WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.820 G'day everyone. Merry Christmas. If my voice 00:00:04.820 --> 00:00:07.080 gives out, it has nothing to do with the puppet 00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:14.759 show at all. Let me just get set up here. How 00:00:14.759 --> 00:00:18.100 about we pray and ask for God's help as we dig 00:00:18.100 --> 00:00:23.620 into his word now. Let's see if I can find where 00:00:23.620 --> 00:00:26.800 we're up to on this slide. No, it's not working. 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:31.910 That's okay. Oh, here we go. Cool. All right. 00:00:33.250 --> 00:00:36.490 There we go. Let's pray. Father, thank you so 00:00:36.490 --> 00:00:38.789 much that you love us, that you care for us. 00:00:39.210 --> 00:00:42.969 Help us to see today what Christmas truly is 00:00:42.969 --> 00:00:45.890 about and how it's more wonderful than we ever 00:00:45.890 --> 00:00:48.630 thought or imagined. And we ask this in Jesus' 00:00:48.750 --> 00:00:53.869 name. Amen. Well, Merry Christmas. Today I've 00:00:53.869 --> 00:00:58.789 got a quick Christmas quiz for you. What is Christmas 00:00:58.789 --> 00:01:02.130 really about? Here is the quick Christmas quiz 00:01:02.130 --> 00:01:05.010 on what Christmas is really about. You've got 00:01:05.010 --> 00:01:09.489 four options. Option A, is it about presents? 00:01:10.530 --> 00:01:15.769 Option B, is it about great food? Option C, is 00:01:15.769 --> 00:01:19.469 it about putting things up, decorations? And 00:01:19.469 --> 00:01:26.359 option D, is it about insects and bugs? What 00:01:26.359 --> 00:01:28.219 do you reckon? I'll give you some thinking time. 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:31.599 Talk to the person next to you. Talk to yourself 00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:33.560 if you want. As long as you don't talk back, 00:01:33.659 --> 00:01:53.500 that's okay. All right, have we got it? Okay, 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:57.450 the answer. What is Christmas really about? The 00:01:57.450 --> 00:02:04.269 answer is D. It's actually about bugs. Now, why 00:02:04.269 --> 00:02:08.389 is the answer that Christmas is about bugs? Well, 00:02:08.409 --> 00:02:10.030 that's what I want to show you this morning as 00:02:10.030 --> 00:02:12.990 we look at Philippians 2, 1 to 11. Because when 00:02:12.990 --> 00:02:15.469 we see that Christmas is about bugs and insects, 00:02:15.870 --> 00:02:20.509 it'll give you the best Christmas ever. So I 00:02:20.509 --> 00:02:22.189 want to show you by looking at three things. 00:02:22.550 --> 00:02:26.669 Here's the first thing. We are like bugs to God. 00:02:27.530 --> 00:02:32.069 We are like bugs to God. In the universe, there's 00:02:32.069 --> 00:02:33.990 different creatures, right? And they all have 00:02:33.990 --> 00:02:38.430 different values. Have a look at this. So here's 00:02:38.430 --> 00:02:41.150 the high worth, here's the low worth. The high 00:02:41.150 --> 00:02:44.590 value, the low value. Some are more valuable 00:02:44.590 --> 00:02:47.069 than others. So think about when there's a horse 00:02:47.069 --> 00:02:50.650 race and a horse and a jockey crash. Who do we 00:02:50.650 --> 00:02:54.840 go out to first? The jockey. We go to the jockey 00:02:54.840 --> 00:02:57.400 because he's a human. And even though the horse 00:02:57.400 --> 00:02:59.219 could be worth millions and millions of dollars, 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:02.780 we go out to the jockey first because people 00:03:02.780 --> 00:03:06.099 are more valuable than horses and money. People 00:03:06.099 --> 00:03:10.280 are more precious than animals. Now, let me give 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:12.360 you a little exercise. If you had to rank all 00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:16.840 these, how would you rank them? In highest value 00:03:16.840 --> 00:03:20.159 to lowest value? I'll give you a second to talk 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:24.400 to your friend or yourself again. How would you 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:39.560 rank them? Less laughing, more muttering. It 00:03:39.560 --> 00:03:47.500 means you're thinking. That's good. All right. 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:51.169 Well, if I were to put them on a scale. I think 00:03:51.169 --> 00:03:57.150 we might rank them something like this. And if 00:03:57.150 --> 00:03:59.689 you disagree with me, that's okay. It's really 00:03:59.689 --> 00:04:01.810 the first one and the last one that I care about. 