Because Life is Precious

We're continuing our series here at Cross Connection Church about why Christmas. Today, we're talking about God being the precious life giver, the one who loves life and gives life. Open with us to the book of Genesis as we consider these reasons for Christmas.

I have five minutes of your time; I'll give you $5. I didn't lose a bet, so there it is. I didn't lose a bet, but I do see some of my friends are representing. Ryan is beautiful—just stunning! Did you guys see Brian? Come on, stand up! Look at that; that is glorious! He won the ugly Christmas sweater contest we had at a little party the other night, and he won. That was beautiful. No, no, no pictures there, nothing. I'm just joking.

This Christmas season, we have been seeking to answer the question: Why Christmas? We did a series like this a few years ago, starting back at Black Friday, taking those videos and asking people that question. It really is astonishing to see how few people are able to answer that question when most people do celebrate it. In fact, Pew Research did a study in 2015 and found that 92% of Americans celebrate Christmas. However, most people, as they celebrate Christmas, do so as a cultural tradition.

You'll hear people say, "I celebrate it for family," which is great. It's wonderful that people gather together every single year at this time to celebrate, to have a joyful time exchanging gifts. But when you ask people why we celebrate this holiday called Christmas, a lot of people don't have a good answer. Even though you will find people who can give you some of the details about the "whats" of Christmas, they might be able to talk about wise men, Mary, Bethlehem, and a star. They might even know that this is the celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

But when you ask them why that is important, people don't always have a good answer for that. Why do we celebrate Christmas? Why do we celebrate the birth of a child that happened 2,000 years ago in a place 7,500 miles away? Why is it?

There are still billions of people around the world who celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. We understand the cultural trappings of Christmas, including things like lights, ornaments, Santa, reindeer, elves, snowmen, and all the other elements that come together with the holiday season we celebrate as Christmas. However, in the midst of all these cultural traditions, there is a way in which we can miss the point. We can overlook the reasons behind our celebrations, and I think you would agree that these reasons are really important.

A story is told about a young couple who got married. As they were preparing to celebrate their first Christmas together, one evening the wife was preparing a meal. She was getting ready to put the ham in the oven, and as she did, she cut it in half and placed it inside. The husband asked her, "Why did you cut the ham in half?" She replied, "I don't know. It's just the way I've always done it. My mom did it that way."

A few days later, they gathered together for Christmas at the in-laws' house. They asked the mother, "Why do you cut the ham in half before you put it into the oven?" She said, "I don't know. That's just always the way your grandmother did it." So, they went into the next room and asked Grandma, "Why do you cut the ham in half before you put it into the oven?" She explained, "Well, you know, your grandpa and I had an oven that was just too small; it wouldn't fit the whole ham, so I cut it in half."

This illustrates how we can begin to do things without realizing why we do them. It's just the way we've always done it. When you start to ask people about their Christmas celebrations, many will say, "Yes, I celebrate Christmas," as about 92% of Americans do. However, when you ask them why they celebrate it, they may not have a good answer.

It is my conviction that the "why" of Christmas is very important, which is why we have taken the time this year to try to answer that question. When we start to explore this question, I have found it helpful to go all the way back to the beginning—not just to the beginning of Christmas 2,000 years ago, but even further back than that, to the very beginning of the Bible.

At the very beginning of the Bible, we have the description of the origin of all things, when God spoke everything that now exists into existence. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." In the beginning, when God spoke and said, "Let there be light," there was light. This is what we have been doing over the last couple of weeks leading up to today. We have gone back to the book of Genesis, so if you'd like, you can open your Bibles with me all the way back.

The first book of the Bible is Genesis. If you don't have your Bible, one of the ushers will bring you one if you just lift up your hand. Genesis chapters 1 and 2 is where we have been starting, and there we see the narrative of the creation account. The creative, life-giving God spoke everything into existence over a period of time that we refer to as the six days of creation. In Genesis chapter 1, we have the description of that, and at the end of every single one of those days, God assesses what He had made.

As He looks at all those things that He spoke into existence, at the end of each of those days, He said, "It is good." The very last verse of Genesis chapter 1, verse 31, states that God beheld all the things that He had made and said, "It is very good." When God looked at His early creation, that was His assessment: it is very good. Everything was created really good.

