Embracing the Simplicity of Christmas: Love, Grace, Purpose

**Bible Study Discussion Guide**

**Bible Reading:**
1. Luke 2:1-20 - The Birth of Jesus
2. 1 John 4:7-10 - God's Love and Our Love
3. Ephesians 2:10 - Created for Good Works

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**Observation Questions:**

1. What are the three fundamental needs mentioned in the sermon that are met in the manger? [11:55]
2. How does the sermon describe the way God chose to redeem humanity? [07:53]
3. What does the sermon say about the role of the wise men in the nativity story? [30:29]
4. According to the sermon, what is the significance of the gifts brought by the magi? [30:29]

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**Interpretation Questions:**

1. How does the simplicity of Jesus' birth contrast with the complexities of modern Christmas celebrations? [07:53]
2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that God's love is unconditional? How does this relate to 1 John 4:7-10? [18:46]
3. What does it mean to accept God's grace, and how does this affect our daily lives according to the sermon? [25:31]
4. How does the sermon define our purpose in life, and how does this align with Ephesians 2:10? [27:58]

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**Application Questions:**

1. Reflect on the simplicity of the Christmas story. How can you simplify your own Christmas celebrations to focus more on the essence of the season? [39:38]
2. God's love is described as unconditional. How can you practice unconditional love in your relationships this week? [18:46]
3. The sermon talks about accepting grace. Is there an area in your life where you struggle to accept God's grace? How can you work on embracing it more fully? [25:31]
4. Consider your current job or role. How can you let God's light shine through you in that position, regardless of what it is? [27:58]
5. The sermon encourages returning to the basics. What is one way you can remind yourself of God's love, grace, and purpose daily? [39:38]
6. Think about the distractions that complicate your life. What is one distraction you can minimize this week to focus more on your relationship with God? [07:53]
7. Identify a person in your life who might need to hear about God's unconditional love. How can you share this message with them in a meaningful way? [18:46]

Day 1: The Profound Simplicity of Redemption
The Christmas story is a profound reminder of God's simple yet powerful plan for redemption. In a world that often complicates the simple, the birth of Jesus in a manger calls us to focus on the essence of Christmas: God's love manifested in Jesus. This simplicity is not about the absence of depth but rather the clarity of God's purpose and love. The humble setting of Jesus' birth contrasts with the grandeur often associated with divine intervention, emphasizing that God's ways are not our ways. As we navigate the complexities of modern life, we are invited to return to this simple truth and let it guide our understanding of God's love and redemption. [07:53]

Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV): "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Reflection: In what areas of your life have you allowed complexity to overshadow the simple truths of God's love and redemption? How can you return to the basics today?


Day 2: Embracing Unconditional Love
God's love is not based on our achievements or status. It is a love that accepts us as we are, with all our flaws and failures. This unconditional love is the foundation of our relationship with God and should be the basis of our interactions with others. The birth of Jesus exemplifies this love, as He came to show us how to live and to meet our deepest needs. In a world that often values people based on their accomplishments, God's love offers a counter-narrative that values us simply because we are His. This love invites us to rest in the assurance that we are accepted and cherished, regardless of our imperfections. [18:46]

1 John 4:10-11 (ESV): "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

Reflection: Who in your life needs to experience God's unconditional love through you today? How can you show them this love in a tangible way?


Day 3: The Liberating Gift of Grace
Grace is a gift that liberates us from the need for approval. It calls us to live according to God's standards, not out of obligation, but as a response to His love. Accepting grace means embracing God's forgiveness and walking in freedom. This grace is not a license to live as we please but an invitation to live in the fullness of God's love and purpose. It frees us from the burden of trying to earn God's favor and allows us to rest in the assurance of His acceptance. As we accept this grace, we are empowered to extend it to others, creating a ripple effect of freedom and love. [25:31]

Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV): "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Reflection: Is there an area in your life where you are striving for approval? How can you embrace God's grace and find freedom in that area today?


