Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: Westgate. How's it going?
[00:00:10] Speaker B: Well, these kids have been working really hard and they are excited to lead you guys in some worship this morning. Does that sound good?
[00:00:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: All right, so let's. Let's go.
[00:00:32] Speaker A: Sa.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: All.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: Come on.
[00:02:07] Speaker A: Sound.
[00:03:09] Speaker A: Sing out.
[00:03:40] Speaker A: Sam.
[00:04:13] Speaker A: On his anointed wine.
[00:04:18] Speaker A: The spirit of the sovereign glory on him.
[00:04:38] Speaker A: The Lord.
[00:04:40] Speaker A: There is goodness There is good goodness There is good goodness.
[00:05:16] Speaker A: The spirit of the sovereign rise on him.
[00:05:27] Speaker A: The spirit of the sovereign voice.
[00:05:41] Speaker A: Lord.
[00:06:15] Speaker A: Mountain over the hills and everywhere Go sail it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is Everyone, we're singing.
[00:06:37] Speaker A: On the mountain.
[00:06:41] Speaker A: Over the hills everywhere.
[00:06:52] Speaker A: Jesus Christ is gone.
[00:06:57] Speaker A: There is good news he is binding up Binding up the broken There is good.
[00:07:40] Speaker A: Singing Go tell it on the mountain over the hills and every one. Come on.
[00:07:53] Speaker A: Tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born oh, we're singing oh, tell it on the mountain over the hills and everywhere Boat sailing on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.
[00:08:27] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:08:28] Speaker C: Okay, guys, if you can have a seat up here and any of my other kids who want to come up, we're going to do a little kids message up here. So if you're a kid and you want to come up and join us, you can come up the steps over here and you can just come wrap around here.
My name is Marlena and I am the director of kids ministry. And what a way to start the Christmas season, right?
[00:08:50] Speaker C: Yes, you guys, give it up for all the kids up here. They did amazing.
[00:08:59] Speaker C: And so if you. If this is your first time to Westgate, obviously, obviously this is not like our norm, but we have had such a great time practicing for this. And these kiddos have just worshiped the Lord every Sunday with us. So thanks for letting us sing and worship with you this morning. And if it's your first time here at Westgate Chapel, welcome. We're so excited you're here. And you can actually look in front of the pew in front of you and there's a card that says connect. And so if you would like more information about Westgate Chapel or how to get involved, you can fill that out. And so we'd love to talk with you. You can go right outside these doors at the end of the service and there's someone at our welcome center to answer any questions you have about getting connected here at Westgate Chapel. Also, for our live stream people, every kids turn around and say, hi, live stream.
[00:09:48] Speaker C: We are so glad that you're watching. And so again, what's a great morning to worship together. Also today is our new people Party. Everybody say, new people party.
That's one of those tongue twisters. If you said it a lot, it'd be hard. But today, right after the service in the refinery is our new people party. So if you're new to Westgate, if you would like a little bit more information about Westgate is all about or you've never been to one, we'd love for you to join us in the refinery for the new people party. And right now.
[00:10:21] Speaker C: I'm super excited because we are going to tell a very special story. And, audience, I need your help. Okay, so all the parents out there, get your phones out.
We're gonna need your flashlights. And it will make sense when you're supposed to talk or when you're supposed to do your thing. So I'll say some things about a star. And so you guys are gonna light up your phones, you're gonna be the star. So just pay attention, because we need you to be part of this story. Everybody got it?
Do you think they have it? No, I don't think so. Let's try it again. You got it?
Okay.
[00:10:53] Speaker C: Okay. So everybody close your eyes. Adults, too. I'm going to have to use your imagination, which we all have.
So today we're going to imagine that we're stepping into a story, the most important story ever told.
So imagine a quiet night with lots of stars.
[00:11:15] Speaker A: Okay?
[00:11:16] Speaker C: Lots of stars in a tiny town called Bethlehem. Okay, boom. Open your eyes. Everybody look around.
We got all the stars. So we're in Bethlehem. It's dark, it's quiet, and it smells like animals.
[00:11:35] Speaker C: Do y' all smell anything?
I don't know. I don't know if we can get the smell going, but it smells like animals.
[00:11:44] Speaker C: We got the animals because we're standing in a stable, which is basically a barn.
That was the only place left for a woman named Mary and her husband named Joseph. And the special thing about Mary is that she was carrying a very special baby. Who was that? Baby Jesus.
[00:12:08] Speaker C: Mary was about to have a baby. But not just any baby.
This baby was God's son.
[00:12:17] Speaker C: And right there in this tiny, quiet place, Jesus was born. What happens when a baby is in the world?
[00:12:28] Speaker C: That was some good baby noises, guys. The king of the world came into a world that had no room for him.
Now we're going to look outside the city. We see the stars again.
And out there, if you look really closely, you'll see the shepherds, and they were taking care of the sheep.
You'll see the shepherds. They were just doing their job, watching Their sheep. Pretty calm, pretty normal. And then, boom.
Angels appeared.
[00:13:04] Speaker C: And the angel said, don't be afraid.
[00:13:08] Speaker B: Don't be afraid.
[00:13:12] Speaker C: I bring you good news of great joy. For everyone today in Bethlehem, a savior has born. A savior has been born. And suddenly the sky explodes with angels singing, Glory to God in the highest. Let's say it one more time. Ready?
Glory to God in the highest.
And the shepherds looked at each other and they said, let's go and find this Jesus.
So the shepherds came to Jesus.
[00:13:47] Speaker C: And Jesus had a gift for them.
[00:13:52] Speaker C: But this gift wasn't Legos.
[00:13:56] Speaker C: Or dolls or video games.
[00:14:01] Speaker C: Too bad. I know. Sorry. He gave us a better gift.
