Latest / Max Lucado Daily Sermons / The Perfect Gift for Jesus - Minister Max Lucado
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Merry Christmas, everyone. Isn't it a wonderful time of the year?
- 0:06Speaker 1: It's a special, special time, and it's that time in
- 0:10Speaker 1: which we're all thinking about what kind of gifts to
- 0:14Speaker 1: give to each other. We're trying to survive the shopping
- 0:19Speaker 1: and the eating. And my pants always get very tight.
- 0:25Speaker 1: I don't know why. Somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I
- 0:28Speaker 1: know that doesn't happen. to you as you're making your
- 0:33Speaker 1: list of gifts and people for whom to shop can
- 0:38Speaker 1: I encourage you to be sure and add to that
- 0:42Speaker 1: name Jesus Christ he's the hero of the holidays and
- 0:51Speaker 1: he deserves our finest gift and in just a moment
- 0:55Speaker 1: I want to talk to you about a gift idea
- 0:59Speaker 1: for Jesus under this title, The Perfect Gift for Jesus.
- 1:06Speaker 1: Before I pray, let me encourage you to keep the
- 1:09Speaker 1: Christmas musical as well as the candlelight services on your calendar.
- 1:15Speaker 1: And also keep in mind that this is the perfect
- 1:18Speaker 1: time to bring your family and friends. Whatever campus you're on,
- 1:24Speaker 1: whatever service you wish to attend, There are people just
- 1:28Speaker 1: looking to be invited. This is the time. Invite your
- 1:33Speaker 1: family and friends and let's celebrate our Savior, Jesus Christ.
- 1:39Speaker 1: And one more thing. I have just picked up a
- 1:43Speaker 1: bit of Portuguese in the room. Many of you know
- 1:46Speaker 1: that I lived in Brazil for many years. Two of
- 1:49Speaker 1: my three daughters are Brazilian, born in Brazil. And I
- 1:53Speaker 1: think they're all right here. I heard Brazilians behind me.
- 1:56Speaker 1: Stand up. Look at this. Sejam bem-vindos. Estamos muito contentos
- 2:05Speaker 1: de ter vocês aqui. Amen. Thank you, Lord, for this day,
- 2:10Speaker 1: for the blessings that we have of belonging to you,
- 2:14Speaker 1: our great King. Thank you, precious Lord, for the story
- 2:20Speaker 1: of Christmas. We never would have imagined that God would
- 2:26Speaker 1: become a baby, that the Word would become flesh. Thank you, Father.
- 2:35Speaker 1: Warm our hearts. And now prepare our hearts in this
- 2:40Speaker 1: Advent season for the great Advent, your return. Would you
- 2:48Speaker 1: please forgive our speaker? You know that his sins are many.
- 2:54Speaker 1: And help us to see Jesus. Just Jesus. Through Christ
- 2:59Speaker 1: we pray. Amen. And all God's people said, he deserves
- 3:06Speaker 1: our pity. When you see him, please do not laugh.
- 3:13Speaker 1: Do not mock. Do not point. Just gently walk him
- 3:21Speaker 1: over to the nearest bench and help him to take
- 3:26Speaker 1: a seat. Have pity on the man. He's so fearful.
- 3:31Speaker 1: He's so wide-eyed. He's so out of his element. He's
- 3:36Speaker 1: a deer on the streets of Manhattan. He's Tarzan walking
- 3:41Speaker 1: through the urban jungle. He's a whale that's beached and
- 3:48Speaker 1: has no clue how he got there or how he'll
- 3:50Speaker 1: ever get back. Who is this forlorn creature? Who is
- 3:56Speaker 1: this ashen-faced orphaned? He is, please put your hand over
- 4:03Speaker 1: your hearts as I tell you, because your hearts are
- 4:07Speaker 1: going to break. He is a man in the women's
- 4:12Speaker 1: clothing department. And he's looking for a gift. This is
- 4:19Speaker 1: the time of year he appears. He comes out of
- 4:23Speaker 1: his normal habitat in the mall. He comes out of
- 4:29Speaker 1: the sporting goods store. out of the food court. He
- 4:34Speaker 1: turns his back for just a moment on that big
- 4:37Speaker 1: screen television in the appliance section. And here he ventures
- 4:44Speaker 1: into the unknown world of women's wear. You'll spot him easily.
