Sermon Central
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Have You Opened Your Gifts?
Contributed by Carl Willis on Dec 22, 2006 (message contributor)
Summary: Many know about the birth of Jesus, but they haven’t truly experienced the gift of God’s Son.
Have You Opened Your Gifts?
John 3:16-17 (NLT)
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. [17] God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.
The Gift of Hope
• Fear is removed
– Replaced by the fullness of God’s love
1 John 4:17-18 (NLT)
And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world.
[18] Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us.
The Gift of Hope
• Fear is removed
– Replaced by the fullness of God’s love
• Eternity is anticipated
– Death is no longer seen as the end
1 Corinthians 15:55 (NLT)
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"
The Gift of Grace
• Unearned
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)
God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. [9] Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
The Gift of Grace
• Unearned
– Out of reach by human effort
• Undeserved
– God owed you nothing
Romans 11:6 (NLT)
And if they are saved by God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s wonderful kindness would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.
The Gift of Mercy
• Complete
– Total forgiveness
Titus 3:5 (NLT)
He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit.
The Gift of Mercy
• Complete
– Total forgiveness
• A clean slate
– The past does not count against you
1 Peter 1:3 (NLT)
All honor to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is by his boundless mercy that God has given us the privilege of being born again. Now we live with a wonderful expectation because Jesus Christ rose again from the dead.
The Gift of Life
• New life
– A fresh start
2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The Gift of Life
• New life
– A fresh start
• Everlasting life
– Now and forever
2 Timothy 1:10 (NLT)
And now he has made all of this plain to us by the coming of Christ Jesus, our Savior, who broke the power of death and showed us the way to everlasting life through the Good News.
Have You Opened Your Gifts?
**powerpoint available on request