00:04:03.110 --> 00:04:06.310 It's that humans and bugs are far apart, aren't 00:04:06.310 --> 00:04:11.449 they? Humans and bugs are far apart. Now, add 00:04:11.449 --> 00:04:14.830 to the scale. If you put God on the scale, where 00:04:14.830 --> 00:04:18.529 would he be? Well, he'd be off the chart, wouldn't 00:04:18.529 --> 00:04:23.689 he? He created everything. He's eternal. He's 00:04:23.689 --> 00:04:27.930 of infinite value. So the distance between him 00:04:27.930 --> 00:04:32.129 and us is like us and bugs. Actually, it's way 00:04:32.129 --> 00:04:36.470 further, isn't it? Here's how Isaiah puts it. 00:04:36.889 --> 00:04:41.269 He says, God sits enthroned above the circle 00:04:41.269 --> 00:04:45.370 of the earth and its people are like grasshoppers. 00:04:46.410 --> 00:04:49.230 To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal, 00:04:49.350 --> 00:04:52.610 says the Holy One? Lift up your eyes and look 00:04:52.610 --> 00:04:57.009 to the heavens. Who created all these? God's 00:04:57.009 --> 00:05:01.129 saying, you and me, you're like you and bugs, 00:05:01.290 --> 00:05:05.290 actually infinitely more. I mean, if you got 00:05:05.290 --> 00:05:07.850 a telescope for Christmas, did anyone get a telescope 00:05:07.850 --> 00:05:12.649 for Christmas? No? Okay, cool. Next year. When 00:05:12.649 --> 00:05:14.829 we were in Broken Hill, we had like amazing, 00:05:15.110 --> 00:05:17.209 like there's a whole tourist industry out there 00:05:17.209 --> 00:05:19.870 for sort of looking at the stars through telescopes 00:05:19.870 --> 00:05:23.550 and things. And if you go out there, there's 00:05:23.550 --> 00:05:25.730 no light pollution. You look at the stars and 00:05:25.730 --> 00:05:28.550 the planets and see them all clearly. Or even 00:05:28.550 --> 00:05:31.810 if you just look up without a telescope, it'll 00:05:31.810 --> 00:05:36.910 make you feel very small. I reckon God made the 00:05:36.910 --> 00:05:40.790 universe big to remind us that we are small. 00:05:42.220 --> 00:05:44.540 Because often humans have an inflated opinion 00:05:44.540 --> 00:05:49.079 of ourselves. And that's usually what ruins Christmas, 00:05:49.180 --> 00:05:52.100 isn't it? Think of the fights at Christmas time. 00:05:52.920 --> 00:05:55.699 It's usually because someone thinks they're right 00:05:55.699 --> 00:05:58.000 and everyone else is wrong and they're better 00:05:58.000 --> 00:05:59.879 and everyone else is worse. Oh, I don't want 00:05:59.879 --> 00:06:02.360 to do that job. You know, someone else can. That's 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:09.019 gross. But seeing God's greatness humbles us 00:06:09.019 --> 00:06:13.680 in a healthy way. We are like bugs compared with 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:18.339 God. And yet that doesn't mean he doesn't care 00:06:18.339 --> 00:06:21.819 about us because at Christmas here's what we 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:28.500 celebrate. God became one of us. God became one 00:06:28.500 --> 00:06:33.660 of us. Imagine if I had a pill that could turn 00:06:33.660 --> 00:06:40.300 you into a grasshopper. Would you take it? Mean 00:06:40.300 --> 00:06:44.399 leaving behind all your friends, toys, family, 00:06:44.779 --> 00:06:51.319 body, whatever. And it'd be dangerous. You're 00:06:51.319 --> 00:06:56.519 so much weaker. Bug spray, feet, newspapers. 00:06:58.100 --> 00:07:01.279 They weren't a problem before. Maybe feet, but, 00:07:01.339 --> 00:07:06.480 you know, you'd only want to take something that 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:09.040 moves you up, wouldn't you? If I could have a 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:11.560 pill that moves me up, yeah, that I'd take. You 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:14.740 know, that makes me bigger and stronger. But 00:07:14.740 --> 00:07:20.319 one that brings me down? No thanks. See, the 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:22.740 first humans wanted a pill that would bring them 00:07:22.740 --> 00:07:26.100 up. Do you remember the Garden of Eden? What 00:07:26.100 --> 00:07:31.699 the serpent said? You can be like God. Just eat 00:07:31.699 --> 00:07:35.689 from the fruit of the tree. And they ate. Because 00:07:35.689 --> 00:07:39.689 they were trying to get equality with God. We're 00:07:39.689 --> 00:07:42.730 all like that, aren't we? It's what humans do. 00:07:44.509 --> 00:07:49.009 But Jesus did the opposite. Look at verse 6 and 00:07:49.009 --> 00:07:52.709 7 in your Bibles with me. Jesus, who being in 00:07:52.709 --> 00:07:56.029 very nature God, did not consider equality with 00:07:56.029 --> 00:07:58.970 God something to be used to his own advantage. 