- 4:54Speaker 1: He stands motionless in the aisle. And were it not
- 4:58Speaker 1: for those big rings of sweat beneath his arms, you
- 5:03Speaker 1: would think he was a mannequin. But he's not. He's
- 5:09Speaker 1: a man in a woman's world and he's never seen
- 5:11Speaker 1: so much underwear. At the Walmart where he buys his,
- 5:20Speaker 1: it's all packaged neatly on one shelf. But here, he's
- 5:26Speaker 1: in a forest of lace. His dad warned him about
- 5:32Speaker 1: places like this. And though the sign above him says
- 5:38Speaker 1: to linger E, linger E, he knows he shouldn't. And
- 5:50Speaker 1: so he moves on, but he has no clue where
- 5:54Speaker 1: to go. You see, not everyone has been prepared for
- 5:59Speaker 1: this moment like I was. My dad saw shopping for
- 6:05Speaker 1: the lady in a man's life as a rite of passage.
- 6:11Speaker 1: A bit like teaching a son to shave or tie
- 6:15Speaker 1: a necktie or that talk about birds and bees. And
- 6:21Speaker 1: so he had a talk with us. He sat my
- 6:25Speaker 1: brother and me down. I can remember it to this day.
- 6:29Speaker 1: And with a very solemn voice, he said, sons, there
- 6:34Speaker 1: will come a day in which you are called upon
- 6:38Speaker 1: to purchase a Christmas gift for the lady in your life.
- 6:46Speaker 1: And in order to prepare you for that day, remember
- 6:49Speaker 1: these three words, Estee Lauder. I thought he was giving
- 7:00Speaker 1: me a basketball cheer, stay louder. But I never forgot it.
- 7:06Speaker 1: And every Christmas, my mom would get three gifts from
- 7:10Speaker 1: the three men in her life, Estee Lauder, Estee Lauder,
- 7:16Speaker 1: and Estee Lauder. My problem was solved until I got married.
- 7:23Speaker 1: My wife does not like Estee Lauder. Even though I
- 7:28Speaker 1: told her, It made her smell motherly. Didn't change your mind.
- 7:38Speaker 1: As a result, every year I have been in a bind. Now,
- 7:45Speaker 1: my wife, Dina Lynn, is not with me on this trip.
- 7:48Speaker 1: So I can tell you if you promise not to
- 7:50Speaker 1: tell her. But I've been shopping. And I decided this
- 7:55Speaker 1: year I would get her. I would purchase her. A purse.
- 8:03Speaker 1: What's complicated about buying a purse? I've carried the same
- 8:08Speaker 1: money clip for eight years. No doubt I'll have it
- 8:13Speaker 1: for the rest of my life. What's complicated about a
- 8:16Speaker 1: tool that carries money and carries cards? Oh, naive soul
- 8:24Speaker 1: that I am. Tell an attendant in the men's department
- 8:30Speaker 1: that you want a wallet and you're escorted to a
- 8:34Speaker 1: small counter next to the checkout. Tell a woman attendant
- 8:45Speaker 1: that you would like to look at a purse and
- 8:48Speaker 1: you are taken into a room the size of the
- 8:54Speaker 1: American Airlines arena. With shelf upon shelf. Shelves with purses.
- 9:03Speaker 1: Purses with price tags. Small but potent price tags. Have
- 9:08Speaker 1: you seen what these purses cost? That should remove the
- 9:14Speaker 1: need for a purse because you don't have any money
- 9:16Speaker 1: after you purchase one. That was exactly my thought when
- 9:22Speaker 1: the attendant asked me some questions. Questions for which I
- 9:26Speaker 1: had absolutely no answer. Sir, what kind of purse do
- 9:32Speaker 1: you want? There's more than one kind. She said, yes. Handbag,
- 9:40Speaker 1: shoulder bag, glove bag, backpack, shoulder pack, fanny pack, change purse.
