Images of Christmas - All I Want For Christmas Is You
December 24, 2021

Call children to the front to sit. Speak to children.

Tomorrow is Christmas Day, right? How many of you are excited about Christmas? Why are you excited? What is your favorite part of Christmas? I think that all of the presents we get is a favorite part for most people - and that’s ok. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being happy with lots of cool gifts. Let me ask you a question - what is the very best present you have ever gotten? Why was it your favorite? When I was a little boy, I got something that I never expected - though I bet none of you know what it is. Does anybody here know what Voltron is? I got a full Voltron set - it was amazing - the lions were metal and it shot little darts and they all transformed - it was the best. Part of why I loved it so much was because I did not expect it at all - I hadn’t even asked for it because I didn’t even know that I wanted it - I didn’t know that they made that set!

Do you know why Christmas is important to us as Christians? That’s right - Jesus was born. Now we don’t know that Christmas is really Jesus’ birthday, but we celebrate it on Christmas because it is very important. Can you tell me why it is so important that we remember Jesus’ birthday? Do you get presents on your birthday too? Well, for Jesus’ birthday - everything is backwards. Instead of Jesus getting gifts, you and I get gifts instead. And I am not talking about presents under the tree or candy bars or candy canes - I am talking about incredible gifts - gifts that we did not even know we wanted.

The first gift we get is forgiveness. How many here have ever disobeyed their parents or grandparents? I’ll bet that you all have. It isn’t much fun to be in trouble, is it? I do not like it when my parents are mad at me or sad because of my behavior. But I bet you like it when they are happy with you again, and they hug you or tell you they love you - that’s what forgiveness is. Jesus came down here as a little baby so that He could live a perfect life and be a sacrifice so that you and I can be forgiven for all the stuff we do that isn’t ok. All we have to do is ask Him to forgive us.

The next gift we get is God’s help. We can pray and ask God for help any time we want to - and He listens. We can ask for help when we are sick or when something is really really hard. We can ask Him for help when we don’t know the right thing to do. We can ask him to help the people we care about too - and he will do it! Just remember, when He helps, we need to remember to pray to him and thank Him too!

Finally - the best gift we get - is that we get to be with God forever. Life is a long time. How old are you? I am 43 years old. Did you know that there are people in this room right now that are older than that - some are more than 90 years old! That seems like a long time, doesn’t it? But you know what? That’s nothing compared to forever - and we get to spend forever in heaven with God.

We get all of these things because Jesus came here as a baby and did all of the things God wanted Him to do. That is what we celebrate tonight and tomorrow. So as you open all of your presents, remember the most important gifts that we will ever get come to us from God - and remember that we are celebrating Jesus’ birthday! Ok - you can go back to your seats now.

To Full Congregation

Do I need to say anything else? I think that it is important that we understand the reason for all that we do during this season, but that it is also ok to like presents. I like presents - maybe not as much as when I was a kid, but who doesn’t like getting stuff? I will say that over the years, my preference has actually legitimately changed - I enjoy giving gifts more than I do getting them. The reality is that when I need things throughout the year, I generally get them, so I do not get as excited about Christmas gifts as much as I once did. Yet, I love the surprise on the faces of Eleia or the girls when they get something they didn’t expect.

When Eleia and I were first married, our first Christmas together we were homeless, as we had had an apartment fire just a couple weeks before. We were staying at my parents’ house, 2 months into our marriage, and our stuff was in friends’ garages all over town after our quick evacuation. This was not our best Christmas. So the second Christmas we had together, we had recently moved to AZ and had little to no money, but I was determined to shock her to her core. Eleia loved photography, and often talked about how she wished she had access to a darkroom to develop photos. I spent months doing research on darkroom tools and materials, learning everything I needed to know about how to outfit a high-end, fully functional darkroom with the timers and enlargers and trays and canisters and all the chemicals. Then, over 2 months I bought things a piece at a time, so that on Christmas morning I was able to give her a darkroom. The problem was that every year after, I wanted to one-up what I had done before.

I asked the kids about the best gift they ever received, because I believe that it bears comparison. Gifts are important - both for those who give and those who receive. We sit here, tonight, in our cozy church singing familiar songs and enjoying the Christmas spirit that comes with all of the traditions we are used to, thinking of the gifts to come. Yet remember that we are here, in this place, not because we are wonderful people or because we are special compared to others - we are here because of a gift. We are here because we are saved, and we know that our salvation comes from the baby whom we celebrate tomorrow.

Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

We have been given a gift. Part of gift giving is the receiving. Have you ever given anyone a gift that they refused? How did you feel? What if you handed a gift - something you had poured your whole self into - to someone for whom you care deeply, and they were to drop it in the trash can right before your eyes? Can you even imagine? Yet how often do we respond in like manner to the gift of grace that has been given to us in spite of who we are and what we do. When we do that it then begs the question: What is it that you want then?

Romans 5:17: “For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.”

The last I checked, God isn’t making a list or checking it twice. For that matter, if there was a list, it would be a short one, because none of us would make it. We have talked for the last 3 weeks about the images we see and use to represent the Christmas season, and we have discussed the things that we should feel and think as believers when we see them. We use these symbols for a number of reasons - we decorate because we want to proclaim that this season is important. And often, you can tell what specifically about the season is important in a particular household based on the decorations in the yard.

I am not here to talk bad about the santas and reindeer and Frosty the snowman and stockings and the inflatable Snoopy in a helicopter that I’m still trying to figure out. These things are not bad - and they bring joy to people. It becomes an issue when these things become the only things - and we forget about the things we have discussed. The lights - signifying that the light of the world is here. He is here to bring light to the darkness and to shine the light on the darkness in us. The angels - here to show us that our lives are bigger than what we see in this world, and remind us that we are loved and fearfully and wonderfully made, while also reminding us just how awesome God is. And from last week - the nativity, featuring the smiling baby with his arms open wide to accept the world, laying in a humble manger without the fanfare and fame of world power around Him.

As believers in Christ and what He did for us, it becomes our responsibility to promote the purpose and the truth of the Christmas holiday. Each week I have named my sermon after a popular Christmas song which we would then sing - Angels We have Heard on High for angels and Away in a Manager for the nativity. Tonight’s sermon is called All I Want For Christmas is You - though I am not going to sing it. This was a song that was never written to be spiritual, but I want to consider the lyrics in the sense that we have been discussing - because good theology often comes from the most unexpected places:

I don't want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need
I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you

Galatians 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

What do you want for Christmas? That is an important question. It is funny that when Eleia gave her testimony and shared about how much she loves Starbucks, we received a whole bunch of gift cards to Scooters in Christmas cards. I told her that next time she should talk about steak and motorcycles. The fact is, we all want things in this life - a better car, a different house, new clothes, whatever it is. And that is not to say that there are not some who are perfectly content - I imagine many are. But ask yourself this question - is the only thing you want for Christmas Jesus? 

We know from Jesus’ discussion with the Samaritan woman that one who is thirsty will ask for water to drink. Jesus replied to her in John 4:10 “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you ‘give me a drink’ you would have asked Him and He would have given you Living Water.” In the same way that a hungry person asks for food and a thirsty person for drink, we ask for what we feel is lacking in our lives. For many, our lack is things - and things are not bad. The danger is when we spend all of our time trying to satisfy the lack of things as we starve to death in our spirit. 

The best gifts I have received or given have been the unexpected ones - the ones that none of us have thought to ask for. These are the gifts I never knew that I always wanted. Jesus is that gift - the one that we do not always know to ask for, but is everything we never knew we always wanted. It’s ok to want things for Christmas - just remember that all you need for Christmas is Christ. Let’s Pray.