Christmas Party Playlist | I'm Dreamin' of A...

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Back in the olden days, as my daughter says, in 1997, my family owned a silver, cassette player boombox that became solely mine on my 13th birthday.

[[[show pic of boombox]]]

That boombox was one of my closest friends. During my teenage years, music helped me make sense of my middle school world.

But life looked a bit different in 1997 than it does now. For all of you younger than 30, you don’t know the pain that my friends and I went through in order to listen to new music.

Neither Apple Music or Spotify existed back in 1997.

Some of you don’t know true hardship :) … life without being able to find whatever song you want whenever you want it. In fact, some of you only know life as one perfectly curated list on Spotify.

Back in 1997, we walked to school uphill both ways in the snow without shoes!

Back in 1997, if you wanted to listen to a song whenever you wanted, then you had two options:

First, you could save your money and buy the tape (because CD’s were still too expensive!)

OR, second, you could roll the dice, and call the 5 o’clock all request rush hour on 95XIL!

Quite often, during my middle school years, I would arrive at home, do my homework, eat a snack or hang with friends, and then, at 5 o’clock sharp, I’d call 95XIL and make my request.

During that hour, I used to sit by my boombox, waiting with the most eager anticipation for the song that I requested to play over the airwaves. As soon as I heard those first notes play, I’d quickly push down on both the play and record buttons on the cassette player and rip that song straight from the FM sound waves!

As a middle schooler, few things felt as satisfying than when all of the planning and waiting paid off and the radio station played my request. What a satisfying rush!

Sometimes, though, the song didn’t play, and during that time of life, few things crushed my soul more than watching the clock turn to 6pm without hearing my request.

Ever wait for something like that? And feel the anticipation?

Of course!

Everyone’s dreaming for something…

What’s your dream?

One of the great Christmas songs of the past century and our favorite on the Christmas party playlist is  “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…”

to dream is to be human.

The earliest Songs in the Book of Psalms longed for a dream, not of white Christmases, but of a Savior who would bring rescue and restore justice and peace to the world.

Songs best capture our dreams.

Listen to this song:

All kings will bow before him,

and all nations will serve him.

12 He will rescue the poor when they cry to him;

he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them.

13 He feels pity for the weak and the needy,

and he will rescue them.

14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence,

for their lives are precious to him.

15 Long live the king!

If country music had existed back about 3000 years ago, then King Solomon would definitely have been the Hank Williams Jr of his day (King David would be the Hank Williams - he’s the OG!).

Psalm 72 cries for a better day, a promised day, when the true king, God himself, the Messiah, would make all life new and take away all of the wickedness and power mongering of the world.

In fact, consider how the wealthiest, wisest king in Israel’s history said of God, ‘Long live the king.’ Statements like this one prove to me the truthfulness of Scripture, for why would any king, especially the wisest and wealthiest of Israel, say such a threatening and self-opposing statement, unless this God was actually real?!

17 May the king’s name endure forever; Solomon sings

may it continue as long as the sun shines.

May all nations be blessed through him

and bring him praise.

18 Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel,

who alone does such wonderful things.

19 Praise his glorious name forever!

Let the whole earth be filled with his glory.

Amen and amen! Psalm 72:11-15, 17-19

Can you hear the crescendo of the strings in the background singing loud as the praise of the song proclaims God’s glorious name forever!

In short, this whole song sings, “I’m dreamin’ of a better day.’

… when a Savior would arrive and bring what Solomon called ‘shalom.’ Shalom typically translates as peace, although a closer definition means wholeness, completeness, and prosperity. Shalom isn’t an emotion like peace or contentment. Shalom is a state of being. It has a sense of permanence about it. One doesn’t just feel shalom, but experiences it and lives in it as an ongoing reality.

In verse 7, Solomon wrote of the Messiah,

“In his days may the righteous flourish,

and peace abound, till the moon be no more!” Psalm 72:7

For peace, Solomon used the word: shalom. The Messiah promises shalom.

