The Greatest Gift of All – Jesus!
Thesis: Accept the greatest gift of all this Christmas a gift that will not break, rust, lose it’s power of fade away - Jesus!
Reference our Modern Day parable read in the service!
Texts:
Acts 2:38,39
38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Romans 6:1-4
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
2 Corinthians 9:15
15Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Ephesians 2:8-10
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Opening Illustration: THE EMPTY GIFT
"I was enjoying 1st grade to the fullest until one day in December when the little girl behind me set "it" on her desk. It was the tiniest Christmas present imaginable, less than an inch on each side with white glossy paper tied up with a sliver of red cellophane. Immediately I was captivated. I had never seen anything so exquisite. Day after day the tiny gift caught my eye, and my active imagination tried to guess what miniature treasure might be inside. It had to be something wondrous beyond description.
I longed for that object with all the power a 5-year-old can muster. Finally, I became convinced that it should be mine. I deserved it because I desired it. Since I rode an early bus to school, it was a simple matter to slip into the empty classroom one morning. My hands eagerly tore open the tiny present. Inside I found - nothing.
Staring at the destruction in my hand, anticipation dissolved into disappointment and confusion. Gradually my stunned mind grasped the fact that the little package had been nothing more than a hollow decoration. I sat at my desk with the empty paper and an empty feeling, sickened by the knowledge of my guilt.
Little did I know that morning that this scene would repeat itself many times in my life. As I grew up the world enticed me with all sorts of shiny, gaily wrapped "presents" that caught my eye and promised happiness. Too often, when I accepted what the world was offering and tore away the wrappings, my excited expectations were replaced by feelings of emptiness. Over and over I found myself proving the old cliché: "You can’t judge a gift by its wrapping."
Contributed by: SermonCentral PRO
INTRODUCTION:
I can relate to this story myself to the times when I anticipated a great Christmas present to only discover after I received it that it was not what I thought. It did not make me happy like I thought it would. There was still something missing even with the present in my hand.
We so often fall into the trap of embracing the empty words of others- Eph. 5:6 which says. “Let no one deceive you with empty words…” Words that push the following taken from Ephesians 5:1-7:
* “It’s okay to be sexual immoral and not worry about establishing a family like God wants - it’s the best way to find out if your right for each other.”
* “You don’t need to be married – God does not mind!”
* “God does not care if I steal a little a Christmas season the business owes me for all that I give any way!”
* “It’s okay to be greedy and strive for all the material toys you can get – because that will bring happiness!”
* “I can buy myself presents and give others the leftovers. I deserve it!”
* “It’s okay to focus on what you want at Christmas the bigger the better- give to those lazy losers no way. They don’t deserve the hard earned money you have fought for.”
* “Focus on Jesus this season why? Besides he died over 2,000 years ago!”
* “Jesus does not care if you are alive or dead!”
* “It’s okay to quit going to church and worshipping God you can do it at home just as well!”
* “It’s okay to focus on all the idols of Christmas and forget this Jesus guy- We need to place our focus instead on Santa, Rudolph, Frosty, Trees, glitter, snow, presents and the like.”
All these empty emphasis will not bring the joy of the season, the peace of the season, the good will toward others. It will only come from placing our eyes on the greatest gift of all time –Jesus!
Presents are like that – material things cannot satisfy the longing in our heart for something spiritual, for purpose in life, for focus in life, for contentment in life. Satisfaction in life only comes from that gift that impacts our lives spiritually.
Poem: Adapted from “Can this be Christmas?”
Can this be Christmas?
What’s all this hectic rush and fuss?
Where do all these crowds go in such a hurry?
They speed by so fast they look blurry!
They sit at the lights getting ready to take flight!
They dash into the store and then flash out the door!
Why all of the lights shining so bright?
Why all these trees that make me sneeze?
Why this is Christmas. Christmas in deed!
So this is Christmas, do you say?
But where is Christ on Christmas day?
Has he been lost among the throng?
His voice drowned out by empty song?
He’s been replaced and now receives no embrace.
Jesus – on the other hand is the greatest gift you could give to someone else tonight and tomorrow. His gift of life is not empty- not hollow but it is exhilarating –it is life giving –It won’t break or rot away-or rust away-it will not wear out-it will never lose its power. It’s a gift that will last for eternity.
How to receive and share the greatest present of all – the indescribable gift from God. Link these 7 steps to opening a Christmas present to receiving the greatest gift of all – Jesus.
Illustration: Have a Christmas present wrapped and go through the steps opening it.
I. Believe in the gift – To accept a gift this year the first thing you need to do is believe it’s for you. When a gift has your name on it you know its yours.
a. John 3:16-21: 16“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
b. Romans 3:22-26: 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
II. Accept the Gift – The second action taken when you believe a gift is for you is then to accept the gift from the gift giver.
a. Romans 10:9,10: 9That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
b. I John 1:9,10: 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
III. Open the gift and let it shine in your life – The 3rd action in receiving presents is to let the gift impact your life.
a. Ephesians 5:8-16:8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
IV. Embrace the gift – The 4th action is to then embrace –hold onto to this great gift. We don’t neglect it or throw it away instead a great gift is always embraced.
a. 1 Thess 5:19-22: 19Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil.
V. Testify about the gift – When ever we receive a great gift at Christmas we always tell others about it. The same is true for receiving the greatest gift of all Jesus.
a. 2 Timothy 1:8-12: 8So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
b. Revelation 12:11: 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
VI. Share the gift – When ever we have had a gift that changed our lives we want to not just talk about it but we want to share it with others so they can experience the joy from this great gift.
a. 1 Timothy 6:18,19: 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
b. Hebrews 13:16: 16And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
VII. Thank Him for the greatest gift of all – The last action we should all do at Christmas is to make sure we thank the gift giver for their sacrificial gift to us.
a. 2 Corinthians 9:15: 15Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
b. 1 Thess.5:18: 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Conclusion:
We all light the candles to say thank you to God and Jesus for their great gift to us!
