00:00:02:20 - 00:00:03:19
This is a reading from

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Matthew 2:1-11.

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Now, after
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea

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in the days of Herod
the king, behold, wise men from the east

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came to Jerusalem, saying, where is he
who has been born King of the Jews?

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For we saw his star when it rose,
and have come to worship him.

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When Herod the king heard this,
he was troubled, and all Jerusalem

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with him, and assembling all the chief
priests and scribes of the people,

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he inquired of them
where the Christ was to be born.

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They told him in Bethlehem of Judea.

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For so it is written by the prophet.

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And you,
O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

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are by no means least
among the rulers of Judah.

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For from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.

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Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly,
and ascertained from them

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what time the star had appeared.

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And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying,
go and search diligently for the child.

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And when you have found him, bring me word
that I too may come and worship him.

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After listening to the king,
they went on their way, and behold,

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the star that they had seen
when it rose went before them

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until it came to rest over the place
where the child was.

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When they saw this star,
they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

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And going into the house

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they saw the child with Mary, his mother,
and they fell down and worshiped him.

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Then opening their treasures,
they offered him gifts.

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Gold and frankincense and myrrh.

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Well, good morning and

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welcome to the weekly gathering of Christ
Community Chapel.

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My name is Zach.

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I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm
so glad we get to be part of your weekend.

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This is week
two of our Christmas sermon series.

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I'm really looking forward to spending
this time with you, but it's interesting.

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This little inside baseball here.

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The Christmas sermon series
is usually the preaching pastor's

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least favorite sermon series,
and that's for one obvious reason.

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There's only so many new angles you can
take on a story that doesn't change.

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You know,

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I've been doing this now for 20 years,
and that's 20 different Christmases.

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And I don't have 20 different unique
perspectives on Christmas.

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It can feel a little redundant.

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It can feel like you're
out of creative material.

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Maybe you feel like that sometimes.

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Like, oh,
the Christmas story. I. I know the story.

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You hear it read you. I know this story.

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Even if you don't have much
of a religious background,

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you probably know that there were wise
men involved in the Christmas story.

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But sometimes
when we're overly familiar with something,

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we think we know more about it than we do,

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and as a consequence, we can miss
some of the really great stuff.

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Like, I don't want to ruin anyone's
Christmas, but let me give you

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some examples.

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For example, it's not true
that there were three wise men I know.

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Don't get angry with me, okay?

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I just mean that there were three gifts
gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

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But most scholars believe
that the group of of wise

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men traveling here would have been close
to 100 people wise

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men, servants, cooks, cleaners,
a whole entourage.

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But I guess singing we 100 Kings
just doesn't roll off the tongue right?

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Here's another thing.

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And this one, right
might really make you upset.

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The wise men
didn't actually visit the manger.

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Okay.

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Jesus, you realized
didn't live in a manger, okay?

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He was.

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He was born in one,
but he didn't live there.

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And by the time the wise men get to Jesus,
he's probably about two years old.

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So they're not even visiting baby Jesus.

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They're visiting toddler Jesus.

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Now, I don't mean that you need to go home
and throw away your nativity set.

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That's that's not what I'm saying.

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I'm just saying, if you didn't know
those things, then maybe open yourself

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up to the idea that there's
more to a story like this than you.

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First saw.

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And if there are, if there's more,
like on a Bible trivia perspective,

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then maybe there's more in a life shaping,
life changing perspective.

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So if you have a Bible,

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would you take it out
and open it to Matthew chapter two?

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If you don't have one,
you want to use one.

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There's one in the pew in front of you
or in the back of his hall.

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And I can tell you that it's on page 757.

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But we want to do this

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morning is lean into this story
and find a little bit of joy in it for us,

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because after all, that's our theme
this Christmas joy.

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So my outline is three points,
very simple.

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And they go like this
I want to show you the source of joy,

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the reach of joy, and the path to joy.

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Okay.

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The source of joy,
the reach of joy and the path to joy.

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All right.

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Let's start with the first one,
the source of joy.

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Probably notice when this passage was read
that there's a lot of joy

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in this passage,
a lot of excitement, a lot of happiness.

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If you didn't notice,
let's read it together.

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Verses one and two, and then we'll read
a couple verses later in the passage.

