Embracing the True Spirit of Christmas Year-Round

"Dear Lord, as there are many hurting, there are many that have loss, we know that you are there and that you are with us. Dear Lord, in this season, help us to realize that you are the reason that we celebrate. And dear Lord, as we move through this season, help us to be the people that you want us to be." [00:20:10]

"Today's message is, and I call it, when is Christmas over? You know, we think about it, and it's a lot of times we get through this Christmas season and we build ourselves up and up and up and up to get through that one day with the family. And that was a joke. And it's usually, you know, if it's at your house, it's like, okay, I've got to get everything ready and get everything done, and it's a rush, and then you go through the whole process, and then it's over, and it's like, okay. And that's Christmas." [00:28:59]

"Jesus was born and we didn't just go okay he's born now what okay Jesus God had a plan there was there was a plan for Jesus and how do we get from Jesus's birth to his death on the cross how do we look at this and go whoa okay so you know what I mean I'm not going to go through all of this but I'm going to go through all of here's his birth here's Christmas and then we go from then to 33 years from there his death on the cross there was a lot that happened in between there there was a bunch going on" [00:34:50]

"Why do you think Jesus' birthday is so important to Christians? Why is it so important that once a year, we just all out go for it, decorate our house, put trees up, buy gifts, shut the businesses down, go to travel to people's homes and celebrate? Why is it so important that we celebrate Jesus' birth? One of the things is, it was predicted. It's not just a birth. It's a birth that was predicted. And in that prediction, we find salvation. Because we understand that this really is God's Son." [00:40:57]

"Like the Magi, we search for the Lord. We search every day for Jesus in our lives. Isn't that cool? I mean, these guys that were out there searching for Jesus finally found him, and they brought him these gifts of frankincense, myrrh, and what was the other one? Eh? Brought him these gifts and said, you are the Messiah. You are. That's what Christmas is about, is the fact that we believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that he did come, he did show up in the way he was supposed to, and just like those Magi, we search every day in our lives to make sure Jesus is found." [00:43:25]

"If there was a graft of the highs and lows of Christmas, where would yours be? A graft. You know, like, oh, this is exciting. I love this. And then you go down here, and it's like, this is not a good time for me. Ups and downs. You know, not every Christmas is the same. Year to year, you're going to have some good Christmases, and you're going to have some not -so -good Christmases. Does that make Christmas any different? It's still Christmas. We may be going through a lot at that Christmas. Christmastime, but it's still Jesus's birthday. It's still we're honoring him." [00:44:35]

"In fact, I worked for UPS for five years, and every year Christmas came up, I got really disappointed in the fact that it wasn't Christmas to me. It was just work, and, you know, sometimes Christmas can be work, you know, getting the house ready, getting all the, you know, the relatives contacted, making sure everybody's got a place to sleep, doing all the things that you have to do, or if you're going somewhere, getting on the airplane, going through the whole, no offense, Eric, but, you know, the airport situations nowadays where they put you in these little seats are about this big. They're almost like pilot seats now. Yeah, but, you know, you go through all that, and it's, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, and then you know, all at that time, and then you start thinking is this Christmas? Is this what Christmas was supposed to be like?" [00:47:09]

"So the question is when does Christmas end? So the 21st... We celebrate Christmas. Is it the 26th when it ends? Is it the 1st of January when it ends? You know, we used to go on mission trips here with the youth. And for those of you that did go on some of the mission trips, we'd go for a week, and it was hard work. And the kids loved it. And we had work in the daytime, worship in the evenings, camaraderie during the evening times too, games and things where they got to get to know each other. But you know what? The first thing I would hear on the way back, when are we doing this again?" [00:48:00]

"Now I want you to think about something. With Christmas, do you ever think, when are we doing this again? We don't. So when is Christmas over? It's not over. It goes from Christmas to Christmas. And our job as Christians is to keep that going for our family, for our friends, for ourselves, knowing that in this time of year, this happiness, this celebration, can go through the whole year. And if we let it, it can change our lives." [00:49:03]

"Don't stop searching for Jesus after Christmas. It's over. Because he's here. Amen. Let's bow our heads. Our gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for this time to come together and share your message. Dear Lord, help us as we go through this Christmas season that we realize that it's never over. That it goes from day to day through the years, 365 days a year, 24 -7." [00:50:00]

"When we're hurting you're there when we're happy you're there when we're celebrating you're there dear lord just keep us moving in that direction in christ's name we pray amen" [00:50:35]

"Let's bow for the benediction Dear Lord, as we leave this place Help us to always remember We celebrate your birth We come to this season To celebrate and be part of your life In you and us In Christ's" [00:53:24]