The Apostle John recorded Jesus saying at the end of his life:

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27

Peace of mind and heart, that’s shalom. It’s heaven on earth, the presence of the kingdom of God with us.

Jesus fulfilled the Messiah’s mission of bringing shalom to the neighborhood, which will one day be made complete and restore the whole world back to rights.

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

What if your dream of peace this Christmas season could become your everyday reality?

What if it didn’t stay only a dream?

Did you know that the Bing Crosby single, “White Christmas” is the number one best selling single of all time!

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Over 50 million singles sold! White Christmas! Not Michael Jackson or Taylor Swift, but Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.”

Is that some kind of a weird anomaly? Or does the dream of some idyllic, perfect place tug on all of our hearts?

As a husband to my wonderful wife — who’s pregnant with our 4th child. We’re so very excited. Please keep us in prayer.

During the Christmas season, I often find myself watching Hallmark Christmas movies with my wife, which agonizes me. Don’t worry, she knows this, but I value our time together, even if I have to endure one of these movies. Personally, I’d rather someone pluck out my eyeballs, BUT! I love my wife and value my time with her more.

Many things agonize me about Hallmark Christmas movies, but what I find most agonizing is how perfect they are. Perfect Christmas people living in a perfect Christmas town drinking perfectly made Christmas lattes. All of it is unbelievable, yet 70 million people watched in 2018, and several million more are estimated to watch the block of 40 new Hallmark Christmas movies in 2019!

You think anyone’s dreamin’ of something? Ah, yeah! Hallmark movies are idyllic - they represent some perfect place in some distant Christmas land where we can find an escape from this world. Now, I’m not trying to knock on Hallmark Christmas movies, but shalom peace, the kind of peace that Jesus gave to us in his Spirit is real. It’s not an imaginary Christmas dream. Rather, Shalom meets us where Solomon sings:

He will rescue the poor when they cry to him;

he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them.

13 He feels pity for the weak and the needy,

and he will rescue them.

14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence,

for their lives are precious to him.

15 Long live the king!

This side of humanity doesn’t exist in Hallmark Christmas films. Solomon is singing about A God who meets us in real life. That’s where the Spirit of the living God meets us, not in some ideal Christmas village, but here in the mess.

The longing for Messiah meets us in real life places of discontentment and hopelessness.

That’s where Jesus meets you, in your dream of a better day, here and now!

I want to show you one last song to you. Written by an unknown poet, Psalm 2 dreams of a better day, singing:

7 The king proclaims the Lord’s decree:

“The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son.

Today I have become your Father.

8 Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,

the whole earth as your possession. Psalm 2:7-8

Traditionally, musicians sang Psalm 2 on the coronation day of Israel’s new king, but ultimately, the song dreams of a God-given Savior who could do for us what no earthly ruler could ever do.

Part of the coronation ritual included the king singing a symbolic decree spoken by God to the incoming king, saying:

‘You are my son.

Today I have become your Father.’

Which represented God’s authority bestowed upon the new king. According to tradition, every king of Israel spoke these words, as he ascended to the throne.

But do you know what’s so fascinating about this Psalm? These words also appear at Jesus’ baptism:

One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” Luke 3:21-22

God’s fathering presence over his beloved son marked his coronation day as the forever King!

In his baptism, Jesus began his true vocation as Messiah King, which culminated in the fulfillment of what no other earthly king could ever accomplish. Jesus saved the world. Jesus gave shalom.

Later in the New Testament, the author of Hebrews also interpreted Jesus’ baptism as his coronation day as Messiah and King, and opened his letter by directly quoting Psalm 2, writing:

5 For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus:

“You are my Son.

Today I have become your Father.”

God also said,

“I will be his Father,

and he will be my Son.” Hebrews 1:5

Which all fulfilled what the angel first said to Mary, announcing the birth of Jesus:

“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Luke 2:30-33

His law is love and His gospel is peace. O Holy Night.