[00:14:05] Speaker C: So they brought. They bring something more important. They didn't have a gift for Jesus like the wise men did. They brought their hearts, they brought their worship, and they brought their joy. They kneel by baby Jesus because they know he is the greatest gift that has ever been given.
And you know what? Jesus. He brings us a gift. I'm going to show you what those gifts are.
The first one that he brings us is. Everybody read it.
[00:14:35] Speaker A: Hope.
[00:14:36] Speaker C: Hope for when things feel hard.
The second one.
[00:14:43] Speaker C: Peace. When we're scared, who can we count on?
Jesus.
He also brought joy that doesn't fade.
And he brought.
[00:14:57] Speaker C: Love that never ends. And that love ended with him growing up and dying on a what?
On a cross. For us.
So, kids, the night Jesus was born, something amazing happened. God came close. He came as a baby. Small, gentle, humble.
So everyone could see him at Christmas. Remember that Jesus didn't stay far away. He came right into our world, into a simple stable.
So that he, everybody say could be my.
[00:15:30] Speaker C: Say my.
He could be my Savior. And here today, you're going to hear Pastor Rob. He's going to talk about the best gift ever. So you'll hear him talk about that. So let's pray.
[00:15:43] Speaker C: Dear Jesus, thank you for coming into the world to bring us hope, peace, joy and love. Help us share your light with others this Christmas. In Jesus name, Amen. Okay, guys, you guys are gonna make.
[00:15:57] Speaker B: Your way over there.
[00:15:57] Speaker C: Ms. Deneen has a candy cane for you. So stand up. And the rest of you, stand up. And you're gonna find somebody maybe you don't know.
And, yeah, give them one more round of applause. Weren't they amazing?
[00:16:13] Speaker C: Find someone you don't know and tell them what you're most excited about for Christmas.
[00:16:39] Speaker A: Angels we have come on high Sweetly singing all the plains and on mountains every high Echoing their joy.
[00:16:58] Speaker A: Hallelujah.
[00:17:03] Speaker A: In shepherd's wide Is to believe why your joyous strains belong what love that.
[00:18:02] Speaker A: Into Bethlehem.
[00:18:06] Speaker A: Whose birth the angels sing Come the door unbended me Christ the Lord the newborn King Glory.
[00:18:55] Speaker A: Heaven and earth Mary, Joseph and urine Sing with us our Savior's birth.
[00:19:06] Speaker A: Glory.
[00:19:52] Speaker A: To.
[00:20:22] Speaker A: Amen.
[00:20:22] Speaker D: You can have a seat for just a few minutes.
You know, there have been 400 years of silence from the end of the Old Testament, from the last time any prophets had spoken for God to when those angels appeared to the shepherds in the. In the field. And I just wonder if. If that.
If that the angels coming, if that would have awakened in those shepherds that. That hope that had been sitting for so long that they must have carried wondering when the promised Messiah would come. And I'm so thankful that we do not have to live in silence because he did come. And now he's Emmanuel God with us. We have the living Word of God and we have God in us with us through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
[00:21:10] Speaker A: And so.
[00:21:11] Speaker D: So I'm so thankful that we have that. And while we still sit in this space of the now and the not yet, where we still are in a broken world where there's lots of really, really hard things going on around us. But we are not without hope because we know that he will return again. And so we carry the hope of the Gospel into the spaces where he's put us. And we carry can live with hopeful expectation that he will come again.
[00:22:03] Speaker A: When the old will pass away.
[00:22:10] Speaker A: Every wrong will be made right.
No darkness, no night.
The sun will light the way.
[00:22:22] Speaker A: There is a king coming.
[00:22:29] Speaker A: The one who conquered death and grave.
[00:22:36] Speaker A: No more pain and no more sorrow.
This hope for tomorrow is our hope for today.
[00:22:50] Speaker A: Hero.
[00:22:54] Speaker A: He who is.
[00:22:56] Speaker A: He who was.
[00:23:00] Speaker A: He who is.
[00:23:03] Speaker A: He who is to come?
[00:23:07] Speaker A: Christ, the Son of Man Riding on the clouds with a crown upon his head Every idol singing the nail scars in his hands Hallelujah.
[00:23:26] Speaker A: Hallelujah.
[00:23:52] Speaker A: Praise.
[00:23:55] Speaker A: All wealth and all honor, strength, wisdom and power to the Lamb that was slain.
[00:24:08] Speaker A: He who is to come.
[00:24:13] Speaker A: Christ, the Son of Man Riding on the clouds with the crown upon his head Every I will see.
[00:24:29] Speaker A: Hallelujah.
[00:24:32] Speaker A: Hallelujah.
[00:24:35] Speaker A: Hallelujah.
[00:24:38] Speaker A: Hallelujah.
[00:25:01] Speaker A: Oh, can you feel it too?
[00:25:07] Speaker A: All this tension growing stronger it's just a sign. He's getting closer. He's already on the moon.
[00:25:20] Speaker A: The story has been written.
[00:25:27] Speaker A: We all know how it end.
[00:26:17] Speaker A: I see that.
[00:26:21] Speaker A: You will.
[00:26:24] Speaker A: Shall come to me.
[00:27:00] Speaker A: Hallelujah.
[00:27:08] Speaker A: Christ the Son of man.
[00:27:26] Speaker A: Hallelujah.
[00:27:29] Speaker A: Hallelujah.
[00:27:33] Speaker A: Hallelujah.
[00:27:36] Speaker A: Hallelujah.
[00:27:39] Speaker A: Hallelujah.
[00:27:55] Speaker B: Let's give God. Glory.
[00:27:57] Speaker A: Amen.
[00:27:57] Speaker B: He is good.
He is good.