However, here we are many thousands of years beyond that point, and as we look at the world around us, we are reminded every single day that things are not very good. We understand very clearly that we live in a world that is broken. When we begin to answer the question, "Why Christmas?" I think we need to go all the way back to that point and address the reality that this world is broken.

The amazing thing about the statement that we live in a broken world is that pretty much everybody you will talk with, even if they don't know the Bible story or go to church, will agree with you on that point. Every person in this room and every person you will connect with outside of this room has experienced that brokenness firsthand. We all know it innately, and we see it every single day. It is constantly before us that this is a broken world.

We are reminded of it by seeing things on TV, such as famines in other parts of the world, earthquakes, storms, or what we have been seeing happening north of us over the last couple of weeks: the fires in Santa Barbara and the nearly thousand homes that have been destroyed. Just this last week, a firefighter from right here in Escondido, a CalFire firefighter, died in the fires up in Santa Barbara. We are confronted with the brokenness that is constant around us.

People understand that the world is broken, but they may not realize that because of the brokenness of this world, we have this celebration every single year called Christmas. We saw two weeks ago that the world is broken because of...

The events of Genesis chapters 2 and 3 reveal a significant moment in human history. God gave a command to the first humans, saying, "You shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die." Genesis 3 recounts how humanity was deceived by the serpent, by Satan, into eating from that tree. As a result, their eyes were opened, and for the first time, they understood their nakedness and felt ashamed. They tried to cover themselves and hide from God. Immediately, death and brokenness entered the world.

When we talk with people and ask them if they celebrate Christmas, they often respond affirmatively. However, when we inquire why they celebrate Christmas, they may not have a good answer. I hope that we do have a good answer. We can explain that the reason we have Christmas is that we live in a broken world.

As we saw last week, if you were here, Genesis 3 not only tells the story of this brokenness but also informs us that our God is not only the Creator God and a life-giving God, but He is also the gift-giving God. When God looked upon the brokenness of the world caused by sin, rebellion, and disobedience, He knew He had the perfect gift for a broken world. Being the gift-giving God, He began to give hints about that gift, even though the full revelation and manifestation of it would not come for thousands of years.

At that point in Genesis chapter 3, God starts to drop hints, what we call Bible prophecy, about the coming of that gift. This gift would be the very thing that would address the brokenness of the world. He speaks of one who would come, a man born of a woman from the line of Abraham, through Isaac, through Jacob, and through Judah. He would be of the royal line of King David, born in a town called Bethlehem, and born by miraculous means to a virgin who would conceive and bring forth a child. This one would be the one who would destroy the dominion of the devil, the very one who brought brokenness into the world.

In Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, immediately after the fall of humanity, God begins to tell us about this coming one who would deal with this problem. Therefore, we celebrate Christmas because we live in a broken world, and we celebrate Christmas because God is the gift-giving God who had the perfect gift to address that brokenness. As we continue through this narrative, we see more of God's plan unfold.

The story is the focus of our study today. We have Christmas because, point number one on your sermon guide, life is precious to God. Life is precious. Why would God even concern Himself with bringing the perfect gift to a broken world? Why not just start over?

Back in Genesis chapter 3, when Adam and Eve broke God's command to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they brought in death because of sin, disobedience, and rebellion. Why didn't God just say, "Alright, scratch that. Let's start over again"? The reason is that, to God, life is precious.

Now, we understand this innately, and not just us. Every person you will meet at work, at school, in your neighborhood, or among family members and friends—even if they don't know the Bible or go to church—will agree that life is precious. We all know this innately. We all understand this perfectly, just as we understand that the world is broken.

Billy Graham, the great evangelist, made a point in a book he wrote on life and death many years ago. He stated that the first desire of living creatures is the desire to live on. He calls it the basic desire of the soul—the desire to preserve and continue life.

Now, more than ever, we see this being shown forth in our culture. Many people today are trying to invest in the prolonging of life. We always hear about money being invested in big tech companies like Uber, GrubHub, and Twitter, but now, a significant amount of venture capital is moving away from just tech companies to life extension companies. These are companies that are trying to extend life indefinitely.