00:07:59.550 --> 00:08:01.470 Even though he is God, even though he's equal 00:08:01.470 --> 00:08:04.089 with God, he didn't think, yeah, I'm going to 00:08:04.089 --> 00:08:06.379 get the. perks and squeeze out the benefits of 00:08:06.379 --> 00:08:11.180 this. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:14.600 the very nature of a servant being made in human 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:20.240 likeness. Even though Jesus is God, he didn't 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:24.800 exploit his position as God. He became a human 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:29.019 to serve us. The king of the universe doesn't 00:08:29.019 --> 00:08:31.860 just wear a crown. He wears an apron as well. 00:08:33.549 --> 00:08:36.889 It reminds me a bit of Undercover Boss. Have 00:08:36.889 --> 00:08:40.230 you ever seen that show, Undercover Boss? What 00:08:40.230 --> 00:08:42.769 they do is they take like a CEO of some corporation, 00:08:43.090 --> 00:08:46.169 Maccas, Coca -Cola, whatever, and they become 00:08:46.169 --> 00:08:50.549 a frontline employee. They put a beard on them 00:08:50.549 --> 00:08:52.769 and some glasses. They make them look like someone 00:08:52.769 --> 00:08:57.230 completely different. And they do it to see what's 00:08:57.230 --> 00:08:59.450 actually going on on the front lines. They get 00:08:59.450 --> 00:09:03.600 down there. They help the workers. They do everything 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:08.200 just like the workers do. Well, that's what the 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:12.259 God of the universe did. He put on humanity. 00:09:12.340 --> 00:09:15.259 He went down on the front line. He served with 00:09:15.259 --> 00:09:21.259 the workers. Jesus is the undercover boss of 00:09:21.259 --> 00:09:27.080 the universe. He's fully God and he becomes fully 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:31.740 human as well to love us, to help us. and to 00:09:31.740 --> 00:09:36.299 save us. But you might be wondering, hang on, 00:09:36.360 --> 00:09:40.740 how does this help us? Well, look at verse 8. 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:44.139 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled 00:09:44.139 --> 00:09:47.340 himself by becoming obedient to death, even death 00:09:47.340 --> 00:09:52.980 on a cross. So before being in Bethlehem, Jesus 00:09:52.980 --> 00:09:57.580 couldn't die. He's God. He can't die. But by 00:09:57.580 --> 00:10:03.330 becoming a human, now he can die. And he didn't 00:10:03.330 --> 00:10:08.590 just die peacefully. He died in the most agonising 00:10:08.590 --> 00:10:14.629 way. And he did it to serve us. It's assumed 00:10:14.629 --> 00:10:18.409 here. It's unpacked elsewhere in the Bible. Jesus 00:10:18.409 --> 00:10:23.929 dies as our substitute. Hands up if you like 00:10:23.929 --> 00:10:26.690 the Hunger Games. It's a bit old school now. 00:10:26.850 --> 00:10:29.190 Yes, okay, we've got one person. Fantastic. I 00:10:29.190 --> 00:10:32.070 like the Hunger Games. Check it out. In the Hunger 00:10:32.070 --> 00:10:34.649 Games, there's this little girl named Prim, and 00:10:34.649 --> 00:10:38.929 she gets selected to be reaped, to basically, 00:10:39.009 --> 00:10:41.389 she goes off to the Hunger Games for certain 00:10:41.389 --> 00:10:45.470 death. And what her sister does, Katniss, when 00:10:45.470 --> 00:10:48.990 they're reaping Prim, she goes, I volunteer as 00:10:48.990 --> 00:10:52.409 tribute. It's probably the best line in the whole 00:10:52.409 --> 00:10:58.700 movie. She takes her place. She stands in so 00:10:58.700 --> 00:11:03.519 that Prim won't face certain death. And that's 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:06.259 what happens for us. That's what we celebrate 00:11:06.259 --> 00:11:09.000 at Christmas. That's what we look to at the cross 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:12.320 every day. We were facing God's judgment for 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:16.840 our selfishness, our pride, our evil. And Jesus 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:22.299 takes our place. Now, I get a family member doing 00:11:22.299 --> 00:11:28.529 that. But would you become a bug? And die for 00:11:28.529 --> 00:11:32.169 a bug to save them? For a grasshopper? For a 00:11:32.169 --> 00:11:37.610 mosquito? I know I wouldn't. They're annoying. 