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Here's what they say

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now. After Jesus

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was born in Bethlehem of Judea
in the days of Herod

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the king, behold, wise men from the east
came to Jerusalem, saying,

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where is he
who has been born king of the Jews?

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For we saw his star when it rose,
and have come to worship him.

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Skip down to verse nine.

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After listening to the King,
they went on their own way,

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and behold, the star that they had seen
when it rose went before them

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until it came to rest over the place
where the child was.

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And when they saw the star,
they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

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And going into the house
they saw the child with Mary,

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his mother,
and they fell down and worshiped him.

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Then, opening their treasures,
they offered him gifts,

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gold and frankincense and myrrh.

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So you see, the wise men are very excited.

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They are very joyful that there's
a star in the sky, that there's a king

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who's been born, and that finally
they meet this little toddler King Jesus.

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But here's my question
what is so joyful about that?

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For them?

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I mean, they don't know anything

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about who Jesus is going to become.

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Probably the real answer to who
Jesus would be would have shocked them

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that Jesus would grow up
to be a sinless man,

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that he would go to the cross and suffer
under the weight of the sin of the church,

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under the judgment of God, that he would
die and raise three days later.

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They they know none of that.

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All they know is there's a star,
there's a king, and this is him.

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So why are they so joyful?

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I think the answer to
that is found in the concept of a story.

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But let me put it to you
this way. It's Christmas.

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You probably have a lot of family
traditions.

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So does my family.

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And some of those traditions
revolve around movies.

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We like to watch Christmas movies
we love Home Alone, one and two.

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We pretend there are no other home alones
after that, Die Hard.

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That's a Christmas movie,
if you ask me any movie, you say ho

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ho ho, it is a Christmas movie, okay?

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And in my house, what that means
Christmas season means we're

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watching a lot of hallmark movies.

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Now, when I talk about hallmark movies,
I mean, like all hallmark movies,

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I look this up.

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36 million Americans
watch hallmark movies.

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So some of you are lying.

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Nostalgia. You're lying. Okay.

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And if you haven't seen a hallmark movie,

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let me catch you up on the most recent one
I watched,

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which is really the same as all of them
I've ever watched.

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Okay, here's how they go.

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There's a woman who lives in the city.

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She has a hotshot job as an architect.

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Or maybe like a cupcake designer.

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Okay, it's a thing.

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She has a boyfriend.

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He's very handsome,
very successful, usually very wealthy.

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But she's up for a promotion.

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And the only way to get a promotion
is to lead out on a project.

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You're not going to believe this.

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That just happens
to be taking place in her home town.

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What are the odds of that?

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She says goodbye to her
wildly handsome and wealthy boyfriend,

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goes back to her hometown.

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While she's there, she runs into her
old high school boyfriend

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who doesn't have a job and may
or may not be homeless.

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Okay.

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Over the course of her time
in her hometown, she realizes

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the city is bad, work is bad.

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Handsome, wealthy boyfriend are bad.

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She realizes Christmas is good.

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Homeless guys are great.

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They fall in love. They kiss. It snows.

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The end.

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That's every hallmark movie ever made.

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And sometimes
when I'm watching with my wife

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five minutes
in, I tell her what the plot is.

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And she's always like,
how did you guess that?

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And I'm like, how did you not guess that?

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Even if I haven't seen this one,
I've seen this one, right?

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And I'll say to her,
why do you like these?

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They're so formal.

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And she has a great answer.

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She says, but it's a good formula,
and I think she's right.

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That's how stories work.

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Like every Christmas
I watch It's a Wonderful Life.

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I know what's going to happen.

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I know how things are going to end.

00:09:05:56 - 00:09:07:17
For George Bailey.

00:09:07:17 - 00:09:11:43
I watch A Christmas Carol, the George C
Scott version, the true version,

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and I know how things are going to go
for Scrooge, but that's why I watch them,

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because these stories are full of low
moments,

00:09:21:29 - 00:09:24:04
difficult chapters.

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I know that's how life works.

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You know that's how life works.

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But I also know that
even though the moment might be long,

00:09:31:03 - 00:09:36:10
even though the chapter might be hard,
I know we're headed somewhere great.