Day 4: Reflecting God's Light in the World
Our purpose is not defined by our jobs or achievements but by our ability to reflect God's light in the world. We are called to glorify God in all we do, letting His light shine through us in every aspect of our lives. This purpose transcends our professional roles and accomplishments, inviting us to live with intentionality and focus on God's kingdom. Whether in business, ministry, or any other field, our true purpose is to be a beacon of God's love and grace, drawing others to Him through our words and actions. [29:35]

Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV): "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Reflection: What is one practical way you can let God's light shine through you in your current circumstances? How can you be intentional about reflecting His love and grace today?


Day 5: Finding Joy in the Simplicity of the Manger
As we celebrate Christmas, let's focus on the simplicity of the manger story. Let it remind us of God's love, grace, and purpose for our lives. The manger, a humble and unassuming setting, holds the profound truth of God's plan for humanity. In the midst of holiday busyness and distractions, we are invited to return to the basics and find joy in the simplicity of the Christmas story. This joy is not dependent on external circumstances but rooted in the assurance of God's love and presence. As we embrace this simplicity, we are better equipped to navigate the complexities of life with peace and purpose. [39:38]

Micah 5:2 (ESV): "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days."

Reflection: How can you simplify your Christmas celebrations this year to focus more on the essence of the manger story? What steps can you take to cultivate joy rooted in God's love and presence?

"God takes the complicated I mean how would he go about redeeming mankind from their sin manger and a baby I mean but we even turned that into the crazy thing right so we brought we brought our favorite nativity scene with us okay yes and uh this is ours this is ours we put it up every year because we believe we put Santa Claus up you should have something about Jesus okay." [00:07:53] (37 seconds)


"Love, grace. And we have to accept that grace. So it's not enough just to say, come to church and say, well, I love God and he loves me and it's all wonderful. But then in his scripture, he's got the standards. And if I don't meet the standard, then I'm not accepting his grace." [00:24:32] (26 seconds)


"The third thing that the manger meets is purpose. Discover your purpose. What's my purpose? Well, here it is. Read it with me. Reflect his light. Say it again. Reflect his light. So you need a bigger purpose. Listen to me this morning. You need a bigger purpose than your present job." [00:26:57] (20 seconds)


"Ephesians 2 and 10 says, for we are his workmanship created in Christ for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So listen to me. Whether you're a banker, a broker, a builder, a body shop owner, a mother, or mechanic, that's not your purpose." [00:27:30] (28 seconds)


"Jesus says, let your light, your light, so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. You see, the story of the manger doesn't end with just the baby in the manger. But the shadow of the cross was already across the manger." [00:29:39] (23 seconds)


"That's how we take the truth of a manger and make it real we do whatever we do for his glory and we and we don't let things cloud our dream there's a there's a real great lady and you probably should read her life story sometime Mary McLeod Bethune she was one of 17 kids she was born in South Carolina in the late teen hundreds to slave on to slaves." [00:34:54] (31 seconds)


"Now, I know some of you here today that, man, you've got caught up in Christmas, and you just really even dread Christmas. Some of you are like the Grinch, right? And you're trying to do better, John. But I think the thing that helps as we come back here, it's not about the gifts. It's not about the songs." [00:39:03] (23 seconds)


"Father, I thank you today for your presence. It's so dear, here, near, from those very first songs that we sang. And Lord, those of us that are believers, here today, maybe we've been struggling with what's my purpose? What's my purpose? What's my purpose? My purpose is to find what I'm good at with my hands, with my mind." [00:40:06] (27 seconds)

You well, Christmas is coming whether you're ready or not.

Let's wait on that one, guys. Let's wait on that one. Well, you gotta have at least a surprise. You didn't see that one.

Hey, um, we're gonna do a couple things before we begin.

Um, we're starting on January the 6th our 21-day fast, and there's a lot of information on the website. You can go there and look at that.

This year, we're going to do, um, through the year, through the New Testament. For the last several years, we've done, uh, the Old Testament, but we're going to do the New Testament this year.

And we're going to focus in on two different ones: New Testament in a year, the daily audible. So if you want to zoom that, sign up for that. That starts January the first, right? January the first.

And then we have a second one that we're going to be doing also, and it's called the Gospels. So if you want less, do one. If you want to do more, do two.

