Christmas Is a Person: Jesus, Our Peace and Presence

Merry Christmas. Today I invited us to move past what Christmas means and look at what Christmas is. Micah foresaw it 700 years in advance: a ruler born in Bethlehem Ephrathah, David’s town, a signal that God has not forgotten the ordinary and overlooked. God chose a small village to say, “I still remember.” That choice tells me Christmas wasn’t spontaneous—it was planned. What looks like chaos to us is choreography to God. Rome’s census, Herod’s panic, the Magi’s long road—none of it was random. God moved the pieces of an empire to keep His promise.

But the first Christmas wasn’t cozy. Micah shows a world of humiliation, invasion, and shame. A slap on the right cheek. Assyria and Babylon. Herod’s fury and a massacre. Jesus entered a violent world and became a refugee before He could walk. That’s why I can say with confidence: whatever mess you’re in, He isn’t afraid of it. He was born into one.

Christmas also threatens every counterfeit throne. Herod felt it. So did the devil when he offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world. The claim of Jesus is absolute: not that He will teach peace, but that He will be our peace. Isaiah called Him Prince of Peace. Micah said, “He will be our peace.” Peace, then, is not the absence of trouble—it’s the presence of God.

On the night of His resurrection Jesus appeared to terrified disciples behind locked doors. His first word was “Shalom.” Then He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” In the temple, God’s presence came after the offering; now God’s presence comes as a Person who breathes His Spirit into us. That is what Christmas is: God’s planned, personal presence arriving in crisis to make us whole. When He is with you, you are held, steady, and loved—even in storms. Peace begins the moment you receive Him.

Key Takeaways

• 1. God plans peace amid chaos What feels like disorder to us is often God’s choreography. Micah’s 700-year promise, a Roman census, and a carpenter’s trip all converged at Bethlehem on time. Providence doesn’t erase pain; it weaves pain into purpose. Trust grows when we believe God is present and active before we can see the pattern. [30:43]
• 2. Christmas disrupts counterfeit thrones Herod panicked because a true King exposes the limits of borrowed power. The kingdoms of this world—even the ones we build in our hearts—can’t coexist with Jesus’ total claim. Yielding to Him dismantles our need to control and frees us from fear’s grip. Christmas invites surrender, not just celebration. [44:02]
• 3. Humiliation precedes holy visitation Micah speaks of a backhanded slap—public shame—before the birth of the Ruler. Exile, loss, and exposure are not signs of divine absence but often the soil of divine arrival. God meets us in our lowest places and begins His new work there. Don’t despise the season that empties you; it may be making room for Him. [33:08]
• 4. Peace is presence, not quiet Shalom is not the silence after a storm; it’s the Presence who speaks in the storm. Jesus entered a locked room of fear and breathed His Spirit into His friends. When the Spirit indwells us, peace does not depend on circumstances but on communion. Wholeness grows wherever God dwells. [50:24]
• 5. Bethlehem says God sees the small God bypassed Rome and Jerusalem to choose a village that barely made the map. He delights to begin in places and people the world overlooks. Your unnoticed faithfulness is not unnoticed to Him. Expect God’s work to sprout in hidden soil. [29:56]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [25:27] - Sanitized nativity vs real crisis
• [26:10] - Micah’s 700-year promise
• [27:37] - Why Bethlehem Ephrathah
• [29:56] - God remembers the overlooked
• [30:43] - Providence in our chaos
• [31:59] - Christmas as a threat to power
• [34:47] - Exile and national shaming
• [36:32] - Massacre and the refugee Christ
• [39:01] - Census, taxes, and timing
• [40:59] - Coincidence or providence?
• [45:35] - He will be our peace
• [47:58] - Shalom in the locked room
• [50:24] - Peace as the Spirit’s presence
• [51:48] - Prayer and blessing

1. In Micah 5:1-5, what hard realities are named (siege, a slap on the cheek), and what hopeful promises are given (a ruler from Bethlehem, a shepherd, “He will be our peace”)?
2. What cultural detail helps explain why a “right cheek” slap points to public humiliation rather than just pain? [33:27]
3. What event moved Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and why did that matter for the fulfillment of Micah’s promise? [39:01]
4. In the locked room after the resurrection, what two things did Jesus do and in what order? (Hint: a word and a breath.) [49:58]

1. Micah shows humiliation before restoration (the slap before the Ruler). What might that tell someone about how God uses seasons of shame, exile, or loss? [34:12]
2. God chose Bethlehem Ephrathah—small and overlooked—as the birthplace of the Ruler. What does that choice reveal about how God remembers ordinary people and places? [29:56]
3. “He will be our peace” shifts peace from a feeling to a Person. How would that change someone’s expectations about peace during crisis or conflict? [45:35]
4. Herod panicked at news of a true King. What kinds of “thrones” in a modern heart can’t coexist with Jesus’ total claim, and how might they show up day to day? [36:32]

1. Where does life feel disordered right now? Since providence can weave chaos into purpose, what is one concrete place you will trust God’s choreography this week (a decision, a deadline, a conversation)? [40:59]
2. Bethlehem tells us God sees the small. What hidden act of faithfulness will you practice this week (a quiet kindness, an unseen prayer, a simple “yes” to serve) and why there? [29:56]
3. Identify one “throne” you’ve been guarding (control, image, a pet sin, a private empire). What would yielding it to Jesus look like in practice this week, and who will you invite to help you walk it out? [44:02]
4. If you feel shamed, exposed, or “in exile,” what would it look like to welcome God into that exact place? Name one next step (journal a prayer, confess to a trusted friend, ask for prayer) you’ll take in the next 48 hours. [34:47]
5. Peace is presence, not quiet. When anxiety rises, where and when will you practice a simple breath prayer—“Jesus, I receive Your Spirit; be my peace”—this week? [50:24]
6. Who near you is walking through crisis right now? What is one specific way you can carry peace to them (a visit, a meal, an offer to pray, help with a task) in the next seven days? [37:55]