Pastor's Pen, Dec 11, 2019

The Gift that Keeps Giving: Christmas Thoughts
By: Pastor Jeff
Yesterday in worship, Pastor Jason mentioned he looks forward to preaching on the “arrival of Jesus all year.” And for one reason or another, that got my attention. As a minister, we have many things on our plate that sometimes demands our attention. And those things are not bad necessarily in themselves, as God calls us all to serve and love one another. However, the one thing that no one can take from us is our intimate relationship with Jesus. Christmas aptly called “Christ- mass” or the celebration of Christ is not only a season we should relish, but one we should continually give thanks for the priceless gift of Jesus at the hand of God on Calvary.
Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians in 9:15 puts it this way, “Thanks be to God for his inde- scribable gift!” (CSB). The word indescribable is defined as “too unusual, extreme, or indefinite to be adequately described”. Now let’s break this down, because of Je- sus, and only Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross we have eternal life, new life, hope, forgiveness, a friend that never leaves our side, and complete access to the Father to find mercy and grace in our time of need (See Heb. 4:14-16). Because of Jesus we experience grace upon grace. Because of Jesus’ humility to be born in afeeding trough and to empty himself as a servant on our behalf, we are called “heirs of God” if we have put our faith in Christ. Because of Jesus, God adopts us into his family, and we become children of God. Because of Jesus we have reason to worship the God who is worthy.
So why does Christmas matter? Because with- out Jesus coming in his perfect timing and birth, we are utterly lost and without hope. And God doesn’t leave us where we were thankfully. Yet, this priceless gift is still ours to choose or turn away from. And sometimes we would rather pursue our own pleasures over the never-ending, always faithful love of God. So, this Christmas I leave you with two thoughts: Will you pause from the “things of the season” to thank God for his indescribable gift? Will you pray that God will lead you to share this gift with someone else? Because then and only then do we begin to experience the gift that keeps on giving.