WEBVTT 0 00:00:04.890 --> 00:00:07.354 Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons podcast. 1 00:00:07.482 --> 00:00:11.150 This is where you can find audio from Sunday morning, messages and more. 2 00:00:11.300 --> 00:00:14.442 Make sure you're subscribed so that you don't miss future episodes. 3 00:00:14.506 --> 00:00:16.030 And thanks for listening. 4 00:00:20.930 --> 00:00:21.466 Amen. 5 00:00:21.498 --> 00:00:22.442 You guys can be seated. 6 00:00:22.506 --> 00:00:24.990 Good morning and Merry Christmas. 7 00:00:26.570 --> 00:00:27.030 Okay. 8 00:00:27.100 --> 00:00:27.590 All right. 9 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:29.080 There's a lot of us. 10 00:00:30.570 --> 00:00:32.070 We can do better than that. 11 00:00:32.140 --> 00:00:32.918 All right. 12 00:00:33.084 --> 00:00:34.470 Merry Christmas. 13 00:00:36.250 --> 00:00:37.638 That's what I'm talking about. 14 00:00:37.724 --> 00:00:40.966 It is good to have you guys here with us today. 15 00:00:41.068 --> 00:00:45.066 If you have your Bible, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join me this morning. 16 00:00:45.168 --> 00:00:46.758 We're going to look at two passages of scripture. 17 00:00:46.774 --> 00:00:50.330 We're going to look at Luke, chapter two and Matthew, chapter two. 18 00:00:50.400 --> 00:00:50.714 All right. 19 00:00:50.752 --> 00:01:03.778 As you turn there, a couple of things that I want us to remind you of, or if you're visiting with us for the first time, to make you aware of how many of you thoroughly enjoyed all of the wonderful treats this morning. 20 00:01:03.864 --> 00:01:08.514 Let's thank everybody who took time to go out and to do that. 21 00:01:08.552 --> 00:01:11.570 I know at my house, was it Friday? 22 00:01:11.910 --> 00:01:20.882 This Friday, it was just the aroma of goodness out of the kitchen all morning long with my wife and my daughter in there cooking. 23 00:01:21.026 --> 00:01:29.862 And as good as today was with that, on our New Year's Eve prayer service that we're going to have that Sunday morning, we're going to do breakfast again. 24 00:01:29.916 --> 00:01:30.786 We've got lizards. 25 00:01:30.818 --> 00:01:33.178 Thicket is going to cater that for us. 26 00:01:33.344 --> 00:01:33.994 It's free. 27 00:01:34.032 --> 00:01:36.182 You don't have to pay to come to the breakfast. 28 00:01:36.326 --> 00:01:45.070 But as we coordinate and as we plan for the crowd that we're going to have, if you could help us out, we've got these cards that are around in the rows there. 29 00:01:45.140 --> 00:01:49.614 If you could help us by registering for that, we would greatly appreciate it. 30 00:01:49.652 --> 00:01:54.154 Now, if you don't register and you wake up that morning and you're like, why didn't register? 31 00:01:54.202 --> 00:01:55.054 I can't come. 32 00:01:55.172 --> 00:01:56.654 Get that thought out of your mind. 33 00:01:56.692 --> 00:01:58.130 We want you to be here with us. 34 00:01:58.200 --> 00:02:04.098 We will have extra, but if you can help us out by registering, that would be such a big help for us. 35 00:02:04.184 --> 00:02:10.454 And then also, as we go into the new year, we're going to wrap up our Christmas series this morning. 36 00:02:10.572 --> 00:02:15.138 As we go into the new year, we're not going to jump straight back into Genesis. 37 00:02:15.234 --> 00:02:21.446 Instead, we're going to take the month of January and we're going to walk through the book of proverbs together. 38 00:02:21.548 --> 00:02:23.450 And so we did this several years ago. 39 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:25.482 And so a challenge that I want to give you. 40 00:02:25.536 --> 00:02:25.834 All right. 41 00:02:25.872 --> 00:02:27.462 There's 31 days in January. 42 00:02:27.526 --> 00:02:29.686 There's 31 chapters in proverbs. 43 00:02:29.718 --> 00:02:36.718 And so what I'd love for us to do as a church is commit to reading a chapter of proverbs a day as we work through. 44 00:02:36.804 --> 00:02:38.670 And then I'll come in on Sunday morning. 45 00:02:38.820 --> 00:02:45.934 And our Sunday morning's message will be based off of several verses that we've read throughout that week in proverbs. 46 00:02:45.982 --> 00:02:53.534 So just January 1, proverbs 1, January 2, proverbs two, all the way through the book of proverbs. 47 00:02:53.582 --> 00:02:58.046 And just a wonderful, wonderful time as we devote ourselves at the new year. 48 00:02:58.088 --> 00:02:58.678 Right. 49 00:02:58.844 --> 00:03:05.282 We're going to say that we're going to devote ourselves to working out and eating less sugar, less carbs, more asparagus. 50 00:03:05.346 --> 00:03:05.958 Right. 51 00:03:06.124 --> 00:03:16.518 But what we really want to make sure we commit to, and we're starting off this season for us in prayer and in God's word and would love for you to join us as we do that together as a church. 52 00:03:16.614 --> 00:03:28.666 Well, in this series of what we've been talking about, we've been looking at what we call the gifts of grace, that through a relationship with Jesus Christ, that we are given gifts, and then we take those gifts and we do something with those gifts. 53 00:03:28.698 --> 00:03:34.138 So we are given gifts, we receive those gifts, and then we give those gifts away as well. 54 00:03:34.164 --> 00:03:39.326 And we've been looking at our focus passage has been John 316 through 17. 