The Advent of Love | Sunday, December 21, 2025

I could tell there were some people who were not closing their eyes while we were praying. If you are new here, this is not normal. But for the last number of years, the last Sunday before Christmas has been called Ugly Christmas Sweater Sunday, or as I said last week, Loud Christmas Clothing Sunday. That's what we're doing here because we like to have a little joy and rejoicing at Christmas time.

Now, I had options this year. If you've been at Cross Connection for a number of years, you've seen this suit before. In fact, every time I wear it, someone asks, "Where do you get a suit like that?" Amazon. Where do you get anything? They have everything, including the white shoes with the Ferrari symbols on them, which are spectacular.

As I mentioned, I had options, but when you wear a suit like this on a Sunday morning, you're practically unembarrassable. Or so I thought, until my wife got me this for our Christmas party. I couldn't take it. You want to wear this, buddy? All right, I will lend it to you later. You can borrow it, no problem at all. I just couldn't bring myself to wear that. I know there are limits. Maybe we'll see; it will be in my closet, so who knows? There's always next year.

I see so many of you came prepared. You look very, very nice. It is Christmas! Christmas is here. These are the last few days before the holiday, and every year it just seems to go by faster and faster. The season flies by. As much as we try to slow it down, it does fly by.

When we come to this time of year here at Cross Connection, we want to make sure that we mark this time by taking the four Sundays leading up to Christmas to remind ourselves of some of the important themes that surround this season. I grew up in this church and have been attending since I was a kid. We are connected to the Calvary Chapel family of churches. Within many Calvary Chapel churches, it is not atypical to ask the pastor, "What are you going to be preaching on the Sunday before Christmas?"

Today, we would normally be in Revelation chapter 13, discussing the mark of the beast. However, I want to take a moment to reflect on something different. In 2011, we began an Advent series here, which I found to be really encouraging for myself. We titled it "The Key to Unlocking Joy." Since then, we have taken the four Sundays leading up to Christmas to remind ourselves of the themes surrounding this season.

If you grew up in a more traditional Christian church that follows the liturgical calendar, you may understand the time of Advent and the themes associated with Christmas. For us, these themes are joy, hope, peace, and today, we will focus on love. Over the last several weeks, we have discussed joy, hope, and peace. These are important reminders.

Peter, in one of his letters, said, "It's good that I remind you of these things even though you know them and are established in the present truth." I hope that what I share leading up to Christmas is something you know well. I hope it serves as a review, but I do not take it for granted that it is. I meet more and more people in our county and in American culture in 2025 who do not know much about what the Bible teaches regarding the gospel, the good news of Christ, and what His coming to this world means.

By returning to these themes and reiterating them, I hope to saturate your mind with these truths so that they overflow when you talk with someone at work, at school, in your neighborhood, or with your family. As you discuss this season, I hope you begin to share some of the same things you hear us say here leading up to Christmas, so that you can share the good news.

Every Christmas season, I am reminded that we are not really sure when Jesus was born. I agree; we do not know that He was born on December 25th. However, it is good to remember and celebrate the coming of Christ into this world, as it is the most important event in all of human history. Right alongside it is what happened at Easter. These two events—the birth of Christ and the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ—are the most significant occurrences in all of human history. Therefore, it is good to mark them.

And to remember them and to consider what it means that Christ came into the world. At this time of year, we celebrate, and I think it's a good time to do so because of the connection or the metaphor that it represents. Of course, today is the 21st; right at this time, December 20th and 21st, every single year is the winter solstice. It is the longest period of darkness, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, it's appropriate that we celebrate Christ, the light of the world, coming into the world during this period. I think it's a fitting picture, a fitting metaphor.

When Jesus came into the world, we have these songs, these Christmas carols that we sing at this time of the year, such as "O Holy Night." One of the lines of that song talks about His coming to this world: "A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices." Are we not living in a weary world? In the midst of that, we find this thrill of hope. A few weeks ago, we remembered that the coming of Christ, the Advent of Christ, is not just the Advent of Jesus, but it is the Advent of hope. Pastor Mark shared from Romans chapter 5, which we'll look at again in a few minutes. In that passage, we are told that the hope that Christ brings is a hope that does not disappoint.

Every one of us has been disappointed by something we hoped for that didn't come to pass. Maybe you even remember when you were young and there was some gift you wanted. You left all the appropriate hints. The J.C. Penney wishbook catalog came, and you went through and circled what you wanted. I see some of you nodding; you know this. If you were a child of the 80s and 90s, you know exactly what I mean. There was no going through Amazon to select a wish list and send that off. No, you had to have the wishbook catalog and circle those things. But the hints didn't come through. The Red Ryder BB gun with the thing in the stock that tells time didn't come, and so your hope was disappointed. You hoped for something, and it didn't come to pass. That is the reality of hope in this world.

