now. How about we have a little Christmas?

Everybody be ok with that?

Now, you might ask, “Pastor, that’s great, but who are you going to give the gifts to? How will you choose?”

Well, thankfully, I have a direct line to the North Pole, and while he’s really busy tonight, I talked the big guy into making a quick stop here at MCF. Kids, do you know who I might be talking about?

Because who better than Santa to choose our names from the naughty and nice list.

Welcome Santa.

Santa, we are giving some gifts away tonight, and I was hoping you could help me choose three names for the gifts we have under the tree.

4:30 - Parker Jones, Jordan Ackerman, TBD

6:00 - Jocelyn Martin, Jonathan Friend, TBD

Have them open gifts.

Isn’t that awesome. Thank you guys. Thank you Santa.

Now, at this point some of you might be thinking, “Wow pastor, it’s great that you did that. I’m so glad some people got blessed. Very cool. But if I’m being honest pastor, this wasn’t really what I was expecting when I came to Christmas Eve service tonight. I wasn’t expecting the big Christmas tree. I wasn’t expecting the gifts. And I definitely wasn’t expecting Santa Clause. Pastor, I was expecting something a little more religious. Something a little more Jesus focused.”

You know what, I get what you are saying. But I think if we were all honest , what we just experienced with the tree, the gifts, and Santa, is what most people tend to focus on when it comes to Christmas.

In fact, this is what most of you are going to go home to do tonight or tomorrow morning. You’re going to gather around a tree, you’re going to open gifts, and you’re even going to tell your kids that some of the gifts came from Santa Clause. Why? Because that’s what Christmas is for most people.

And you know what, there are some great things about celebrating Christmas in that way. And so in no way am I discouraging any of us from doing that.

But the truth is, Christmas is so much more than that.

But unfortunately in the excitement of trees, lights, gift giving, and Santa Clause, the true meaning of Christmas sometimes gets lost.

And so what I’d like to do for the next few moments is shift our focus from the tree, the gift giving, and Santa, to the one who actually gave us the gift of Christmas. Because whether you realize it or not, Christmas is a gift.

Now, like most Christmas Eve services, this is where I would typically go to Luke 2 and we would do the Charlie Brown reading of the Christmas story.

But tonight I’m not going to do that, and instead we are going to go to Ephesians 2 where the Apostle Paul talks in great detail about the gift of Christmas. And in his description he gives us four reminders concerning the real meaning and purpose of Christmas.

And the first reminder is this:

Reminder #1 - Christmas is a gift we desperately need.

Paul puts it like this:

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

What Paul is describing in this passage is what life was like before Christmas, which seems odd since none of us in the room have ever known life without Christmas. But there was a time when people didn’t have Christmas. And according to Paul, it wasn’t a good life.

And it wasn’t good because It was a life full of disobedience. A life driven by fleshly and worldly desires. A life full of immorality. A life governed and directed by Satan himself. A life that Paul says left humanity dead in sin.

And when I say dead, I’m not just talking about physical death, I’m talking about spiritual death. I’m talking about a spiritual separation from God. A separation that would keep us enterally separated from a loving God. Destined as Paul says to be children of wrath.

A life with nothing to celebrate. A life with nothing to look forward to. A life that would leave us empty, wanting, damned, and dead.

Which means part of what Christmas is all about is you and I reminding ourselves of what life would have been like without Christmas. That without Christmas. without Jesus, there would be no light, no hope, no joy, and no peace.

You see, Christmas is something we desperately need because without it, there is no hope. Without, mankind would forever be lost in darkness.

This leads us to a second reminder:

Reminder #2 - Christmas is a gift we don’t deserve.

Paul puts it like this:

Ephesians 2:4–6 ESV

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

As Paul continues he reminds us that Christmas is a gift of love. Which means, it’s a gift that we didn’t deserve. A gift that was given despite us. A gift that we didn’t even ask for. Which is why Paul says it was given even when we were dead in our trespasses.

The idea here is that God not only saw our need, but He love us enough to act on it. How did He act on it? By giving us His Son. By giving us the gift of salvation. Jesus states it like this:

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.