55 00:03:39.438 --> 00:03:42.930 For God so loved the world that he gave his only son. 56 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:49.766 He gave Jesus that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 57 00:03:49.868 --> 00:03:50.594 Verse 17. 58 00:03:50.642 --> 00:03:59.062 For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 59 00:03:59.116 --> 00:04:00.774 And so we looked at different areas of this. 60 00:04:00.812 --> 00:04:05.706 We talked about forgiveness and what it means to be forgiven and what it means to forgive others. 61 00:04:05.808 --> 00:04:16.478 We talked about this in community, that we need others in our life to invest in us, and then in turn, we need to invest our lives into someone else. 62 00:04:16.564 --> 00:04:18.810 It doesn't matter how long you've been saved. 63 00:04:18.890 --> 00:04:29.474 You, whether you've been saved for 50 years or for five minutes, you have a story, you've got a purpose, you've got a reason that God allows you to come alongside and to do this. 64 00:04:29.512 --> 00:04:36.974 We talked about our abilities, of what God has given us to be able to go and do and how we can use them for his name and for his kingdom. 65 00:04:37.022 --> 00:04:39.654 And then last week, kind of a different way of looking at things. 66 00:04:39.692 --> 00:04:42.262 We look at suffering that Christ suffered for us. 67 00:04:42.316 --> 00:04:48.170 But if you're walking through this season, whether it be through calamities, through persecution, through sickness, right. 68 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:49.030 You suffer. 69 00:04:49.110 --> 00:04:59.834 And that in that our suffering is not wasted, in that God is working and moving and using that in a very powerful way in our life. 70 00:04:59.952 --> 00:05:08.090 And so this morning we're going to do something a little different as we talk about this concept of gifts. 71 00:05:08.170 --> 00:05:11.310 And so, parents, I know dawn communicated this out to you. 72 00:05:11.380 --> 00:05:13.994 If you did not see this, this may catch you off guard. 73 00:05:14.122 --> 00:05:27.666 But what I'm going to ask here in just a moment is that if all of our kids could come down front and kind of have a seat down here on the floor with me and parents, if you're petrified of that in this moment that you're about to lose control of your kid, you are. 74 00:05:27.848 --> 00:05:28.418 All right. 75 00:05:28.504 --> 00:05:37.802 But if you want to come down and sit crisscross applesauce with them like you're invited to as well, if not, we're just going to have, like, five or ten minutes that I'm going to hang out with them. 76 00:05:37.856 --> 00:05:45.100 So if I could get all of our kids, if you wouldn't mind coming down front, we're going to have some time together. 77 00:05:57.170 --> 00:05:58.014 I appreciate that. 78 00:05:58.052 --> 00:06:01.230 Now, parents, parents, here's what I need you to understand. 79 00:06:01.300 --> 00:06:02.560 Adults in the room. 80 00:06:03.170 --> 00:06:05.774 You probably said to your kid, hey, we're going into big church this morning. 81 00:06:05.812 --> 00:06:07.090 We want you to pay attention. 82 00:06:07.510 --> 00:06:09.540 Here's what I'm going to say for the next 510 minutes. 83 00:06:09.910 --> 00:06:14.962 Hey, adults, I need you to pay attention right as we walk through this together. 84 00:06:15.016 --> 00:06:16.162 You think that they can do that? 85 00:06:16.296 --> 00:06:17.326 You all think they can pay attention? 86 00:06:17.358 --> 00:06:18.110 You don't? 87 00:06:18.270 --> 00:06:19.630 I think they can. 88 00:06:19.800 --> 00:06:21.670 I think you guys can pay attention. 89 00:06:22.250 --> 00:06:24.422 I think they can pay attention as we do this. 90 00:06:24.476 --> 00:06:25.526 So let me ask you this. 91 00:06:25.628 --> 00:06:28.940 I've heard this from some of you already this morning. 92 00:06:29.550 --> 00:06:33.430 How many of you are excited that it's Christmas? 93 00:06:33.590 --> 00:06:34.730 Are you excited? 94 00:06:35.390 --> 00:06:39.926 All right, hey, I'm going to give you permission to do something, okay? 95 00:06:40.048 --> 00:06:42.122 I'm going to give you permission to be loud. 96 00:06:42.266 --> 00:06:42.926 All right. 97 00:06:43.028 --> 00:06:46.350 So how many of you are excited for Christmas? 98 00:06:50.050 --> 00:06:52.000 That was aggressive, right? 99 00:06:52.850 --> 00:06:55.922 But that's what I asked for, and that's what you gave me. 100 00:06:55.976 --> 00:07:00.882 So I have no one to blame but myself when I was a little boy. 101 00:07:00.936 --> 00:07:03.780 And I'm going to be honest with you still to today. 102 00:07:04.550 --> 00:07:05.486 I love Christmas. 103 00:07:05.518 --> 00:07:06.926 I love every part of Christmas. 104 00:07:07.038 --> 00:07:08.294 I love to decorate our house. 105 00:07:08.332 --> 00:07:09.730 I love to eat Christmas cookies. 106 00:07:09.810 --> 00:07:11.986 I love to watch Christmas movies. 107 00:07:12.098 --> 00:07:13.926 I love to get together with family. 108 00:07:14.108 --> 00:07:17.170 I love opening up presents. 109 00:07:17.250 --> 00:07:19.254 Now I want to tell you guys a story. 110 00:07:19.452 --> 00:07:20.710 So y'all look over here. 111 00:07:20.780 --> 00:07:22.202 Y'all look right over here for just a second. 112 00:07:22.256 --> 00:07:25.942 So you see right here, this gentleman on the end of the road, that's my dad. 113 00:07:26.006 --> 00:07:27.174 Y'all wave to my dad. 114 00:07:27.302 --> 00:07:28.502 Y'all call him Randy. 115 00:07:28.566 --> 00:07:29.770 Say, hey, Randy. 116 00:07:30.510 --> 00:07:31.338 All right. 