- 9:47Speaker 1: I grew dizzy. I grew weak. I had to sit down.
- 9:52Speaker 1: I had to place my head between my knees. I
- 9:55Speaker 1: was afraid I was going to faint. She leaned over
- 9:58Speaker 1: me like she was a drill. sergeant and kept yelling
- 10:02Speaker 1: at me money bag tote bag pocket book satchel I
- 10:07Speaker 1: perked up satchel there was a baseball player named satchel
- 10:14Speaker 1: page that must be heaven's answer I told her I
- 10:21Speaker 1: wanted a satchel. Apparently she did not like my answer.
- 10:27Speaker 1: And forgive me for saying this at church. Forgive me
- 10:32Speaker 1: for saying this at Christmas. But she began to curse
- 10:36Speaker 1: at me. She did. I didn't understand the language. I
- 10:41Speaker 1: think it was French. She called me a Louis Vuitton.
- 10:48Speaker 1: Right there in front of everybody. And then she called
- 10:52Speaker 1: me a doody burg. And then she said, I want
- 10:56Speaker 1: all your Armani. And threatened to brighten me. So I turned.
- 11:04Speaker 1: I walked out. But then I stopped. And I gave
- 11:09Speaker 1: her a taste of her own medicine. I looked at
- 11:11Speaker 1: her and I said, Estee Lauder, lady. And I left.
- 11:21Speaker 1: Christmas and gifts. They've always been associated and rightly so.
- 11:30Speaker 1: Since the first Christmas, the Magi came with the gifts
- 11:35Speaker 1: of gold and frankincense and myrrh. The shepherds came with
- 11:40Speaker 1: their gift of presence and encouragement. Mary gave the gift
- 11:49Speaker 1: of Of her womb. Christmas. And gifts. They've been interlocked.
- 11:59Speaker 1: Since the very first one. But there's one gift. That
- 12:06Speaker 1: is most. Curious. Most of the gifts make sense. I mean.
- 12:14Speaker 1: The Magi's gift. Of gold frankincense and myrrh. That may
- 12:18Speaker 1: have funded. The escape of Joseph and Mary's family to Egypt.
- 12:26Speaker 1: The gift of the shepherds to be present. They needed
- 12:30Speaker 1: that encouragement. And how could baby Jesus be baby Jesus
- 12:35Speaker 1: without the gift of Mary's womb? But there is one gift.
- 12:40Speaker 1: The gift of the angels. Which is a curious one.
- 12:47Speaker 1: Do you know about their gift? The gospel writer Luke
- 12:52Speaker 1: tells us about it. Suddenly the angel was joined by
- 12:58Speaker 1: a vast host of others. The armies of heaven praising God.
- 13:04Speaker 1: Glory to God in the highest heaven they sang. And
- 13:09Speaker 1: peace on earth for all those pleasing him. When this
- 13:13Speaker 1: great army of angels had returned again to heaven. the
- 13:18Speaker 1: shepherds said to each other, come on, let's go to
- 13:21Speaker 1: Bethlehem and let's see this wonderful thing that has happened,
- 13:26Speaker 1: which the Lord has told us about. The angels filled
- 13:32Speaker 1: the night with lights and the sky with music and well,
- 13:38Speaker 1: that's it. That's it. I mean, don't you think they
- 13:43Speaker 1: could have done more? Joseph could have used a chaperone
- 13:48Speaker 1: back to Nazareth. But those who loved him the most
- 13:57Speaker 1: gave him this simple gift, the gift of worship. They
- 14:05Speaker 1: placed their love on a pillow of praise and presented
- 14:13Speaker 1: it to Christ. That's all they gave. But is that
- 14:21Speaker 1: not the greatest gift to give Jesus this Christmas? And
- 14:28Speaker 1: that is to imitate the angels with the wonder of worship.