You know, when we think of Christmas, we must think of the whole story from beginning to end. Oftentimes we come to a season of Christmas and we're like, yeah, baby Jesus, he was born in a manger, and there's meaning and significance there. But, guys, the story of Christmas, as we'll see this morning, doesn't just begin with a baby in a manger. It actually begins all the way in Genesis chapter one. And it finds its fulfillment with him returning again and riding on the clouds. Amen. The story of the gospel in the story of Christmas is that God loved us so much that in spite of our sin, he sent a savior.
That while we were unworthy of receiving a gift, of having a right relationship with God, God sent his son to pay the penalty for our rebellion and our sin against him.
So that we could be reconciled to him is the greatest gift, gift of hope that we have ever been given.
We're going to take communion together. If you have your elements, I'd encourage you to pull those out. And our ushers will come down the aisles. If you weren't able to get those on your way, and you can just slip up your hand and they would love to bring you some of those elements.
[00:29:16] Speaker B: So we'll see this morning.
The Christmas story begins where sin begins entering into the world, breaking our right relationship with God.
But in that moment, there's a prophecy that God would one day send a savior.
That savior would be Jesus, who would be born in a manger, who would come not to just overthrow governments, but who would come to give his life, to die on a cross, to pay the penalty for our sin, not just to save us from the physical realm of this world, but to save our souls for eternity.
And today we celebrate that by remembering all that Christ did as he gave his life for us.
As we read in the Bible, it tells us that on the night that Jesus was betrayed, when he was up in the upper room with his disciples, it says that he took bread.
When he took that bread, he said, this is my body, which is broken for you. In other words, I'm giving everything, all of myself, the one who created you. I'm giving everything.
[00:30:26] Speaker B: To reconcile you to myself and to God.
Do this in remembrance of me. Let's remember that gift together.
[00:30:45] Speaker B: It says in the same way that he took the cup.
[00:30:48] Speaker B: This cup. We read from Paul that it is the new covenant, a symbol of the new covenant that has been made, that Jesus blood has washed away our sin, that he has Paid the price.
The perfect gift is the gift of Jesus and this cup.
As Jesus looks at his disciples and says to drink this in remembrance of me as he wants us as his followers to remember all that he gave so that we could be with him forever.
All of this brokenness of this world that surrounds us, gone and restored to a right relationship with God.
Let's drink together and remember that gift.
[00:31:37] Speaker B: Heavenly Father, we thank you for this gift you've given us in your son.
We recognize this morning that this baby that was born in a manger that we talk about every Christmas. Your son, Jesus Christ, that really God. This story has found its inception in the very beginning pages of Scripture, reminding us that you have been active for all of history and all of time, working out your plan of redemption for us.
And we worship you and we give you thanks. Remembering the sacrifice that Jesus paid on our behalf so that we could be reconciled to you. We worship you and we give you all of our hearts this morning.
In Jesus name, Amen.
[00:33:13] Speaker A: Us. Oh come let us adore you. Oh come let us adore you.
[00:33:34] Speaker A: Christ.
[00:33:39] Speaker A: Lord.
[00:34:30] Speaker A: Adore.
[00:34:33] Speaker A: Oh come let us adore him.
[00:34:46] Speaker A: Christ.
[00:35:01] Speaker A: We worship you, Jesus.
[00:35:23] Speaker A: Happy morning.
[00:35:27] Speaker A: Jesus to the.
[00:35:40] Speaker A: Word of the Father.
[00:35:46] Speaker A: Now we.
[00:35:55] Speaker A: Oh come let us adore him. Oh come let us adore him.
[00:36:15] Speaker A: Christ.
[00:36:40] Speaker A: Everlasting Father.
His name shall be Prince of peace. Mighty God. His name shall be Emmanuel.
[00:36:55] Speaker A: Will praise your name forever.
[00:37:01] Speaker A: We'll praise your name forever.
[00:37:08] Speaker A: We'll praise your name forever.
[00:37:15] Speaker A: Christ is Christ alone.
[00:37:33] Speaker A: Will praise your name forever.
[00:37:48] Speaker A: You are crying for.
[00:37:55] Speaker A: His name shall be.
Wonderful counselor. His name shall be everlasting Father.
His name shall be Prince of Peace. Be mighty God. His name shall be Emmanuel.
[00:38:30] Speaker A: Amen. Amen.
[00:38:32] Speaker B: You may be seated. Would you. Would you join me in prayer?
God, we love you.
We love you so much.
We thank you for the gift of your son, Jesus Christ.
[00:38:45] Speaker B: We thank you for this season of Christmas, where we can take time to really focus our hearts on that beautiful gift. But God, this is a gift that we celebrate every single day, every single moment.
Because, Father, our lives are better with you. And under your authority and your care and under your provision.
And so we thank you that, Lord, while we were still sinners, you sent your son, Jesus Christ to die for us.
That you would show us the depth of your love.
God, I pray that this morning as we enter as a church into the celebration of this season, that you would remind us that this story that is written for us in the pages of Scripture.
[00:39:35] Speaker B: Doesn'T just find its beginning in a manger it finds its beginning in the very pages of scripture.
[00:39:42] Speaker B: Remind us, Father, that for all of time you have been in pursuit of us, your creation, seeking to show us the depth of your love for us and to draw back to you.
And so, Father, I pray that for every person here, Christian or not, that you would help us to see the glory and majesty of who you are and what you have done. And that would cause our hearts to draw closer to you in this season.
Father, we thank you this morning as well as we have opportunity to give our tithes and our offerings. God, we do so because we want more people to experience the goodness of your son, Jesus Christ.
I thank you God for the generosity of this church, the way in which they not only fund this ministry, but so many ministries in and to our community and throughout the world.