117 00:07:31.504 --> 00:07:32.378 That's my mom. 118 00:07:32.464 --> 00:07:33.218 Her name's Donna. 119 00:07:33.254 --> 00:07:34.430 Say, hey, Donna. 120 00:07:34.930 --> 00:07:36.446 And then we got my aunt down here. 121 00:07:36.468 --> 00:07:37.066 This is Susan. 122 00:07:37.098 --> 00:07:38.430 Y'all say, hey, Susan. 123 00:07:39.410 --> 00:07:42.958 I got a lot of stories about them, like growing up, right? 124 00:07:43.124 --> 00:07:43.594 Lots. 125 00:07:43.642 --> 00:07:44.026 Lots of stories. 126 00:07:44.058 --> 00:07:45.278 But I'm not telling you a story about them. 127 00:07:45.364 --> 00:07:47.918 But I wanted you to kind of, kind of meet them. 128 00:07:48.004 --> 00:07:50.706 So after service is over with, you can go say hey to them. 129 00:07:50.728 --> 00:07:59.974 So instead, what I'd like to do is I want to tell y'all a story of the greatest Christmas gift that I ever received as a little kid. 130 00:08:00.172 --> 00:08:03.078 I got some great gifts as a little kid. 131 00:08:03.164 --> 00:08:14.758 I did get a Nintendo, but this gift was better than a Nintendo a long time ago, in a day that some of your parents may remember, but probably more your grandparents speed. 132 00:08:14.934 --> 00:08:20.780 There is something out there called an Atari, right? 133 00:08:22.430 --> 00:08:28.506 And I was probably about five years old, and I woke up Christmas morning and I got Atari. 134 00:08:28.538 --> 00:08:29.310 And that was great. 135 00:08:29.380 --> 00:08:33.070 But that wasn't the greatest gift that I ever got on Christmas. 136 00:08:33.430 --> 00:08:42.850 Another time I woke up, and this was, I think it was a couple years later, and there was a cartoon character out there, and his name was Heman. 137 00:08:45.590 --> 00:08:54.294 And I got Castle, grayskull, and like the other castle, and I got all of the figures and it was great. 138 00:08:54.332 --> 00:08:55.222 But you know what? 139 00:08:55.356 --> 00:09:00.870 It wasn't the best gift that I had ever gotten. 140 00:09:01.610 --> 00:09:02.262 The next. 141 00:09:02.316 --> 00:09:03.270 Oh, Playstation. 142 00:09:03.350 --> 00:09:04.762 Let me talk about that for a second. 143 00:09:04.816 --> 00:09:05.626 All right. 144 00:09:05.808 --> 00:09:08.620 Playstation came out when I was an old man. 145 00:09:08.990 --> 00:09:09.740 Right? 146 00:09:10.370 --> 00:09:11.646 Crazy, right? 147 00:09:11.828 --> 00:09:18.190 I know you would think a guy in his 20s would know more about that, but I don't. 148 00:09:19.010 --> 00:09:26.610 One Christmas morning, I don't know, I was probably seven or eight years old, I woke up early. 149 00:09:26.680 --> 00:09:29.570 Now, let's talk about waking up early here for just a second. 150 00:09:29.720 --> 00:09:30.580 All right. 151 00:09:31.030 --> 00:09:46.038 I liked to wake up when I was a little kid at probably around 03:00 in the morning, and I would open my door because I knew I couldn't come out until there. 152 00:09:46.124 --> 00:09:46.870 We got a question. 153 00:09:46.940 --> 00:09:47.850 We're going to go with this. 154 00:09:47.920 --> 00:09:49.050 What's up, buddy? 155 00:09:54.110 --> 00:09:56.806 So here's what I did to wake up my parents. 156 00:09:56.998 --> 00:09:57.450 Just. 157 00:09:57.520 --> 00:09:59.130 There's all kind of ideas. 158 00:10:00.430 --> 00:10:02.700 This is the idea that I would go with. 159 00:10:03.150 --> 00:10:05.694 I would open my door because I couldn't leave my room. 160 00:10:05.732 --> 00:10:06.266 That was the rule. 161 00:10:06.298 --> 00:10:07.534 You can't leave your room. 162 00:10:07.732 --> 00:10:09.370 So I would open my door. 163 00:10:09.450 --> 00:10:16.946 I would stand in the doorway, which is technically in my room, and I would scream as loud as I can at 03:00 a.m. 164 00:10:17.128 --> 00:10:18.530 To wake my parents up. 165 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:19.234 And you know what? 166 00:10:19.272 --> 00:10:20.114 They loved it. 167 00:10:20.152 --> 00:10:24.674 They loved it, and I bet your parents would, too. 168 00:10:24.792 --> 00:10:29.480 All right, just run with that, kids. 169 00:10:29.930 --> 00:10:31.000 Have fun. 170 00:10:31.370 --> 00:10:32.950 Moms and dads. 171 00:10:33.290 --> 00:10:35.062 I'm not real sorry about this. 172 00:10:35.116 --> 00:10:35.814 Right? 173 00:10:36.012 --> 00:10:38.162 This is what you're entrusting me with. 174 00:10:38.316 --> 00:10:53.550 I was about seven or eight years old, and I woke up that morning, 03:00 in the morning, and I go, and I stand at my doorway, and I scream, mom, dad. 175 00:10:54.370 --> 00:10:59.040 And they came out, and they were not quite as excited as I was. 176 00:11:00.210 --> 00:11:14.020 And I came out into our living room, and right beside our Christmas tree was a black and garnet, because those are the two colors that matter the most. 177 00:11:21.770 --> 00:11:23.254 I've got the microphone, right? 178 00:11:23.292 --> 00:11:24.680 So this is what I can do. 179 00:11:26.490 --> 00:11:33.450 Real life gas powered motorcycle. 180 00:11:34.270 --> 00:11:35.306 I know, right? 181 00:11:35.408 --> 00:11:38.380 It's crazy what happened in the know. 182 00:11:40.370 --> 00:11:44.682 And I got out that day on that motorcycle. 183 00:11:44.826 --> 00:11:52.190 I'll never forget it had a racing plate decal on the side with a number seven on it. 184 00:11:52.340 --> 00:11:54.170 I had a racing helmet. 185 00:11:54.330 --> 00:12:02.014 And we lived kind of in a home at the time where there were spots where I could go ride this motorcycle in the woods. 