However, the hope that is described in the Scriptures associated with Christ is a hope that does not disappoint. The author of the book of Hebrews says that because it is a hope that does not disappoint, it is a sure and steadfast hope that becomes like an anchor for our soul in all the winds of this world and the storms of life. What keeps you moored? What keeps you anchored? It is the hope that we have in Christ. It is the ultimate comfort that God gives us, comfort by His grace.

By the hope that we have from Him, we consider this season, as we do every single Christmas time, that Christ's coming brings us the blessing of peace. It is a peace not as the world gives. Jesus says, as Paul writes in Philippians, that it is a peace that surpasses understanding. This means it is beyond any earthly explanation—the kind of peace that you can have in Christ Jesus. I have experienced this, and some of you have experienced this as well. I have most certainly observed it in other believers I know.

In fact, this year, I got to see it very clearly in a family, friends of ours, who lost their 16-year-old daughter. Even in the midst of the turmoil of that situation, you could see the peace that doesn't have any earthly explanation. If you ask them, "How can you possibly have peace in this?" they probably wouldn't be able to answer the question. The only answer they could give is, "Well, it's the Lord." The peace that He gives is a peace that surpasses all understanding.

We also look forward to a future peace. As one Christian philosopher wrote about explaining what peace in the Scriptures means, the concept contained in the Hebrew word "shalom" may be familiar to you. The direct translation is peace, but what does that mean? It's not just the cessation of violence or hostility. While it does contain that, it is more than that. It also speaks of universal human flourishing and wholeness. That is what every human heart desires—this kind of peace, which is found in Christ.

Why? Because, as that great famous Christmas passage says, He is the Prince of Peace. He brings this peace, and we look forward to the Prince of Peace ruling and reigning over His kingdom of peace forever and ever, into eternity. His peace will be everlasting and will be increasing.

Jesus, in His coming, and then ultimately what we will celebrate in the spring—His death, burial, and resurrection—brings us peace from God. Christ comes as the peace of God to us. Therefore, we have peace from God, and Jesus makes it possible for you and me to have peace with God because He died in our place for our sin, the very thing that has set us in opposition to Him. In Him, we can have peace with God, and because of Him, we have access to that peace.

To the peace of God, we ultimately have a relationship with the God of peace. That's what the Scriptures reveal. Paul speaks about this when he says, "When we were still without strength, at just the right time, or in due time, Christ died for the ungodly." Some of you remember explicitly what it was like to be without strength spiritually.

There is a realization that every single person must come to before they receive the grace of God and the salvation that comes from understanding how weak they really are. There is nothing that we can do because of the weight of our brokenness and sin. It's a debt we can't pay on our own. At that point, when we realize how far removed we are from God, how far sin separates us from Him, and how weak we are, we understand that we are without strength. At just the right time, we receive the good news of the gospel: Christ died for the ungodly.

It weighs heavily on my heart and mind that, at this moment in our culture, in 2025, the word "evangelical" has been tarnished over the last 20 years. There are understandable reasons for this. Now, when people refer to themselves as Protestant or evangelical Christians, they often feel the need to provide modifiers or explanations to clarify what they mean. The term became significant in the middle of the 20th century, but what does it really mean? An evangelical is someone who trusts in, believes in, and wants to share the good news of the gospel.

The word for gospel in Greek is "euangelion." If you transliterate it into English, it becomes "evangel." An evangelical is someone who believes in, hopes in, and trusts in the gospel and desires to share it with others. My wife and I named our younger daughter Evangelene Grace with that idea in mind—the good news.

At just the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. What does His death bring? By His death, we have been justified by faith. We have been made right with God. We were once far removed from Him because of sin, but He justifies us by faith. Because of that, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The reason this is the case is that He is our peace, as Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2. When Jesus came into this world, what we celebrate at Christmas, it is the celebration of the peace of God.

Personified and embodied, Jesus came into this world to be our peace and to break down the middle wall of separation that stands between us and God. He made it possible for us to have peace with Him and to have a relationship with the God of peace. These are the things we celebrate at Christmas time.

In His arrival, His advent, Jesus brings us hope. He brings us peace. But thirdly, He brings us joy—a fullness of joy that is accessible to us now in Christ Jesus. The arrival of the Christ child is captured in Isaiah 9:6: "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." This arrival signifies a joy that is, as I always say, increasing unto abundance for eternity.