There are millions, tens of millions, and even hundreds of millions of dollars going into these anti-aging startups. For example, there is a group based in San Diego called Human Longevity, and up in the Bay Area, another one called Unity Biotechnology, or Elysium Health. They are all conducting amazing experiments. One of their big executives, who made a fortune from the Google IPO, has set out to find a way to harness consciousness. The goal is to upload consciousness into the cloud and integrate it with technology so that when this body dies, your consciousness remains.

Computers are being developed to interact with your consciousness, and hopefully, they will be able to continue your consciousness forever. There is even the possibility of transferring that consciousness into another body. This may sound like far-out science fiction, but people are investing tens of millions of dollars into these technologies.

Currently, there are companies investing in the ability to take human tissue. For instance, if you need a liver or kidney transplant, they could take human cells from you, grow those in a laboratory, and then 3D print a new liver or kidney using your own tissue. This technology is attracting significant financial backing.

You may have also heard of cryogenics, where individuals want to take a legally dead body and freeze it, bringing it down to the freezing point of liquid nitrogen to preserve it and prevent decay. The hope is that, in the future, a cure for death might be discovered, allowing them to thaw the body and bring it back to life. It may take a hundred years, but the idea is that one day, the lights will come back on, and the person will be ready to go. These are absolutely stunning concepts that people are pursuing.

For centuries, we have heard myths about the Fountain of Youth, and that desire has not changed. People innately understand that life is precious and want to hold on to it. Although each of us is affected by the fall and the brokenness of life, and every day the sun rises, we feel that brokenness a little more. We may grow tired of the deterioration of our bodies, but we do not grow tired of life. God, who loves life and gives life, has instilled in you and me a desire for life forever.

We all share this deep desire, but we also confront the sad reality presented in Genesis chapter 3. Through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin, spreading to all humanity. We all carry this death within us, yet we yearn for life. Where does that yearning come from? It comes from God.

Genesis chapter 2, verse 7 states that the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Thus, man became a living being, or a living soul. This illustrates the reality that God is the source of life; He is the one who gives it. Science has long sought to understand this profound truth.

Has been trying to create life out of nothing. They are hoping that through all of their experiments, they will eventually be able to bring life from nothing. But the fact is that life comes from God. He is the one who imparts it to us because the Father is the one who has life in Himself. John chapter 5, verse 26 says, "For as the Father, God, has life in Himself, so He has granted to the Son to have life in Himself." Life comes from God, and to God, life is precious.

Point number two on your outline: God is life. He gives life and loves life. Because He loves life, when He created us, Genesis chapter 2, verse 7 states, "He formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." When God gave us life, because He loves life, He also gave us the ability to make more life, to procreate life. It's absolutely an amazing thing that God has given us the ability to create life.

The first commandment that God gave to humanity revolves around the concept of Him imparting to us the ability to give life. The first commandment is found in Genesis chapter 1, verse 28. Look at it with me, just one page over from chapter 2. Then God blessed them, humanity, male and female, and He said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves on the earth." This is the first commandment of God: be fruitful and multiply.

Do you realize that this, of all of God's commandments, may be the one commandment that man has done a really good job obeying? We've broken all the other ones, but "be fruitful and multiply"—we're doing pretty well at that. In Genesis, we have the description of God creating one man and one woman, joining the two of them together as husband and wife, and giving them this command to be fruitful and multiply. Fast forward however many thousands of years it has been, and here we are: 7.5 billion people on the face of this planet. We have been given this awesome ability to procreate life. God, who gives life, gave us the ability to bring life, and He gave us the command to make life.

But He also told us how to maintain life. In Genesis chapter 2, verse 17, He said, "Of all the trees of the garden, you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in the midst of the garden, you shall not eat of it, because in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die."

The second command of God had to do with life. The first command was to extend and to make more life: "Be fruitful and multiply." The second command was to maintain life: "Do not eat of this tree, because in the day that you eat of it, you will die." Unfortunately, the sad reality is that humanity broke that commandment. The best example of humanity, Adam and Eve, succumbed to the deception of the devil, the serpent. They ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and from them has come death through one man.

In Romans chapter five, verse 12, Paul sums it up for us in the New Testament: "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned." Death is a foreign invader that has come into this world through man's disobedience and rebellion. We see the openness of this world brought about by it.