- 14:34Speaker 1: To give Jesus your worshiping heart. You know what? They're
- 14:40Speaker 1: still worshiping. Even at this very moment as we're gathered together.
- 14:45Speaker 1: Revelation chapter 4 and verse 8 tells us that heaven
- 14:49Speaker 1: is still reverberating with the sound of loud corporate worship.
- 14:53Speaker 1: Day and night, they never stop saying, holy, holy, holy.
- 15:02Speaker 1: The word worship evolves from an old English word. I'm
- 15:07Speaker 1: not sure how to pronounce it, but it's something like
- 15:10Speaker 1: worth shite. And the idea is that when you worship,
- 15:16Speaker 1: you are declaring the worthiness of the one to whom
- 15:21Speaker 1: you give worship. Worship happens anytime you turn your heart
- 15:27Speaker 1: and your head toward heaven. And you say you are worthy.
- 15:32Speaker 1: You are worthy. You are good. Worship happens whenever you
- 15:38Speaker 1: clear your calendar for prayers. Whenever you turn the radio
- 15:43Speaker 1: dial to praise music. Whenever you use your lunch hour
- 15:47Speaker 1: for meditation. Worship happens in barns, in pastures. Worship happens
- 15:54Speaker 1: in workplaces, in cars. Worship happens in homes. And yes,
- 16:00Speaker 1: worship happens in God's house. Our highest call is to
- 16:06Speaker 1: be a people of worship. Whenever God's people make a
- 16:13Speaker 1: public and plural proclamation of God's goodness, they are and
- 16:19Speaker 1: we are worshiping. God is on the hunt for worshipers.
- 16:27Speaker 1: He is on the hunt for people. who will bow
- 16:30Speaker 1: their knees, who will open their hearts, who will open
- 16:33Speaker 1: their mouths and declare glory to God in the highest heaven.
- 16:37Speaker 1: Jesus said the Father is actively seeking such people to
- 16:43Speaker 1: worship him. Right now, he's looking for worshipers. This is
- 16:49Speaker 1: what he wants from you this Christmas. You might say, well,
- 16:54Speaker 1: what if I don't worship? Oh, but you will. You will.
- 17:00Speaker 1: The question is not, will you worship? The question is,
- 17:06Speaker 1: to whom or to what will you give your worship?
- 17:11Speaker 1: We're all worshipers. And the great calamity of mankind is
- 17:16Speaker 1: that we worship counterfeit gods. And the consequence of worshiping
- 17:24Speaker 1: a counterfeit god is a broken heart. When I was
- 17:31Speaker 1: eight years old, I asked my parents for a Schwinn
- 17:36Speaker 1: bicycle for Christmas. Not just any Schwinn bicycle, but a
- 17:42Speaker 1: Schwinn bicycle with a banana seat and high bar handlebars.
- 17:49Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, was that not a great day? Basking
- 17:54Speaker 1: in the light of the Christmas tree that morning, there
- 17:57Speaker 1: it was. It invited me to climb aboard and ride
- 18:02Speaker 1: away into the bliss of childhood. I decorated the handlebars
- 18:07Speaker 1: with tassels. With my own money, I bought a reflector
- 18:11Speaker 1: for the fender. And I attached a playing card. Do
- 18:19Speaker 1: people still do this? I attached a playing card to
- 18:24Speaker 1: the spokes so that as the wheels pass, what sound
- 18:27Speaker 1: would be made. Oh, how was George Clooney cool? I
- 18:36Speaker 1: rode that bike. We explored subdivisions and drainage ditches and
- 18:41Speaker 1: dirt roads and alleys. I loved that bike. Yes, I
- 18:47Speaker 1: worshiped that bike. You see, I was counting on that
- 18:51Speaker 1: bike to deliver me, to be my source of joy,
- 18:58Speaker 1: to be my identity. If a girl wanted to meet me,
- 19:03Speaker 1: she had to see that bike. I was Max, the
- 19:07Speaker 1: owner of the red bike. But then guess what? I
- 19:13Speaker 1: broke it. I bent the frame. I mean, I really
- 19:18Speaker 1: had a bad wreck and my dad and I tried
- 19:22Speaker 1: to fix it, but it was never the same. I
- 19:27Speaker 1: was so disappointed. It let me down. And I was
- 19:31Speaker 1: counting on it to do so much, you know, to
- 19:34Speaker 1: deliver me, to entertain me, to fulfill me. And then
- 19:38Speaker 1: it didn't. What about you? You were counting on that
- 19:43Speaker 1: career to entertain you, to deliver you, to fulfill you.
