God So Loved: The Greatest Christmas Gift

Transcription

1 God So Loved: The Greatest Christmas Gift For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life John 3:16 (NIV) When I was a child, I looked forward with joy and anticipation for Christmas morning. Would Santa bring the latest desire of my heart? Like most of us, I snooped. One year, when I was about 6 or 7, I found my perfect gift. Up in my grandfather s closet, I found a tea set that just had to be for me. Imagine my disappointment when it wasn t under the tree. We have all received gifts that thrill and gifts that disappoint. We haven t received the one perfect gift of our heart s desire. Joy turns to sadness. Anticipation turns to frustration. If they loved me, they would give me what I want. Christmas is about love and gifts. Christmas is about the greatest love and the greatest gift. In John s Gospel we read about that love, that gift. For God so loved... he gave his one and only son... God doesn t love us because we are lovable and deserve His love. We aren t and we don t! He just loves us because He is God. Out of that love flowed the greatest gift the world has ever known. God gave His Son, who left heaven s realm and came to earth to live and die for me - and for you. He came so that we could have eternal life - salvation. In describing this love, this gift, Pastor Rick Warren writes: First, it is the most expensive gift you ll ever receive. It is priceless. Jesus paid for it with his life. Second, it is the only gift that will last forever. Finally, it is an extremely practical gift - one you ll use every day of your life. (Pg 8 The Purpose of Christmas). As we plan and shop for Christmas, let love be our guide. Someone said that you can t out-give God. You can t, but you can follow His example and let God s love for you find expression in your love for others. We love because he first loved us (I John 4:19).

2 Prayer: Thank you for the greatest gift we will ever receive - the gift of Christmas, when your love poured out of heaven in the form of Your Son - Jesus Christ. Help us to love others as you love us. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Marie Spencer

3 Love This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. I John 4:10 As I was cleaning out a box at home, I found a children s Bible Song book. As I flipped through it, I found the Jesus Loves Me song. A favorite children s song and probably is the first song a child learns in church that tells the love of Jesus Christ. This song has a very simple chorus Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus loves me, The Bible tells me so. A song that most people will remember singing as a child and singing to their own children. I remember singing that song quietly when rocking my own children to sleep and hearing them singing the song as preschoolers in church. Besides the name of a wonderful song, Jesus Loves Me is the motto for preschoolers that are known as Cubbies in the AWANA program that meet on Sunday afternoon at our church. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our Cubbies program. The very first lesson of the year is that our preschoolers learn that God who loves ALL of us very much sent Jesus Christ to live on earth. God loved us so much that He sent His own Son to die for our sins. God loved us before we trusted Him as Savior, when we were still sinners. What amazing love! Jesus showed love to everyone, including the children. In the book of Mark, the 10th chapter, we read that everyone who believes in Jesus like a little child will have a home with Jesus in heaven. Afterwards, Jesus took the children in His arms and blessed them. Yes, Jesus Loves Me and Jesus Loves You and if you haven t read the verses of Jesus Loves Me in a while (there are several verses), please read them this Christmas. Prayer: Father, we thank you for loving us. A love so great that you sent Your own Son to die on the cross for our sins. Amen Carrie Arnall

4 Love And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13:13 When you think of love at Christmas what comes to your mind? The sounds of Christmas with all of the caroling. The smells of Christmas with all the baking that takes place. The sights of Christmas with all of the twinkling lights. Everyone, I m sure, has that special memory that comes to mind when someone mentions - Christmas. For me, when I think of the love at Christmas I think of my family. I feel very fortunate to have grown up in a Christian home where Christ was at the center. My family was very active in all areas of church life. But, for some reason the love of Christmas was very special to me. We always went to our grandparents houses for the Christmas meal and, of course, to open presents. I can still remember what fun we had playing with our cousins and just being together. We could always count on my grandfather to make us feel special as he told us that he loved us as we entered his house. He loved his family and everyone he came in contact with. He had the love of Jesus in his heart and it showed. I can feel the love of Christmas when I think of those special childhood memories. At Christmas we remember all our childhood memories. However, the greatest love that we can enjoy is the love of our Heavenly Father. God gave us the greatest gift when He sent his only Son, Jesus, to be our Savior. When you and your family are all gathered together during this Christmas season, I challenge you to keep the love of Christ in your hearts throughout the year and not just at Christmas. However cliché it might sound, Jesus is the reason for the season. Without the love of our Savior we are not complete. Prayer: Dear God, Please help me to keep your love in my heart always and not just during the Christmas season. Amen. Caroline Smith