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So I hang in there because I know
the ending is going to make it worth it.

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You see, here's what the wise men know.

00:09:42:08 - 00:09:45:08
If God sent a star,

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if God sent a king,

00:09:49:00 - 00:09:52:27
then that means that human history is not
random.

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It's not chaos.

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It's not arbitrary.

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It means that God is writing a story.

00:10:00:54 - 00:10:04:11
And if God is writing a story,
then it means I'm not random.

00:10:04:20 - 00:10:07:40
It means no matter how low the chapter,
no matter how low the moment

00:10:07:44 - 00:10:12:31
or how difficult the season,
we are headed somewhere good.

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You see,
Christmas is a reminder to us every year

00:10:16:38 - 00:10:19:38
that God is writing a story.

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You know, the Bible never tells you to
pretend the season you're in isn't hard.

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It never tells you to cover your ears,
cover your eyes.

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Pretend everything is okay.

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Pretend you're not lonely.

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Pretend
you don't wish you had a family to go to,

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or wish you weren't
going to see your family.

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To pretend
you don't miss that family member

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that you won't see this Christmas
because they're no longer with us.

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The Bible never asks us to pretend.

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It says, look, some moments are low,
some chapters are hard.

00:10:50:08 - 00:10:54:40
What it tells us
every Christmas is if God sent his son,

00:10:55:44 - 00:10:57:57
then life is a story.

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And stories are always headed somewhere
great.

00:11:02:56 - 00:11:05:56
Do you need to hear that this year?

00:11:06:50 - 00:11:09:50
You are not random.

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Life is not chaos.

00:11:12:42 - 00:11:15:42
God is writing a story.

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Now you might be thinking,
well man, that's a beautiful thought

00:11:18:51 - 00:11:22:43
that God is writing a story,
that human history is headed somewhere.

00:11:22:43 - 00:11:27:09
But but even if God is writing a story,
how could I ever believe?

00:11:27:09 - 00:11:28:42
How could I ever know that?

00:11:28:42 - 00:11:31:21
That he wants me to be part of it?

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I mean, maybe he's writing a story for
some people, but not for people like me.

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Well, that's actually my second point.
Not just the source of joy.

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God is writing a story,
but the reach of joy.

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You see, sometimes we read a story
and we think we know it,

00:11:46:14 - 00:11:52:05
but we don't like just
who are these wise men?

00:11:52:05 - 00:11:53:10
Look, look with me.

00:11:53:10 - 00:11:55:23
How they're described in chapter one
and two.

00:11:55:23 - 00:11:59:53
Here's what it says now,
after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea

00:12:00:14 - 00:12:04:33
in the days of Herod
the king, behold, wise men from the east

00:12:04:51 - 00:12:10:06
came to Jerusalem, saying, where is he
who has been born king of the Jews?

00:12:10:34 - 00:12:14:12
For we saw his star when it rose,
and we've come to worship.

00:12:14:12 - 00:12:17:26
And we read that phrase,
wise men from the East.

00:12:17:26 - 00:12:18:54
And I know what you're picturing

00:12:18:54 - 00:12:23:24
turbans and beards
and these guys that go around quoting

00:12:23:24 - 00:12:27:56
like pithy one liners all the time,
but that's not who they were.

00:12:28:06 - 00:12:31:06
So you have to understand
that Matthew was written,

00:12:31:06 - 00:12:34:28
Matthew is a story of Jesus life, death
and resurrection.

00:12:34:28 - 00:12:37:49
It's written to a first century
Jewish audience.

00:12:38:09 - 00:12:40:47
One of the ways we know that
is that throughout the Gospel of Matthew,

00:12:40:47 - 00:12:43:34
he quotes the Old Testament time
and time again.

00:12:43:34 - 00:12:46:34
He's assuming that his audience is Jewish.

00:12:46:45 - 00:12:50:44
So the question isn't, what do you think
of when you read wisemen from the East?

00:12:50:44 - 00:12:53:55
The question is,
what would a first century Jewish

00:12:53:55 - 00:12:57:25
person have thought of
when they read wisemen from the East?

00:12:57:25 - 00:13:01:04
Like, for example,
these guys are most likely from Babylon

00:13:02:07 - 00:13:02:51
now Babylon.