00:11:39.009 --> 00:11:40.549 Do you know what we've got at home? We've got 00:11:40.549 --> 00:11:44.429 a bug zapper. It's been cranking pretty hard 00:11:44.429 --> 00:11:47.330 lately. There was one night I was there and I 00:11:47.330 --> 00:11:52.690 heard it going... I was like, yeah, that was 00:11:52.690 --> 00:11:56.539 a big one or a lot of them, I don't know. But 00:11:56.539 --> 00:11:59.799 here's what happens at the cross. The cross is 00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:06.000 like a giant bug zapper. Jesus gets blasted with 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:11.600 God's judgment so that we won't be. He goes into 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:17.600 it so that we can be spared. He's so loving that 00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:23.120 he becomes one of us, like a bug, to die for 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:28.289 us. And do you know what happens when we take 00:12:28.289 --> 00:12:32.809 this to heart, when we believe this? When our 00:12:32.809 --> 00:12:38.769 whole life is centred around it? It fills you 00:12:38.769 --> 00:12:43.230 with amazing joy. It helps you start each day 00:12:43.230 --> 00:12:48.529 differently. You wake up and you know, I'm loved. 00:12:50.230 --> 00:12:56.259 I'm secure. I've got hope. of a life that lasts 00:12:56.259 --> 00:13:02.740 forever because Jesus gave that to me. If you're 00:13:02.740 --> 00:13:06.320 a Christian here today, don't rob yourself of 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:09.059 that joy. And I need to hear that as much as 00:13:09.059 --> 00:13:11.620 anyone else. Don't rob yourself of that joy. 00:13:12.820 --> 00:13:17.100 Recite it. Remember it. Refresh yourself in it. 00:13:17.659 --> 00:13:22.649 It is the most wonderful thing. And if you're 00:13:22.649 --> 00:13:27.470 not a Christian here today, I hope you'll seriously 00:13:27.470 --> 00:13:34.809 be thinking, why don't I have that? What's stopping 00:13:34.809 --> 00:13:38.269 me? That sounds pretty awesome. Is that worth 00:13:38.269 --> 00:13:41.649 having? If you want to talk more, come have a 00:13:41.649 --> 00:13:47.190 chat with me. But that's not all. Because not 00:13:47.190 --> 00:13:52.679 only has God become one of us, But Jesus transforms 00:13:52.679 --> 00:13:57.559 our relationships because of it. We can now think 00:13:57.559 --> 00:14:02.220 differently. We can now think differently because 00:14:02.220 --> 00:14:04.820 of what Jesus did at Christmas, because of what 00:14:04.820 --> 00:14:09.320 Jesus did at the cross. Look at verses 3 to 5 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:22.980 with me. not looking to your own interests, but 00:14:22.980 --> 00:14:26.240 each of you to the interests of the others. In 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:28.600 your relationship with one another, have the 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:36.059 same mindset as Christ Jesus. See, selfishness, 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:42.059 arrogance, pride, grumbling, complaining, those 00:14:42.059 --> 00:14:46.399 are relationship killers, aren't they? That's 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:48.779 the cause of the arguments at Christmas lunch. 00:14:50.650 --> 00:14:54.590 That's what causes friction at work or at home 00:14:54.590 --> 00:15:02.470 all year round. Our default way of thinking is 00:15:02.470 --> 00:15:06.809 to look out for number one, isn't it? Years ago 00:15:06.809 --> 00:15:10.149 I had a golf coach who was trying to be like 00:15:10.149 --> 00:15:13.169 my golf coach and my life guru, I think, at the 00:15:13.169 --> 00:15:15.970 time. And he said to me, Brendan, you know what 00:15:15.970 --> 00:15:18.669 you've got to do? You've got to look out for 00:15:18.669 --> 00:15:22.169 number one. You've got to start looking out for 00:15:22.169 --> 00:15:25.690 number one. That sounds like really good advice, 00:15:25.809 --> 00:15:29.769 doesn't it? But you know what it does when everyone 00:15:29.769 --> 00:15:34.409 follows that? We become increasingly polarised 00:15:34.409 --> 00:15:40.669 and divided. It just causes fighting. We just 00:15:40.669 --> 00:15:43.509 have to draw more borders, don't we? Because 00:15:43.509 --> 00:15:47.830 I'm looking out for number one. We know that 00:15:47.830 --> 00:15:53.720 it doesn't work. But what can move us and motivate 00:15:53.720 --> 00:16:01.259 us to be different, to be humble, to serve, to 00:16:01.259 --> 00:16:06.759 put others ahead of myself? It's feeling the 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:12.120 love from Jesus. It's learning to copy his approach. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:18.240 Because when you do, you don't think, oh, cleaning 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:24.519 the loo, that's beneath me. Jesus suffered the 00:16:24.519 --> 00:16:26.840 most horrible things and he's the king of the 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:31.519 universe. He's the boss. How could it ever be 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:36.279 beneath me? I don't look at other people and 00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:38.980 think, well, my welfare matters more than theirs. 00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:43.080 I've got to look out for number one. No, because 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:46.480 Jesus looked out for me. He put my interests 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:51.399 ahead of his own. Do you know what? We imitate 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:58.620 what we love. If you love Jesus, you will copy 00:16:58.620 --> 00:17:03.220 his way of thinking, won't you? Let me show you 00:17:03.220 --> 00:17:07.799 how this plays out. So there's high worth, there's 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:11.160 low worth, high value, low value. Where do you 00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:13.619 put yourself? Now, we said we're higher than 00:17:13.619 --> 00:17:17.359 the animals. Good, that's right. But we're under 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:25.730 God. And Jesus put us ahead of himself. We were 00:17:25.730 --> 00:17:30.470 like bugs and he put us way ahead of, put himself, 00:17:30.710 --> 00:17:36.349 put us ahead of himself. We're so loved that 00:17:36.349 --> 00:17:41.150 our worth has skyrocketed. Think about how valuable 00:17:41.150 --> 00:17:45.529 you are that Jesus has treated you with such 00:17:45.529 --> 00:17:47.890 value. You are now off the charts, aren't you? 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:53.960 Because Jesus valued you so much. And when we 00:17:53.960 --> 00:17:59.339 see how valued we are, that changes how we turn 00:17:59.339 --> 00:18:04.779 up. It changes those who see and appreciate what 00:18:04.779 --> 00:18:10.019 Jesus did. Because when you see that you've got 00:18:10.019 --> 00:18:12.740 high worth, that when you see that Jesus has 00:18:12.740 --> 00:18:15.880 loved you so much, you no longer have to prove 00:18:15.880 --> 00:18:19.839 yourself to everyone, do you? You can feel secure 00:18:19.839 --> 00:18:23.859 because, hey, I'm securing God's love. Selfishness 00:18:23.859 --> 00:18:28.579 often stems from insecurity, doesn't it? You 00:18:28.579 --> 00:18:30.240 don't have to think, no one's looking out for 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:35.380 me, so I have to. You can think, no, the God 00:18:35.380 --> 00:18:38.640 of the universe looked out for me and loved me 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:42.319 and still is. I don't have to look out for myself. 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:48.349 See, the Christian knows they're precious. And 00:18:48.349 --> 00:18:51.809 so they don't have to prove themselves. Their 00:18:51.809 --> 00:18:55.670 interests aren't centred on themselves. They 00:18:55.670 --> 00:19:02.289 serve. They're not selfish. And when we have 00:19:02.289 --> 00:19:06.349 this mindset, it changes how we turn up at Christmas 00:19:06.349 --> 00:19:11.569 and the whole year round. At Christmas lunch, 00:19:11.789 --> 00:19:15.869 you know, that debate gets heated. Oh, you thought. 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:20.519 Not this year, please. Can we just eat the food 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:25.700 in peace? But it happened again. Everyone's arguing 00:19:25.700 --> 00:19:28.480 again, especially if you invited everyone to 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:34.440 Christmas lunch. That's always fun. But then 00:19:34.440 --> 00:19:39.380 you suddenly go, you know what? I've got an opinion. 