And we ask God that as we give that, Father, it would be a beautiful offering before you, that you would take what we give back that you have given to us and you would multiply it and the Father, Father, more people would know your son because of it. We love you and we worship you together today. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen.
We are going to take our morning offering. And so there are buckets that are here, offering buckets on the center aisle. If you are sitting there, you can grab one and pass them out to the sides and they are up in the corners in the balcony. You can pass those in and we'll just continue in spirit of worship this morning as we take our offering.
[00:41:12] Speaker A: Sam.
[00:41:46] Speaker B: Well, it is good to be here and be able to worship together as we kick off the Christmas season. And a couple of quick things, just reminders before we jump into our message this morning. One, you'll see in your sermon notes that you got when you came in. There's just a small giving guide that is there. I just again want to say thank you for your generosity to this church and helping to push ministries forward, but also helping keeping things running. We have had to tackle a number of massive projects this year and your generosity has allowed us to do so. Like to replace a sound system that was dying and a lighting system that is dying. And as well to be able to funnel money into resources and give generously to missions partners in our community and throughout the world. And so I just want to say thank you for that generosity. And again, as you continue to think about your end of year giving, as many do at the end of the year, we've just put a small guide in if you have any questions about those gifts, you can See that in there this morning.
Secondly, I want to remind you about one of our events that is coming up here very, very shortly, and it is Westgate at the ribbon, happening December 10th. Now, God gave us a magical experience in our first year. Last year, you know, I'm talking about the. The snow started falling lightly. It was beautiful last year, and we had such a great time. Signups are still ongoing, but I want to encourage you that the first session is filling up and almost full. And so if you would like to be a part of that, you can go onto the Westgate app or online, you can register to be a part of that. The second session still has more space. And remember, if you don't like to skate or you're like me, weak ankles and you don't want to have a broken ankle, just come grab some coffee, some hot chocolate, and spend some time fellowshipping together. It is a great time as a church family. And more importantly, think about the people God has placed in your life that. That don't know him, that need to know him. Invite them to come and join us. It is going to be a great time together as a church family out at the Ribbon. So please be sure to do that and check that out.
Now, as we jump into the message this morning, hopefully you grabbed your sermon notes on the way in. We are diving into our Christmas series that is entitled the Perfect Gift. And I don't know about you, but ever since the time I was young, when Christmas season rolled around, I was always trying to think, what is gonna be the perfect gift? The thing that would make me the happiest, give me the most fulfillment, the thing that would completely fulfill my pitiful life. Right. And so I wanna ask you a question. How many of you have already started Christmas shopping? Let me see a raise of hands. Okay, good. How many of you started before Thanksgiving?
Shame on you.
Keep those seasons separate. All right. No, seriously, though, many of us have already begun and begun making Christmas lists. I want you to do this for me. Turn to the person next to you and share with them. What are the top three things on your Christmas list this year?
[00:44:46] Speaker A: Go.
[00:44:48] Speaker B: I hear these, like, giggles of delight coming from children in the room, reminding their parents that Santa needs to bring them the top three. Right.
Or I also see some of you older people like myself not talking, and you're like, I have no idea what to put on a Christmas list.
[00:45:08] Speaker A: Right.
[00:45:09] Speaker B: We may find ourselves in all different spaces, but I know from the time I was young, I loved making my Christmas list about the time that Thanksgiving would roll around. I knew that the Toys R Us catalog was going to be celebrating, sent to our home. And I would look for the mail every single day, waiting for it to come. And when it came, I was usually in a fight with my sister to get it first. And whoever got it, usually me, would take it and go and sit in a chair and grab a highlighter, and I would sit there just, like, circling things that I knew I needed in my life in order to make it more complete as an adult. I don't quite get that same satisfaction anymore. You know, my wife is still asking me for my Christmas list. I might have four things on it, but. But when I was a kid, that list was like three, four pages long. It was incredible. So I would circle, highlight, and then I would write it down in hopes that I would get these things. Because I had this belief that if I just got these things that were on my list, I would find the most joy and the most fulfillment. But here's the thing. One thing I've noticed is that every single year, whether when I was young or even older, I was constantly beginning a new search every Christmas for that thing that I thought would bring me satisfaction or joy or contentment or fulfillment.
Nothing ever truly seemed to last. The things that I would get, they would be exciting at first, but sometimes they would become mundane. And oftentimes they would break, and therefore, I would need something new.
Isn't that true, though, about the experience that we also have in our world? It feels like what life is like in our world, that we're constantly searching for and looking for that thing or that experience that will finally, perfectly fulfill us. And we search for it in material things, in relationships. Sometimes we search for it in our work.
Sometimes we look for it in social status or power or in leisure activities.
We even look for it in our health.
If we could just have something, then we would find fulfillment and life would be good.
But the truth is, no matter how hard we try, these things that we search for in life to give us fulfillment or to give us hope never seem to quite do the job.
It never quite completes us.
And it seems that we always need something more.
You know, the truth is, I think this is true if you're following along in your sermon notes, because it feels like in this world, like things are broken, like the system is broken, that's supposed to give us our completeness and our satisfaction and our hope.
And if it feels that way, it's honestly because this system is broken.
And this morning, as we dive into the beginning of Christmas.
I want us to take a look back at the very beginning pages of Scripture to understand why we need hope and where that hope, perfect hope, comes from.
If you have your notes, you can fill in this first blank with me. Letter A. What we will read together in Genesis chapter one is that God created the world in perfection from the very beginning. In Genesis 1, we get this rundown of God's creation. How God created the light and he separated from the darkness. How God created the oceans and the water, and he created the land and he separated them. We read about how he caused animals to come alive across the planet and how there were fish swimming in the oceans and how he created plants that would grow up. Like there's this beautiful picture that is painted for us of God's creative power and majesty. And we understand that everything that he created was perfect.