If you've been a part of Cross Connection Church for a series of Christmas seasons, you've heard these things over and over again. My intent in repeating these messages is to ensure that a peace that surpasses all understanding, a hope that does not disappoint, and a joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity saturate your mind. I want these truths to flow out of you to others.

We have from Him a joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity. This is our hope, and this hope gives us peace and fullness of joy. It can be a reality in our lives as we receive the gift of God in Christ Jesus by grace through faith. As we abide in Christ, how do we see joy, fullness of joy, build up in our lives? It is as we abide in Christ and in His word. His word abides in us. We endeavor, by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, to do the things that God's word teaches us to do, which will inevitably lead to our joy, God's glory, and our satisfaction.

As we abide in Him, and as His word abides in us, all these things produce or result in the fullness of joy. My hope in returning to these themes repeatedly is to encourage you and to keep them at the forefront of your mind. Without Christ, there is no hope. Without Him, there is no joy and no peace. The advent of Jesus, which we celebrate this week, is the advent of peace—a peace that surpasses understanding and a hope that does not disappoint.

Disappointment can be transformed into a joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity. As they would say in the late-night infomercials, "But wait, there's more!" The themes of this season are hope, peace, joy, and love.

To explore this further this morning, I ask you to take out your Bibles and stand. We will open to a passage we have already considered together over the last several weeks: Romans chapter 5. Open to about the middle of your Bible and start turning to the right; you will find the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and then Romans. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and an usher will bring you one, or we will put the passage up on the screen.

We are going to read through a significant portion of Romans chapter 5, specifically the opening section. As I read through this, I want you to mentally highlight the themes of peace, hope, joy (or rejoicing), and love, because they are all present in this passage. This is why this passage is so important for this time of year.

Paul writes in Romans 5:1, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Not only that, but we also glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance character, and character hope. Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man, some would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

For if when we were His enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Father, I thank You for this passage. It is a passage that many of us here today have heard or read before. It is familiar, but it contains such good news, revealing so many great things to us in the book of Romans. We see just a couple of chapters before this that we all have...

We have sinned and fallen short of Your glory. In a chapter after this, we see that the wages of sin is death. Yet, when we were far from You, separated by sin and headed towards eternal death, at just the right time, You came. We rejoice this holiday season in the fact that You came. We rejoice in that through Your coming, we can know peace, hope, and joy. You came because, God, You love us so much. We rejoice in that.

So, God, remind us of these things. Even if we think, "Oh, I already know this. I've heard it all before," Lord, sometimes we just need to be told over and over again. I pray, God, that You would cement these truths in our hearts and our minds. We ask this in Jesus' name. And all those who agreed said, "Amen." Amen. You can be seated.

This is one of those passages of Scripture that doesn't really require what seminarians or theologians would know as exegesis, like a deep dive into tearing apart the sentence structure and parsing every sentence while discussing all the intricacies of the language in the original Greek. You just don't need that for this passage. You could do that, and it wouldn't be a bad thing; you'd learn a lot. I'm sure you could come up with some great chiasmic structure. I mean, that's what they would talk about in a seminary hermeneutics class regarding this whole passage of Scripture and Paul's chiasms used.

You don't need to get into all that. It's just very clear. Even young children can understand it. We have no problem with the young kids coming in from the children's ministry to hear these things. I want them to know these truths. Even if they ask questions later and have no idea what was being talked about, it gives you an opportunity to share it.

Here are some of the most important truths of the Gospel. This is the good news and the bad news. We were separated from God by sin. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6). We were without strength, and at just the right time, Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5). But to die, He had to come. He had to arrive to be here in this place. In and by Christ, because of what He came to do and who He is, we have hope, peace, and joy.

And point number one, if you're...

Taking notes today, Jesus is and brings the love of God to a dark and dying world. That first underlined word is really important. This has to do with Jesus's very nature, who He is, not just what He does. He is and brings the love of God to a dark and dying world. The appearing of Christ 2,000 years ago, the little baby born in Bethlehem, the advent of Christ, is the revelation and demonstration of God's love. That's what we read in Romans 5:8. God demonstrates His love towards us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The most famous verse of the Bible, one that hopefully you've memorized, is John 3:16. If you haven't memorized it yet, I hope that you will, but it's famous: "For God so loved the world that He gave." He gave. We celebrate Christmas, as you will probably this week, by giving gifts to the people that we love. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would have everlasting life. It is certainly the most translated verse of the Bible and the most famous verse of the Bible.

When we ask the question, why did Christ come into the world? Why do we have this season called Advent? Why do we celebrate Christmas? That's the answer right there: "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."

