Introduction

Isaiah 7:14 ESV  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:6 ESV  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Luke 1:30-35 ESV  And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  (31)  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.  (32)  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,  (33)  and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”  (34)  And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”  (35)  And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

John 3:16 ESV  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

• Merry Christmas church!
  • Did you know that the word Christmas is simply a compound word formed of two other English words?
    • Christ and Mass.
    • The word Mass means “gathering”, in fact Catholic churches still use the word Mass to describe their church services, it is a Sunday mass.
      • So the word Christmas means “Gathering for Christ”.
  • And how wonderful it is that you have gathered with us this morning for the sake of Christ.
    • To worship Him, to celebrate Him, to grow in Him, to gather with other believers to be the body and family of Christ.
      • This truly is Christ Mass!

• Now, maybe some of y’all are like I was 7 or 8 years ago…
  • Frustrated with this whole Christmas Holiday.
  • I mean… December 25^th, where did we get that from?
    • There is about a 1 in 365.25 chance that Jesus was born on December 25^th…
  • And what is the deal with Christmas trees? Why are we bringing these false idols into our house and putting offerings we call “presents” under them?
    • I mean sure, I have heard people say “Because evergreen trees stay green after death, representing our everlasting life”
    • But I only hear people say that when someone complains… I was never taught that on Christmas morning…
    • The songs don’t talk about that… It’s not like “Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree… you represent everlasting life”…
  • And the commercialism of buying and giving gifts… that seems against what the Bible teaches about possessions and worldly goods…
• I was frustrated… and I cried out to God about Christmas “I don’t want to do this anymore because none of this has to do with you!”
  • And then God responded “THEN MAKE IT ABOUT ME!”
    • And the conviction just overcame me, and with the help of the Holy Spirit I realized something…
      • I have a chance to teach my kids what the Christmas tree means…
        • By the way, the Christmas tree tradition that we have today was started by Martin Luther… one of the greatest Christians of all time…
      • I have a chance to teach my kids that, while Jesus probably wasn’t born on December 25^th, it’s just the day that we choose to celebrate His birth… and it is a birth worth celebrating!
      • I have a chance to teach my kids about the manger, and the angels, and the virgin birth…
      • I have a chance to do why my parent’s didn’t always do… I have a chance to make Christmas about Jesus for my children and my family.
      • Christ Mass… gathering for Christ.
• And that’s what I want to do this morning… I want to make it about Jesus… about God… about being like Him.
  • Now I am not going to talk about the manger… though there is some pretty interesting things that could be preached on when you study the exact manger He was born in…
  • And I am not going to talk about the Christmas tree… though I will talk a bit about everlasting life…
  • Instead I want to talk about the gifts… why do we give gifts on Christmas?

• Why We Give… why we give gifts on Christmas… why we encourage others to give…
  • Is it because it is better to Give than to Receive…? Well that’s certainly true, Jesus said that… but it is deeper than that.
    • Especially on Christmas.
      • I teach my kids and I encourage you to teach yours this Christmas as well… that we give because God Gave.
• That’s my first point this morning… we give because God gave…

Point One – We Give Because God Gave

Isaiah 9:6a ESV  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…

John 3:16a ESV  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son…

• God Gave us His Son…
  • The birth of Christ was an incredible sacrifice…
    • Jesus was in heaven, in perfection… all powerful, glorious, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
    • Psalms talks about Jesus sitting in heaven watching the nations rage and He just laughs… don’t they know that God reigns…
    • Jesus had it all, divine royalty, glorious splendor, the worship of angles and saints…
      • And He gave it all up to be born in a manger, to a poor carpenters wife…
      • To be born a human… with pain and sorrow and suffering…
      • To be persecuted, attacked, tortured, and eventually killed.
  • See God gave His Son, and Jesus gave Himself…
    • We give because God gave…
      • For God so love the world that He GAVE!
• As you are giving gifts this morning, remember that God gave first.
• Teach your kids that God GAVE Jesus for them.
  • That Jesus GAVE Himself for them.
    • And not only did Jesus give up His throne to live as a human for us…
    • But Jesus gave His life to die for us.
      • Our salvation is a gift!