And then he goes and he creates mankind.
And in his creation of mankind, he gives mankind this incredible gift. I want you to read it with me In Genesis, chapter one. Your notes say three. It should say one. Genesis chapter one, verses 26 through 31.
It says, Then God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness.
And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God. He created him, male and female. He created them, and God blessed them. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish and over the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves along the earth.
And God said, behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of the earth, and every tree with. With seed and its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.
And it was so.
And God saw that everything he had made.
And behold, it was very good.
And there was evening, and there was morning. That sixth day.
What we read here in this account is that not only did God create the world and everything within it in perfection, in perfect harmony, being able to provide for everything that mankind would need, but as he creates mankind in his image, we also read that he gives the perfect gift of everything man would need. He gives dominion over the world to Adam and Eve.
And he says, you'll have dominion over the world, over the plants of the field, over every single animal. Like, I'm giving it all to you. It's providing for you everything you could possibly want or need. But as we continue to read through the Genesis account. Genesis account, in chapter one, chapter two, and into chapter three, we see letter B, that mankind, while they had all the good that they would ever need, they wanted more.
And honestly, we see that they wanted to be like God.
Now, I give you this example. One of the things that I loved when I was younger and I wanted probably for four or five years growing up as a kid at Christmas, the top things on my list was Star wars action figures. It was the thing I desperately wanted with all of my heart. And I will tell you that I was pretty successful in collecting a number of those things. My parents would buy me action figures and some of the toys. Then my next door neighbor, Michael, when he got tired of playing with him when he got older, gave me all of his stuff. And so I had it all. Look on the screen. I had the Millennium Falcon. I loved this thing. This Millennium Falcon used to go zipping around my house. It was so great. And then my neighbor gave me the at. At And I used to beat up little stormtroopers with it all day long, you know, pretending that Luke Skywalker had stolen it. It was great. I had also an X wing, and I used to fly that around the house with R2D2 in the back and Luke Skywalker in the front. And then Return of the Jedi came out and I got the Ewok village. And the Ewok village was so fulfilling, let me tell you. All these cute little creatures and, you know, running around doing their thing. And then I will tell you that I collected just about every single original action figure that you could possibly ever imagine. And that doesn't even count all of that them. And I had multiples of them.
And as I got older, one of the things that began to happen is that I began to see that my love for these toys began to wane a little bit. And I realized why. It's because they made GI Joe.
[00:53:02] Speaker B: And here's the deal. Star wars could do this, GI Joe could do this.
And GI Joe had bigger guns and bigger vehicles. And I thought to myself, this is going to be great.
And so my affections for Star wars started to shift and I stopped playing with my toys. And one day, as my family was getting ready to have a garage sale and my parents kept harping on me to clean my room. I figured I might as well just get rid of them all.
And so I collected up all of my action figures and I bagged them up and I put them out on tables. And a family came along, and they offered me $25 for all of my action figures.
They offered me $5 for all of the different. Like, $5 per ship that I had. And I sold my entire Star wars collection for $50.
[00:53:48] Speaker B: You feel it, don't you?
Because when that next movie came out, the fourth one, or whatever number it is in the series, I realized that I had a gold mine. And my father had warned me. He said, those are going to be valuable someday. No, no, they're not. There's something better down.
And I think I had probably close to at. At its peak, $10,000 worth of collector's items sold to a family for 50 bucks. So.
[00:54:19] Speaker B: Adam and Eve had it all.
[00:54:23] Speaker B: They had everything.
God had provided, everything they could possibly need.
But when we read through Genesis chapter two and three, we see that something else caught their eye.
And they believed that there was something better, and their affections began to change.
Think about it with me.
The Bible, when we read this story, tells us that the serpent Satan comes to Eve in the garden, and he poses this question to her. Did God actually say, you shall not eat of any tree in the garden? Now, he knew that that question was not true. It seems innocent, but it's laced with malice.
He knew that God had said, one tree, but he says, any tree.
What he was doing, his strategy was to undermine trust by attributing unreasonable motives to God. How unreasonable that, how uncaring, how unloving that God would tell you, you can't have any of this.
And yet what we learn in that is that trust is the engine of obedience, right?
And Eve, hearing this, we can see in her response that she begins to move a little bit towards this feeling of maybe God isn't really fair.
Because what happens is that she says, well, no. God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden. So she corrects him. But then she adds to it something that God never said, neither shall you touch it. All of a sudden, she's made God out to be far much harsher than he is and says, you can't even touch it or you'll die.
And she moves toward the serpent, painting God as harsh and repressive by altering her remarks.
And the serpent's response to her itself was quite cunning.
He says, you're not going to die. In other words, he's trying to tell her, I know something that you don't.
God knows that your eyes will be open and you will be like God. Notice this. The serpent never tells Eve what to do. He never says, pick up that fruit and eat it. He just simply poses questions that cause trust to be eroded and to believe in her heart that she needs something more.
He distorts what God says.
He says, you're not going to die now.
But what God actually said was, you would be doomed to die.
Not immediate.
He says, your eyes will be opened, gaining wisdom. Wisdom you don't have that. You need that. Don't you understand what you can have? God is holding out on you, Eve.
And then he also says, you will be like God.
You'll have a higher status. Do you not realize that God is trying to keep you from the ultimate good, from the ultimate perfect life that you should have?
And rather than telling her what to do, he causes all of these questions to come in. And in the process, he attacks the very character of God, calling into question his truthfulness, but also his trustworthiness.
And what happens?
Letter C.
With covetousness in their hearts, Adam and Eve believing that God was holding back.
The passage tells us, with eight simple words in the Hebrew language, that Eve took, ate, and gave the fruit to her husband.
