"Is it grand enough to capture the imagination of a created being by the creator of the universe who loves you so desperately that he wants you to have the thing you were actually made to experience? I hope you get that thing that you're waiting for, the thing that's on your Christmas list, but I hope you realize you were made for so much more, that oftentimes what we want has been shrunk down." [00:48:11] (26 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




"Yet, they held onto a promise that God would not leave them. God would not abandon them. God would not forget about them. He would bring the rescuer that would accomplish what all of their best efforts never could. And this rescuer was not just for them, but this rescuer who came 2,000 years ago was for all of us." [00:48:50] (25 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)






"The shepherds, the lowest of society, were the first to hear the news, a reminder that God's kingdom turns our expectations upside down. In our moment, in our culture, in our world, we are consumed with getting and keeping power. But the creator of the universe stepped down from heaven to grant us something even greater than the greatest power you could imagine." [00:50:45] (28 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




"The apostle John, one of Jesus' closest disciples, captures this mystery beautifully when he says, In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. This is the essence of Christmas, that the darkness will never win." [00:51:13] (23 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




"And some of you, that's the hope you need to hear. And believe tonight, not just the darkness in the world, but the darkness in our lives. Fear, despair, brokenness, uncertainty, it does not have the final say. Jesus, the light of the world, shines through the pain in the world." [00:51:49] (20 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




"The shepherds remind us that the Messiah meets us where we are, in the ordinary, in the everyday, in the regular patterns of our lives, in our fears, in our insecurities, and yes, in our waiting. God sees you. He has come near to you through Jesus." [00:52:52] (19 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)






"They said, let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened. They responded. They did something with it, and tonight, as we sing these carols and we reflect on the Christmas story, let us also respond. Let us respond in the days and weeks to come, not just go back to the cruise control of the culture that we find ourselves in." [00:54:39] (25 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




"But we owe the people in our lives the good news that the wait is over. The Messiah has come. As a matter of fact, the Messiah has come. He's still coming into our hearts, our homes, our world, our lives." [00:56:26] (15 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

...someone brought you here and you thought you were coming to Moana too. No matter why you're here, we are so glad that you are.

Tonight is a time of celebration, a time for carols, a time for scriptures, a time to reflect as we maybe center, or for some of us, re-center on the wonder of Christmas. Because I've found that without rhythms like this, in the busyness of the season we find ourselves in, it is easy to lose sight of the heart of this story.

That a group of people were waiting for a messiah, a rescuer, and that's what we come to remember and celebrate. A rescuer who didn't just come for them, but came for the entire world, came for you. And it's not just a fairy tale, it's not a story we tell ourselves, it's an event in human history that breaks through our routines of just moving from a season where we're in the middle of Christmas to the end of Christmas. We say we are so thankful for, to a season where we say we must have even more.

Recently, my wife and I were shopping for Christmas gifts for our kids, and as we're looking at one particular item, my wife made this statement. She said, "They need that." And a complete stranger who we never met in the store chimed in, "It's not about what they need."

See, Christmas for us, it centers around waiting for our wants. We want a new toy, a new treasure, a new thrill, a new tool, which can all be so special as moments and memories with people that we love, but they can also distort the meaning of Christmas if they become the centerpiece of it.

See, we wait for our wants, but humanity waited for its hero. That's what we come to celebrate. I wonder, what are you waiting for this Christmas? And is it big enough? Is it grand enough to capture the imagination of a created being by the creator of the universe who loves you so desperately that he wants you to have the thing you were actually made to experience?

I hope you get that thing that you're waiting for, the thing that's on your Christmas list, but I hope you realize you were made for so much more, that oftentimes what we want has been shrunk down, far smaller than it was ever meant to be.

For generations, God's people waited. They clung to prophecies like the prophet Isaiah's, where he declared, "For to us, a child is born. To us, a son is given," as we heard just a few moments ago. Imagine the anticipation of that moment of people longing for peace, for hope, for salvation.

In their waiting, they endured oppression, silence, and death. And so, we're waiting for that moment to come. Silence, exile, and suffering. Yet, they held onto a promise that God would not leave them. God would not abandon them. God would not forget about them. He would bring the rescuer that would accomplish what all of their best efforts never could.

And this rescuer was not just for them, but this rescuer who came 2,000 years ago was for all of us. See, the plan was always that the hope he would bring was a hope for everyone. And we still believe that hope is for everyone.

2,000 years ago, after 400 years of silence between the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament of our Bible, in a quiet town, the waiting ended. A first-century physician, so captured by this early movement of Jesus' followers, recorded these eyewitness details for us. He says, "See, the promise was fulfilled, but not in the way that anyone expected."

Instead of a warrior king, God sent a vulnerable baby. Instead of a warrior king, God sent a vulnerable baby. Instead of a warrior king, God sent a vulnerable baby. Instead of a warrior king, God sent a vulnerable baby. Instead of a warrior king, he brought humility. And instead of conquering armies, he brought peace.

The shepherds, the lowest of society, were the first to hear the news, a reminder that God's kingdom turns our expectations upside down. In our moment, in our culture, in our world, we are consumed with getting and keeping power. But the creator of the universe stepped down from heaven to grant us something even greater than the greatest power you could imagine.