00:13:02:51 - 00:13:05:50
If you don't know much about the Bible,
Babylon is the place

00:13:05:50 - 00:13:10:29
where Israel just came out
of after living in exile.

00:13:10:29 - 00:13:13:33
They're basically slave
holders, oppressors.

00:13:13:43 - 00:13:15:19
They're the bad guys.

00:13:15:19 - 00:13:18:33
In the book of revelation, Satan's kingdom

00:13:18:33 - 00:13:22:21
is referred to as the great Babylon.

00:13:22:52 - 00:13:24:31
Okay, that's that's Babylon.

00:13:24:31 - 00:13:27:59
You know how if you're a child of the 80s
or 90s, every bad guy in

00:13:27:59 - 00:13:30:59
every movie was Russian.

00:13:31:17 - 00:13:34:15
If they had made first century
Jewish movies,

00:13:34:15 - 00:13:37:36
Sylvester Stallone
would have been fighting the Babylonians.

00:13:37:58 - 00:13:42:03
They would have been the bad guys, not
only, though, are these guys Babylonians.

00:13:42:03 - 00:13:48:08
They're not Jewish, which means they don't
believe the Old Testament is God's word.

00:13:48:20 - 00:13:50:39
They're not sitting around
waiting for the Messiah.

00:13:50:39 - 00:13:51:52
They don't keep the law.

00:13:51:52 - 00:13:53:56
They don't follow the Torah.

00:13:53:56 - 00:13:58:48
Not only are they Babylonians
who are pagans, but they're astrologers.

00:13:59:33 - 00:14:03:41
They look to the stars for the answers
about what's coming in the future,

00:14:03:43 - 00:14:06:55
something
the Old Testament expressly forbids,

00:14:07:18 - 00:14:11:05
something that can even
have you killed in the Old Testament.

00:14:11:28 - 00:14:12:49
So why do I say that?

00:14:12:49 - 00:14:14:46
You see,
when you read wisemen from the East,

00:14:14:46 - 00:14:17:30
if you think turbans and beards,
you will say,

00:14:17:30 - 00:14:21:04
even if God is writing a story, it's
not for people like me.

00:14:21:09 - 00:14:23:10
But if when you read wisemen
from the East,

00:14:23:10 - 00:14:26:28
you think people from the wrong country,
with the wrong religion,

00:14:26:31 - 00:14:30:50
from the wrong background,
you'll realize the whole reason they're in

00:14:30:50 - 00:14:33:50
the story
is so that you know you can be to.

00:14:34:11 - 00:14:37:33
But let me give you just a story from
my own life that will illustrate this.

00:14:38:03 - 00:14:41:30
My wife, Amy and I a couple of years ago
attended a fundraising event

00:14:41:50 - 00:14:44:37
at which Tim
Tebow was the keynote speaker.

00:14:44:37 - 00:14:46:14
If you don't know who Tim Tebow

00:14:46:14 - 00:14:49:45
is, the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback
from the University of Florida.

00:14:49:45 - 00:14:53:17
I remember him as a quarterback
who beat the Steelers in the playoffs.

00:14:53:17 - 00:14:55:26
You can remember him however you want.

00:14:55:26 - 00:14:57:54
Great guy.
He did an awesome job at the event.

00:14:57:54 - 00:15:01:22
Now at this event,
Amy and I are sitting at the VIP table.

00:15:01:40 - 00:15:04:40
You're probably looking at me
going, why, that's a great question.

00:15:04:51 - 00:15:07:04
Okay, it wasn't because we were important.

00:15:07:04 - 00:15:10:04
The people we were with were important.

00:15:10:06 - 00:15:11:48
We didn't have any money to give.

00:15:11:48 - 00:15:13:36
We weren't going to give any money.

00:15:13:36 - 00:15:16:22
We were just kind of like their plus one
and plus two.

00:15:16:22 - 00:15:19:50
So after Tim gets done talking,
then we're all eating dessert,

00:15:19:50 - 00:15:22:07
like, all in this ballroom
or wherever we are.

00:15:22:07 - 00:15:24:49
And his handlers
bring him down off the stage

00:15:24:49 - 00:15:28:48
and bring him to the VIP table
so he can meet all the VIPs.