00:19:40.140 --> 00:19:42.799 It's not that important that I shove it on everyone 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:46.789 else. It's not necessarily right. I'm going to 00:19:46.789 --> 00:19:49.630 take an attitude of listening and loving the 00:19:49.630 --> 00:19:54.750 people who are here. That's my goal. Can I leave 00:19:54.750 --> 00:19:57.470 them not only full but feeling listened and loved? 00:19:59.509 --> 00:20:03.230 If that mindset of Jesus grips kids, they'll 00:20:03.230 --> 00:20:06.430 help clean up without complaining. Do we really 00:20:06.430 --> 00:20:11.569 have to take the food? They'll just do it, even 00:20:11.569 --> 00:20:14.390 without being asked. I mean, that takes a while. 00:20:14.470 --> 00:20:19.250 Maybe wait until they're 17. Throughout the year, 00:20:19.430 --> 00:20:23.490 we'll be more helpful around the house. We'll 00:20:23.490 --> 00:20:26.190 even give up the remote. You watch what you want 00:20:26.190 --> 00:20:29.289 tonight. Well, I mean, everyone just watches 00:20:29.289 --> 00:20:31.710 their screens now, don't they? But, you know, 00:20:31.769 --> 00:20:33.509 everyone's got their own. Maybe you might even 00:20:33.509 --> 00:20:36.230 watch something together. Just putting it out 00:20:36.230 --> 00:20:40.609 there. Joyfully cleaning the loo. I don't know 00:20:40.609 --> 00:20:45.140 what it might be. Doing the dishes. Jesus gives 00:20:45.140 --> 00:20:48.660 us the motivation and the mindset to be different, 00:20:48.779 --> 00:20:55.660 to be joyful, to serve others. So there you go. 00:20:56.980 --> 00:21:00.220 That's what Christmas is about. Christmas is 00:21:00.220 --> 00:21:04.880 about bugs. It's about how we're like bugs compared 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:08.859 with God. It's about how God became one of us 00:21:08.859 --> 00:21:15.579 to save us. And when you grasp this, actually 00:21:15.579 --> 00:21:20.660 when it grasps you, it transforms your whole 00:21:20.660 --> 00:21:25.359 life and how you turn up. When I look around 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:30.359 at Christmas, as I'm sure you do too, I don't 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:34.500 see much Christmas spirit anymore. I see some 00:21:34.500 --> 00:21:38.380 fancy marketing. I see everyone getting ready 00:21:38.380 --> 00:21:42.230 for Boxing Day sales. I see people getting a 00:21:42.230 --> 00:21:44.589 bit argy -bargy and stressed trying to get presents 00:21:44.589 --> 00:21:47.329 or, you know, getting enough food at the register 00:21:47.329 --> 00:21:50.990 and I got to the ham first. You know, maybe at 00:21:50.990 --> 00:21:53.430 Marsha's TJ probably saw that more than most. 00:21:55.130 --> 00:21:59.089 I don't see much of the Christmas spirit anymore. 00:22:00.349 --> 00:22:04.509 The joy, the willingness to help others, it's 00:22:04.509 --> 00:22:09.430 often lacking these days. And, hey, maybe it's 00:22:09.430 --> 00:22:11.950 the rise in house prices or the cost of living 00:22:11.950 --> 00:22:15.309 or the culture war. I don't know. I'm sure those 00:22:15.309 --> 00:22:19.390 things probably haven't helped. But only one 00:22:19.390 --> 00:22:23.990 thing can give us that Christmas spirit. It's 00:22:23.990 --> 00:22:29.869 being gripped by what Jesus did for us and having 00:22:29.869 --> 00:22:36.690 that same mindset that he had as his love captured. 00:22:37.289 --> 00:22:44.049 your heart. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we want 00:22:44.049 --> 00:22:47.230 to thank you so much for Jesus, for all he's 00:22:47.230 --> 00:22:51.150 done for us. Thank you that at Christmas we get 00:22:51.150 --> 00:22:55.069 to celebrate the amazing gift of him coming into 00:22:55.069 --> 00:22:59.690 the world to save us. But Father, let it not 00:22:59.690 --> 00:23:04.650 stop there. Please help us to enjoy that wonderful 00:23:04.650 --> 00:23:09.640 gift of having a new of thinking differently, 00:23:09.960 --> 00:23:15.960 of thinking like Jesus. Please change how we 00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:20.599 see ourselves, others, and most importantly, 00:23:20.819 --> 00:23:24.980 how we see you. And we ask this in Jesus' name. 00:23:25.619 --> 00:23:26.259 Amen.