Find Your Place in God’s Story (Christmas Eve)
“Find your place in God’s story” – Christmas Eve – December 24th, 2023
Paul & I enjoy watching British detective shows. In every episode there’s a story, and, in each story, all kinds of questions arise. Some of the questions get answered as the detectives masterfully follow the trail of evidence and sort out what they discover. But no matter how clear the case, no matter how skillful the team, no matter how abundant the evidence, there are always unanswered questions. The detectives know they are not required to provide answers to every possible question. They are required to provide answers and evidence such that in a trial their case can be proved not beyond every possible doubt, but beyond a reasonable doubt.
At Christmas we focus on the story of Jesus the Messiah, Emmanuel, God-with-us. For thousands of years, various prophets sent by God had predicted his coming, but almost everyone had gotten it wrong and thought Messiah would come as a powerful king who would overthrow oppressors and usher in peace. Jesus did initiate a kingdom characterized by righteousness, justice, peace, and joy. But he showed up in a way that surprised everyone – he was actually born as a baby, just like we were. Jesus grew up in a small town, then worked as a carpenter. When he was 30 years old, he began his public ministry and for three years moved from place to place, surrounded by a motley crew of men and women, showing and telling that God’s kingdom had come. He taught and demonstrated that God’s kingdom is like no other kingdom because it runs not on power or control but on love. He healed and helped and freed and fed all kinds of people, always giving each person both honor and hope. Jesus showed us some really important things about what God is like, significantly, that God is interested in the restoration and transformation of all people and all of creation, not just a select few. Jesus showed us what God intends for us to be like by showing us how to really love. Jesus showed us how to love. In his ultimate demonstration of love, Jesus willingly laid down his life for us when he was tortured and put to death on a Roman cross. And in the most mind-blowing miracle of all, he rose from the dead, defeating both sin and death once for all.
There are all kinds of objections people make to try to dismiss the claims that Jesus himself made, that he was fully God and fully human. But Jesus proved by his actions and especially by his resurrection that what he said was true. No one in the history of humanity has ever risen from the dead without eventually dying again. Only Jesus. And a huge number of eyewitnesses not only agreed with this; they staked their very lives on it. This is what we call the Good News, or the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This good news changed everything! There is more than enough evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Jesus was born, lived, died, and rose again. But Christmas is more than a story. We don’t have to look far to realize that the world is very broken and that each of us is broken, too. The Christmas story, the story of Jesus, is a story like no other, because it’s a story that has the power to change your life. The Christmas story, the story of Jesus, has changed the lives of countless others before us. It has, in fact, changed the world! The Christmas story invites us to consider the evidence and then respond to it. We can look at all the evidence and be convinced. But this story compels us to go further than just intellectual agreement. [DECISION] This story calls for us to step across the end of this evidence trail to make a decision that we call a step of faith. It’s like a just verdict – it’s not unreasonable, it’s not blind, it’s based on the evidence.
Let’s take a few moments to reflect back on 2023. We can each recall many things for which we are thankful … precious family and friends, things we’ve learned, welcome surprises, enjoyable experiences, personal growth. We can each recall challenges from 2023, some of which have been really, really hard. We may have experienced the death of loved ones, losses, separations, broken relationships, disappointments, financial struggles, endless waiting for the next season of life to begin, transitions, unknowns, chronic illnesses, chronic conditions, silent struggles we can’t share with others, news fatigue, devastating diagnoses, mental health challenges, misunderstandings, betrayals, insurance troubles, failing health, transportation issues, too much month left at the end of the money, anxieties, worries, stresses, fears. It’s good to think of things that have gone well. Have you ever noticed how much easier it tends to be to think of things that weigh us down? I want to encourage you with two invitations from Scripture:
1 Peter 5:7 (NRSV) – “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.”
Psalm 55:22a (NRSV) – “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.”
Christmas is more than a nice story to listen to once a year. The Christmas story is not a sales pitch, it’s not a political campaign, it’s not a set of rules to follow. The Christmas story is good news, a true story about something that happened in space and time and that points to Christ Jesus, who is the hope of the world. The good news is that help has come! We are not alone. The good news is that hope has come! And hope has a name, Jesus! Jesus Christ came to set the world and everyone in it right as God originally intended.
Life is so much more than the pursuit of pleasure, money, sex, or power. Life is so much more than what we can experience with our senses here and now. Life is so much more than just getting by. Life is so much more than rushing from one thing to the next, day in and day out. Life is so much more than the few short years we have on this beautiful planet. Trusting Jesus Christ opens the door for you to enter the flourishing life with God for which you were designed and created, a full and satisfying life, a life characterized by goodness, truth, beauty, love, peace, and joy – a life that goes on forever and ever. Trusting Jesus Christ answers the deepest questions of every human heart: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? How should we live? If you are ready and willing to trust Jesus Christ, if you’re ready to let the Good News get inside of you, if you’re ready to find your place in God’s story, I want to invite you to pray with me this simple prayer of faith:
Lord Jesus, I come to you just as I am. I accept that you are who you say you are, that you are fully God and fully human. I believe that you lived and died and rose from the dead and that by doing so, you beat every enemy including sin and death. I acknowledge that I’m not powerful enough to fix my own life. I want to find my place in your story. You are the only one who can set the world right. I trust you as the only one who can save, restore, and transform me. Help me to become my true self in you, by the power of the Holy Spirit, as I trust you and follow you, Jesus, all the days of my life. Thank you, that you are the way, the truth, and the life, and the light of the world! Amen.
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing
Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns
Let all their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy
He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love (and wonders of His love)
And wonders of His love (and wonders of His love)
And wonders, wonders of His love