00:15:28:48 - 00:15:30:14
And he's going around the table

00:15:30:14 - 00:15:33:14
shaking everybody's hand, saying,
hey, I'm Tim, thanks for being here.

00:15:33:16 - 00:15:34:31
Thanks for giving money.

00:15:34:31 - 00:15:37:33
He shakes everyone's hand at the VIP table
but skips,

00:15:37:33 - 00:15:40:33
Amy and I, they
they his handlers don't bring them to us.

00:15:40:38 - 00:15:41:32
Don't bring him to us.

00:15:41:32 - 00:15:43:47
They take him to the next VIP table.

00:15:43:47 - 00:15:45:11
We weren't offended, right?

00:15:45:11 - 00:15:46:56
Because we knew we weren't important.

00:15:46:56 - 00:15:49:23
They knew
we weren't going to give any money we got.

00:15:49:23 - 00:15:52:21
It was just cool to be close to him
and that way.

00:15:52:21 - 00:15:55:57
But about 30 seconds after
he leaves our table to go to the next one,

00:15:56:06 - 00:15:59:06
he leaves his handlers
and comes back to Amy

00:15:59:06 - 00:16:02:13
and I shakes our hand and says,
hey, I'm Tim, I realized I missed you.

00:16:02:25 - 00:16:04:17
Thanks so much for being here.

00:16:04:17 - 00:16:05:29
It was awesome.

00:16:05:29 - 00:16:06:43
But man, it was apparent.

00:16:06:43 - 00:16:10:33
I thought, what did his parents teach him
and how do I teach it to my kids?

00:16:10:33 - 00:16:12:24
It was very, very cool,

00:16:12:24 - 00:16:15:53
and I can't think of a better metaphor
for why the wise men are in this story.

00:16:16:43 - 00:16:19:43
Because you and
I think if God is writing a story in human

00:16:19:43 - 00:16:22:48
history,
it's for people sitting at the VIP table.

00:16:23:33 - 00:16:25:52
But every Christmas,
God comes back to our table,

00:16:27:20 - 00:16:29:17
puts his hand out and says, hey,

00:16:29:17 - 00:16:33:50
I'm writing a story
and there's a place in it for you.

00:16:34:44 - 00:16:39:39
Even if you're a Babylonian pagan
sorcerer, there's a place in it for you.

00:16:39:39 - 00:16:42:39
Even if you're divorced,

00:16:42:51 - 00:16:45:51
even if you're alone this Christmas,
and it's your fault.

00:16:46:47 - 00:16:49:47
Even if you have the wrong
religious background,

00:16:50:21 - 00:16:53:37
even if you're ashamed or guilty

00:16:54:16 - 00:16:56:37
or broken, there's a place in it for you.

00:16:56:37 - 00:16:58:01
Now, I know you might be thinking,

00:16:58:01 - 00:17:01:49
well, listen,
good for these Babylonian sorcerers, but.

00:17:01:57 - 00:17:04:06
But they had a star in the sky.

00:17:04:06 - 00:17:05:43
That's how they knew they were included.

00:17:05:43 - 00:17:09:15
And if I had a star,
then maybe I would believe.

00:17:09:15 - 00:17:12:08
Well,
first of all, don't overestimate the star.

00:17:12:08 - 00:17:15:20
Because, as we'll see in a minute, a
lot of people don't know what's going on.

00:17:15:53 - 00:17:18:44
It wasn't that demonstrative.

00:17:18:44 - 00:17:21:16
But what I want you to see
is that the wise

00:17:21:16 - 00:17:24:36
men themselves are your star.

00:17:26:24 - 00:17:27:59
They're the neon sign in the

00:17:27:59 - 00:17:30:59
story of God saying, you,

00:17:31:48 - 00:17:35:54
you, you see,
the reach of joy is for anybody,

00:17:36:57 - 00:17:42:21
for everyone who wants to be included.

00:17:42:51 - 00:17:48:04
So if this Christmas, it feels like
everyone else is sitting at God's table.

00:17:48:04 - 00:17:51:06
They all have homes full of joy
and happiness

00:17:51:06 - 00:17:54:58
and presence and fun,
and you don't have any of those things.