- 19:48Speaker 1: But then what? about that marriage you were counting on
- 19:55Speaker 1: to deliver you, to fulfill you, to sustain you? What
- 20:01Speaker 1: about that retirement you were saying would carry you Would
- 20:05Speaker 1: be the reason for life. The hope of your existence.
- 20:09Speaker 1: But it has fallen short. You see. Worship might not
- 20:16Speaker 1: be the word you use. To describe your fascination. With
- 20:22Speaker 1: stuff or people. Or events. But it is worship. Anytime
- 20:30Speaker 1: we trust an object. Or activity. Or persons. to give
- 20:35Speaker 1: us life and meaning, we worship it. And when we
- 20:42Speaker 1: make good things the ultimate things, we set ourselves up
- 20:46Speaker 1: for disappointment, don't we? We set ourselves up for heartache.
- 20:53Speaker 1: If we depend upon a career, a relationship, or a
- 20:56Speaker 1: purchase to give our lives meaning, what happens? What happens
- 21:01Speaker 1: when it doesn't? Worshiping these imposter gods leaves us lurching
- 21:08Speaker 1: from one disappointment to the next until we come to
- 21:13Speaker 1: the end of our lives looking back and thinking nothing
- 21:17Speaker 1: ever truly satisfied me. And that is because we settled
- 21:22Speaker 1: for worshiping puny deities. God-centered worship, on the other hand,
- 21:33Speaker 1: Rescues us. It rescues us. From bamboozlers. From counterfeits. Worship
- 21:43Speaker 1: does to your soul. What a spring rain does. To
- 21:49Speaker 1: the Texas ground. It softens it. And it prepares it.
- 21:55Speaker 1: To receive the seed. That brings life. Worship. Are you
- 22:03Speaker 1: broken hearted? Then worship the prince of peace who will
- 22:09Speaker 1: give you hope. Are you stressed? Then worship the king
- 22:13Speaker 1: of the universe who holds all of the galaxies in
- 22:17Speaker 1: the palm of his hand. Do you feel small? Then
- 22:22Speaker 1: bow before the great one who dares call you his child. Worship.
- 22:30Speaker 1: Worship daily. Worship Honestly, worship with a longing heart. The
- 22:38Speaker 1: healthiest thing you can do is to worship. It sets
- 22:42Speaker 1: us right. It straightens us up. It causes our hearts
- 22:47Speaker 1: to be full. And it delivers us from those false
- 22:51Speaker 1: small gods. For your own sake, do what the angels did.
- 23:00Speaker 1: And make a big deal out of the arrival of
- 23:02Speaker 1: the king. Well how do we do this? Three ideas
- 23:05Speaker 1: and then I'm done. Number one. Worship verbally. Worship verbally.
- 23:12Speaker 1: Through Jesus therefore. Let us continually offer to God. A
- 23:17Speaker 1: sacrifice of praise. Look at this. The fruit of lips.
- 23:24Speaker 1: That openly profess his name. In the early 1980s, the
- 23:32Speaker 1: great theologian Willie Nelson recorded a song in which he
- 23:39Speaker 1: apologizes for unexpressed love. And the song goes something like,
- 23:44Speaker 1: maybe I never told you. Maybe I never called you.
