A Time to Remember: Jesus the Light and Gift

Devotional

Day 1: Remembering as action: shift from impossible to God

Christmas stirs up memories—gifts, stories, faces we miss. Some memories warm us, like a neighbor dropping off a coconut cake when Mom can no longer bake, or a dad who chose to carry toys to a family with nothing. Biblically, remembering isn’t passive nostalgia; it’s an action that invites Jesus’ power into the present. When you remember what He’s done, you stop staring at the impossible and start looking at the God who can do the impossible. Let your remembering move your feet toward compassion and your heart toward faith today [12:34].

Luke 2:19 — Mary tucked these moments away, turning them over in her heart, letting God’s surprising work with her child shape her trust and her steps.

Reflection: Which specific memory this season is either tender or painful, and how could you turn it into a simple, prayerful action to bless someone nearby?

Day 2: Christmas is about giving—love and grace

Christmas is about giving—love and grace in motion. From the wise men’s gifts to the manger to the cross, the Father gave Himself in the person of Jesus. This isn’t the kind of gift that ends up in a closet and gets rewrapped later. It’s the gospel, the greatest gift we’ll ever receive and the pattern for how we give to others. So loosen your grip on perfection, open your hands, and give presence, mercy, and time. Look around; you’re already blessed—now share the blessing [08:15].

John 3:16 — God loved this world so deeply that He handed over His one and only Son, so that everyone who entrusts themselves to Him won’t be ruined but will enter into unending life.

Reflection: What is one concrete gift of grace—time, forgiveness, or help—you can intentionally give to a specific person this week?

Day 3: Christmas is about getting redemption, not condemnation

Christmas is also about getting—receiving redemption we could never earn. God did not send His Son to condemn but to save; He stepped onto our battlefield, faced every temptation, and never sinned. At the cross and the empty tomb, He carried sin, death, and hell to the grave and left them defeated. There’s a straight line from the cradle to Easter morning, from promise to victory. Today, trade self-condemnation for His rescue and let grace write your next step [23:59].

John 3:17–18 — God didn’t send His Son to swing a gavel at the world, but so the world could be rescued through Him; the one who trusts Him isn’t condemned, while the one who refuses that trust already sits under the weight of their own unbelief.

Reflection: Where do you feel most condemned right now, and what is one small step you can take to receive Jesus’ saving help in that exact place?

Day 4: Gleaming—carry the light into real darkness

Jesus is the light who exposes what needs healing and brightens the places we can’t fix on our own. Many around us sit in darkness, and we get to carry His gleam into their world. So when the last gift on your list gets snatched up or the meal isn’t perfect, breathe—if Christmas is frustrating you, stop it. Go get McDonald’s if you must—who cares?—and let the light in you bring peace instead of pressure. Choose to be the person who turns on a lamp in someone’s night [04:07].

John 3:19–20 — Here’s the verdict: light has arrived in the world, yet people often prefer the shadows because the light shows what’s really there; those gripping harmful ways avoid the light so their patterns won’t be uncovered.

Reflection: What is one setting this week where you can gently bring Jesus’ light by choosing peace over irritation, and how will you practice that in the moment?

Day 5: Glowing—let deeds show God is at work

Glowing means living loud for Jesus so that what’s seen in us can only be explained by God. This is the season to walk across the street with cookies, to check on a neighbor, to offer hope. People are surprisingly open right now; receive that openness as a holy invitation. Let the hope, peace, joy, and love we celebrate move from in here to out there with a smile and a simple act of care. Let it be plain that every good thing flowing from you has been done in God [16:20].

John 3:21 — Whoever practices what is true moves toward the light, so it becomes clear that their actions have been carried out with God’s help.

Reflection: Pick one neighbor or coworker and plan a simple act of care (a note, a doorstep conversation, a meal); when will you do it and what will you say?

Sermon Summary

Tonight I invited us into a time to remember. I shared a moment from my childhood when my dad, working multiple jobs and buried under medical bills, loaded a car full of toys—not for us, but for a family a few houses over whose father had left and drained their account. That moment marked me. Generosity in the middle of scarcity. I also talked about the tender ache of memory—my mom’s coconut cake, and now her dementia; the longing for our dads to have met these grandkids on the front row. We all carry a basket of Christmas memories—gifts, faces, empty chairs. But biblically, remembering isn’t passive. It’s an action that draws the power of Jesus into our present, reorienting us from impossibility to God’s possibility.

