Embracing the Uncomfortable: The True Christmas Message

 

Summary

During this Christmas season, we are reminded of the complexities and discomforts that often accompany family gatherings. Many of us have experienced the tension of unresolved issues, unmet expectations, and the inability to control others. Yet, Christmas is a celebration of an event that, if taken seriously, can move us beyond these complications. The birth of Jesus is not just a story to be romanticized; it is a profound event that challenges us to confront our excuses and move toward the uncomfortable and complicated aspects of our lives.

Jesus came into the world not because He was the reason for the season, but because we are. Our messiness and brokenness necessitated His arrival. The world was in chaos, and God, in His love, chose to enter into our mess. Jesus' birth was for our benefit, to bless the world, to reveal what God is like, and to remove our excuses for not engaging with the difficult parts of life.

The name Emmanuel, meaning "God with us," signifies God's willingness to draw near to us despite our flaws. This nearness removes our excuses for keeping our distance from others due to their dysfunctions or sins, which may differ from our own. Jesus' life was a testament to being full of grace and truth, never compromising on either. His presence among us was a call to extend the same grace and mercy to others that we have received from God.

As we navigate the holiday season, we are encouraged to follow Jesus into the uncomfortable and awkward situations, to love others in spite of their imperfections, just as God loves us. This is the essence of the Christmas message: to do for others what God, through Christ, has done for us. By embracing this challenge, we can transform our relationships and, potentially, the world around us.

Key Takeaways:

1. Christmas and Family Dynamics: Christmas often highlights unresolved family issues and unmet expectations. Yet, the birth of Jesus offers a way to move beyond these complications by challenging us to confront our excuses and engage with the uncomfortable aspects of our lives. [04:25]

2. The Real Reason for the Season: While Jesus is often cited as the reason for the season, it is actually our brokenness that necessitated His coming. Our messiness is the reason for Christmas, as God entered our chaos to bring hope and healing. [07:03]

3. Emmanuel: God With Us: The name Emmanuel signifies God's willingness to be with us despite our flaws. This nearness removes our excuses for keeping our distance from others due to their dysfunctions or sins, which may differ from our own. [09:08]

4. Grace and Truth in Jesus: Jesus embodied both grace and truth, never compromising on either. His life calls us to extend the same grace and mercy to others that we have received from God, challenging us to love in spite of differences. [29:28]

5. Following Jesus into the Uncomfortable: The Christmas message encourages us to follow Jesus into uncomfortable and awkward situations, loving others despite their imperfections. By doing so, we reflect the love God has shown us and can transform our relationships. [31:31]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [02:28] - Christmas and Family Dynamics
- [04:25] - Unresolved Problems and Expectations
- [06:50] - Reasons for the Season
- [08:20] - Emmanuel: God With Us
- [10:05] - Removing Excuses
- [12:23] - Grace and Truth in Jesus
- [14:09] - Self-Awareness and Humility
- [17:19] - John's Perspective
- [19:38] - The Word Became Flesh
- [22:06] - God Among Us
- [25:38] - Comfort in Uncomfortable Places
- [27:09] - Full of Grace and Truth
- [30:44] - Love in Action
- [34:33] - Application for Christmas

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Matthew 1:23 - "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel" (which means "God with us").
2. John 1:14 - "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

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Observation Questions:

1. What does the name "Emmanuel" signify about God's relationship with humanity? How does this relate to the sermon’s message about God drawing near to us despite our flaws? [09:08]

2. In the sermon, it was mentioned that Jesus came to remove our excuses for not engaging with the difficult parts of life. What examples were given to illustrate this point? [06:34]

3. How does the sermon describe the balance of grace and truth in Jesus' life? What does it mean for Jesus to be "full of grace and truth"? [29:28]

4. According to the sermon, why is it significant that Jesus was comfortable among people who were nothing like him? How does this challenge us in our interactions with others? [25:38]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does the concept of "God with us" challenge the way we view our relationships with others, especially those who are different from us? [10:05]

2. The sermon suggests that our messiness is the reason for Christmas. How does this perspective change the way we understand the purpose of Jesus' birth? [07:03]