Point number three on your outline: sin brought death and brokenness to the world. Now, in bringing all this up and going back to Genesis chapters one, two, and three, and looking at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we must consider that God is the gift-giving God who loves life and gives life. One of the interesting things is that in Genesis chapters one, two, and three, there was another tree that was identified. There are many trees that God created that were pleasant to the eyes and good for food, but there were two trees that were identified by name. One of them is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but there was another one, spoken of in Genesis chapter two, verse nine.

It says, "And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree to grow that was pleasant to the sight and good for food. The Tree of Life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Now, regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, there was a command given that they should not eat of it, because if they ate of it, they would surely die. But here we have this other tree, the Tree of Life.

If God gives life, and God is life, and God loves life, and to God, life is precious, then why, when humanity ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and brought death into this world, did God not immediately apply the Tree of Life? Why didn't He just say, "Well, listen, I've got the cure; just come over here and..."

You'll eat from the Tree of Life, and you will live well. The answer is given in Chapter 3. Look at Genesis 3:22. Then the Lord God said, "Behold, man has become like one of us." Would you circle that word "us"? It will become important in a minute. Man has become like one of us to know good and evil because he ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Now, so that he does not put forth his hand to take also from the Tree of Life and eat and live forever, therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.

It is kind of curious. God is life; He gives life, and He loves life. To God, life is precious; He does not like death. Man ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and experiences death. God has this Tree of Life, which apparently will give life forever. Why would He say we don't want man to eat from the Tree of Life? He set him outside of the garden. Not only did He send them outside of the garden, but in verse 24, God drove the man out of the garden and placed a cherubim, an angel, at the east of the Garden of Eden with a flaming sword which turned every way. That is a lightsaber, folks.

So, there is an angel, biblical right there, with this sword of fire that turns every way to guard the way to the Tree of Life. Why did God not want humanity to have access to the Tree of Life? I think the answer, as you begin to think about these things, is that it was never God's design or desire for you and me to live forever in a broken world.

Even though science and technology are trying to find ways to extend life for maybe hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, their desire is to extend life because life is precious to God and to us. I'm not entirely sure that if science found a way to extend life for many hundreds of years, I would want to do that. Although this life is wonderful and this world is beautiful, it is a broken world. I'm not sure that I would want to live forever and ever experiencing the brokenness. It is not God's design or desire for us to live forever experiencing the brokenness. He did not want Adam...

Eve to live forever in their broken, sinful condition. Though He loves life and though He gave life, and though to Him life is precious, God desires that we would experience a kind of life that is better than this fallen existence.

When we get into the discussion of Christmas, why do we celebrate this whole thing, this birth of Jesus of Nazareth that happened 2,000 years ago, 7,500 miles away? We have to bring people to the place of understanding that we live in a broken world. God is the gift-giving God, and He loves life, but He does not want us to experience life forever under brokenness. He wants us to experience life and that more abundantly. That is why we celebrate this thing called Christmas.

From Genesis, we have to fast forward to the New Testament. Turn from Genesis chapter 1 to the Gospel of John in the New Testament, specifically John chapter 1. The Bible is divided into two sections: the Old Testament, the first 39 books from Genesis through Malachi, and then the last 27 books, the New Testament, beginning with Matthew through Revelation. In the New Testament, we have Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. If you can find it, look at John chapter 1, verse 1.

There we read, "In the beginning," the same exact three words that open the Bible in Genesis chapter 1. Genesis chapter 1 says, "In the beginning." John chapter 1, verse 1 also says, "In the beginning." So we have the connection of these two passages, but the passage changes in the next word. In Genesis chapter 1, we have, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." In John chapter 1, we read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." He was in the beginning with God, and all things were made through Him, and without Him was nothing made that was made. In Him, the Word was life, and that life was the light of men.

I pointed out back in Genesis chapter 3 that God said man has become like us, knowing good and evil. When God says, "He man has become like us," who is the "us"? We are given some insight into who the "us" is here in John chapter 1, verse 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and in the beginning, the Word was there with God. This brings us into a mysterious discussion of theology—the issue of the nature of God, that there is one God who exists in...

