MPC
25th December 2017.December 25 - John 1:1-14 - "Christmas Day"
MPC
25th December 2017.
Dan Wilton
Merry Christmas everyone! My name's Dan, and I'm one of the pastors here.
Great excitement in our household this morning. My son's first Christmas. He's 7 months old. Though I think my wife and I were more excited then he was...
Unwrapping gifts. Seeing his reaction to what we got him. Which was a little discouraging. All he wanted to do was eat the paper...
How was your morning? Pleased with your gifts? Disappointed? Still waiting?
Whatever it's been I wonder if you've had a chance to pause and think how complicated the whole process of gift giving can be?
Trying to navigate your way through the etiquette of giving.
Are you required to bring a gift for the estranged uncle who's coming for Christmas lunch? And what about your nephew's girlfriend of three weeks?
And then you've gotta decide what gifts to get?
A friend of mine has a theory that there are two types of people in the world. There are people who want useful gifts. And there are those who want useless gifts.
People who want useful gifts - want things they actually need - a new pair of socks. A blender. A calculator for university. Or whatever they think is necessary. They're the people who'll give you a list of specific things they need.
But then you've got people who want useless gifts. They love receiving gifts they don't need but want! Something that's completely luxurious. Not at all necessary. Like a massage. Movie tickets. A voucher to a day spa - although according to my wife - that falls in the necessary category.
Gift giving and receiving can be fraught with dangers. Dangers for the recipient - working on that "I love this" face when you're given another generic mug.
And dangers for the giver.
Because a gift can sometimes say more about the giver than the receiver.
Apparently giving this gift, My First Fire, to my 7 month old son for Christmas makes me an irresponsible father... Clearly I didn't see the age recommendation [ages 2+]... I'll wrap it up and give it next Christmas!
Finding the perfect gift is difficult!
This morning I want to have a brief look at the original gift. The ultimate gift. The gift that God gave us over two thousand years ago.
And what that gift tells us about the gift giver. And what it says about us.
The gift that God gives isn't another trinket - like one of those toys you get from a bon bon. You're amused for two minutes until the prawns come out.
The gift God gives has infinitely more value. The gift he gives is himself.
Have a look at how John puts it from the reading that was read for us: The word - that is Jesus - became flesh and dwelt among us.
The God of the entire universe. Dwelt among us. Humble. Unrecognised. Put aside his place, he became one of us.
Jesus, the word. Who was - verse 1 - with God in the beginning. And was God. Personally involved in creation.
That guy - Jesus - wrapped himself up. Became a baby. Offered himself as a gift.
See of all the things that God considered we needed. That we couldn't live without. The most perfect gift he could offer - was himself!
Now I suspect as much as we all love our family. We wouldn't be impressed if they turned up for Christmas. Forgot to get any gifts and said: I haven't got you anything this year - because my presence is present enough!
Go ahead. Try it today - see how they respond!
But that's exactly what God does.
But when God says it - it's not an excuse for being forgetful.
God's gift of Jesus - his presence, really is the ultimate present!
That's the incredible claim of Christmas - that the unseeable. The intangible God of the universe - has revealed himself - gift wrapped as a baby. Jesus.
Now, I've brought one of the gifts from under the tree from home.
Can anyone guess what's inside? Go on be adventurous... [lift lid - spud gun]
It's hard to know what's inside when it's hidden.
And it's the same with God.
If you want to know God, you can't know him by guessing. You need rip open the box.
That's why God's gift of Jesus is so incredible.
God gave us Jesus because he knew that on our own, our ideas about him would never meet the mark. Without him, we'd be groping in the dark aimlessly trying to know God.
But in Jesus we meet the invisible God firsthand. John says that Jesus is the true light - verse 4 - who gives light to everyone. Shining a spotlight on God.
So we can know him. Know what life and reality is all about.
That's the massive claim of Christmas - that God gave the ultimate gift. Himself. So we could know him and find life in him.
Now for most families on Christmas, you can't stop your kids ripping into the presents.
I remember one Christmas my brother and I were so excited. That we both woke up at an ungodly hour of the morning. Ran straight to the tree.
No one was up. So we started checking which gifts were ours.
Still no one up. So we began the pinch test.
Still no one up. It was unbearable - at least 15 minutes had gone by. The presents enticing us...
So we agreed to open just one. And then another. And then another - until we'd opened them all - plus our siblings'.
Let's just say when the rest of the family woke up - it wasn't a morning of great joy...
Normally gifts are met with expectation and excitement - can't help but rip the paper off!
And you'd think God's gift would be the same.
But that's not the case at all. It's rejected.
Have a look at that passage from verse 10:
10He was in the world. And the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
Jesus is the gift that people didn't ask for. Didn't Expect. Or even want.
And so they throw the gift away. Reject Jesus.
It's a rejection you get a glimpse of in a small way when there's no room left in the inn. And so when he draws his first breath in humanity... it's in a cowshed. Laced with the stale smell of straw and manure.
A rejection that follows Jesus all his life.
A rejection that you see most vividly later... When Jesus is spat on. And mocked. And nailed on a Roman cross.
And seen today in disinterest.
Maybe that's you this morning. Maybe you're here - dragged along by your family. Uninterested in this Jesus guy. Or maybe you just like the tradition of coming to church at Christmas but have no time for God the rest of the year. A little bit sceptical about the whole God becoming man thing.
If that's you, it's great that you're here this morning. Thank you for coming! You're always welcome to bring your scepticism to church.
But I want you to take a look around this morning. And take note of the fact that there are plenty of people here who have actually taken the claims of Jesus seriously. And checked them out.
There are people; normal, intelligent - well, I don't want to talk them up too much - but normal, ordinary, Aussies, in fact people from every corner of the globe... People here who have actually taken the step of believing him. Accepting the ultimate gift!
Don't let another Christmas pass and go without taking the time to investigate the claims of Jesus for yourself.
Talk to the person who brought you along today. Have a chat with me. Pick up one of these books, The Case for Christmas by Lee Strobel, in the foyer on your way out. Come along to MPC any Sunday of the year - and keep asking your questions.
Because if Jesus truly is who he claims to be - God himself. Then you will never receive a better gift.
Because he offers something that you can't get anywhere else.
God invites you to be part of his family.
You see it there in verse 12:
12But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. 13Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
God says - I want you to be part of my family. My eternal family - to pull up a seat for Christmas lunch. And enjoy all the benefits.
That's what those who believe and trust in Jesus celebrate at Christmas - and every other day as well. We've got to know God first hand.
As it says in those final words of verse 14, we've got to know "The Word became flesh. And we have seen his glory... Glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of Grace and truth"
That's Christmas all wrapped up - God offering himself - the ultimate gift. So you could know him and find life in him.
That's certainly worth celebrating!