3. What does it mean to follow Jesus into uncomfortable and awkward situations? How can this be a reflection of the Christmas message? [31:31]

4. How does the sermon’s emphasis on self-awareness and humility relate to the way we extend grace and mercy to others? [14:09]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on a family dynamic or relationship that feels complicated or uncomfortable. How might the message of Christmas encourage you to approach this situation differently? [04:25]

2. Consider a time when you have kept your distance from someone because of their flaws or sins. How can the example of Jesus challenge you to draw near instead? [10:28]

3. Identify a specific area in your life where you have been making excuses to avoid discomfort. How can the birth of Jesus inspire you to confront these excuses? [06:34]

4. Think about a person in your life who is difficult to love. What practical steps can you take to extend grace and truth to them, as Jesus did? [29:28]

5. How can you intentionally create opportunities this Christmas season to engage with people who are different from you, reflecting the love of God? [31:31]

6. In what ways can you become more self-aware of your own flaws and need for grace? How might this awareness change the way you interact with others? [14:29]

7. Reflect on the idea that both you and those you find difficult are the reason for the season. How does this perspective influence your approach to holiday gatherings and interactions? [35:29]

Devotional

Day 1: Embracing Family Tensions with Grace
During the Christmas season, family gatherings often bring unresolved issues and unmet expectations to the surface. These complexities can create discomfort and tension, but the birth of Jesus offers a path to move beyond these complications. Jesus' arrival challenges us to confront our excuses and engage with the uncomfortable aspects of our lives. By doing so, we can find healing and reconciliation in our relationships. The story of Jesus' birth is not just a romanticized tale; it is a profound event that calls us to face the messiness of life with courage and grace. [04:25]

Isaiah 58:9-10 (ESV): "Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday."

Reflection: Think of a family member with whom you have unresolved tension. How can you take a step towards reconciliation and grace this Christmas season?


Day 2: Our Brokenness as the Reason for Christmas
While Jesus is often cited as the reason for the season, it is actually our brokenness that necessitated His coming. The world was in chaos, and God chose to enter into our mess to bring hope and healing. Jesus' birth was for our benefit, to bless the world and reveal what God is like. This understanding removes our excuses for not engaging with the difficult parts of life. By acknowledging our own messiness, we can better appreciate the gift of Jesus and the hope He brings. [07:03]

Isaiah 61:1-2 (ESV): "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn."

Reflection: Identify an area of brokenness in your life. How can you invite Jesus into that space to bring healing and hope?


Day 3: God With Us in Our Flaws
The name Emmanuel, meaning "God with us," signifies God's willingness to draw near to us despite our flaws. This nearness removes our excuses for keeping our distance from others due to their dysfunctions or sins, which may differ from our own. Jesus' presence among us is a call to extend the same grace and mercy to others that we have received from God. By embracing this truth, we can build deeper connections with those around us, even in the midst of their imperfections. [09:08]

Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV): "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing."

Reflection: Consider someone you have distanced yourself from due to their flaws. How can you show them the grace and love that God has shown you?


Day 4: Living with Grace and Truth
Jesus embodied both grace and truth, never compromising on either. His life calls us to extend the same grace and mercy to others that we have received from God. This balance challenges us to love others in spite of differences and imperfections. By following Jesus' example, we can transform our relationships and reflect God's love to the world. Embracing both grace and truth allows us to navigate life's complexities with wisdom and compassion. [29:28]

Colossians 4:6 (ESV): "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."

Reflection: Reflect on a recent interaction where you struggled to balance grace and truth. How can you approach similar situations differently in the future?


Day 5: Following Jesus into the Uncomfortable
The Christmas message encourages us to follow Jesus into uncomfortable and awkward situations, loving others despite their imperfections. By doing so, we reflect the love God has shown us and can transform our relationships. This challenge calls us to step out of our comfort zones and engage with the messiness of life. By embracing this call, we can make a meaningful impact on the world around us and experience the true essence of Christmas. [31:31]

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV): "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

Reflection: Identify an uncomfortable situation you have been avoiding. How can you follow Jesus' example and engage with it in a loving and transformative way?