Three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are introduced here in John chapter 1 to one of the other persons of God. We have God the Father, but we also have God the Word. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, and everything that was made was made by the Word of God. In Him, the Word of God is life, and this life is the light of men, the desire of all humanity. This life that is in the Word of God.

The author John continues in verse 5: "And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." Now, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. Two thousand years ago, a man was sent by God whose name was John, and this man came as a witness to bear witness of the light—the light that is in this one called the Word of God, which is a light for all people, the one who has life. John came to bear witness of the light so that all through him might believe. He, John, was not that light, but he was sent to bear witness of the light, that it was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

You see, this world, because of the brokenness of sin, is in darkness. We need to be illuminated; we need to be enlightened to the truth of the Gospel. John the Baptist, two thousand years ago, came to give testimony to bear witness of the one who is the light that will enlighten us to the truth of the good news of the gift-giving God.

He continues in verse 10: "He, the light, was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him." So He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But get this in verse 12: "As many as received Him, the Word, the life, the light of all men, to them He gave the right to become the children of God."

How do we receive Him? To those who believe—underline this word in your neighbor's Bible—those who believe. You see, receive and believe are connected here. We can receive life and light by doing what? By believing in His name. We were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. This is the beautiful Gospel story.

God, thousands of years ago, commanded the first humans not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because, if they did, it would bring death and darkness to this world. They partook, and we live in the affected death and darkness. But God, the gift-giving God who loves life, had the perfect gift for a broken world.

Here we read about this one, the perfect gift for a broken world, coming into the world. Look at verse 14 of John chapter 1: "And the Word, the Word we were introduced to in verses 1 through 4, became flesh and dwelt among us. We beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." The Word became flesh. This is what we call the doctrine of the Incarnation. God, the Word, the one who is life and is light, stepped into humanity. He put on human clothes, if you will; He became flesh.

So, when we celebrate the Christmas story, the Nativity, we remember that two thousand years ago, a virgin girl named Mary conceived and gave birth to a child named Jesus of Nazareth. This is the Word becoming flesh—the child born, the Son given, the one who comes to bring light to those who are in darkness and to bring life to those who are dead.

Point number four on your outline: Jesus came to give life to the broken. Sin brought brokenness and death, but Jesus came to give life to the broken. God became a man; He stepped into this brokenness as a light to shine in the darkness. He is the one that was promised all the way back in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, by the gift-giving God—the man who would be born of a woman, who would destroy the dominion of Satan.

He came from the line of Abraham, through Isaac, through Jacob, through Judah, of the royal family of King David. He would be born in the town of Bethlehem, borne by miraculous means to a virgin who would conceive. This one would come to be a light to those who are in darkness. Isaiah chapter 9 tells us of a light to bring joy: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulder. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Of the increase of His rule and reign, there will be no end.

There will be no end, and He will establish this kingdom with justice and judgment forever, as the Scriptures say. Continuing on in the Gospel of John, chapter one, verse 14 states, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We beheld His glory, as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

Look at verse 15. John, the one we were introduced to back in verse six, bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'" Of His fullness, we have received grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

No one has seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared Him. Jesus comes as the one to declare who God is, to present to us the greatness of who God is. He does this, as we considered at the end of our message last week, because of John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life."

This Jesus is the one that was prophesied for thousands of years, with hundreds of prophecies hinting at this gift that was going to be given to us. This Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by Him. When Jesus comes, He reveals to us life and immortality through the good news of the gospel.

In the very last letter that the Apostle Paul wrote, called Second Timothy, which we will be studying in 2018, Paul says in chapter 1, verse 10, "This has now been revealed: eternal life by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."

You see, Jesus came for the purpose of dealing with death. He is going to destroy the dominion of the serpent. The serpent deceived humanity into partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which brought death and brokenness into this world. But Jesus comes to destroy death. He destroys death by dying in our place on the cross and by rising from the dead. He deals with death, and now, as many as receive Him by trusting in the Lord, by trusting in His name, to them God gives everlasting life.

John 3:36 says, "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him."

Point number five on your outline is that Jesus gives everlasting life to everyone who trusts in Him. Here’s my encouragement, my challenge, if you will, to you: every single year, we are given a unique opportunity as followers of Jesus. Ninety-two percent of our culture is going to celebrate this holiday called Christmas, where we are celebrating the advent, the birth of the one who has been promised all the way back in Genesis 3:15 to deal with the brokenness of this fallen world.