00:17:54:58 - 00:17:57:50
And if you feel like even for a moment,
I understand,

00:17:57:50 - 00:17:59:18
I understand
God gives things to those people.

00:17:59:18 - 00:18:01:06
He doesn't give things to me.
God includes them.

00:18:01:06 - 00:18:01:57
He doesn't include me.

00:18:01:57 - 00:18:02:42
Here comes God.

00:18:02:42 - 00:18:05:22
Back to your table handout this Christmas.

00:18:05:22 - 00:18:08:21
Yet again saying no, no, no no no.

00:18:10:06 - 00:18:11:48
I am God,

00:18:11:48 - 00:18:16:20
I'm writing a story
and there's a room for you in it.

00:18:17:11 - 00:18:18:31
And you might be thinking, what?

00:18:20:44 - 00:18:23:12
How do I how do I get into it?

00:18:23:12 - 00:18:24:34
Then what's my third point?

00:18:24:34 - 00:18:26:33
Actually, not just the source of joy.

00:18:26:33 - 00:18:29:38
God is writing a story,
not just the reach of joy for anyone

00:18:29:38 - 00:18:33:27
and everyone who wants to be included,
even Babylonian pagan

00:18:33:27 - 00:18:36:41
sorcerers, but also the path to joy.

00:18:37:24 - 00:18:40:24
First thing I want you to notice is not
everybody gets it.

00:18:40:42 - 00:18:43:00
Pick it up in verse three,
we'll see some people that are left out.

00:18:43:00 - 00:18:44:39
Here's what it says.

00:18:44:39 - 00:18:47:39
When Herod the king heard this,
he was troubled

00:18:48:04 - 00:18:52:14
and all Jerusalem with him, and assembling
all the chief priests and the scribes

00:18:52:14 - 00:18:55:48
of the people, he inquired of them
where the Christ was to be born.

00:18:55:57 - 00:18:58:57
And they told him, in Bethlehem of Judea.

00:18:59:13 - 00:19:02:24
For so it is written by the prophet,
and you, O Bethlehem,

00:19:02:40 - 00:19:06:43
in the land of Judah, are by no means
least among the rulers of Judah.

00:19:06:43 - 00:19:10:38
For from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.

00:19:11:01 - 00:19:14:57
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly,
and ascertained from them what time

00:19:15:06 - 00:19:16:20
the star had appeared.

00:19:16:20 - 00:19:20:30
And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying,
go and search diligently for the child.

00:19:20:35 - 00:19:25:08
And when you have found him, bring me word
that I too may come and worship him.

00:19:25:08 - 00:19:26:44
Of course,
we know that's not what he has in mind.

00:19:26:44 - 00:19:29:06
He's going to murder
all the children under two.

00:19:29:06 - 00:19:30:07
Here's my point.

00:19:30:07 - 00:19:33:10
Herod has all the information
the wise men have.

00:19:35:05 - 00:19:38:05
There's a star and a king.

00:19:38:09 - 00:19:40:38
That's all everyone knows.

00:19:40:38 - 00:19:41:57
But he misses it.

00:19:41:57 - 00:19:42:33
But he misses it.

00:19:42:33 - 00:19:47:21
In fact, he goes to Bible study,
and he has everybody at Bible study.

00:19:47:35 - 00:19:50:35
And they miss it too. Why?

00:19:51:09 - 00:19:55:14
What tells us Herod is the king is he.

00:19:55:14 - 00:19:57:09
He has a scarcity mindset.

00:19:57:09 - 00:19:58:39
Herod is thinking,
wait a minute, wait a minute.

00:19:58:39 - 00:20:01:39
I like my story.

00:20:01:42 - 00:20:03:59
In my story I'm king.

00:20:03:59 - 00:20:08:36
And if God is writing a story, then,
then that threatens my story.

00:20:08:36 - 00:20:10:18
If God is writing a story, maybe.

00:20:10:18 - 00:20:15:08
Maybe he has less for me
and so I have to get rid of it.

00:20:16:22 - 00:20:18:40
Now, can I tell you every year

00:20:18:40 - 00:20:21:40
all kinds of people make that choice?

00:20:22:14 - 00:20:24:25
We like our story.

00:20:24:25 - 00:20:25:25
We want to be king.