And then let me explain something else we're going to do. I'm going to ask you to, as you start reading through the New Testament, start doing that maybe in a different version of the Bible that you have or your notebook.

Take time to take notes and listen to what God is saying. Colette has come up with something really great. In fact, Anita and I bought a copy. I think several others did too. It's a New Testament laid out like this, so you got plenty of space to journal and to write things.

Now, this is the ESV version, which is a fine version of the New Testament. We couldn't get King James or a New Living Translation, but we have some of those.

So those of you that say, you know what, I've really been interested in starting some in-depth Bible study, especially the New Testament, this gives you an opportunity to do that.

And there's a lot of really great things here, I think, that will help you as you look forward to that.

But it's so good to see you, and remember Christmas Eve, man, that's going to be a great service. I have a great interview I'm going to be doing with a young man who's been to death and back, but God has used him in a special way.

I love Christmas. I think you know I love Christmas. Yes, and we'll talk a little bit about that today, but let's pray.

You guys look so great, and if I haven't told you, I want to tell you that I love you, and especially those of you watching online. We're glad you're here with us. I know some of you can't get out, and every Sunday you log on, and we just really appreciate you being here with us.

Let's pray.

Lord, we love you, and your presence is here so real today. All week long, Lord, there have been people praying and getting ready for today, strategizing, praying, believing, because, Lord, it's all about meeting you today.

We don't want to get caught up in just the hecticness of Christmas and miss you. So I pray that you would help Anita and I today to say what you want us to do, and we'll see you next week.

Don't let us say anything we shouldn't say, and by the end of today, we hope, Lord, more than anything else, that you will be glorified, the saints will be edified, and the enemy will be terrified.

In the name of Jesus, amen.

I mean, this is simple but profound.

All right, isn't it interesting how we have the tendency to take things that are so simple and make them so complicated? Like giving a gift used to be you just give a gift, but now we think about all the complications.

Well, uh, am I re-gifting something? So you gotta be sure you don't give it to the person you got it from.

It's easy in the midst of all that to, uh, to get so caught up in all of the words and all the phrases that we overcomplicate just a simple thing of giving a gift.

Oh, so instead of just posting it, it's like I've got to think of all the other things around that to make sure it's really...

Yeah, Confucius said it like this: read it with me on the screen. Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

Isn't that the truth? I mean, think about this. Think about how it's Christmas Day, and we give gifts, but yet we made it into this 12 days almost, or 12 weeks of just frantic shopping.

You ever thought about that? You ever thought about that song, "The 12 Days of Christmas"? Think about that.

Now let's go backwards. 12 days of Christmas, 12 drummers drumming. Where in the world do you find 12 drummers? They're all drumming, and they're synchronized and doing it in the right way.

And then there are what? 11 pipers? I have no idea what that is. I think it's just playing a piper.

And 10 lords a-leaping. Where do you find 10 lords, let alone lords that are leaping at the same time?

I brought you a wonderful gift, and you know I brought you 10 lords a-leaping. So now leap on, leap on.

Uh, and nine ladies dancing. Well, I guess you can figure that one out.

Yeah, next. And then eight maids a-milking. Not just maids, but they gotta know how to milk.

I mean, so, is there anybody here, ladies, still know how to milk a cow? Two or three, maybe? All right, yeah, so we might be up for a tough time on that one.

How about, uh, seven swans a-swimming? They got all that. And then six geese a-laying. Five golden rings? I guess we go to Jared's and get that.

And then what? Four calling birds? I guess that's a talking bird or a singing bird.

I made two, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Wow, wow. There's a fact: PNC accounting figured up what it would cost this year to get all those gifts. Are you ready? Forty-nine thousand two hundred and sixty-three dollars to get all of those gifts.

Wow. Now we have a tendency to take things that are simple and make them complicated, right?

God takes the complicated. I mean, how would He go about redeeming mankind from their sin? A manger and a baby.

I mean, but we even turned that into the crazy thing, right? So we brought our favorite nativity scene with us.

Okay, yes, and, uh, this is ours. This is ours. We put it up every year because we believe we should have something about Jesus.

Okay, uh, so, um, we look at all of this, and, uh, oh yeah, I have a light on mine.