186 00:12:02.142 --> 00:12:05.460 And I rode this motorcycle all over the place. 187 00:12:05.830 --> 00:12:08.914 And then later on that day, remember, it was 03:00 a.m. 188 00:12:08.952 --> 00:12:10.182 There was plenty of time. 189 00:12:10.316 --> 00:12:13.320 We went to go have breakfast at my grandmother's house. 190 00:12:14.250 --> 00:12:16.982 I got another aunt, not the aunt that's here with us this morning. 191 00:12:17.036 --> 00:12:19.766 I had another aunt who was there, and she was going to visit. 192 00:12:19.878 --> 00:12:21.770 She was visiting from Arizona. 193 00:12:22.190 --> 00:12:24.890 And she said, we took my motorcycle over there. 194 00:12:24.960 --> 00:12:27.370 And she said, can I ride your motorcycle? 195 00:12:27.950 --> 00:12:34.714 Now, I know what I should say, which is, yes, but I know what I wanted to say, which was, no, this is my motorcycle. 196 00:12:34.762 --> 00:12:36.826 This is not your motorcycle. 197 00:12:37.018 --> 00:12:40.110 And she got on my motorcycle. 198 00:12:40.530 --> 00:12:56.950 And I don't know if she knew how much, like, how strong the motorcycle was, but she took off on that motorcycle, and when she hit that gas, her feet went up in the air, and that motorcycle went right into a pine tree. 199 00:12:58.330 --> 00:12:59.560 She was fine. 200 00:13:00.890 --> 00:13:02.040 She was okay. 201 00:13:02.570 --> 00:13:03.494 She was okay. 202 00:13:03.612 --> 00:13:08.874 But the motorcycle got a couple of scratches on it. 203 00:13:09.072 --> 00:13:11.082 It got a couple of dents in it. 204 00:13:11.136 --> 00:13:21.326 I remember the number plate on the side just curved into the perfect slope of the side of that pine tree that she ran it into. 205 00:13:21.508 --> 00:13:22.766 But it was okay. 206 00:13:22.948 --> 00:13:32.110 It was okay because there was this gift that was given to me that I loved and that I cherished. 207 00:13:32.690 --> 00:13:37.822 And I know you guys are really excited, because all of the things that are going to happen for Christmas. 208 00:13:37.966 --> 00:13:40.900 You're excited about waking up at 03:00 in the morning. 209 00:13:41.910 --> 00:13:46.402 You're excited to go out into the living room and see. 210 00:13:46.456 --> 00:13:49.960 You're excited to be there with all of your family. 211 00:13:50.490 --> 00:13:54.994 But what I want to do this morning is I want to read a minute. 212 00:13:55.042 --> 00:13:56.534 I want to read a story to you. 213 00:13:56.572 --> 00:13:57.160 Okay? 214 00:13:57.550 --> 00:14:07.050 I want to read a story to you about the greatest gift, way better than Atari, way better than even a Playstation. 215 00:14:07.790 --> 00:14:14.030 The greatest gift, even better than my Honda motorcycle. 216 00:14:14.450 --> 00:14:15.850 And it's the gift of Jesus. 217 00:14:15.930 --> 00:14:16.750 That's right. 218 00:14:16.900 --> 00:14:25.730 So I'm going to read the story to you guys, and even to the adults out here, about the gift of Jesus. 219 00:14:26.150 --> 00:14:27.186 The Bible tells us. 220 00:14:27.208 --> 00:14:29.586 We start in Luke two. 221 00:14:29.768 --> 00:14:39.880 Bible tells us, in those days, Caesar Augustus made a law, and it required that a list be made of everyone in the whole roman world. 222 00:14:40.410 --> 00:14:43.238 It was the first time a list was made of the people. 223 00:14:43.324 --> 00:14:49.138 While Cornelius was governor in Syria, everyone went to their own town to be listed. 224 00:14:49.314 --> 00:14:51.386 So Joseph went also. 225 00:14:51.568 --> 00:14:54.966 He went from the town of Nazareth and Galilee to Judea. 226 00:14:55.078 --> 00:14:57.850 That is where Bethlehem, the town of David, was. 227 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:03.834 And Joseph went there because he belonged to the family, to the family line of David. 228 00:15:03.962 --> 00:15:06.554 And he went there with Mary to be listed. 229 00:15:06.682 --> 00:15:09.166 And Mary was engaged with him. 230 00:15:09.348 --> 00:15:11.322 She was expecting a baby. 231 00:15:11.466 --> 00:15:16.158 And while Joseph and Mary were there, the time came for the child to be born. 232 00:15:16.334 --> 00:15:18.894 And she gave birth to her first baby. 233 00:15:19.022 --> 00:15:20.274 It was a boy. 234 00:15:20.472 --> 00:15:24.718 She wrapped him in strips of cloth and then placed him in a manger. 235 00:15:24.894 --> 00:15:28.840 And that's because there was no guest room where they could stay. 236 00:15:29.850 --> 00:15:33.350 There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby. 237 00:15:33.770 --> 00:15:36.642 It was night and they were taking care of their sheep. 238 00:15:36.786 --> 00:15:39.482 And the angel of the Lord appeared to them. 239 00:15:39.616 --> 00:15:42.314 And the glory of the Lord shone around them. 240 00:15:42.432 --> 00:15:43.958 And they were terrified. 241 00:15:44.134 --> 00:15:47.606 But the angel said to them, do not be afraid. 242 00:15:47.798 --> 00:15:50.060 I bring you good news. 243 00:15:50.430 --> 00:15:53.558 It will be great joy for all the people. 244 00:15:53.744 --> 00:15:57.534 Today, in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. 245 00:15:57.652 --> 00:15:59.962 He is the Messiah, the Lord. 246 00:16:00.106 --> 00:16:02.714 And here's how you will know I'm telling you the truth. 247 00:16:02.842 --> 00:16:06.766 You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger. 248 00:16:06.958 --> 00:16:10.782 And suddenly a large group of angels from heaven also appeared. 