And it was a decision that would reverberate throughout the whole of creation.
If you were to look just at verse six and verse seven in the passage. I know, kids. Six, seven. Okay, six and seven. Those two verses move very, very quickly. I know it's going to go all day now.
[00:58:12] Speaker B: They move in rapid succession, and it's really hard to see if you're not looking at the Hebrew. But what's happening in these verses is that there are what's called 6 qual. We ictal imperfect verbs. And when you see these types of verbs stacked together constantly, what it does is it triggers us to know that these actions are happening in rapid succession.
Six verbs tied directly together. She saw, took, ate, gave. Eyes were opened and knew that they were naked. And what it does is it causes us to see that as Satan questions the trustworthiness of God, Eve and Adam make this decision that is incredibly impulsive to act and to eat the fruit.
It says that Eve saw the fruit, that it was good for food, that it was pleasing to the eye, that it was desirable to make you wise. And very quickly, she took, she ate, she gave. Their eyes were immediately opened, and they knew that they were naked.
The impulsiveness of that decision, though, brought lightning fast, equally lightning fast destruction on all of creation.
You're following along again in your notes. There was nothing that sin didn't break in creation.
Genesis chapter 3, verse 7. Look at it with me. Then the eyes. It's here on the screen. The eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. What we see, letter A is this, is that the brokenness that came broken relationship with each other.
For the very first time in all of humanity, the feelings of comparison, embarrassment and shame entered into human relationships and it separated them from one another. And it would continue to separate over time. We experience this in our own lives. The brokenness of relationship that comes because of sin.
We continue in Genesis chapter 3 as the brokenness continues to expand. In verse 8, it tells us that they heard the sound. Follow along on the screen here. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. What do we read happens here? There is a brokenness in relationship with God that occurs letter B.
They had walked in perfect relationship with God as God walked in the cool of the day. This is something that Adam and Eve would have done on a regular basis, experiencing perfect intimacy and fellowship with God himself, providing for everything that they need. And in this moment, they no longer ran to God when they heard him.
They hid from him.
Something shifted.
That shame, that embarrassment, it changed everything.
[01:01:11] Speaker B: No longer would they run to God, but they would hide from him. Rather than accepting blame, they would pass blame and hide the truth of their actions.
Because God was no longer their source of joy, he would now be viewed as their enemy.
Not only did that brokenness come to each other and to God, but let her see, it came to the serpent. We read in verse 14, the Lord God said to the serpent, because you have done this, this cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field. On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
As we read about the serpent and we read about the curse that is levied upon him, it says that he was doomed to crawl on his belly. I'm not sure, but snakes, it sounds like maybe walked on two feet or somehow glided on the ground differently.
It tells us that part of that of kind curses not only how he crawls, but that he would eat dust. But I think the thing that is most important that we pull from this is that the serpent is now considered among all of the beasts of the earth lesser than. There's a shift in the hierarchy even amongst the animals and beasts of the earth. In all of the animal kingdom, there is a hierarchy that has been inserted.
If we continue to read, in verse 16, in the very beginning, he turns to Eve and he says to the woman, I will surely multiply your pain and childbearing. In pain you shall bring forth children. Letter D. The brokenness came to the experience of childbearing for women.
In other words, at the point in a woman's life where she experiences her highest sense of fulfillment, she will experience incredible depths of physical anguish.
And this because of sin.
If we Continue Reading in Genesis 3:16b, the second part of the passage, you'll see that it also says that he says to Eve, your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.
There's a brokenness that also came letter E to their marriage relationship between Adam and Eve. You see, what's described here is a competition that would take place for control within the marriage. God's design from the very beginning was that created he complementary roles that were equal in worth and value for the man and for the woman.
That Adam was called to lead the family unit.
Eve was called to be the helpmate. And both had equal worth and value. Not one was greater than the other. They were necessary for the perfection of what God created. But what sin did is it made one greater than and one less than.
And what would occur because of sin is that there would be a constant competition for control even within the marriage relationship, usurping the created order and the perfection of what God designed and desired.
But it continues from there because God turns to the man. In verses 17 and 18, he says to Adam, because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I command, you shall not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because of you in pain. You shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field. In other words, the curse also comes. The brokenness comes on the earth. And the ground, letter F, the ground which had been man's greatest source of joy and love, life given to him as a gift, as a provision for him, would now become one of the greatest sources of pain for his wearisome existence, as it now worked against him, as he sought to not only provide for himself and for his family, but also for life itself.
And that's where we come to at the end. In Genesis 3:19.
[01:05:08] Speaker B: He says, God says, by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, for you are dust, and to dust you will return.
[01:05:21] Speaker B: The brokenness came to all of life itself.
Their eating of this fruit, this disobeying of God, the sin against him, would ultimately result in their physical and spiritual death.
And ever since that time in the history of the world, mankind has wrestled with sickness and an expiration date on all of our lives.
One of the most difficult things to deal with, because the truth is, is that we grapple with, seeking great fulfillment in order to grasp onto this. This life that we are trying to create for ourselves.
But do you recognize that in all of the brokenness caused by this one decision in sin.
[01:06:14] Speaker B: That no matter how hard we try, we cannot find that fulfillment and that hope that we long for?
Every one of these pieces that we see listed in this passage are things that we experience on a regular and daily basis.
Brokenness in our relationships with each other, brokenness in our relationship with God. Brokenness in the. In the world systems, in the animal kingdom, in childbearing, in our marriage relationships. The world and the earth work against us, and death is certain.
But in the midst of all of this bad news, it would be very easy for us to go, why are you sharing this at Christmas? This sounds pretty sad.