- 23:51Speaker 1: Maybe I never showed up. But honey, I want you
- 23:53Speaker 1: to know you were always on my mind. That song
- 23:58Speaker 1: makes my wife want to puke. He did not consult
- 24:06Speaker 1: women if he wrote that, did he? Ladies, no sweetheart
- 24:11Speaker 1: would accept that excuse. You never told me that you
- 24:16Speaker 1: loved me. You never gave me flowers or compliments, but
- 24:19Speaker 1: I was always on your mind. Yeah, right. God doesn't
- 24:24Speaker 1: buy it either. God doesn't buy it either. He wants
- 24:29Speaker 1: to hear our affection. It is out of the abundance
- 24:35Speaker 1: of the heart that the mouth speaks. So when the
- 24:37Speaker 1: mouth is silent, the heart is in question. Do you
- 24:44Speaker 1: love God? Let him know. Out loud, in public, unashamed.
- 24:51Speaker 1: Let there be jubilation. Let there be celebration. Let there
- 24:54Speaker 1: be festivity. Shout to God with a joyful praise. Make
- 25:00Speaker 1: a joyful shout to God all the earth. I love
- 25:05Speaker 1: this quote from John Wesley. He wrote, sing lustily and
- 25:11Speaker 1: with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were
- 25:15Speaker 1: half dead. Or half asleep. But lift up your voice
- 25:20Speaker 1: with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now.
- 25:24Speaker 1: Nor more ashamed of its being heard. Than when you
- 25:28Speaker 1: sung the songs of Satan. Speaking of Satan. He hates worship.
- 25:37Speaker 1: He's not welcome. In a house of worship. He cannot
- 25:42Speaker 1: bear worship. Because Satan. He wants to be worshiped. And
- 25:47Speaker 1: when he sees people worshiping the living and loving God,
- 25:52Speaker 1: he ducks his pointed tail and turns and runs. The
- 25:57Speaker 1: quickest way to purge your house of demonic and evil
- 26:02Speaker 1: presence is to fill it full of worship. Just fill it.
- 26:08Speaker 1: Let there be worship in your house. Let there be
- 26:11Speaker 1: worship in your car. Let there be worship. When you
- 26:16Speaker 1: tuck your children into bed at night, lean over them
- 26:20Speaker 1: and sing a verse of worship. As you awaken in
- 26:24Speaker 1: the morning, begin with a verse, a chorus of worship.
- 26:31Speaker 1: As you're driving your kids to school, let the car
- 26:35Speaker 1: be full of worship. Let them know that there is
- 26:39Speaker 1: somebody more That deserves our praise. Rather than the team.
- 26:46Speaker 1: Or the clothes. Or the tennis shoes. Teach your children.
- 26:50Speaker 1: The power of God centered worship. James the half brother
- 26:57Speaker 1: of Jesus said. Yell aloud no to the devil. And
- 27:01Speaker 1: watch him scamper. But just say a quiet yes to God.
- 27:06Speaker 1: And he'll be there in no time. Worship. This is
- 27:11Speaker 1: the high call of churches to worship. Other organizations organize people.
- 27:19Speaker 1: Other organizations feed hungry people. Other organizations build buildings. Other
- 27:25Speaker 1: organizations offer counsel and fellowship. But only God's church is
- 27:32Speaker 1: called to be a house of worship. That's our calling.
- 27:38Speaker 1: And we cannot fail in this, our highest calling. The
- 27:43Speaker 1: Lord is seeking those. He is actively seeking those who
- 27:47Speaker 1: will worship him. Amen. Worship verbally. And then also worship
- 27:57Speaker 1: in community. In community. On the night Jesus was born,
- 28:03Speaker 1: there was a multitude of the heavenly host praising God.
- 28:10Speaker 1: You see, the presence of Jesus deserves an abundant chorus.
- 28:15Speaker 1: Every generation has had its share of Jesus, yes, church, no, Christians.
- 28:24Speaker 1: For a variety of reasons, people turn away from church attendance.
- 28:30Speaker 1: And I would tell you, they do so at great loss.