Ephesians 2:8 ESV For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Romans 6:23 ESV the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• As you are giving out gifts this morning, teach your children that their salvation is the greatest gift they could ever get…
  • And that the greatest gift they could ever give is to lead someone to Jesus.
    • Let your time of gift giving be more than just the trading of material goods… take time to think of the gift that God has given you through His son.
• And would you take a moment to consider the cost.
  • Tell your kids “Guys these presents cost money… mommy and daddy had to make some sacrifices to be able to afford these… but that is how much we love you… that we would sacrifice to give you good gifts.”
    • “Just like God gave us His Son… that cost God a lot… that was a huge sacrifice… that’s how much God loves you… that He would give His son for you.”
    • “And think about Jesus… He sacrificed His heavenly kingdom for you… and gave His life for you that you might live! That’s what we do when we love each other… that is love… to sacrifice…”

John 15:12-13 ESV  “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  (13)  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

• We give because God Gave… amen?!
  • That’s the first point this morning… the second point is much like it…
  • We give because God gives!

Point Two – We Give Because God Gives

James 1:17 ESV  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

• Point one is that we give because God gave…
  • But point two is the we give because God gives…
    • He didn’t just “Gave” as if there was just this one gift and that was it.
    • No He didn’t just “Gave”, He “gives”… He continues to give us good and perfect gifts.
      • If all God gave us was salvation through His son’s virgin birth, death, and resurrection… It certainly would have been enough, amen?!
        • But God didn’t stop there!
        • God keeps on giving!
        • His love for us in indescribable and certainly undeserved!
  • To think that God loves us so much that He gave the ultimate sacrifice… the death of His Son…
    • But not only that but now that we are saved that He keeps on giving us gifts?
      • WHAT KIND OF LOVE IS THAT?!

Matthew 7:7-11 ESV  “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  (8)  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  (9)  Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?  (10)  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?  (11)  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

• Think of all the gifts that God gives us…
  • He gives us life and life more abundantly.
  • He gives us hope, and joy, and peace, and contentment.
  • He gives us strength, healing, and endurance, and character.
  • He gives us wisdom and discernment.
  • Not only that, but He gives us provision, real physical provision.
    • I will tell you, just about everything in my house and in my life that has monetary value… anything that has monetary worth… it has a testimony behind it.
    • Of my own wealth I could not afford my house, the furniture inside of it, or the cars parked in it’s garage.
    • The piano in the living room, the Computer in my office…
      • ALL OF THESE THINGS HAVE TESTIMONIES about how God provided them.
  • Because God keeps giving.
    • He provides my daily bread… and He provides my way out of temptation.
    • He provides forgiveness of my sins, and provides the strength to forgive others.
    • His mercies are fresh and He gives them new EVERY MORNING!

Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV  The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;  (23)  they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

• We give because God Gives… God gives every morning… let’s make our Christmas giving about Him… about being like Him… about emulating His gift giving by giving to others.
  • And you know, it’s not about the cost of the presents you give your kids…
    • Not everyone can afford a new xbox or ipad or whatever…
    • But just the act of them seeing you give…
      • The act of you encouraging them to give to others… like God gives…
  • My best Christmas memories are of spending time with my Grandmother Ruthie…
    • My dad and his mom Ruth would always have presents under the tree for us…
      • And I can’t remember but 1 or 2 gifts I ever got from them as a kid on Christmas…
      • But I remember the tree…
      • And I remember the love I felt…
      • And I remember that there always was gifts… not that the gifts matter… but that someone loved me enough to give me something.
• And that is what giving on Christmas is all about… someone loved you enough to give you something…
  • Be like God this Christmas and give…

Conclusion

John 3:16 ESV  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.