It's a little bit depressing. But what I find is that we often miss in this passage alone the hope that is expressed that is greater than anything we can possibly imagine. Look with me, if you will, in the midst of the bad. Don't miss the gift of hope, the perfect gift of hope. Genesis 3:20. Immediately following the curses and the punishments that will come on Adam and Eve, the entire world, it says these words. The man called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living. Now, this may seem like it's just a little tidbit of information that's thrown into the text, but read through the lines for just a minute. These words actually hold incredible significance. Letter A. God did not bring life to an end.
He didn't end the whole experiment. God could have, and probably should have put them to death and ended it all. If he went by our standards in this life of what we hold other people to when they harm us or wrong us, it would have been all over. He would have thrown it all in the fire bin and said, let's start new. But no, rather, when we read verse 20. What we understand is that the incredible grace of God was on full display even in the moment that that sin entered into the world.
Eve, the first woman in all of creation, in spite of her sin and rejection of God and desire to be in his seat, would still be the mother of all the living God's grace.
Let her be. It continues. Genesis, chapter 3, verse 21. It says that the Lord God made for Adam and for for his wife garments of skin and clothed them. Again. It could seem like just a little bit of information thrown in that's insignificant as we move along in the text. But have you noticed letter B, that even amidst their sin, God showed continued care and provision for Adam and Eve?
Not only did he spare their lives, but he prepares them for the more difficult environment that he is sending them into.
And he is also providing for them a remedy for the shame that they have brought on themselves.
I want to ask you this question.
Have you ever considered the ways that God continues to show you his love and to provide for you in spite of your sin against Him?
Because from the very beginning, it's present here in this text.
But even more, the greatest gift of hope is not just that life could continue in the midst of a broken world or that we're throwing a bone with figuring out how to make clothes.
But if we rewind back to a verse I skipped in verse 15, we will see letter C, that from the very beginning God revealed his plan for a savior.
Genesis chapter 3, verse 15 says this.
[01:09:57] Speaker B: I will put enmity between you and the woman as he speaks to the serpent, the curse. I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring.
He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.
If you look at this in the Hebrew and also in other translations, it says that he will crush your head and you will strike his heels.
There is this picture that what is coming for this serpent, for Satan himself, is a death blow to him one day.
And it is promised from the very beginning.
You see, he says there's going to be a battle between the offspring of the woman and the offspring of the snake, a picture of a battle between good and evil for all of time in this human existence.
And yet when we see that, he says that this battle is will take place between you and the woman, but also between your offspring and hers. The word offspring here is actually singular, representing for us a future individual who will be the one who crushes the head of the snake, helping us to understand that even here in Genesis 3:15 at the very moment that Adam and Eve have been caught in their sin and they're still trying to push away responsibility for, for it, not owning it, that God's grace is on full display, promising to Satan, satan, one day you will be destroyed. And I have a plan. And that plan is to send a Savior to save my people.
And we see this written throughout the pages of scripture in Romans 16:20, Hebrews 2:14, Revelation chapter 12, where the new Testament writers themselves look back to Genesis 3:15 and recognize that in that moment was a promise that God made, that one day he would send a Savior who would overcome all sin and all brokenness in this world and that would reconcile us to God.
So what is the final point this morning as we think about the beginning of this story, this Christmas story of a promise of a Savior, the perfect gift of hope that we will long for?
It's this.
God's unconditional love does not mean an absence of punishment, consequences or accountability for sin.
We still live in a broken world.
We still experience brokenness because of our sin against God.
But God's discipline is meant to point us to a better way, a way that was once ours in the beginning with him and that can be ours again through Jesus.
You see Adam and Eve, I'm convinced that Jesus decision that God's decision with Adam and Eve for them to experience punishment, for all of humankind to experience the brokenness in this world is that it has serving. It has served and is serving a great purpose.
God has said, if you think you can have better outside of me, then I will let you try.
[01:13:03] Speaker B: And what have we found every year at Christmas when we keep trying to look for that Christmas gift that's going to make it all better.
And then the next year we got to do it again and again and again when we try to find fulfillment in relationships, but they fail us when we try to find it in money or wealth or possessions. But they break and they fail us and they go away. The world takes it away.
We try to find it in status or power or in our health, and the whole world system constantly works against us.
I believe that the message God is sending is, you had it all.
[01:13:38] Speaker B: And what is he saying to us through the Christmas story and the promise of a Savior? Even in Genesis 3:15, I am providing a way for you to have it all again.
And I am sending you a savior.
Church, family.
[01:13:56] Speaker B: The punishments and the curses are meant to show us our need for God, to remind us that there has always been a better way and that God has Provided and was providing everything we could ever possibly need.
No matter how hard we try on our own, in our own wisdom to achieve fulfillment in this life, our true hope, the perfect gift of hope that we long for in this life can only be found in God, through Jesus Christ. And this is the beginning of the Christmas story.
Would you pray with me, Jesus? Thank you.
Thank you.
[01:14:37] Speaker B: That from the very beginning of time where we read in the that in the beginning was the Word and Word was with God and the Word was God, that God you have been present from the very beginning of creation and Jesus you have been the plan all along from the very beginning to bring salvation to us in spite of our sin and separation from you.
And I pray that as we walk through this Christmas season, God, that you would impress this truth deeply in our hearts and remind us.
[01:15:10] Speaker B: That the gift of hope didn't just come.
[01:15:14] Speaker B: After 400 years of silence between the Old and the New Testament when Jesus was born.
The gift of hope was promised and prophesied from the very beginning when we mankind first sinned against you.
And from the very beginning of Scripture, in the very beginning of creation, you have been showing us your grace and your love and your provision and have been providing a way for us to be restored to that relationship that we truly long for.
[01:15:48] Speaker B: God. I pray that you would allow that to sink into our hearts and change how we view this Christmas season.