Yeah, I like to turn on the light, let the light shine. Is that on? One more, one more double click. There we go.

So the light just shines over. It's well, it's not just a manger anymore.

And how many of you have a nativity scene at home? You put it up? Yeah, you put it up. You have a yard nativity scene?

I'm not against nativity scenes, but what I want to say is that we have a tendency to make it so complicated and so big.

So, for instance, like, uh, Snow Beth and we have all these snow songs about Christmas. You know, you say, well, if you take it, look, it probably didn't snow in Bethlehem.

I brought my favorite leaf blower with me. Snow blower. Let's just get rid of the snow.

Didn't snow in Bethlehem. So let's try to make this thing as clear as we can.

You know, you can find anything when you look for it, right? A leaf.

And, of course, Christmas, you know, my favorite nativity scene is Captain America.

Oh, and Batman. Oh, you see, the reason being is that real heroes know when another hero is born, and so they're there.

And so we just, well, that's good. Let's just add on.

So, and yeah, that needs to go. Oh, and then there's this elf on the shelf guy. Kind of creepy, right?

I'm just going to put him back here. But, and then we just keep adding. Christmas used to be this, and now it's that.

We gotta do this, we gotta go here, we gotta go there, we gotta get this gift, we gotta do that, we gotta do this.

I have, oh yeah, we, and I, and yeah, and there's Santa. I guess we better bring him out here.

But he's not a Harley, so that's good. It's a Harley trike, so that's good.

But even at that, our nativity scene is still messed up because you see these wise men, they didn't show up for about a year to 18 months after Jesus was born.

He wasn't in a manger when they showed up. I mean, the lights showed up, and they were in the area of Persia. They were the Magi.

And you know who was over the Magi? Daniel. You read that this morning if you did the YouVersion plan. If you didn't, you better go back and read it.

But in that, so they were the ones who announced the birth of the king.

So, so these guys, you gotta take them out of your nativity scene because they showed up a year later, and Jesus was not in a manger.

He was a toddler, almost 18 months old, maybe two years old.

Can you imagine these wise men bowing down at a toddler? How many of you have toddlers?

I mean, you think you're going to keep them in a manger? You could keep them in a manger, but no.

But I think it's really interesting how that we take things and we make them complicated.

But God said, look, I just want to make it simple. I want to make it simple.

So let's just simplify the whole thing: a young man and a teenager and a baby in a feeding trough.

In fact, let's just reread that Bible story, okay? Let's just get back to the basics today because I think we have so much.

And some of you are still thinking you came in today with your shopping list and thinking about what else you have to do.

But you understand, I'm not against nativities, I'm not against Christmas lights, I'm not against Christmas trees.

We have a couple trees. I like, I have one in my office. I love it.

But I'm just simply saying, do you hear what I'm saying? I think the longer time goes, the more we add to it and add to it and add to it.

What about if this year, with you and your family or whoever, however you celebrate Christmas, what if you take time in the midst of that and say, hey, let's just get back to the very basics?

And so let's, so God's presence to us, yes, is Jesus.

Oh, say that again. That's good. A babe in a manger.

He could have come with power. Mary had some angels. He could have come riding a horse and yelling and screaming.

But he came in the simplest way, even as a baby. And as he grew to show us how that we can live.

But in that manger is every need met that you would have, right?

I think we have three basic needs. Yeah, I think the first need that we have is the need to be loved.

To be loved. To really know unconditionally that we are loved.

Now, I'm not talking about what you've done. I'm not talking about who you know. I'm not talking about how much success you have.

You see, a lot of people get their worth in that, so they always have to have more. They always have to get to know somebody else. They always have to do something else.

But here at the very beginning, God came so that we could know without a shadow of a doubt that with all of our failures, with all of our shortcomings, that above everything else, for God so loved the world that he sent his son.

Look at this verse in 1 John. 1 John chapter 4, verse 7, it's on the screen, and maybe in your Bible you can see it.

I mean, love is defined in so many different ways, but John here defines love for us.

He says, "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God."

You see, the answer to all of our problems is not found in man, but it's found in men who have known God, and God has touched them, and they found that and experienced that love.

Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God, but anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Yes, he's not an abstract feeling, but God is love.

And then he goes on and says, but it's not enough that God is just up in heaven, but he wants to come.

Jesus said, when you've seen me, you've seen the Father. If you want to know what God is like, Jesus said, look to me.

God showed how much that he loved us. Would you read that with me?

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.

Look at that. And then he goes on and says, but it's not enough that, I mean, if you want to know love, look in the manger.

Listen to the angels. See God in human flesh.

This is real love, not that we loved God, right? But that he loved us and sent his son as a sacrifice.

People always wonder about, well, I love God. How much I love God? I do this. No, it's not that.

It's just start in realizing he loves me just the way that I am.

Yes, I started reading a really good book this week, and this is the first book I'm going to read in my life, and it's called "The Approval Addiction."

And in that, I started reading that because I need it. I've got approval addiction, and maybe you do too, because we always want to please somebody else.

But even in that, then sometimes we feel like that, okay, then if for God to really love me, then I've got to be sure that I've got my I's dotted and my T's crossed, and I've got the period, the comma, I've got everything just right.

But in that book, Joyce said, here's the most liberating thing to realize, that if you never got anything correct, God still loves you.

While we were yet sinners, he loved us.

And the action step. Let's say it together. Here's what we're going to do. Whisper this prayer. Say it with me.

"Lord, thank you for loving me just as I am. Help me to feel your love today."

So, and yeah, good God.

But love, grace. And we have to accept that grace.

So it's not enough just to say, come to church and say, well, I love God and he loves me and it's all wonderful.

But then in his scripture, he's got the standards. And if I don't meet the standard, then I'm not accepting his grace.

Yeah. Well, for instance, Richard's sitting down here with my armor bearers.

He was living with his wife now, and they've known each other for years.

And he kept serving here, loving God.

And I just finally had to come up and get in his face and say, Richard, you need to put a ring on it or break up.

And he'll tell you today, it was the greatest liberation thing in his life.

Because sometimes we don't receive the grace of God because we really don't feel like we're deserving of the grace.

Maybe we made a mistake before. Maybe the marriage we were in before, we made a mistake.

And so it's hard for us to receive his grace. We keep saying that we love him.

And God says, well, if you love me, then let's walk with my standard.

We live in a world today in which people say, well, you can live any way you want to live.

Well, we come back to God's standard. I'm not God. I'm glad I'm not God.

But I sure am thankful that his grace is reaching.

And so I think there are three basic needs. There's probably more.

I think we could add family to that if I really wanted to be honest.

But love, I think is grace. I think family, really a place to be.

But the one I want to talk about this morning is purpose.

The third thing that the manger meets is purpose. Discover your purpose.

What's my purpose? Well, here it is. Read it with me. Reflect his light.

Say it again. Reflect his light.

So you need a bigger purpose. Listen to me this morning.

You need a bigger purpose than your present job.

You need a bigger purpose than the paycheck that you're getting.

You need a bigger purpose than the next party or the next pleasurable thing you're going to do.

You're made for more than that.

Ephesians 2 and 10 says, for we are his workmanship created in Christ for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

So listen to me. Whether you're a banker, a broker, a builder, a body shop owner, a mother, or a mechanic, that's not your purpose.

Your purpose is not what you do. What you do changes.

Right now, you may be, Mike, you may be owning a business, but next year, who knows? You might have five businesses, or maybe you have no business, and you travel everywhere telling everybody how good Jesus is, all right?

But what I'm saying is, what I do changes, but my purpose doesn't.

Right.

I've wrestled with that because I thought, am I saying this too simple today?

Because I know I've done a lot of teachings on destiny and purpose and all that, but I felt like somewhere around 11:30 last night, when I wasn't sleeping very well and praying about this today, I asked the Lord, "Lord, what I'm getting ready to share with you right now, is it too simple? Is it too simple, or is this really maybe what we've been looking for, and we've confused, and we've made purpose complicated?"

What I do, maybe, is bringing a paycheck, and it may not be your special giftings. It may be just what you're doing right now.