Quotes

We celebrate an event that if we take it seriously, and that's what these next few minutes are about. At Christmas, we celebrate a single event that if we were to take it seriously, and when I say seriously, our problem is this. We all know the Christmas story, the birth narratives of Jesus, and we so romanticize them and we shave off the rough edges, and we don't spend enough time sitting in the middle of the significance of what happened. [00:05:42]

The sentiment being Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas. But if you follow Jesus through the gospels, one thing becomes very, very clear. And that's this, that Jesus isn't the reason for the season. We are the reason for the season. Because if we weren't such a mess, there would be no Christmas. If you weren't such a mess, there would be no Christmas. [00:06:53]

At Christmas, we celebrate God coming or drawing near. In fact, in Matthew, when Matthew recounts the angel's message to Mary that she's gonna have a child, he quotes from the book of Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah, and you're familiar with some of this, these words. And here's what the prophet Isaiah said, and again, Matthew capitalizes on this, the angel, you know, contextualizes this for Mary, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means anyone? [00:08:28]

If in fact, God came to be with us in spite of us, we lose our excuse to remain distant from people simply because it's complicated, because it's awkward, because it's uncomfortable to state it personally. What excuse do I have? What excuse do I have to just dismiss and to judge and to distance myself from people whose dysfunction, whose insecurity, and to use a Bible term whose sin differs from mine? [00:10:06]

The birth of Jesus, the fact that God came to dwell with us should make all of us painfully, and I know we don't like this word, but I'll use it anyway, painfully, shamefully, humbly self-aware. We should all wake up every single day and be amazingly self-aware of the fact that we have so much in common, even with the people we dislike and we don't think are anything like us, that we should be overwhelmingly self-aware of the fact that we all need the same things. [00:14:15]

The more aware I am of God's grace and mercy toward me. And isn't that what Christmas is about? That God, as we talked about last time, that God wanted to be known, that God did not wanna remain a mystery. So he took on personhood, he took on personality. That God, through Jesus has invited me to recall God, my heavenly Father, that God, the more aware I am of God's grace and mercy towards me, I should be more inclined to extend grace and mercy to you. [00:15:40]

The word became flesh. Wait, you mean like God, the logos, the information, the invisible, the uncreated creator, he said, it's the only way I know how to describe it. God became one of us. Although he had nothing in common with any of us, he was superior to all of us. He continues, the Word became flesh and stuck around just long enough to say hello to everybody. [00:21:12]

He was full on grace and full on truth. He never dumbed down the truth. He never dialed back the grace. It was amazing. And John would tell us, not only was it amazing, it took all of our excuses away. And the next thing I know after the resurrection, I find myself in circles with men I would never even speak to before this. Gentiles, women, rich, poor, slaves, people who used to be slaves, people who bought their way out of slavery. [00:29:47]

Because Emmanuel, God with us and all my excuses vanished. So for Christmas, for some of us, it's a reminder that there are people we can't, problems we can't solve and people we can't control and expectations we can't meet. But Christmas, if we take it seriously, is also a reminder that problems and the people and the expectations are not excuses to withdraw even when it's complicated and even when it's uncomfortable. [00:30:44]

This is the perfect time. This is the perfect season to do for someone in spite of that someone, to do for someone. This is the, this is Jesus. This is the law of Christ. We talk about it all the time to do for someone what God through Christ has done for you. And the more uncomfortable, the better. And the more awkward, the better. The more uncomfortable, the more Christ like, the more awkward, the more noticeable. [00:31:31]

We love because he first loved us. John would say it was amazing. He took away all of our excuses. This is how God showed. He goes on, this is how God showed his love among us Christmas. This is how God showed his love among us, Christmas, not simply the cross. This is how God show and telled his love for us. He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him. [00:32:58]

Both of you are the reason for the season. Both of you are the reason for Emmanuel God with us. God came near. You're the reason God came here through Christ and you're the reason He stuck around. And if you're a Jesus follower, you're so glad He did, for God so loved the messy messed up world. Daddy showed up as one of us and lived among us and took away all of our excuses to do anything less for the people around us. [00:35:31]

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Transcript
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