00:20:26:28 - 00:20:28:39
We don't want God to threaten it.

00:20:28:39 - 00:20:30:18
And when you do that, you miss it.

00:20:30:18 - 00:20:31:58
The wise men don't know anything.

00:20:31:58 - 00:20:35:50
All they know is God is writing a story,
but they have an abundance mindset.

00:20:35:50 - 00:20:36:32
They wait, wait a minute.

00:20:36:32 - 00:20:41:09
If God is writing a story,
then surely it's better than the story.

00:20:41:09 - 00:20:42:13
I have.

00:20:42:13 - 00:20:45:56
Let me put it to you this way
I love to give Christmas gifts.

00:20:46:14 - 00:20:49:50
I mean, I love it, I love it,
I do all the shopping with my wife.

00:20:50:28 - 00:20:53:56
I have a spreadsheet where I keep
track of what we've got, each kid

00:20:53:56 - 00:20:56:22
and how much we spend so that it's even.

00:20:56:22 - 00:20:57:43
I know some of you think that's awesome.

00:20:57:43 - 00:21:00:14
Some of you think
I'm a nerd. Haters. I don't care.

00:21:01:30 - 00:21:02:29
Friday is my day off.

00:21:02:29 - 00:21:04:19
We spent all Friday wrapping presents.

00:21:04:19 - 00:21:05:41
I'm there. I'm wrapping with her.

00:21:05:41 - 00:21:08:34
I even number them
so they open them in the correct order.

00:21:08:34 - 00:21:10:49
You're welcome for that tip, by the way.

00:21:10:49 - 00:21:14:39
Okay, but I love it,
I love it, which also means and fellow

00:21:14:39 - 00:21:17:39
gift givers, you'll get this
I hate Christmas lists

00:21:18:44 - 00:21:21:31
you like a terrorist list of demands.

00:21:21:31 - 00:21:24:31
Hey, if you want me to be happy,
you'll get me these things.

00:21:24:34 - 00:21:28:12
And I especially hate
when someone says, just give me money.

00:21:28:50 - 00:21:29:35
Just give me money.

00:21:29:35 - 00:21:31:40
Because it's like they're saying to me,
hey, Zach,

00:21:31:40 - 00:21:35:49
I want your resources,
but I know what's best for me now.

00:21:35:49 - 00:21:39:08
My kids asked for some things
this Christmas, but the gifts?

00:21:39:08 - 00:21:40:00
I have two daughters right here.

00:21:40:00 - 00:21:43:45
I'm telling you, the gifts,
they're going to blow their minds are

00:21:43:45 - 00:21:45:01
the ones they didn't ask for.

00:21:46:18 - 00:21:47:35
You know why?

00:21:47:35 - 00:21:50:35
Because they asked for this.

00:21:51:45 - 00:21:52:32
For my wife, Amy.

00:21:52:32 - 00:21:54:56
Our love for them.

00:21:54:56 - 00:21:57:29
It's here, it's here.

00:21:57:29 - 00:21:59:04
They thought too little.

00:21:59:04 - 00:22:00:02
Can I tell you this?

00:22:00:02 - 00:22:03:01
That's the exact difference in this story.

00:22:03:43 - 00:22:07:47
Herod is king, and he thinks
it could never be better than this.

00:22:07:51 - 00:22:10:22
If I give God my story,
if I enter God's story,

00:22:10:22 - 00:22:13:29
if I give God control,
he'll give me less carrot.

00:22:13:33 - 00:22:15:58
Herod holds on to King and he dies.

00:22:15:58 - 00:22:18:58
And you know when he gets, he's
a footnote in history.

00:22:19:25 - 00:22:22:25
He's a bad guy in the greatest story
ever told.

00:22:23:03 - 00:22:25:39
The wise men say,
I don't know what God is doing,

00:22:25:39 - 00:22:30:50
but if God is writing a story, surely
it's got to be better than the one I have,

00:22:30:54 - 00:22:35:41
and they become an integral part
of the greatest story ever told.

00:22:35:45 - 00:22:40:06
How many of us are guilty of going to God
and saying, just give me cash?

00:22:42:06 - 00:22:43:25
I want your power, God.

00:22:43:25 - 00:22:44:50
I want your resources.