The apostle John, one of Jesus' closest disciples, captures this mystery beautifully when he says, "In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." This is the essence of Christmas, that the darkness will never win.

And some of you, that's the hope you need to hear and believe tonight, not just the darkness in the world, but the darkness in our lives. Fear, despair, brokenness, uncertainty, it does not have the final say. Jesus, the light of the world, shines through the pain in the world.

We wait for what we want, but humanity waited for its hero and found it in Jesus. For millennia, he has shown people a different kingdom at Christmas, and we get to be reminded of it every time we celebrate it.

Tonight, I want to ask you, what are you waiting for? Not just the cheap and easy answer of what you want for Christmas, but what do you need from the kingdom that Jesus came to reveal? If you were to dream again, wonder again, imagine again, what is it that you would ask for?

Maybe it's healing that you thought long passed you by. Maybe it's the job that you've been waiting for, that you moved to the area for, that you lost along the way. Maybe it's for him or her to notice you. Maybe it's just a deeper sense of purpose because what you got, you thought would be enough, and it isn't.

The shepherds remind us that the Messiah meets us where we are, in the ordinary, in the everyday, in the regular patterns of our lives, in our fears, in our insecurities, and yes, in our waiting. God sees you. He has come near to you through Jesus.

I think sometimes in church, like tonight, we're dressed nice. If you don't normally come to Menlo, I don't normally dress this nice. Sorry to disappoint you. Sometimes in church, I think we have this idea that we have to clean ourselves up. We have to fix certain parts of our lives in order for God to love us, but the good news is God loves you exactly as you are.

As a matter of fact, he's never loved you anymore. He's never loved you. He loves you the most right now. He has already maxed out his love for you, and every Christmas is a reminder of that. Choosing to follow Jesus, it will change your life, but it's not a change so that God will love you more. It's a change so that you can love him more. He already loves you the most, no matter what you think about him.

See, when the shepherds encounter the angel's message, they didn't stay in the field. They said, "Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened." They responded. They did something with it, and tonight, as we sing these carols and we reflect on the Christmas story, let us also respond.

Let us respond in the days and weeks to come, not just go back to the cruise control of the culture that we find ourselves in. Whether it's faith for you that's affirmed in this moment, that you go, "This helps me remember this moment," or it's faith for you that's affirmed in this moment. Remember what Christmas is all about, or maybe faith rediscovered for some of you, maybe after a long time, or maybe for some of you, it's discovering faith for the very first time, that the thing you've been waiting for, you couldn't put words to it, but it was so much greater than what your wish list could possibly hold.

Recently, a friend of mine was asking me about a movie and when it was coming to the theater, and I felt bad because not only was that movie in a theater already, I had already heard about it. I had already seen that movie and I had already seen it with friends. And I felt like I should have invited him to come see this movie with my friends.

Some of us, we stopped waiting for a rescuer years ago. We've experienced him. We're so thankful for that. But there are people around us who don't know that. They have no idea that that's true in our lives. Maybe they know that you seem more religious, maybe, or that your holidays have different truths. Maybe they know traditions that are a part of them, but they don't know that you believe that the whole world needed to be rescued and that Christmas for you is the moment we celebrate Jesus coming as a baby to live a perfect life and to die in our place only to come back from the grave three days later so that the entire world could choose to follow him both now and forever.

Even if they aren't here with you tonight, it's not too late. Don't let this season go without letting them know what it means to you. Your relationship doesn't hang in the balance. They don't have to believe the same thing as you do in order to be close to you. I hope certainly not.

But we owe the people in our lives the good news that the wait is over. The Messiah has come. As a matter of fact, the Messiah has come. He's still coming into our hearts, our homes, our world, our lives.

May we be the kind of people that bring the hope of heaven with us this Christmas, not simply waiting for what we want, but longing for God to do something even greater through us. God doesn't stay far away, even in the mess. He came near. God with us. That's what this word Emmanuel means. And he is still with us tonight.

Would you pray with me?

God, in a room like this, there are people who came from lots of different circumstances, and only you know what they need. God, would you meet them in their place of greatest need? Would you remind them of your profound and unchanging, unshakable love for them and the path that is still available for them to know you? In Jesus' name, amen.

Subject: Embracing the Hope of Christmas: A Divine Promise

Dear Menlo Church,

As we gathered last Sunday, I was moved by our reflection on the wonder of Christmas and the fulfillment of God's promise to humanity.

In our sermon, we explored how the story of Christmas transcends mere fairy tales, standing as a pivotal event in human history. We were reminded of the generations who waited for a Messiah, a rescuer who would bring hope and salvation to all. The arrival of Jesus as a vulnerable baby, rather than a warrior king, challenges our expectations and invites us to embrace a kingdom defined by humility and peace. This season, we are called to recognize the light of Jesus shining in the darkness, offering hope and assurance that fear and despair do not have the final say.

As we continue to celebrate this season, let us not return to the routine of our culture but embrace the kingdom Jesus came to reveal. May we be inspired by the shepherds' response to the angel's message, acting on the hope we receive and sharing the good news that the Messiah has come. Let us carry this hope into our lives, longing for God to do something greater through us, knowing that God is with us, even in the mess.

Blessings,
Menlo Church Team