What that means then is as we sit around the Christmas tree and open up gifts, each gift should be a reminder to us of the gift that God has given us. A gift like no other. A gift that surpasses all gifts. The gift of His Son.

I want you to think about that for a moment. When we were dead in our trespasses. When we were without hope. When we were being guided by Satan himself. God looked down from heaven, He saw our need, He loved us, and He gave us His Son so that we could be saved.

I love how Paul puts it in Romans 5:7-8

Romans 5:7–8 ESV

7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Christmas is a gift we don’t deserve, but God gave it to us anyway. Why? Because He loves us.

This leads us to a third reminder:

Reminder #3 - Christmas is a gift that doesn’t fade.

Paul puts it like this as he highlights the longevity of this gift:

Ephesians 2:7 ESV

7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

In this passage Paul says God’s gift of Christmas is an immeasurable and lasting gift.

Which means as we sit around the tree and open gifts, as great as the gifts may be, they don’t compare with the gift of Christmas.

Because in a couple of years, that grill is going to begin to rust out. Those air-pods are going to quit working. I know that because I’ve had two pairs of them. That Nintendo switch isn’t going to switch on. Why? Because they aren’t lasting gifts. They’re temporal gifts.

But God’s gift is lasting, in fact it’s eternal. A gift that Paul says in the ages to come will continue to bless us as the immeasurable riches of Jesus are continually poured out upon us. I love how the Apostle Peter states it:

1 Peter 1:3–4 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

Peter says the gift of Christmas is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, and kept in heaven for you. In other words, the gift of Christmas will never fade.

This leads us to one final reminder for Christmas:

Reminder #4 - Christmas is a gift only God can give.

Paul puts it like this:

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

To be honest, this should be one of the biggest reminders for us as we sit around the tree and open gifts. Because unlike the gifts you’re going to receive tonight or tomorrow morning, the gift that God offers you isn’t something you can buy at Walmart. It’s not something you can get with 2 day prime delivery. You won’t even find it at Target. Why? Because it’s not a gift that can be bought. It’s not a gift that can be earned. It’s only a gift that can be given. Given only by God.

Let me explain it like this. The truth is, most of the gifts you’re going to receive for Christmas are gifts you could eventually purchase on your own. In other words, if you really wanted to could eventually save enough money to buy the air-pod pros or Nintendo switch. You could find a way to purchase the grill.

But God’s gift of salvation isn’t something you can purchase or earn. Why? Because it’s a gift that can only be given. Why? Because it’s a gift of grace. And grace can’t be purchased or earned. It can’t be bought or sold. Grace can only be given.

Which is why Paul says it’s not a gift that results from works, so that no one may boast.

And to be honest, this is the biggest hurdle most people have when it comes to Christmas. Because when it comes to the gift of salvation, we tend to think we have to be good enough to receive it.

Or that somehow we have to prove ourselves worthy in order for God to love us. That if we perform enough good works and say enough prayers that maybe just maybe God will save us.

But that’s not how gifts work. Because gifts aren’t earned, they’re given. And this is especially true when it comes to Jesus and salvation.

But the truth is, we’re not worthy of it. The truth is we don’t deserve it. And the truth is there is nothing we could ever do to earn it.

But because He loves us. Because He wants to have a relationship with us, God freely gives it to us.

And all we have to be willing to do is receive it by faith. In other words, to be willing to accept that it’s a gift. To be willing to accept that there is nothing we could ever do to earn it or pay God back for it. Because all God wants us to do is accept it, and put our hope and faith in it. Which is why Paul says:

Ephesians 2:8 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Friends, Christmas is a gift. It’s the greatest gift. Its’s a gift we desperately need. A gift we don’t deserve. A gift that will never fade. And a gift that only God can give. It’s the gift of Jesus.

All that to say, my prayer tonight is, as that as you go home and celebrate, that you not forget the greatest gift. The gift that really matters. The gift that God has given us. The gift of Christmas.

Let’s Pray