From John 3:16–21, I framed Christmas with four “G’s.” Christmas is about giving: God so loved the world that He gave. The incarnation is love moving toward us. Christmas is about getting: not condemnation, but salvation. God came near because we could not climb up. Christmas is about gleaming: the Light has come, exposing what harms us and guiding those sitting in darkness. And Christmas is about glowing: living wide awake in the light—walking across the street, offering cookies and conversation, choosing presence over performance, even if dinner turns into McDonald’s. Perfection isn’t the point. Presence is.

I read a story called “God Ain’t Dead,” about a burned-out shack, a grieving family, and a stubborn hope that refuses to quit. That’s the good news in a hard year: when the house is ashes and the season feels thin, the Light is not out. Hope, peace, joy, and love are not ideas; they are the fruit of God’s nearness in Jesus. So we remember—not to get stuck in the past, but to carry the light into the present. We look around and see how blessed we already are. We look up and give thanks. And then we glow.

Key Takeaways

1. Remembering activates faith, not nostalgia. Biblical remembering is an act of trust. It brings God’s past faithfulness into the present, so we stop fixating on what we cannot change and start attending to what God can do now. Memory becomes a doorway to hope rather than a hallway of regret, inviting us to notice grace at work in real time. [56:46]
2. Christmas begins with God’s generous giving. God’s love doesn’t stand at a distance; it moves toward us in the gift of Jesus. The incarnation shows that generosity is not about surplus but about presence that sacrifices. We imitate God’s giving when we offer ourselves, not just our stuff, especially when it costs us convenience or control. [58:10]
3. Receive redemption over relentless self-condemnation. God did not send the Son to condemn but to save. That means honest self-examination is safe—we can bring our darkness to the light without fear of being crushed. Grace does not excuse sin; it disarms it, freeing us to walk in truth with hope rather than shame. [59:28]
4. Carry light into ordinary frustrations. Holiday stress can turn small moments into sharp edges. Let Christ’s light reframe the rush: people over perfection, presence over performance. When we release control, small acts of patience and kindness become bright signals of a different Kingdom in the middle of December chaos. [60:30]
5. Glow through neighborly, embodied love. Light is meant to be seen—through warm conversations, shared food, thoughtful visits, and simple availability. Hospitality turns theology into touch, making room for God’s presence to be encountered in ordinary places. When we walk across the street, the gospel walks with us. [61:20]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[54:31] - A Time to Remember
[55:11] - Dad’s Quiet Generosity
[55:55] - Coconut Cake and Dementia
[56:46] - What Biblical Remembering Means
[57:27] - Christmas Is About Giving
[58:28] - Not Condemnation but Salvation
[59:28] - Christmas and Easter Connected
[59:58] - Light That Exposes and Heals
[60:52] - Let Go of Holiday Perfection
[61:20] - Christmas Is About Glowing
[62:04] - Neighborly Hospitality as Witness
[62:58] - “God Ain’t Dead” Reflection
[65:09] - Prayer of Thanksgiving
[65:45] - Look Around and Look Up

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
- John 3:16–21

Observation questions

In John 3:16–17, what two moves of God are placed side by side, and how do they show Christmas as both giving and getting?
In John 3:19–21, what contrasts do you see between light and darkness? List the responses people have toward the light and toward darkness.
What are the four “G’s” used to frame Christmas, and where do you see each of them hinted at in John 3:16–21? [57:27]
What everyday pictures were given for “glowing” with the light—simple acts that put love on display? Name as many as you can. [01:01:20]

Interpretation questions

“Remembering isn’t passive.” How does treating memory as an act of faith change the way someone handles both sweet and aching Christmas memories? [56:46]
If God sent the Son not to condemn but to save (John 3:17), how should that shape honest self-examination? What makes bringing hidden things into the light safe rather than crushing?
John 3:19–21 shows light both exposing what harms us and guiding us. Why are both exposing and guiding necessary for real change, especially in a stressful season?
Why might “presence over performance” be a truer reflection of the incarnation than pulling off the perfect plan or perfect meal? [01:00:52]