00:22:44:50 - 00:22:46:25
God, I want your help.

00:22:46:25 - 00:22:49:25
But I've got the story.

00:22:49:54 - 00:22:52:54
I know what's best for me.

00:22:53:01 - 00:22:56:13
And if that's the mindset you take,
you miss the joy of Christmas.

00:22:56:55 - 00:23:01:13
That's why you can come every year
at this time, hear the story and miss God.

00:23:01:13 - 00:23:04:42
Because you want to be king. So do I.

00:23:04:49 - 00:23:09:01
But God says this story is missed
if you love yours.

00:23:09:01 - 00:23:12:31
But anyone who's hungry
for a better story,

00:23:12:37 - 00:23:16:38
anyone who's desperate for the idea
that life isn't random,

00:23:16:38 - 00:23:19:57
that life is in chaos,
that God is doing something

00:23:20:33 - 00:23:23:33
they find the joy of Christmas

00:23:23:46 - 00:23:27:03
because the wisemen had no idea
that this little toddler boy

00:23:27:03 - 00:23:31:37
would become the sinless sacrifice of God
on the cross,

00:23:31:58 - 00:23:36:32
that he would carry
all the sins of being a Babylonian pagan

00:23:36:37 - 00:23:42:10
sorcerer, or an addict, or divorced
or whatever shame you're carrying.

00:23:42:10 - 00:23:45:40
Or I'm carrying or whatever guilt
we're carrying that he would become that,

00:23:45:47 - 00:23:50:19
and the God the Father would pour out
his anger and wrath and judgment on him,

00:23:50:19 - 00:23:53:55
so that his dying words would be,
it is finished.

00:23:54:04 - 00:23:54:52
And the three days

00:23:54:52 - 00:23:58:37
later, when he rose from the dead,
he would say to Babylonian pagan

00:23:58:37 - 00:24:03:00
sorcerers in me you can be forgiven in me
you can be loved.

00:24:03:07 - 00:24:05:43
In me you can be included forever.

00:24:05:43 - 00:24:09:03
Friends, every Christmas
God is saying that the secret

00:24:09:03 - 00:24:12:08
to joy is to unclench your fist.

00:24:14:34 - 00:24:15:35
To let go of

00:24:15:35 - 00:24:20:08
relationships or career path or choices
or patterns.

00:24:20:12 - 00:24:22:05
To open up your hand,

00:24:22:05 - 00:24:27:05
to put down your list and to say to God,
I'll tell you what, you know me.

00:24:27:25 - 00:24:30:12
You see me, you love me.

00:24:30:12 - 00:24:33:39
Why don't you give me what you think
I need?

00:24:36:44 - 00:24:38:30
Every Christmas,

00:24:38:30 - 00:24:41:30
God is saying that the path to joy

00:24:42:15 - 00:24:44:12
is to leave our little,

00:24:44:12 - 00:24:47:12
insignificant, broken story

00:24:48:08 - 00:24:50:57
and enter into his through

00:24:50:57 - 00:24:53:56
Jesus Christ, His son.

00:24:54:09 - 00:24:54:52
Let me pray for us.

00:24:54:52 - 00:24:58:12
Father God,
thank you so much for the inclusion

00:24:58:30 - 00:25:01:30
of the wise men from the East,

00:25:01:46 - 00:25:05:00
because their inclusion is my inclusion.

00:25:06:52 - 00:25:10:06
You're so kind and you're so gracious,
and you're so good

00:25:10:16 - 00:25:14:12
that you put these guys in the story
like a like

00:25:14:12 - 00:25:18:36
a neon sign saying to every hurting,
lonely, broken person.

00:25:18:56 - 00:25:21:33
I've come back to the table for you.

00:25:24:14 - 00:25:25:44
God, to the power of your Holy Spirit.

00:25:25:44 - 00:25:29:56
Would you unclench our fists,
of our lives, of our stories,

00:25:29:56 - 00:25:33:16
of our choices, of our obedience
so that we might come to you

00:25:33:16 - 00:25:36:37
with an open hand
and you might blow our minds

00:25:37:18 - 00:25:40:18
with your goodness and your grace.

00:25:40:25 - 00:25:42:20
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.