- 28:34Speaker 1: They do so at great loss. There's something about getting
- 28:38Speaker 1: up out of your lazy boy and getting in your
- 28:42Speaker 1: car and putting on your britches and lipstick or whatever
- 28:46Speaker 1: you need, going to the effort of driving wherever you
- 28:51Speaker 1: go and walking in and seeing that the reason we're
- 28:55Speaker 1: all here together is we believe that Christ has come
- 28:59Speaker 1: and Christ is coming again. When you see my face
- 29:08Speaker 1: in the sanctuary, when I hear your voice in the chorus,
- 29:12Speaker 1: we are mutually edified.
- 29:15Speaker 2: Granted, we don't always sing well. That's okay. Our singing
- 29:22Speaker 2: is imperfect. We sing off key. Our attention span, well,
- 29:27Speaker 2: it tends to wander. Even so, let us worship.
- 29:35Speaker 1: The sincerity of our worship matters more than the quality.
- 29:43Speaker 1: Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love
- 29:48Speaker 1: and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do,
- 29:55Speaker 1: but spurring each other on, especially As we see the
- 30:00Speaker 1: big day approaching. So worship verbally. Worship in community. And
- 30:08Speaker 1: then lastly. Worship demonstrably. Let your body express what your
- 30:15Speaker 1: heart is feeling. And let your heart be awakened by
- 30:19Speaker 1: your body. May the lifting of my hands be like
- 30:23Speaker 1: the evening sacrifice. Wrote the psalmist. Because your love is
- 30:28Speaker 1: better than my life, my lips will glorify you. I
- 30:31Speaker 1: will praise you as long as I live. And in
- 30:35Speaker 1: your name, I will lift up my hands. Yes, outward
- 30:41Speaker 1: expressions of worship can be used inappropriately. I get that.
- 30:47Speaker 1: Some people show off. Some people strut. Some people worship
- 30:52Speaker 1: to be seen, but don't let potential abuse preclude appropriate use.
- 31:01Speaker 1: Don't let potential abuse preclude appropriate use. Lift your hands.
- 31:10Speaker 1: Clap your hands. Bend your knees. Bow your head. Fall
- 31:14Speaker 1: on your face. Something powerful happens, dear church. When we worship.
- 31:24Speaker 1: Something powerful happened on the day that the soldiers did.
- 31:28Speaker 1: Christmas Eve. 1915. World War I was raging in northern France.
- 31:40Speaker 1: Frigid temperatures shook the bones of the fighters and bombs
- 31:45Speaker 1: shook the soil of Europe. Most of the soldiers were Well,
- 31:51Speaker 1: they were kids. Just a year or two removed from
- 31:58Speaker 1: their homes. They were young, homesick, longing to be with
- 32:02Speaker 1: loved ones. And the guns had blazed for a month.
- 32:07Speaker 1: Christmas seemed far away from the blood-soaked land. And yet
- 32:13Speaker 1: on one night, one particular night, that Christmas Eve night,
- 32:17Speaker 1: across from the German side of Of the field came
- 32:22Speaker 1: a chorus. Of soldiers voices. Singing. A holiday hymn in German.
- 32:33Speaker 1: Sleep my child and peace attend thee. All through the night.
- 32:38Speaker 1: Guardian angels. God will send thee all through the night. Soft.
- 32:45Speaker 1: The drowsy hours are creeping. Hill and veil and slumber sleep. I,
- 32:51Speaker 1: my loving vigil keeping all through the night. And as
- 32:58Speaker 1: the Christ child was honored, the soldiers placed their weapons
- 33:05Speaker 1: on the ground. And for a moment in that moment,
- 33:13Speaker 1: there was no war. There were no enemies there. It
- 33:20Speaker 1: was just a song. And what happened next can only
- 33:25Speaker 1: be described as a miracle. The night was spent in
- 33:31Speaker 1: carol singing. The entire night, the soldiers would sing. At
- 33:39Speaker 1: one time, it would be the Welsh soldiers. Another time,
- 33:43Speaker 1: it would be the German soldiers. At one time, it
- 33:45Speaker 1: would be in English. At one time, it would be
- 33:47Speaker 1: in German. back and forth, back and forth. Around dawn,
- 33:52Speaker 1: the feelings of goodwill emboldened the soldiers to step up
- 33:57Speaker 1: out of their trenches and walk across. And they shook hands.