Years ago, and you can still find these videos on our YouTube channel, Pastor Nick and I would go to some fine retail establishments here in Escondido, like Target down on Auto Parkway on Black Friday. Now, Black Friday is not quite what it was ten years ago because most people shop online, so they just have a steady stream of Amazon drivers to their house all day long. But it used to be, back in the dark days before quick arrival on Amazon, that you would go to a store on Black Friday to get a deal.

Nick and I would stand outside, and I would get a whole bunch of $5 gift cards to Starbucks, which barely buys you a coffee anymore. That tells you how long this has been. As people would walk by, I would say, "Hey, can I have five minutes of your time? I'll give you a $5 gift card to Starbucks." They would respond, "Oh, okay." Nick would have a camera, and I would have a microphone. I would ask them, "So, you're here today on Black Friday. Are you doing some Christmas shopping?" They would say, "Yes, we're doing some Christmas shopping." I would then ask, "So, you celebrate Christmas?" They would reply, "Yes, we celebrate Christmas." And then I would just say, "Why?"

We would get some great answers with a microphone in front of people. You can find the videos on our YouTube channel. People would often be unsure of what to say, and then they would say something totally off the wall. Eventually, we would ask them, "Do you have a favorite Christmas carol?" and "Oh, yeah! Will you sing it for us?" We could get them to sing. It was great and a lot of fun.

However, sometimes people don't have a good answer to the question of why. It really is as simple as 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." Christmas is the revelation of the demonstration of God's love. This is exactly what Paul expresses not just in Romans but also in Ephesians chapter 2, beginning at verse one.

Paul writes, "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also you once conducted yourselves in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. You were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."

This describes the dark and desperate situation that every single human being enters into this world because of the fall in Genesis chapter 3. We all come into this world far from God, broken sinners in desperate need of someone to deal with the problem of sin. We were children of wrath, just as the others.

Then come the two beautiful words: "But God." But God, who is rich in mercy! I am so glad God is rich in mercy. He was rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins. He made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you were saved, and He raised us up. He made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Here is one of the aspects of our hope: What do we hope for? In the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. Do you think you understand the riches of God's grace now? Just wait! In the ages to come, He will be revealing the greatness of His grace towards us.

Then there are the famous verses: "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared."

Beforehand, we should walk in them. This is a beautiful passage of Scripture. God, because of His great love, made us alive by pouring out His mercy and grace, the riches of His mercy and grace upon us in abundance. God's love is so great, so immense, that it overflowed from Him towards us in mercy and grace to make it possible for us to be redeemed, to be adopted and accepted into His family.

In that place, we experience His peace that surpasses understanding, His hope that does not disappoint, and His joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity. This great love that God has given to you and me in Christ Jesus is not just something that God gives; it is not just something that He does. It is who God is; it is His very nature. This is why I said that Jesus is and brings the love of God to a dark and dying world. It is who He is. Love is not just an expression of God; it is not just something that He does.

Point number two: Jesus is love incarnate. Christmas is the celebration of the incarnation of God. What is that? God became a man. Isaiah 7:14 contains a great prophecy made 700 years before Jesus: "Behold, a virgin shall bear a child, and you shall call His name Emmanuel," which is translated "God with us." He is incarnate in the flesh.

What is God's very nature? John answers that question for us in one of his letters, 1 John chapter 4. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." It is a part of His very nature.

In this was the love of God manifested or made known, John says, toward us: that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation or the atonement for our sins." These are some of the most beautiful and important passages in all of Scripture. They are easy for us to overlook because we think, "Ah, I've read that before." But we need to be reminded of these things. Jesus is love in the flesh, incarnate.

And by this we know love: because He laid down His life for us. I am convinced of two things. First, we need to know these things. Second, we need to share these things with others.

We need to know these things because sometimes we doubt them. We doubt that God loves us in this way. The reason we doubt this is that we know ourselves better than any other human knows us. We are aware of all the good things, but we also know all the bad things. Even though we can dress ourselves up in really nice red suits and present a good image to others, at the end of the day, we still know who we are.

Because you know yourself and are aware of things that nobody else knows—things that cause you to feel shame or guilt—it can be hard to imagine that God, who is all-knowing, could actually love you. Many people think, "Well, God puts up with me." However, the Scriptures reveal that He loved us. He loved you when you were at your worst, when you were farthest from Him. He demonstrated His love for you by doing the most awesome and amazing thing you could ever imagine: giving Himself entirely to us.

He loved you at your worst and knows every aspect of you. In that, you can rejoice. Hopefully, this increases your peace, hope, and joy, knowing that He loves you in this way.