249 00:16:10.926 --> 00:16:21.110 They were praising God, and they said, may glory be given to God in the highest heaven, and may peace be given to those he is pleased with on earth. 250 00:16:21.450 --> 00:16:23.990 The angels left and went into heaven. 251 00:16:24.410 --> 00:16:28.130 Then the shepherd said to one another, let's go to Bethlehem. 252 00:16:28.290 --> 00:16:32.458 Let's see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us about. 253 00:16:32.624 --> 00:16:36.278 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby. 254 00:16:36.374 --> 00:16:38.822 And the baby was lying in the manger. 255 00:16:38.966 --> 00:16:41.786 And after shepherds had seen him, they told everyone. 256 00:16:41.968 --> 00:16:45.294 They reported what the angel had said about this child. 257 00:16:45.492 --> 00:16:49.982 But all who heard were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 258 00:16:50.116 --> 00:16:54.178 But Mary kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart. 259 00:16:54.344 --> 00:16:57.234 And she thought about them over and over. 260 00:16:57.432 --> 00:16:59.166 The shepherds returned. 261 00:16:59.278 --> 00:17:01.940 They gave glory and praise to God. 262 00:17:02.390 --> 00:17:04.546 Everything they had seen and heard. 263 00:17:04.648 --> 00:17:06.518 Was just as they had been told. 264 00:17:06.684 --> 00:17:10.358 Then Matthew talks about another part in Matthew, chapter two. 265 00:17:10.524 --> 00:17:13.346 Says Jesus was born in Bethlehem and Judea. 266 00:17:13.458 --> 00:17:16.674 And this happened while Herod was king of Judah. 267 00:17:16.802 --> 00:17:20.962 After Jesus's birth, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. 268 00:17:21.106 --> 00:17:24.678 They asked, where is the child who has been born to the king of the Jews? 269 00:17:24.774 --> 00:17:26.806 We saw his star when it rose. 270 00:17:26.918 --> 00:17:29.018 And now we have come to worship him. 271 00:17:29.184 --> 00:17:32.410 When King Herod heard about it, he was very upset. 272 00:17:32.570 --> 00:17:34.862 Everyone in Jerusalem was troubled too. 273 00:17:34.996 --> 00:17:38.718 So Herod called together all the chief priests of the people. 274 00:17:38.884 --> 00:17:41.120 He also called the teachers of the law. 275 00:17:41.490 --> 00:17:44.590 And he asked them where the messiah was going to be born. 276 00:17:44.750 --> 00:17:46.142 In Bethlehem and Judea. 277 00:17:46.206 --> 00:17:49.730 They replied, this is what the prophet has written. 278 00:17:50.310 --> 00:17:51.074 Behold you. 279 00:17:51.112 --> 00:17:52.702 Bethlehem and the name of Judah. 280 00:17:52.766 --> 00:17:56.206 Are certainly not the least important among the towns of Judah. 281 00:17:56.318 --> 00:17:58.294 A ruler will come out of you. 282 00:17:58.412 --> 00:18:01.282 He will rule my people, Israel, like a shepherd. 283 00:18:01.426 --> 00:18:04.326 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men. 284 00:18:04.508 --> 00:18:07.826 He found out from them exactly where the star had appeared. 285 00:18:07.938 --> 00:18:12.618 He sent them to Bethlehem, and he said, go and search carefully for the child. 286 00:18:12.784 --> 00:18:15.322 As soon as you find him, report it to me. 287 00:18:15.456 --> 00:18:17.914 Then I can go and worship too. 288 00:18:18.112 --> 00:18:22.042 After the wise men had listened to the king, they went on their way. 289 00:18:22.176 --> 00:18:25.390 The star they had seen, when it rose, went ahead of them. 290 00:18:25.540 --> 00:18:29.246 It finally stopped over the place where the child was. 291 00:18:29.428 --> 00:18:32.234 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. 292 00:18:32.362 --> 00:18:34.226 The wise men went to the house. 293 00:18:34.408 --> 00:18:37.262 There they saw the child and his mother, Mary. 294 00:18:37.406 --> 00:18:40.018 They bowed down, and they worshiped him. 295 00:18:40.184 --> 00:18:42.610 Then they opened their treasures. 296 00:18:42.950 --> 00:18:48.146 And they gave him gold and frankincense and myrrh. 297 00:18:48.338 --> 00:18:52.370 But God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. 298 00:18:52.530 --> 00:18:56.440 So they returned to their country on a different road. 299 00:18:56.810 --> 00:18:58.342 Hey, you guys did great. 300 00:18:58.396 --> 00:19:03.482 I want to thank you for sitting here so patiently as I read this story to you. 301 00:19:03.616 --> 00:19:07.126 But this story is about the gift of Jesus. 302 00:19:07.318 --> 00:19:09.114 And who Jesus is. 303 00:19:09.312 --> 00:19:11.630 And we're not going to outgrow Jesus. 304 00:19:12.290 --> 00:19:15.070 We're not going to try to replace Jesus. 305 00:19:15.490 --> 00:19:21.066 We have the opportunity to share Jesus and to live in this gift. 306 00:19:21.178 --> 00:19:25.118 So I've got a gift for you guys as you go back to your seats here in just a moment. 307 00:19:25.204 --> 00:19:29.790 And so if you'll see kind of around, some of our youth workers are here and they've got a basket. 308 00:19:29.950 --> 00:19:35.250 And in this basket, it's an ornament, a special ornament for you. 309 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:44.070 And in this ornament, it shows the story of what I just read of Jesus and Mary and Joseph and the angels and the shepherd and the wise men. 310 00:19:44.220 --> 00:20:02.314 But more importantly, and we'll talk about this in just a minute, this ornament is set in the shape of a cross so that we see the story of Jesus as we talk about in Christmas, that we're reminded that Jesus came and was born, but that his destiny that he'll go to is to a cross. 