- 34:06Speaker 1: And then they began exchanging gifts. They didn't have much.
- 34:11Speaker 1: They had German beer and sausages and spiked helmets. They
- 34:17Speaker 1: had corned Beef and biscuits and buttons. But they gave
- 34:23Speaker 1: what they had. And they intermingled. Then all of a sudden.
- 34:29Speaker 1: A soccer game broke out. Right there in the middle
- 34:32Speaker 1: of no man's land. It was awkward. It was disjointed.
- 34:36Speaker 1: It was disorganized. There were like 50 on each side.
- 34:43Speaker 1: But they played soccer. And it all began with worship.
- 34:54Speaker 1: We can only pray that the worship of God's people
- 34:59Speaker 1: to our Heavenly Father will cause weapons to be lowered
- 35:04Speaker 1: yet again. Amen. Will cause those who are angry with
- 35:09Speaker 1: each other to be at peace with each other. As
- 35:13Speaker 1: we lift our hearts and look toward the skies, And
- 35:18Speaker 1: thank the prince of peace. We pray that he would
- 35:22Speaker 1: bring peace again. So this Christmas. Why don't you give
- 35:28Speaker 1: the gift that the angels gave. The gift of grace.
- 35:34Speaker 1: Thank you father. Thank you for the privilege of worship.
- 35:39Speaker 1: Would you please forgive us for when our hearts are sleepy.
- 35:42Speaker 1: Or our minds are distracted because we tend to forget.
- 35:47Speaker 1: But would you make us into a congregation of worshipers.
- 35:55Speaker 1: And may we continually keep our knees bent. Our hearts open.
- 36:02Speaker 1: And our mouths full of gratitude. For all you have
- 36:05Speaker 1: done for us. Through Jesus we pray. Amen. Loving you alone.
- 36:16Speaker 1: Feels so beautiful. And yet, it hurts the most.
- 36:28Speaker 3: You became my quiet sunrise, the dream I never dared
- 36:34Speaker 3: to say. Every smile you gave so freely took my
- 36:40Speaker 3: breath a little away. held this love like fragile glass,
- 36:46Speaker 3: so precious, soft and true. But every beat inside my
- 36:52Speaker 3: heart was only reaching out to you. Unspoken love is
- 36:59Speaker 3: sweet and painful, like honey mixed with rain. A tender
- 37:05Speaker 3: hope I hold so tightly while it Slowly breaks me.
- 37:11Speaker 3: Loving you from just one side now leaves my soul
- 37:16Speaker 3: in silent blue.
- 37:19Speaker 4: Cause the deeper that I fall alone, the lonelier I do.
- 37:28Speaker 3: I can't blame my heart for choosing someone it could
- 37:33Speaker 3: never keep. So I smile through hidden heartache and love
- 37:39Speaker 3: you quietly. Unspoken love is sweet and painful like honey
- 37:47Speaker 3: mixed with rain. A tender hope I hold so tightly
- 37:52Speaker 3: while it slowly breaks me. Loving you from just one
- 37:58Speaker 3: side now leaves my.
- 38:00Speaker 1: Soul in silent bloom.
- 38:03Speaker 4: Cause the deeper that I fall alone, the lonelier I do.
- 38:15Speaker 4: Maybe loving you in silence is the closest I can stay.
- 38:33Speaker 3: Though it leaves behind a sorrow that may never fade away.
- 38:43Speaker 3: Unspoken love is sweet and painful, like honey mixed with rain.
- 38:50Speaker 3: A tender hope I hold so tightly while it Slowly
- 38:56Speaker 3: breaks me loving you from just one side now. Leaves
- 39:01Speaker 3: my soul in silent blue.
- 39:05Speaker 4: Cause the deeper that I fall alone, the lonelier I do.