BLUE = Slide on Screen RED = Scripture on Screen GREEN = Question to Ask ORANGE= Video Intro: Christmas is a great time of year. - No School - Great Movie releases - New video Game releases - Vacations! Go to school in January- What did you get? Now with Facebook we would update our status- - IPhone 5, IPad, Kindle Fire, Blueray- Oh yeah and my little pony underwear - Me: My Ultimate Gift Story - Ninja Turtle Skateboard - Ask 3 months - Woke-up. Saw Santa - Got Skate Board P a g e 1
- That Day- Broken I had all my hopes in a thing that would ultimately break. *Silly isn t it- The idea of making a wish list- If I get all these things I will be happy. Giant list of stuff. Maybe we don t get it then you do this - Christmas was okay- I got everything I wanted Accept Everything we have is great, but Christmas isn t great because we didn t ALL of what wanted Or We didn t get exactly what we wanted Story of the Strait Razor Blade- - Wanted desperately - Got all the accessories - The blade- Cheap- It s why I don t shave. My protest to not getting the razor I wanted P a g e 2
We: We all do it though don t we. We put our hopes into stuff. Thinking that if we got it all on the list we would be happy Starts at a young age- Mailing a letter to Santa Thinking that if I could tell my friends I got xyz.i could be cool Show up to school with my new threads Whip out my new phone Log on to Xbox live with my new game That if we just had one more thing we would be happy and it would be the best Christmas ever. We put our hope into stuff because- We all buy into the myth we are told as kids. - I m good enough there will be a reward. - That I didn t do anything bad enough to earn that lump of coal. P a g e 3
Modernize that- - Why shouldn t I get what I asked for? I wasn t exceptionally bad God: We all have our Christmas desires. Sometimes we can so wrapped up in them we forget that Christmas is the true gift! So let s Unwrap Christmas, and see what this incredible gift is. The G in Gift is for Godo Jesus is the ultimate gift- Obvious o One Size Fits all, Doesn t shrink- Always in season. Matthew 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. God told Mary to name the baby Jesus- Last week we talk about the significance of names. The name Jesus means- Savior - God took on a name that represented his purpose and gift. P a g e 4
The I in Gift is for Inviting- - God is inviting us to be in a relationship with him by believing in him. - God is always looking to us, listening to us, and available to us. Video- the True Christmas Miracle. John 3:16- This is the Christmas message. For God loved the world so much, that he gave His only beloved Son, in order that whoever believes in Him might not perish, but have eternal life. Here is the Gift! The F in Gift is for Forgiveness- The gift of forgiveness and salvation. Christmas is the ultimate reminder that God s love is always available If you need forgiveness God is NOT Santa- You don t do enough good things and then receive a gift. If we believe we receive. P a g e 5
What do we need to believe. Romans 10:9- That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved Then you get the gift! Ephesians 2:8-9- For you have been saved by (God's) grace through faith (in Jesus); and this did not come from you - it is God's gift.! Salvation Message- Fill out connect Card- Ushers Collect Lastly- The T in Gift is for Trusting- God trusts you to be a gift to someone this year. Who in your life need encouragement? Some help? Who needs hear the gospel? P a g e 6
The Gift you received is not just for you, but for everyone. God asks us to share that gift with people by telling them about the good news. God trust you to share this message about his free gift of salvation through Jesus the savior. Romans 10:17- So faith comes from hearing that is, hearing the Good News about Christ Challenge We have Invite Cards to the New Series starting January 2 nd. Hand out this invitation as a gift to your friends so that they can come and hear the gospel message. Video Clip- I m so confused- Pray- P a g e 7