311 00:20:02.442 --> 00:20:04.398 So thank you guys for being awesome. 312 00:20:04.564 --> 00:20:07.802 Thank you guys for being so well behaved. 313 00:20:07.946 --> 00:20:09.982 And remember, it's okay. 314 00:20:10.036 --> 00:20:11.406 At 03:00 a.m. 315 00:20:11.588 --> 00:20:12.480 All right. 316 00:20:12.790 --> 00:20:14.034 It's okay. 317 00:20:14.232 --> 00:20:24.370 Parents, any complaints, I need you to email David Allen@Willardgechurch.org he'll process all those. 318 00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:24.706 All right? 319 00:20:24.728 --> 00:20:28.710 So y'all can go get your gift and y'all can head back to your parents. 320 00:20:50.990 --> 00:20:54.586 All right, so sometimes you get those things and you just have to say, well played. 321 00:20:54.778 --> 00:20:59.280 As I'm walking up, Jack just looked over at me and he said, hey, don't worry, Bo. 322 00:20:59.650 --> 00:21:01.382 I'm not going to email Dave. 323 00:21:01.546 --> 00:21:02.978 I'm just going to call you. 324 00:21:03.064 --> 00:21:03.860 All right? 325 00:21:05.350 --> 00:21:08.050 So remember to cut my phone off. 326 00:21:08.120 --> 00:21:08.498 Yeah. 327 00:21:08.584 --> 00:21:11.860 Or Joel or whoever, just not me. 328 00:21:13.190 --> 00:21:18.950 And that's what this season is all about, the gift of Jesus. 329 00:21:19.770 --> 00:21:34.060 And so really quickly, before we go into our time of communion, I just want to talk to you guys, for all of us, from the kids up to all the way for our adults, about this gift of Jesus and this story that we just read. 330 00:21:34.590 --> 00:22:01.620 The story, if you were in here and you noticed, I know some of the kids did, and I even saw some of us adults watching the story that drives the point of Charlie Brown's Christmas, which is the story of Jesus, that as much as we like the movies and the presents and as much as we like the lights and all of the things that come at this time of year, they're all secondary compared to Christ and to knowing him. 331 00:22:02.310 --> 00:22:10.310 And so the first thing that this story reminds me of is this, that the gift of Jesus is simple and powerful. 332 00:22:11.290 --> 00:22:16.710 The story of Jesus is simple and powerful. 333 00:22:17.310 --> 00:22:26.890 When we think about the story of Christ, when we think about who he is, he came to this world humbly and through miracle. 334 00:22:28.110 --> 00:22:35.760 He came to this world in a very common setting, but in a miraculous way. 335 00:22:36.610 --> 00:22:48.802 He was laid in a manger, a vessel created so that animals could eat very plain, but through the power of God. 336 00:22:48.856 --> 00:23:01.590 Born of a virgin, his first few days were not at a hospital, were not in a nursery at home, but instead kept with animals. 337 00:23:03.130 --> 00:23:06.070 But yet he was sought by kings. 338 00:23:08.430 --> 00:23:09.622 The story of Jesus. 339 00:23:09.686 --> 00:23:27.280 We see Mary and Joseph very young, with no family to join them, but yet announced by angels, the simple but powerful story of the gift of Christ. 340 00:23:28.850 --> 00:23:41.330 And we see somewhere around 30 years later, the simplicity of his life as he rode on a donkey. 341 00:23:42.390 --> 00:23:54.360 Simple to die on a cross, humiliating to pay for the sins of man. 342 00:23:55.610 --> 00:23:56.710 Powerful. 343 00:23:57.790 --> 00:24:01.900 And walked out of a tomb three days later. 344 00:24:02.590 --> 00:24:09.550 Miraculously, the gift of Jesus is simple but powerful. 345 00:24:10.930 --> 00:24:20.640 The second thing that we learn and we're reminded of is this, that the gift of Jesus is for shepherds and wise men. 346 00:24:21.510 --> 00:24:25.780 The gift of Jesus is both for shepherds and for wise men. 347 00:24:26.470 --> 00:24:39.110 The shepherds were common men, uneducated, socially outcast, a little rough and really dirty. 348 00:24:40.810 --> 00:24:43.910 They weren't looking for a spiritual encounter. 349 00:24:44.810 --> 00:24:52.022 But God sent them a message anyways, in their invitation, caught by surprise. 350 00:24:52.166 --> 00:24:53.850 They didn't come with a gift. 351 00:24:54.270 --> 00:24:58.650 They didn't come with an offering, but yet they came anyways. 352 00:24:59.790 --> 00:25:03.150 And they were welcome, and they were received. 353 00:25:04.530 --> 00:25:06.800 Maybe you feel like that describes you. 354 00:25:07.410 --> 00:25:14.098 The gift of Jesus is for shepherds, but the gift of Jesus is also for wise men. 355 00:25:14.184 --> 00:25:21.810 Some translations translate that the Magi or the kings, they didn't come from a field nearby. 356 00:25:22.710 --> 00:25:39.610 Instead, they traveled somewhere between 800 and 900 miles, not by airplane or train or car, but by foot or by animal, to see Jesus. 357 00:25:40.510 --> 00:25:44.220 They were highly educated men. 358 00:25:45.390 --> 00:25:48.786 When they walked into a room, they were the smartest. 359 00:25:48.838 --> 00:25:54.400 There they were men of influence and men of power. 360 00:25:55.810 --> 00:25:57.760 But they were searching for something. 361 00:25:58.930 --> 00:26:01.940 They knew that there was more beyond what they could understand. 