5 Love... but the greatest of these is love. I love the Tarheels. I love the Redskins. I love steak. I love Les Paul guitars. Can I really love those? We seem to have lost the meaning of the word or at least watered down the meaning so much that we use the word love for everything. The Bible tells us that God is love. Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy and it does not boast. Love never fails. Now I can say for certain the Tarheels, the Redskins, steak and even Les Pauls have failed in some way, shape or form over my life. God has never failed me! Heidi and I pledged our love to each other over 19 years ago at the altar of North Run Baptist Church. Over those 19 years, we ve laughed, cried, failed and succeeded. Our love for Christ and each other is the thread that ties us together. Over 2000 years ago, God sent His love to us in the form of a baby, born of a virgin. He sent his love not to condemn us, but so we could live eternally with him. While Christ was on this earth in human form, He laughed, He cried, He loved and He loved so much that He gave His life willingly for us. During Christmas, we focus on the baby Jesus in the manger, the Wise Men, the angels singing and we sing and talk of hope, peace and joy. Our world today seems far away from hope, peace and joy. With wars and rumors of wars in the news and terrorist attacks daily, we lose sight of those promises of God. We know God has a plan for each of us, and the world. His plan is perfect, His plan is without flaw, and His hand is still working in our world today. Let s remind ourselves this season that God s plan is perfect and still in effect! The promise of peace, hope and joy are still alive and well today as they were 2000 years ago! And now abide faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Prayer: Lord, please let your love fill us at this Christmas time. Let that love overflow so that others might find Christ through us. Thank you for your great love that sustains us even in our most difficult times. Amen David Craft

6 Christmas Eve - Love I John 4:8-10 My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn t know the first thing about God, because God is love so you can t know him if you don t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they ve done to our relationship with God. (The Message) I remember the magic of Christmas. Growing up in Florida we didn t think much about a White Christmas... just wasn t going to happen! But like children everywhere in the north, we warm-blooded Floridians in the south anticipated the coming of Christmas and the joy of presents and surprises. We didn t hang our stockings by the mantle - didn t have one, instead they were hung by the built-in bookshelf in the living room. The tree on one side of the room fully decorated with bubbling lights, ornaments, and wrapped presents below. On the front porch those huge old blubs twinkled for all to see. Oh, it was all magic to a child like me!! I still remember the decorations around our neighborhood, and I can smell the aromas from Mom s baking and the turkey cooking in our kitchen. I remember how hard it was to get to sleep on Christmas Eve. And, I remember how exciting it was to wake on Christmas morn. Long ago memories that are still magic in my heart. I loved Christmas then... and I still do today.

7 We kids grew up. And then my kids grew up. Now we enjoy our grandkids growing, and I still see the magic in Christmas, and the joy of giving, and the love of family and friends. Through the years I ve learned more about the message of the heavenly hosts, and the journey of Mary and Joseph. I ve preached about the birth of my Savior in Bethlehem s stable. I ve sung about the holy birth, the silent night and the joy to the world. I ve heard the bells on Christmas Day and I ve tasted the bread from God s heavenly kitchen. But most of all I m learning more and more about the love of God that sent his only Son to bring hope to a hopeless world. I ve accepted His love and found my salvation through the sacrifice He made for me. I can t say I understand how it all happened, but I can say thank God it did! To me Christmas is love. His love created this world. His love saves this world. His love sustains this world. That babe of Bethlehem, that Savior on the cross, and that resurrected Christ are all the love that I will ever need... I hope this Christmas you can proclaim the same!! Prayer: Let the reality of Your love be in our hearts and celebration this Christmas... and every day. Amen Pastor Tom

8