Application questions

Practice biblical remembering: name one specific moment where God’s faithfulness met you in the past. How will that memory invite you to trust God for something specific this week? [56:46]
Where do you tend to condemn yourself most quickly? In light of John 3:17, what would it look like to bring that exact place into the light—confessing it to God and one trusted friend—expecting rescue rather than rejection?
Holiday pressure check: what’s one perfection you can release this week (menu, timeline, spotless house), and what is your simple Plan B if things go sideways—your “McDonald’s is fine” move—so people stay above performance? [01:00:52]
Think of one neighbor, coworker, or classmate sitting in loneliness or darkness. What is one small step of embodied love you can take—cookies, a doorstep conversation, a visit, a warm invite—and when will you do it? Name a day and time. [01:01:20]
Generosity in scarcity: where could you give like that—costly, quiet, and personal? Is there a family, single parent, or student you can bless this week with time, help, or resources? [54:54]
If some part of life feels like “a burned-out shack,” what is one stubborn hope step you can take—one prayer, one verse on the fridge, one act of kindness—to say with your life, “God ain’t dead”? Share it with the group and ask for support. [01:02:58]
Look around and look up: list three blessings already present in your life right now. How will you give thanks for them out loud this week—at the table, in the car, or before bed? [01:05:45]

Sermon Clips

We remember, don't we? You think back to the toys you got. You think back to the stories. You think back to the people. In some cases, we think back to the people that we've lost, family members that have passed this year, or maybe in years past. You know, I would give anything if my dad would have lived long enough and Debbie's dad would have lived long enough to see those three kiddos, those grandkids. Never got to meet Chris. I would have loved to have seen that happen. We remember a lot of things at Christmas time, don't we? [00:56:17] (33 seconds) #RememberWithGrace

In some cases, we think back to the people that we've lost, family members that have passed this year, or maybe in years past. You know, I would give anything if my dad would have lived long enough and Debbie's dad would have lived long enough to see those three kiddos, those grandkids. Never got to meet Chris. I would have loved to have seen that happen. [00:56:23] (23 seconds) #MidnightToyRun

Christmas, first and foremost, is about giving. You know, we give gifts. You know, supposedly the wise men came and, you know, they brought gifts to Jesus and laid them in his feet. So giving has been a part of Christmas for all these years. In fact, the incarnation is the greatest gift of all that Jesus, that God sent himself in the person of Jesus to give to us. So Christmas is all about giving, love and grace. [00:57:29] (25 seconds) #IncarnationIsTheGift

Christmas is about giving. It's not just about the gift we give that we'll put in a closet and, you know, later on, you know, gift it and give it to somebody else. Come on, you know you've done that. You have. But it's not about that giving. It's about the gospel. It's about the greatest gift of all that we've received through Christ. [00:58:10] (22 seconds) #ChristmasGospelGift

God's not this angry ogre trying to bring down judgment. God is this loving God who says, You know, they can't do this themselves, so I'm going to send myself. And I'm going to go to battle with the forces of evil. And as he was tempted, he never sinned. Therefore, he overcame everything Satan could throw at him. And therefore, what? Death, hell, eternal separation, and sin were all defeated when Jesus took that to the grave. And when he gloriously resurrected because he had never sinned, all of heaven shouted. Because there is a direct connection between Christmas and Easter. [00:58:50] (44 seconds) #DadMadeChristmas

Jesus is the light. He's the light that exposes those things in our life that need to be taken care of. But he is the light in darkness when we can't go anyplace else. And guys, there are all kinds of people in our community that are living in darkness that need the light of Christ. I found out the last few years that I found more people to be receptive to the gospel at Christmastime than even at Easter. [01:00:05] (25 seconds) #ImperfectChristmasJoy

Glow for him. Guys, let us be that. Look at your neighbor and smile for a moment. Come on, guys. Look at them. It's about glowing. It's about taking that light from in here, out here, and let people know there's hope. You see the candles over here, right? It's all about hope, peace, joy, and now love. That's the gospel. [01:02:25] (28 seconds) #GlowHopePeaceJoy

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