362 00:26:02.950 --> 00:26:07.700 And they had been reading God's word and searching to find him. 363 00:26:08.790 --> 00:26:25.960 And when it was revealed to him, they had gifts, they wanted to share their life, and they brought them in a sacrifice to the one who would sacrifice for them. 364 00:26:28.030 --> 00:26:47.760 Whether you feel like you fall into that shepherd category or the wise men category, or, let's be honest, most of us in between the beauty that we're reminded of this Christmas is this, that the gift of Jesus is for you, for me, for everyone. 365 00:26:48.930 --> 00:26:55.010 The last thing as we look at the gift of Jesus is the gift of Jesus demands a response. 366 00:26:55.430 --> 00:26:58.130 The gift of Jesus demands a response. 367 00:26:58.470 --> 00:27:01.906 When someone gives you a gift, you typically say what? 368 00:27:01.928 --> 00:27:09.240 You say, thank you, you've taken the time to think of me, to sacrifice, to do this for me, and you give this to me. 369 00:27:09.690 --> 00:27:13.320 And in turn, my response is to say, thank you. 370 00:27:13.770 --> 00:27:20.794 As we read these stories, both in Matthew two and Luke two, we see these encounters that different people have. 371 00:27:20.992 --> 00:27:24.650 And these different people respond to Jesus. 372 00:27:25.470 --> 00:27:26.374 The shepherds. 373 00:27:26.422 --> 00:27:46.210 One of the things that I think oftentimes we miss is that their response to this gift of Jesus was they went out and they told people this wasn't just a secret they wanted to keep to themselves, but they told people what they had heard, what they had seen, what they experienced. 374 00:27:46.710 --> 00:27:49.650 The wise men, they respond in gifts. 375 00:27:49.990 --> 00:27:52.450 We saw they brought three different gifts. 376 00:27:53.190 --> 00:28:00.150 And I don't know if you know this or not, but these gifts, they didn't just run to the store and grab something last minute. 377 00:28:00.890 --> 00:28:02.790 These gifts were valuable. 378 00:28:03.290 --> 00:28:07.000 But more importantly, these gifts pointed to something. 379 00:28:07.630 --> 00:28:12.518 These gifts would be something that would stand as a symbol as they were received. 380 00:28:12.614 --> 00:28:14.010 They gave gold. 381 00:28:14.750 --> 00:28:18.620 Gold was not a gift that you would just give to anyone. 382 00:28:19.730 --> 00:28:23.310 Gold was a gift that you would give to a king. 383 00:28:23.970 --> 00:28:34.530 And so as the wise men came and they laid down the gold before Jesus, they're saying, you're the king. 384 00:28:35.190 --> 00:28:36.530 You're the king. 385 00:28:37.270 --> 00:28:39.890 They came and brought frankincense. 386 00:28:40.790 --> 00:28:57.580 Frankincense was something that you would burn, and it would create an aroma like an incense that would fill a room that was specifically used in the temple to be burned to remind people of the presence of God. 387 00:28:58.350 --> 00:29:11.820 So not only did they bring their gold to say to Jesus, you're our king, they brought their frankincense before him in saying, that, you are God. 388 00:29:12.750 --> 00:29:14.170 And then they brought. 389 00:29:17.010 --> 00:29:19.550 And myrrh was an oil. 390 00:29:20.370 --> 00:29:30.530 It was a very expensive oil that would be used on a body when a person had died. 391 00:29:33.530 --> 00:29:34.422 And so they come. 392 00:29:34.476 --> 00:29:41.750 They present this, because one day, Jesus will be their sacrifice. 393 00:29:42.490 --> 00:29:43.990 He'll be their savior. 394 00:29:45.130 --> 00:29:50.010 So they told people, they said, you're our king. 395 00:29:50.910 --> 00:29:52.220 You're our God. 396 00:29:52.830 --> 00:29:54.250 You're our savior. 397 00:29:54.990 --> 00:30:02.720 And then everyone from the shepherds to the wise men, the Bible tells us they glorified and they praised him. 398 00:30:03.250 --> 00:30:04.800 They worshipped him. 399 00:30:05.810 --> 00:30:10.640 But there's one other guy in the story we don't talk a lot about. 400 00:30:12.070 --> 00:30:13.490 His name's Herod. 401 00:30:14.470 --> 00:30:16.610 He felt threatened by Jesus. 402 00:30:17.830 --> 00:30:27.960 He felt that to acknowledge who Jesus was would to take away his power the way that he wanted to live his life. 403 00:30:28.970 --> 00:30:30.600 And so what did he do? 404 00:30:31.370 --> 00:30:33.030 He rejected Jesus. 405 00:30:34.090 --> 00:30:35.480 The gift of Christ. 406 00:30:39.770 --> 00:30:52.854 As you look at the ornament, and if you didn't have a kid who came down here, we have enough of these, I think for every family to get one. 407 00:30:52.972 --> 00:31:00.010 So if you did have a kid, maybe save some of the others, but if you didn't want you to stop by and grab one of these on your way out the door. 408 00:31:00.830 --> 00:31:24.290 And we're reminded in this that there's a story of a virgin who gave birth to a baby named Jesus, and that he is our king, he is our God, and he is our savior. 409 00:31:25.270 --> 00:31:30.900 And he's the savior of shepherds and wise men. 410 00:31:31.850 --> 00:31:39.430 And his story is so powerful, so powerful that it's announced by angels. 411 00:31:40.250 --> 00:31:47.770 But I love that this isn't on like a Christmas ornament, like a ball or even just a squared picture. 