Friends, if you’re dreamin’ of a better day, then what if that day could begin today?

What if your dream could become your reality?

Jesus’ birth on Christmas Day announced God’s arrival on the scene!

No fear, no more despair, for the Messiah has come, the true king, Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. He is here, and we have nothing to fear. We have nothing to hide.

This Christmas, let’s consider how life with Jesus brings wholeness and completeness to our lives, such as what my good friend Barbie experienced. Take a look…

Play Barbie’s video.

Sia’s life changed when she met her Savior, and that kind of transformation simply doesn’t take no for an answer. As a result, God changed a family.

In Sacramento, California, sometime in the mid-1980’s, someone invited my family to church. I don’t know who, but that person’s courage changed my life.

Every single one of these invitations will go to somebody. Fear and complacency will keep them with you. You will be that somebody.

Or, Holy Spirit courage and tenacity will lead you to get these invites into the hands of someone who’s dreamin’ of a better day.

——

There’s a young man right now who will be invited later today by one of you. When he woke up this morning, little did he know that his life is about to change. You see, right now, all he can think about is success. He stopped talking to his parents. He burned those bridges long ago. Life begins and ends with him. He hasn’t stepped foot inside of a church in years, and he never intended to do so again. But something about you struck a cord with him. Perhaps your compassion or maybe just your plain audacity to invite a guy like him to church caught his attention. He politely took your invitation. He said, thanks, and walked away, but he can’t shake the fact that maybe something bigger just happened.

So he does what he thought he would never do. He comes to church on Christmas Eve. He arrives 15 min late and leaves 5 min early in order not to speak with anyone. He sits in the back and doesn’t make eye contact with anyone. But he hears and feels something that he thought he would never ever feel apart from the illusion of success. He feels peace, like he’s home. What he’s really experiencing is a glimpse of heaven on earth. What he’s touching for the first time in his life is shalom, the promise of his Savior.

He can’t shake it. It’s too real. He comes back in mid January, learns more about this Jesus who loves him, meets some of you, and over time, his life changes for now into eternity because one of you decided not to let fear take your invitation!

——

There’s a young woman right now, who woke up this morning in tears. She’s coming to terms with the fact that she keeps waking up next to boyfriends who only want what her body can give.

This Christmas, she’s dreamin’ of a better day that probably won’t come true, she’s thinking.

That is, until she meets you, and you say to her, “Hey, this may sound crazy and you may not come, but just in case you don’t have anywhere to go on Christmas Eve, I’d love for you to come to my church.”

Feeling confused, but interested, she says thanks and takes the invite.

In her mind, she’s certain that she doesn’t belong. After all, how could a girl like her belong to church? Her only perception of church is judgment. Why would she put herself in that position, she thought, but something about you seemed different. She can’t put words to it, but what she felt from you was your love.

So, she takes one of the biggest risks of her life, and she decides to come to Christmas at Christ Journey. Her heart is pounding. She holds onto her purse and waits for the moment when she feels judged so that she can spring up from her seat and leave.

But that’s not what happens. For the first time that she can remember, she hears about a Heavenly Father who doesn’t condemn her, but loves her and gave His son to her. She also can’t believe all of the many people who smile at her and show her hospitality, as though they actually want her here, she thinks.

So she does the unthinkable: she comes back on Jan 5th, and to her surprise, she feels all of  the same love for her again that she felt on Christmas Eve, because of you and how well you love our guests.

After a few weeks of coming on Sundays and sitting in the back, she raises her hand during the salvation response moment at the end of the message and decides for the first time in her life to place her trust in Jesus and believes that she’s not the sum of whatever her boyfriends have said and done to her.

That day, she chooses to believe the dream of a better day.

——

Friends, these are true stories of people that I know. They are also stories of so many people not yet here.

We have the next two days to get these invitations into the hands of as many people as possible who are dreamin’ of a better day.

The king has arrived! Your Messiah has come! Your better day is here!

Heavenly Father, we need your courage!