So, first, we need to know that God loves us. Once we begin to grasp this, we need to share this truth and this good news—this love—with others. I read just a moment ago from 1 John chapter 3, but I only read part of verse 16: "By this we know love because He laid down His life for us" (1 John 3:16). The verse doesn't end there; it goes on to say, "And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." We also ought to learn from His love and love others in this way.

This is what you would call an ethical must or an ethical imperative. What do I mean by that? Well, notice that it says, "We also ought to." You see, there's a conflict that we all experience between what we ought to do and what we want to do. You will experience this for sure within the next 96 hours because at some point in that time, you will want to have a third helping of dessert. But you will know that you ought not to, and there will be a conflict between what you want and what you ought to do. You know it's coming, and you will feel the guilt and the shame of your decision. So much so that on January 1st, you will make a resolution.

There is a conflict between what we want to do and what we ought to do. Here it says, "By this we know love because he laid down his life for us. We also ought to lay down our lives for others." Another passage emphasizes this in the same book, 1 John 4:7. I already read a portion of it: "Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."

In this, the love of God was made known, manifested to us, that God had sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atonement, the propitiation for our sins. I read all of that up to this point a few minutes ago. Then, in verse 11, it says, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought—there it is again—to love one another."

I won't ask you to raise your hand because you don't have to be that honest this morning, but how many of you here have some people in your life that you don't fully like? Tater, I said you don't have to raise your hand. He's got no filter, does he? How many of you have someone that it's just really hard for you to love? As a Christian, you kind of feel this. Well, I know I should—I ought to love them. So, I'm going to really try. In 2026, I'm making a resolution. I'm going to really try to love that person. I want to encourage you to do something else that will guarantee that you will.

Don't try to grin and bear it and pull up the grit to love that person. I don't like them. This is the person that inevitably, when you did the Secret Santa and had to draw names at work, you got that person's name. You might think, "Are you messing with me? Why do I have to try and love this person?"

No, here's what you need to do: take a few months and study the love of God and how He loves you. It will inevitably change you. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. We love God because He first loved us. As we begin to love others, even the unlovely, we start to understand and comprehend His love. His love transforms us. Our love for God and for others is in response to His love.

Point number three, if you're taking notes: God's love for us compels our love for others, or at least it should, and it will. The more you get to know what God's love is and how He has loved you, the more His love compels us to do loving things. This is one of the reasons why we give gifts at Christmas. Why the exchanging of gifts? Gifts are a demonstration of love.

As love overflows in liberality, we give to the objects of our love. There are people in your life whom you love, and because you love them, there is an aspect in which love stirs you to want to give liberally to them to demonstrate your love. Where does this come from? I suggest it comes from the very fact that you were created in God's image. God made you in His image, so there is something about you that is very similar to God.

Not identical, but you have a portion of God's nature imprinted upon you, known as the image of God. In Genesis 1:26, it says, "In the image of God, He made them male and female." God made you in His image, and because He is love incarnate and loves to give gifts, He has also imprinted you with that desire. You love to give gifts to those you love as well. The gift-giving God, the God who is love embodied, overflows with love.

Love towards us brings salvation by grace through faith. The outcome of that in my life and in yours is a joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity, a peace that surpasses all understanding, and a hope that does not disappoint. That is a sure and steadfast anchor for our souls in every situation we go through.

In response to His great love, we are hopefully compelled to embody that love and share it with others. The most important thing you could give this holiday season, this Christmas season, is the good news of the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Your mission this week, as you lead up to and celebrate Christmas in your office building, with your team at work, or with family members and neighbors, is to share the good news of God's grace and love.

Point number four: God's love is meant to be shared with others. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Amen.

Let's stand together as we close in prayer. Lord, thank You for these reminders. I hope that they are reminders, but I don't take it for granted that there are many people who don't know these things. There are people here this morning visiting us for the first time, and I think what a great opportunity, even though it's a weird Sunday because I'm dressed like I am.

God, we rejoice in You. We rejoice in Your goodness, kindness, and grace. None of us deserve salvation; we are the furthest thing from deserving. But You, because of Your great love, loved us even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, far from You, living after the lusts of our flesh with total abandon. You sought us out. You came to search for us and gave everything to show and demonstrate Your love.

Lord, help us to remember again today that You love us.

Even when we doubt it, even when we think there's no possible way that He could love us, Lord, help us to be reminded that the very fact that You came at Christmas was to show that love.

As we begin to understand and comprehend Your love, would You stir us and compel us to love others, even those with whom we have a hard time? Your love changes us. It changes our hearts. It's such a beautiful thing that You accomplish.

So transform us by the renewing of our minds, that we would be able to demonstrate and show what is Your good and perfect will in this world.

For we ask this today in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen."