Morning, church. Good morning, Prescott Valley
Park Collective. Just so glad you're with us.
Glad that we get to do this together. I would
like to say Merry Christmas, everyone. We're
almost there. It's coming. It feels like Christmas.
I don't know how you feel about this time of
year. You may be the Grinch like Pastor Todd,
and that's okay. That's okay. you may be someone
who just loves it. And here's what's fun about
this time of year, right? Is waking up and it's
kind of cold and you get a hot drink and you
can actually see the steam coming off your hot
drink and you get to sit and maybe grab a blanket
and get to read. Maybe you start your day with
reading, whatever that looks like. But there's
just something that you go, this feels good,
the glow of the Christmas tree, and it just feels
warm. We were created for this. There's those
kind of moments that this just feels good. Anybody
else? That feel? Okay. And then if that's not
your thing, you're like, I don't do that, then
some of you... It doesn't get better. Football
is at its best this time of year, right? Like
cold games where they're talking about last night
that the heaters went out on one side of the
field. And somebody's like, are we going to talk
about football every week? Why, yes, we are.
Until the Steelers are done, yes, we are. Or
maybe Hallmark. If football's not your thing,
then maybe Hallmark. And you just go, oh, it's
a good time of the year. And we were watching
one the other night, and I completely checked
out. And I looked at my wife and I go, I think
your cheese meter is broken. And I'm like, how
do you not see how cheesy this is? And yet it
just gives her the warm fuzzies that I guess
cold football gives me. I don't know. But I say
all that to say this. You guys, we're just normal
people. Right? Like if you're here and you go,
like sometimes we can make church this space
where you got to be something to walk through
the door. You got to clean up or act a certain
way or be at a certain level. I just need to
know we're as normal as it gets. I'm going to
go home and put sweats on after this and watch
football. That's what my plan is. And I say all
that to say, sometimes we can take ourselves
way too seriously. Sometimes we make this way
too hard. And I don't think it was meant to be
hard. I think it was meant to live in your own
skin and enjoy who God made you and enjoy the
things that God made you while enjoying God.
I think that's what this life is about. And I
would love to do this. So I'm going to take today.
And yes, it's a Sunday. Yes, it falls in the
year and it's in the calendar. However. Couple
of days from now, the hope is that this room
is packed full, not because we like to pack a
room, but because you invited the people that
God told you to invite. And so what I would love
to do is talk to you today like a coach. OK,
I would love to get you ready for what is coming.
And what I mean by that is. is there are certain
things we have planned, certain plays we have
running, and they are very, very intentional.
And I don't want you as a family member to miss
the intentionality that is there for you. And
for your guests. Now, if you have been tracking
through Advent, you have made a list. And that
list includes all the people that God has put
on your heart. You have checked it twice, meaning
you have talked to the Holy Spirit and you've
gone through. Some of you are going to pick out
who's naughty and nice. But you've made your
list and you've asked the Holy Spirit, am I missing
anybody? And then on top of that, you have week
two prayed. You were encouraged to pray over
those people. over the names that are there.
Please don't miss, because you made a list, the
list is people, people that Jesus died for. Don't
miss that this is just a church activity. It's
not a church activity. This is kingdom and eternity.
This matters. What you are doing matters. The
people that God has put in your life, they matter.
And so you've made your list. You've kind of
gone through that list. You prayed for them.
And then last week you were encouraged to invite
them, but you're not inviting them to an event.
You're inviting them to come with you to hear
some good news. Right? And so here's what's going
to happen. When they walk up on Christmas, the
first thing they're going to walk into, hopefully,
is a tree lot. Right? Why? Why a tree lot? Well,
Jesus died on a tree if you want to get spiritual.
Or we could just go, it feels like Christmas.
Why does it need to feel like Christmas? Because
people that are coming that you have invited,
just maybe, just maybe they are walking up to
a church and there is fear and trembling in them
walking up to a church. And you know what a tree
lot does? This is normal. I can relate to this.
And all of a sudden walls begin to what? Drop
just a little. They begin to relax a little.
Maybe you get a cup of coffee and they go, the
coffee's free. You guys just hand out coffee
and hot chocolate and cookies. Why? Yes, we do.
Why? Because you're a guest in our home. And
so we're going to treat you like a guest and
we're going to honor you. And so as they come
in, I'm not going to tell you what's happening
in here because I want it to be a surprise for
you too. But I can tell you this about in here,
what they will hear is good news. And the good
news, the good news hopefully is what they carry
out of here. We will do everything we can to
treat them kindly and well. We will do everything
we can to treat them like they deserve to be
treated. Now, when you leave here, everything
that has been created is intentional. And here's
what I mean. When you go out through these doors
and you go, there will be a bistro over here,
right? And when you go to the bistro, guess what?
You're going to get soup. And when you get soup,
you sit at a table. And when you sit at a table,
guess what happens? Conversation. Everything
has been created for you to slow down with who
God has put in your life so that you can relationally
talk to them and encourage them with the good
news. Ask them questions. And then. You might
get up and come back in here because there's
a photo op right outside these doors. And you
may go, well, I like the photo op because it's
for my family. Can I encourage you? This is not
about your family this year. Right? You got a
phone. You can get a picture anywhere. Get your
picture. The idea is this, that you would take
who came with you and you would stand in line.
What happens when you stand in line? You just
talk. And hopefully you talk about the good news
as you move along that line. Then you get in
the picture, invite them into your family picture,
create a memory, right? So that you can look
back, you can send it to them in January and
go, hey, it was so fun to have you. It was so
fun to get to join you and be with you. And so
now you're creating something that's larger than
just one moment. The hope is that if you go outside
and you're in this phase of life, right? You
got kids and your kids love throwing snowballs.
We've got a snowball arena. Why a snowball arena?
Because while the kids are throwing snowballs,
guess what the parents are doing? A lot of them
are just standing with who? With who they invited
and came along. And so now conversation is happening.
Can I help the gentleman in the room out? Gentlemen,
we do really good in conversation shoulder to
shoulder. We don't do real good when we have
to sit face to face, right? It's just a fact.
That's why football games, right? Why do dudes
like football games? We can sit here and look
at that and maybe we'll talk, right? The idea
of snowballs is dad, you get to talk. Moms will
naturally do it. Right? Your kid might be like
my kid. My kid loves animals. So we got the petting
zoo, right? You know what I'll get this year?
I will inevitably get some picture of my kid
holding some animal, normally a chicken, because
she loves the chickens. Right? But you know what
happens while she's playing with the chickens?
We stand and talk. We have meaningful conversation
with those we're with. And maybe the cookie decorating
that's happening. You know what happens with
the cookie decorating is dads sit down with their
kids and guess what they get to talk about? What
do you think about the good news? What do you
think about that? And it's happening with another
dad across the table that came because they were
invited by the other dad. And now you've got
this conversation. You guys, you realize everything
is intended and has been built intentionally
for you to have meaningful conversation with
those that God has put in your life. This is
just a conversation starter. What happens in
this room, it's just to start a conversation
around the good news of the person of Jesus Christ
in a way that hopefully, hopefully hits their
soul that you then can follow up and walk alongside
them with. It's beautiful. You have such a gift.
I will give you a warning if you show up and
you do not have a guest and you are not a guest.
Okay, so if you're here and you're like, John,
I'm just checking this out. You are welcome.
Come take a place. You're a guest. We love you.
If you are part of the family and you go, I am
part of the Heights family and you do not bring
a guest, then be ready for Pastor Ben or myself
to come out here and go, hey, we need you to
get up and give your seat. We need you to go
over to Overflow in H2, please. Why? Because
our guests deserve the best seats. And we're
not going to be people that when we invite you
to our home, we don't give you a seat. And so
it may mean that some of you, and I'm telling
you now so you don't send me an email after because
you're offended that you got asked to get up.
Right? This is about our community and who God
is doing and them hearing the good news of Jesus
because it matters more than you having a comfy
seat. It matters, church. And so everything that's
been created is wrapped around this idea of good
news and those that are in your life hearing
it. And today, I would love to share with you
some of the hopes when it comes to good news,
some of the hopes that we are kind of leaning
on and asking God to provide for people this
Christmas. And so in Luke chapter one and verse
five, So Luke begins the Christmas narrative,
and it's not with Jesus. It's not where you would
maybe expect the Christmas narrative to begin.
He begins this way. In the time of Herod, king
of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah
who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah.
His wife Elizabeth was also a descendant. So
you have Zechariah and you have Elizabeth, and
what we're told about them is that they have
prestige in their lineage. They are anchored
into, both sides are anchored into the priestly
line, which means that any offspring of theirs
would be within the priestly line. But we're
being told right up front, kind of their pedigree,
if you like, within the religious system. And
then verse 6 says this. Both of them were righteous
in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's
commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were
childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive.
And they were both very old. Okay. There are
some... Things within what we just read that
go together. And there's some things that need
an and to join them. So righteous, that they
had right standing before God, that they had
right action before God that led to right standing.
It says that they were righteous. And you could
put a plus sign, also blameless. Meaning they
were so righteous and their actions were so right
that you couldn't blame them. or call against
them to their account. So they are above reproach
would be another way to say it within scripture.
They are above the ability for somebody to come
and say, well, wait a minute. And then you have
an and. So they are righteous plus blameless
and unable to have children. Barren. And that
may not seem like a big deal to us, but in this
culture at this time, if you did the right things,
the thought was that if you are good, God blesses
those who are good. And to not have children
was extremely shameful in this context, like
God was punishing you in this context. So what
you have is you have righteous and blameless
don't equal being barren. You instantly have
provided within the story attention. You have
people doing the right thing, but God not showing
up the way he would be expected. Isn't it interesting?
We wouldn't ever hold to that because we know
things like grace, but how many times we are
doing the right thing and we're frustrated because
we feel like God is not doing, right? There's
a tension that's created. And it says, once when
Zechariah's division was on duty, he was serving
as a priest before God. Okay, I just want to
pause for a second. It says they were very old.
Okay, now when the Bible emphasizes very, I don't
know what age category that puts them in, but
it's very. They are aged. And what I want to
draw attention to is this. That if we humanize
the story, right? That they prayed for a child
when they were young. And when they were a little
bit older, they're still praying for a child.
And when they're a little bit older, they're
still praying for a child. At what point is it
realistic to say that they had... They were waiting
now beyond what was hopeful. At what point is
it okay to say that the tension that's now entered
in is that they're waiting to the point where
they've lost hope. Why? Because it physically
doesn't make any sense. Logically, it doesn't
make sense. And they've now waited past the point
of hope. And the reason I pause here is because
the next thing we read is once when Zechariah's
division was on duty, he was serving as a priest
before God. Wait. Okay, so quick catch up on
the religious system. It was an amazing machine
that ran. It was, there was believed at this
point in time, there was 20 ,000 priests and
the 20 ,000 priests were on a rotation. And so
there was 24 divisions. So that meant that twice
a year, one week at a time, as a priest, you
would go and serve in the temple and think like
a firehouse, right? Like that was your shift.
That week was your shift. You would sleep there,
right? You would be there the whole week and
then you would go home after. Well, when his
division, so his division is on duty and it says
that Zechariah was serving in the temple. Why
is that such a big deal? Because we just learned
that he's waiting beyond what? Hope. There's
disappointment. There's discouragement. There's
pain. There's God, this didn't work out like
I thought it would. There's God, you haven't
answered prayer. And yet he's still showing up
and what? Serving. He's serving in the midst
of the pain. His own pain wasn't a reason not
to serve and honor God. Isn't it interesting
that we're so weak culturally? We cancel people
for the quickest thing. We break relationships
for the slightest thing. And yet what we see
in scripture is I'm still going to show up and
serve even though I think God has wronged me.
Even though God has disappointed me. Even though
God hasn't maybe come through how I thought he
would. I'm still going to show up and I'm going
to serve. He was chosen, verse nine, he was chosen.
So Zechariah is chosen by Lot, according to the
custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple
of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time
for the burning of incense came, all the worshipers,
all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
Okay, so he's now in the inner part of the temple.
So there was the Holy of Holies where God existed.
There was a big curtain that divided it. Then
there was another room kind of built around those.
He's in that. And the altar of incense is close
to where the very presence of God is. He's been
drawn by Lot. This is once in a lifetime, Zechariah,
maybe twice that you get to go and have the privilege
of burning incense that close to the presence
of God. There's a whole back narrative. You can
read the Old Testament of God taking up his dwelling
within the temple and why they believe that he
was there in person. And so now he is that close.
closest you can get to the presence of God. He
is there burning incense. Why is this so significant?
Because he is carrying into that space all of
his unanswered prayer. And what is burning incense?
If you've been around the church, we sing that
song, night and day, day and night, night and
day, let incense arise, right? The prayers of
his people arise. Incense is deeply connected
to prayers. What is he doing with the burning
of incense? It is offering up the prayers of
the people before the very presence of God. That
the aroma would fill the very presence of God.
So with his own unanswered prayers, he is carrying
the prayers of all the people outside. You feel
the tension in the story? All right, maybe you
can relate. I've got unanswered prayers, but
I'll pray for you. I've got unanswered prayers,
but I'll choose to ask God to answer yours. It's
a beautiful testimony, but at the same time,
it really captures this word hope. It really
brings into what hope actually means. In the
Old Testament, there's... A Hebrew word that
is used for hope in multiple ways. We were in
our teaching prep this weekend. Those of you
that know Nathan, Nathan's amazing. He works
with elements, just phenomenal. He goes, hey,
that reminds me, I heard this somewhere. And
so he sent me the audio and I got to listen to
it, explaining this word hope. And the word hope,
the way it was used was in the story in Isaiah
chapter five. And it's a vineyard and God is
planting a vineyard. And then there's a moment
when God goes within the vineyard. He goes, I
planted the vineyard. Everything is in place
for fruit to grow, right? And he's talking about
the nation of Israel. I planted this. It's a
picture of the nation of Israel. I planted you,
Israel, and I'm just waiting for the fruit, right?
And that word, that word that is used when it
says that God planted and then he kavod is the
word that's used. Now the word kavod, in that
sense, is he is looking for, waiting for, anticipating,
he is expecting fruit. And it says what he got
from the nation of Israel was stinky grapes.
He compared them to stinky grapes, like the fruit
just was not good. But it says that he kavod,
he did everything and then he waited and he looked
and he had anticipation. Now the word Kavah is
also used in Psalm 25, that no one who kavahs
on the Lord will be put to shame. The word kavah
in that sense, right? Like no one who hopes,
no one who waits on the Lord will be put to shame.
So there's this word kavah in the Hebrew language,
and it's one of the words that's used and translated
as hope. Now, what's interesting about the word
kavah is it comes from the root word kav. Now,
you may be like, this is way too technical. Stay
with me. It's worth it. I promise. We'll get
back to football in just a second. Okay. Kav,
which is the root word, is a cord that measures.
Okay, so you think about a cord that measures,
right? Like you have, you ever seen the Olympics
where they roll out the string, roll out the
tape to measure how far the disc is thrown, right?
Like it's that idea. It's a large cord that's
rolled that when unrolled, it's designed to measure.
Maybe a simpler sense, but if you are into football,
maybe and you're watching football. On the sidelines,
they have what? They have the yardage marker,
and they're trying to make it 10 yards. Now,
the person almost makes the first down. They
don't do it anymore because they moved the digital.
Something was lost in that, but that's okay,
right? What happens is those guys take the yardage
markers, and they do what? They go out on the
field, put it down, and what happens on the other
side? Coach, what happens? They measure, but
what do they have to do with the chains? Stretch
it out. Kav is a cord that measures. Tu kavah,
which is what the vineyard owner did. The vineyard
owner kavahed. He looked, waited, anticipated.
He stretched out. And there's tension. You cannot
take the cord to measure without what? Stretching
it out and putting tension. And the key to the
word kavah is that if you are going to have hope,
you have to have tension. It's in the tension
when you think it's going to snap. That's what
it means to hope is that I wait on God. And the
tension has to be present. The anticipation,
the waiting and expectation, that's what it means
to hope, which is why the tension here in the
story is so significant, because the tension
is all wrapped up in hope. I have my own answer
prayer, and I'm praying for yours to be answered.
Then the angel of the Lord appeared, verse 11,
then the angel of the Lord appeared to him. Standing
at the right side of the altar of incense, when
Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped
with fear. But the angel said to him, do not
be afraid, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard.