That's what you do, but your purpose is not that. Your purpose is why you do what you do.

Why you do what you do.

Now, here's what Jesus said in John 8 and 12. I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

But now, listen to this, John 5, 16.

Jesus says, let your light, your light, so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

You see, the story of the manger doesn't end with just the baby in the manger.

But the shadow of the cross was already across the manger.

Eighteen months later, when the Magi showed up, they brought gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Probably more than three. There were probably several.

But gold represents that he is a king.

Frankincense represents that he is the high priest that will offer his body as a great sacrifice.

But myrrh is what you embalm a dead body.

So here's a baby, a toddler, toddling around in the house that they would have had at that time.

And the king says, the Magi said, we're supposed to bring these gifts.

And one of them is myrrh.

Because, see, the Bible says that he was the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the earth.

So there was a purpose in him coming.

Not to just be in a manger and that we bring gifts at Christmas to celebrate that.

But he was born with the shadow of the cross over his life. He had a purpose.

And why did he do that?

Yeah. You...

What's that?

So put your hands to whatever you do and do it good in such a way as you do that, then you're letting your light shine.

I look at that and I think about that.

And I just, I mean, through the night, I just got this revelation.

I got to write a bunch of this stuff down of how that what we do changes, but not our purpose.

Pastor Ben's sitting here on the front row and his wonderful, beautiful wife that looks like 50 years younger than him, but, you know, it's just, anyway.

But he was a successful, successful man in the middle of the military, a successful man as a first responder in the police.

He was a successful man pastoring a large mega church in California before he came here because what was he doing?

He's letting his light shine.

But now he's a writer. He's writing books. Some of those books are going to be made into movies.

Now what he does changes, but his purpose hasn't.

He's the light of the world. Amen.

I could point out people that are sitting here today. One businessman who owns about 21 companies has over 120 employees, and you wouldn't know that he was that type of person.

But I'll tell you what he does. He uses what he does good with what he does.

He makes, he builds, he contracts, he does things.

And in the midst of all of that, people say to him, "Nate, there's just something about you, man. I just, I just, when I get around you, I don't know what it is."

I just don't understand that.

People walk into the furniture barn, and there's Patty and Mike, and they're doing whatever. They're having devotions, doing everything.

What they're doing? Letting their light shine.

Somebody says, "Do you know of a good church in this community?"

And probably, I don't know how many of you this morning, if I, how many of you this morning are here at the Father's House because Mike and Patty at the furniture barn recommended that you come this way?

Would you raise your hand? Look at the hands going up this morning.

You see, here's what I'm saying. You think your purpose has got to be some grandiose thing.

All of you got to be up front. You got to be preaching. You got to do that.

But I'm going to say the reason the Father's House is so great is that we've got people like you that put your hand to something, and you're good at it, but you do it in such a way to give God the glory.

It's not, "See how good I am," but it's giving God the glory of what you do.

We have one of our chat hosts. A chat host, you know what they do? They just talk to people that are online.

Now, they may talk to one person, but yet this week that same girl will be the major corporation speaking to 10,000 employees and teaching them how to operate a system that they have themselves.

But on Sundays, what is she doing?

As she said to me this week, she said, "Portia said I've been taught that when you see a need, you just fill it. You just fill it."

That's how we take the truth of a manger and make it real.

We do whatever we do for his glory, and we don't let things cloud our dream.

There's a real great lady, and you probably should read her life story sometime, Mary McLeod Bethune.

She was one of 17 kids. She was born in South Carolina in the late teen hundreds to slaves.

Somehow she got married, and she got married to her father, and she got able to get away and to get an education.

And she was a believer, and she felt like that my job is I want to go to Africa and teach kids.

So after she graduated with an A-plus record, she applied to a missionary organization.

We really don't know. She's nice to me when she says it, but probably because of her color, she got turned down.

But on the inside, she felt like that her life was to be lived in such a way to make a difference in people's lives.

So she said, well, I wanted to go to Africa. I wanted to teach kids there. They won't let me do that. I'll teach kids here.

She started a school. No money, no backing.

She found paper boxes for desks.