[01:15:55] Speaker B: And as our heads are bowed and our hearts eyes are closed, I recognize that this morning there may be people here that have never put their faith in Jesus.
And this morning as we talk about the very beginning, we have an understanding of sin and our sin against God and where it comes from.
We also gain a clear picture of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, that from the very beginning God has loved us so much that he has promised and provided a way for a Savior who would save us from our sin. And that is Jesus, who died on a cross to pay the price for our sin and our separation that we deserve to provide a way for us to be reconciled to God and to live with him forever and thereby to escape eternal punishment and judgment.
And if you've never made that decision to put your faith in Jesus, but today you say I get it and I want that gift of hope. I've recognized that this world does not provide the things that I'm looking for. It constantly fails me and I want and I need Jesus. And I would invite you today to make the decision to follow Jesus with your whole heart for the first time if you'd like to make that decision as our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed. I just invite you silently in your own heart to pray this prayer after me.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of hope that I have in Jesus Christ.
Thank you that you sent your son into this world to die on a cross to pay the penalty for my sin.
Today I confess with my mouth that I believe in Jesus.
I believe in his death, I believe in his raising to life. And I believe that you gave the gift of your son so that I could be reconciled to you.
[01:17:48] Speaker B: Today I choose to follow you.
I give my heart to you.
I pray that you would forgive me of my sin, that you would come into my life and walk with me as I follow you.
[01:18:05] Speaker B: If you pray that prayer this morning, I want to just say I'm excited about the new journey that you are going to take with God in your life and we would love the opportunity to encourage you in some way, shape or form if you have made that decision. You'll see at the close of our service. There's a small card that says I said yes to Jesus. I just want to invite you to take it. You can all ask is write your name, check that you made that decision.
I think it asks for an email and you can drop it in our giving receptacles in the back or you can also at the end as our prayer team is here at the front. I'll be up here at the front. You can come and give that card to one of us. We would love to give you a new Bible and some material that will help you as you begin this walk with the Lord. But we want to celebrate together what God is doing in your life and so make that decision today to fill out that card as a way of saying yes Lord, I have made that commitment and I am truly going to walk with and follow you.
Father, we worship you and we pray that this gift that you have given us of hope, perfect hope in Jesus would transform our hearts and lives.
We worship you in Jesus name. Amen.
[01:19:37] Speaker A: Starry night a newborn king Hark the herald angels singing Holy.
[01:19:48] Speaker A: Holy.
[01:19:51] Speaker A: Humble In a manger lay the God in three and one displayed his glory.
[01:20:01] Speaker A: Glory.
[01:20:04] Speaker A: Behold him.
[01:20:10] Speaker A: Come and behold.
[01:20:17] Speaker A: Joined to the world a hope is given.
[01:20:24] Speaker A: He'S the Son of Heaven Behold.
[01:20:46] Speaker A: Light and life to all he brings Everlasting Prince of peace Forever.
[01:20:56] Speaker A: And ever.
[01:20:59] Speaker A: Hope has come now here to dwell the advent of Emmanuel Messiah.
[01:21:09] Speaker A: Messiah.
[01:21:12] Speaker A: Behold him.
[01:21:18] Speaker A: Come and behold him.
[01:21:25] Speaker A: Joy to the world.
[01:21:30] Speaker A: Is given.
[01:21:33] Speaker A: Adore.
[01:21:35] Speaker A: Him.
[01:21:39] Speaker A: Come and adore him.
[01:21:55] Speaker A: Is the son of heaven, behold.
[01:22:07] Speaker A: Rejoice.
[01:22:11] Speaker A: Rejoice.
[01:22:14] Speaker A: Rejoice.
[01:22:16] Speaker A: Tidings of comfort enjoy Rejoice.
[01:22:24] Speaker A: Rejoice.
[01:22:28] Speaker A: Rejoice.
[01:22:30] Speaker A: Tidings of comfort and joy Rejoice.
[01:22:38] Speaker A: Rejoice.
[01:22:42] Speaker A: Rejoice.
[01:22:44] Speaker A: Tidings of confidence come.
[01:22:48] Speaker B: Rejoice.
[01:22:52] Speaker A: Rejoice.
[01:22:55] Speaker A: Rejoice.
[01:22:59] Speaker A: Rejoice.
[01:23:02] Speaker A: Behold.
[01:23:08] Speaker A: Come and behold.
[01:23:12] Speaker A: Him.
[01:23:15] Speaker A: Show it to the world.
[01:23:37] Speaker A: As the savior's given.
[01:23:43] Speaker A: Is the son of heaven.
Behold.
[01:23:54] Speaker A: Amen.
[01:23:59] Speaker B: Let's give God glory together, huh? That's good.
[01:24:04] Speaker B: What a gift. What a gift we've been given together in Jesus. You know, as we close our service this morning, as I mentioned, our prayer team will be here at the front. If you made that decision to put your faith in Jesus for the first time today, whether old or young, we'd love you to fill out that card and love the opportunity to talk with you, give you a Bible. Please be sure to come up as we close our service if there are any need so that you also have for general prayer. Our team would love that opportunity to pray for with you. So we invite you to come.
As we prepare to go out today, I want to give you just a quick reminder that we are having a new people party. And so if you are new in the last weeks, months, today, years, and you've never come met the staff, come join us. We would love that opportunity to meet you and spend a little bit of time fellowshiping together. That'll be in the refinery getting started in just a few minutes. We'd invite you to head on over there and church family. As you go out, remember the perfect gift that you have been given in Jesus Christ, the hope of the world.
Live in light of that hope.
Live your life with that hope so that as you go out, the world will see it and long for it and know where to find it. God bless you. Have a great week. As you go out and you serve him.