Every one of us has friends, family members, co-workers, and neighbors who do not know why we celebrate this holiday. They think it’s just about presents or getting together with family. They might know some of the details of the Nativity story; they might remember something about three wise men and Bethlehem, but they don’t know why we celebrate it.

So here’s my encouragement and challenge to you: we’re doing this series so that you will have the proper answer to the question of why we celebrate Christmas. You can simply talk to that friend at work when you’re at the Christmas party or whatever it may be and say, "Hey, do you celebrate Christmas?" They will likely respond, "Yeah, of course I celebrate Christmas." You can then ask, "Well, why do you celebrate Christmas?"

They might answer, "I don’t know, I guess it’s about presents and joy and family and all those sorts of things." You can then ask, "Do you want to know why we celebrate Christmas?"

We celebrate Christmas because the world is broken. They will agree with you on that; we see the brokenness of this world all around us constantly. But we celebrate Christmas because the world is broken and because God is the life-giving, gift-giving God who loves life. Because there is death and brokenness in this world, God sent His only begotten Son to deal with that brokenness as a gift for you and me.

If we would receive that gift by trusting in Jesus, He would give us the right to be called the children of God. Jesus came into this world to give life and to give it more abundantly—not just everlasting life in a broken world, but to give us everlasting life in a kingdom that He will bring, in which there will be no more death, no more sorrow, and no more suffering.

Every human being desires that; we all deeply long for that. That’s what we’re looking for, but we still haven’t found what we’re looking for.

We are seeking for it, and it is only found in Jesus. If you are a Christian today, you have the answer to the problem of brokenness in this world. It is my hope and my prayer that we would be like John the Baptist, bearing witness to the light that has come into the world to give life forever. The greatest Christmas gift ever given is Jesus Christ. God the Father loved this world so much that He gave His only begotten Son for us, so that we would have life forever. Amen.

Let us stand and pray, asking God to give us boldness and to strengthen us. We can ask that simple question of some people this holiday season: "Hey, do you celebrate Christmas? Why?" May the Lord give you the words to say.

Father, we come before You today. I ask that You would give me, and my brothers and sisters here, boldness to share the good news of the gospel. It is because of Your grace, because of Your love, and because You are the life-giving, gift-giving God who loves life that You desired for us not to experience death forever. Jesus, You experienced death on our behalf on the cross so that we could have life forevermore—abundant life in Your presence. In Your presence is fullness of joy, and at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

God, I pray for our family members, co-workers, friends, and neighbors who do not know the reality of this good news. May we take the opportunity we are given in the next week, as so much of our culture celebrates Christmas and may be distracted by all the trappings, cultural things, and traditions of this holiday. Would You give us opportunities to share the good news of Your grace and Your gospel with them?

Lord, we are all confronted with the brokenness of this world, but we are thankful. I am thankful that You are the gift-giving, life-giving God who loves us so much that You want us to know this life forever. We praise You, Jesus. Give us the opportunity to share that.

It may be that as we stand here in prayer today, this is the first time you understand fully the reason for Christmas. This may be the first time you understand who Jesus is and what He did. If you would like to receive the gift of His grace and the life that Jesus came to give, the Scriptures say that as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to be called the children of God, to those who believe or trust in His name.

If you want to put your trust in Jesus today, believe upon Him and receive that free gift. I want to give you a chance to do that. Just lift up your hand as we're in an attitude of prayer. Is there anyone here this morning? I see you there in the back. God bless you.

Anyone else? If you want to receive that gift of grace, just lift up your hand high so I can see it. I want to lead you this morning in a prayer of faith, asking for God's forgiveness and His grace. If that's you, just pray with me where you're standing.

Dear Jesus, I know that I need You. I'm well acquainted with the brokenness of this world. Lord, I know that I haven't followed You faithfully. I pray that You would forgive me of my sin, that You would come into my life and save me, and that You would help me to follow You by faith and to share this good news with others. In Jesus' name, Amen.

It's a glorious opportunity we have this holiday season to share the good news of the Gospel with those in our lives. May God enable us to do that. Amen.