Listen to this: they took red raspberries and drained the red raspberries of the oil ingredients they had so the students would have ink to put in their pens.

The students on the weekend helped carry off garbage because to pay for their books.

She said, if I can't teach in Africa, I'll teach these people, and they'll make a difference with their lives.

And she kept struggling, and there was a college nearby, Cookman College, that recognized what she was doing.

And they said to her, let us partner with you because we see that what you're doing is worthwhile.

They saw the light that she was shining, and today that's called Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach.

Mary Bethune became the first American black woman to be a college president in 1932.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed her as an advisor to his cabinet, making her the first African-American woman to serve as a presidential advisor.

Why? Because her dream was, I want to live my life in such a way that'll make a difference with the world.

Our administrative assistant, Maggie, several years ago was working for a paralegal.

She was a legal assistant, and she was the first African-American woman to serve as a presidential assistant, making lots of money.

And I asked her, and she began volunteering, and I asked her, I said, you know what? You make more money than I do, but what if, would you like to do something with your life that will make a difference in people?

She gave it up to come here and work for a much less salary.

It's just like many of you. You do what you do not for notoriety, but because that baby has met the needs in your life: love, grace, and purpose.

My purpose is this: today I'm teaching you. Tomorrow, Anne Munsey and I, and next week we may be meeting a pastor, some weird or granted system, loving them, caring for them, and just one pastor maybe.

But my purpose, as it changes, my purpose is to take everything that the Lord has put in me as a light and let it shine in such a way that can help others.

Now, I know some of you here today that, man, you've got caught up in Christmas, and you just really even dread Christmas.

Some of you are like the Grinch, right? And you're trying to do better, John.

But I think the thing that helps as we come back here, it's not about the gifts. It's not about the songs. It's not about the decorations as much as we love it.

It's not about that white-haired guy outside that you get your picture with in just a few minutes.

It's about this baby.

For those of you that are believers, that he's come into your life, I want to challenge you.

From this day forward, let's strip down. When we meet with our family, maybe you read the Bible story to them before you exchange gifts.

Maybe you remind your kids why they're getting gifts. It's because God sent the greatest present, the presence of himself.

Would you bow your heads with me?

Father, I thank you today for your presence. It's so dear, here, near, from those very first songs that we sang.

And Lord, those of us that are believers here today, maybe we've been struggling with what's my purpose? What's my purpose? What's my purpose?

My purpose is to find what I'm good at with my hands, with my mind.

And I'm to do that.

And if I'm not able to do that for wherever I am right there, my purpose is to be faithful where he's put me and to allow his light to shine through me.

Allow his light to shine through me.

If you're a believer this morning, and the Lord's just re-reminding you today to get back to the basics, get back to the truth of what Christmas is about, would you raise your hand and just make eye contact with me today?

Thank you. Raise your hand, yeah, several of us today.

But in the midst of all that, I also want to pray for those of you that may be here today, and when Anita was talking about that grace, boy, she did a good job about that.

Maybe there's mistakes, there's failures, maybe there's things God has asked you to do, and you haven't taken a step.

But today you'll say, Lord, by your grace, I'm going to do that.

Because you see, today, I remind you, Jesus came innocent.

But on the cross, he didn't take the myrrh that they wanted to give him to quench the pain.

It was also used to quench pain.

Why? Why? Because he wanted to feel the full brunt of your sin and my sin.

So that we can look into God and say, it is finished.

There's nothing else I can do. Nothing else you can do.

And today, I know there's some of you that the Lord is knocking on your heart's door right now.

And he's saying, today's the day to say yes. Today's the day to say, I'm going to walk in your grace.

If that's you, would you raise your hand and make eye contact with me today? I want to pray with you. I want to pray for you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Others today, those of you watching online, just raise your hand. Yes, today. Yes, today.

Let me lead you in a prayer.

Let's pray this. We've all prayed a prayer like this at one time or another.

As a believer, Father God, thank you for sending your son, Jesus.

Wow.

And today, I receive him as my Savior.

I receive the grace to do what is right.

I ask you to forgive me of my sins, come into my life, be my Lord and Savior, fill me with your Spirit, in Jesus' name.

Amen.