412 00:31:49.070 --> 00:32:12.290 I love that when we look at this story of Jesus, we're reminded of something and that we're reminded of the cross, because the gift of Jesus is not, do I just accept this story of a baby born? 413 00:32:13.430 --> 00:32:33.500 It's, do I accept the story of a baby born who will die on a cross to pay for my sins, but who will raise himself through the power of God to walk in life? 414 00:32:34.510 --> 00:32:47.600 And that in that when I acknowledge that he is my king, that he is my God, and that he is my savior, that that's what's for me. 415 00:32:49.010 --> 00:32:58.800 We're going to go into a time of response, and in our time of response, we're going to partake in the Lord's supper together. 416 00:32:59.430 --> 00:33:22.730 It's one of the things that I love of what we do every Christmas Eve, and many churches do, that we not only read the story and pay to mind the gift of Jesus that's found physically, that God stepped out of heaven, took on flesh and walked this earth, but that he paid the price for my sins and yours. 417 00:33:23.470 --> 00:33:31.610 The question that I have for you today is, what will you do with the gift of Jesus? 418 00:33:32.110 --> 00:33:36.410 In a moment, our worship team is going to come up on stage. 419 00:33:37.250 --> 00:33:44.030 As they do, I would ask that you would check your heart and the preparedness to see if you are ready to take the Lord's supper. 420 00:33:44.850 --> 00:33:49.380 First thing you need to ask yourself is, am I a follower of Jesus Christ? 421 00:33:50.390 --> 00:33:52.878 Is Jesus my Lord and my savior? 422 00:33:52.974 --> 00:34:03.160 And if he is, regardless if this is your church home or not, we want to invite you to partake in the Lord's supper with us together. 423 00:34:03.770 --> 00:34:11.346 But we also ask, under the dependence of the Holy Spirit, that you evaluate your heart for your readiness to partake. 424 00:34:11.538 --> 00:34:22.380 God's word calls us to evaluate ourselves, that we're not doing this simply out of ritual, but we're doing this as an act of worship and a response to who Jesus is. 425 00:34:22.750 --> 00:34:26.400 To check our hearts for any unrepentant sin that we may have. 426 00:34:27.170 --> 00:34:37.966 And if it is there, that we would repent and confess before the Lord, but also to check our heart for our relationships with other believers. 427 00:34:38.158 --> 00:34:40.580 To see, do I need to forgive someone? 428 00:34:41.270 --> 00:34:44.740 Or do I need to ask someone to forgive me? 429 00:34:45.110 --> 00:34:51.830 And if you find today that your heart's not ready to partake in this, it's okay. 430 00:34:51.980 --> 00:34:52.920 It's okay. 431 00:34:54.010 --> 00:35:00.920 But our challenge to you would be that to make your heart prepared to do this. 432 00:35:01.870 --> 00:35:09.980 If you're here this morning and you're not a follower of Jesus Christ, what I want you to know is that God loves you. 433 00:35:10.430 --> 00:35:12.620 And God loves you so much. 434 00:35:13.310 --> 00:35:15.446 He knows all the things you've ever done. 435 00:35:15.488 --> 00:35:16.414 He knows all the good. 436 00:35:16.452 --> 00:35:17.502 He knows all the bad. 437 00:35:17.556 --> 00:35:18.990 He knows all the ugly. 438 00:35:19.570 --> 00:35:26.270 And the Bible tells us that there's not one person that can earn their salvation. 439 00:35:27.170 --> 00:35:32.078 And that what we're called to do is to put our faith, our hope, and our trust in Jesus. 440 00:35:32.174 --> 00:35:34.180 And it's just as simple as that. 441 00:35:35.350 --> 00:35:38.870 That we admit that we're a sinner. 442 00:35:39.370 --> 00:35:46.230 That we believe in who Jesus is, and that we confess him as Lord and savior. 443 00:35:46.810 --> 00:35:58.890 And that in that, you too will receive a gift that's better than Atari, a Playstation, even a motorcycle. 444 00:35:59.710 --> 00:36:02.570 You will receive the gift of Jesus. 445 00:36:03.090 --> 00:36:07.582 Would you pray with me, God? 446 00:36:07.636 --> 00:36:16.610 We come to you this morning, Lord, as we prepare our hearts for this time of the Lord's supper. 447 00:36:16.950 --> 00:36:22.980 Lord, I pray that we would reflect on who you are, Lord, and your call for us. 448 00:36:23.750 --> 00:36:30.600 God, take these moments to speak to us, every single one of us. 449 00:36:32.650 --> 00:36:37.510 Lord, I pray if there's anyone here who does not know Jesus Christ as their lord and savior. 450 00:36:37.850 --> 00:36:46.890 And Lord, I pray that today would be the day that they find salvation in you and in you alone. 451 00:36:48.190 --> 00:36:55.120 Maybe they're just a shepherd, just out doing their thing, and somehow today they ended up here. 452 00:36:56.370 --> 00:37:01.840 Maybe they're a wiseman searching for answers and wondering what's there. 453 00:37:02.770 --> 00:37:04.320 You've brought them here. 454 00:37:05.590 --> 00:37:11.810 Lord, I pray that today would be the day that they receive the gift of Jesus. 455 00:37:12.950 --> 00:37:18.814 Lord, for the rest of us, you are here, Lord, through the power of your spirit. 456 00:37:18.862 --> 00:37:24.870 Would you work and move in us and bring us to the sweet place of repentance that we need to be? 457 00:37:24.940 --> 00:37:26.418 Lord, we thank you for the blood. 458 00:37:26.514 --> 00:37:28.360 We thank you for the body of Christ. 459 00:37:29.610 --> 00:37:31.750 And it's in his name we pray. 460 00:37:32.090 --> 00:37:32.950 Amen. 461 00:37:37.130 --> 00:37:38.530 Thanks again for listening. 462 00:37:38.610 --> 00:37:41.586 And be sure to check back next week for another episode. 463 00:37:41.698 --> 00:37:44.890 In the meantime, you can visit us@willowridgechurch.org. 464 00:37:44.970 --> 00:37:49.370 Or by searching for Willowridge Church on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.