Reflections on Christmas

(Audio: English)

SUMMARY: The birth of Jesus is an absurd story, but it's true. It's hard to believe because people had preconceptions and expectations of how the Savior would come, and Jesus came as a baby in a dirty manger from a poor teenage girl in the middle of nowhere. But Jesus came to save us, to give us eternal life and deliver us from our sin, oppression, and circumstances. He died for our sins so that we could be saved. This is the gospel, and it's the message of Christmas. Without a baby in a manger, we wouldn't have salvation from our sin. We trust and believe in Jesus Christ for our salvation.

The message of Christmas is that God came to Earth to save us from our sins through Jesus Christ. This grandiose story is a true myth that creates a foundation for our lives and culture. We should devote our lives to the Savior and remember that Jesus is coming back. We need to live our lives as if Jesus were coming back, focusing on the truth of the gospel during this season. It's not easy, but it's easier now than any other time. Let us pray for the reminder to focus our lives around these truths.

The prayer asks God to help us remember not only what He has already done, but also what He will do in the future. We await the return of Jesus in power and glory, as a powerful lawyer and savior. The prayer quotes from the book of Revelation, describing Jesus riding on a white horse with eyes like blazing fire, followed by an army of heaven. The prayer reminds us that Jesus will return in power and glory, not as a baby in a manger.

Tonight as we continue to gather in the name of Jesus Christ which is what we do every week, we have a special time tonight because we get together in his name and to celebrate his birth. And we did a lot of reading throughout the service so far, we looked at Genesis, Deuteronomy, Second Samuel, Isaiah, Micah, Luke, Mathew. We’re going to look to a few more books of the Bible tonight. That’s a lot of reading, but the reason we did that is because that’s kind of the starting point. If you’re not aware of Jesus coming to this earth as a baby, then it’s really shocking.

I was reading a book about this Max Locato, actually one of the readings that Tola did tonight is from the same books by Max Locato. And he writes about a story where someone is sharing about how God who created the universe, comes to earth as a baby, trading his white robes of righteousness for dirty rags…………. Now they are probably clean but he’s making a point, you know.