What was that? Your prayer has what? Huh. Huh.
Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son. and
you are to call him John. Those of you that are
coming to the Christmas services, remember this
guy, okay? That's the only clue you're getting.
He will be a joy and delight to you, and many
will rejoice because of his birth. He will be
great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to
take wine or other fermented drink, and he will
be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he
is born. He will bring... back many of the people
of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will
go on before the Lord in the spirit and the power
of Elijah, who was a great prophet, to turn the
hearts of the parents to their children and to
the disobedient, to the wisdom of the righteous,
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Okay, 400 years of silence. And here's the first
breakthrough right here. 400 years of silence.
And a prayer that was offered by two parents
that they thought went unanswered, that they
had all this tension around, that they're holding
hope, but they're losing hope because they're
getting beyond what's logical. And in the midst
of all that, God's timing, that it breaks through.
And then any parents in the room that if God
showed up and they go, hey, your kid will be
a joy and a delight. You're like, that's enough.
I don't need the rest. I'll stop there. Many
will rejoice because of your kid's birth. He
will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will
be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he
is born. He will prepare a people, make them
ready for the Lord. Wow, you would go as a parent,
you're like, this is more than I ever could have
prayed. This is more than I ever could have imagined.
And that's our God. You need to see the picture
of who our God is. This is how he works. As he
will always do more than you could ever imagine
in the midst of your tension and your hope. In
the midst of being pulled so tight that you're
like, I think it's going to snap at the weakest
point. Zechariah asked the angel, how can I be
sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is
well along in years. He's also a wise man. For
all of the rest of human history, his words got
logged out. How do you like that, guys? I'm like,
dear God, please no. Don't record my words for
this long. The angel said to him, I am Gabriel.
I stand in the presence of God and have been
sent to speak to you and tell you this good news.
This is good news. I'm here to tell you this
good news. And now you will be silent and not
able to speak until the day this happens because
you did not believe my words, which will come
true at their appointed time. It's interesting.
We don't have time for it here, but there's a
whole thing. I kind of went down this rabbit
hole this week. It kind of feels like he gets
put in timeout, right? It kind of feels like,
it kind of feels like, wait, so Gabriel shows
up and I don't know about you, I would be scared.
I'm all in on the scared part. I'm all in on
the angel telling me, do not fear, which I'm
like, I don't think that would help me, but thank
you, you know? But at what point did you miss
the glowing white levitating off the ground?
Like, at what point did you miss that, Zechariah,
that you're like, I don't know, right? But it
kind of feels like a timeout. But here's my question.
Is it actually a gift? Is it actually a gift?
And what I mean by that, God makes them silent.
What do we do in silence? We have to go before
God with all of our concerns and all of our worries
and all of our, like when we get silent before
God, solitude is a gift that we are given. Silence
is a gift. When we get silent before the Lord,
something special happens within our soul. And
I think it's interesting that maybe this was
the greatest gift God could have given him. So
let his soul catch up to what God is doing in
his life. Meanwhile, the people were waiting
for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so
long in the temple. There's something beautiful
right here. Meanwhile, the people were waiting.
Okay, so waiting takes time. So they have time
on their hands. They're like, huh, this is weird.
My prayers normally done by now. In the waiting,
they're forced to wonder, right? You know one
of the lost arts of our culture? Wondering. We
don't wonder anymore. What do I mean? I got a
14 -year -old. You know what a 14 -year -old
does if I say something they don't know? Hey,
Siri. Hey, chat. But what happens in waiting,
waiting creates space for wonder. Waiting creates
space for you to take to the almighty, for you
to take to your neighbor and go, hey, I don't
know about this. What do you think about this?
And it's interesting that we've lost the art
of wonder and yet we were made to wonder. Do
you know they've done scientific research on
the brain and that the brain is struggling and
becoming dull in certain parts of the brain because
we don't wonder anymore? That's crazy. You were
made to sit in attention going, I don't know.
And instead, where are we at right now? You whip
out your phone, chat GPT, chat GPT gives you
an answer that could be right, maybe. You don't
know. And you're like, I got the answer. I know
now I don't have to wonder no more. And I think
we've lost something because there's value to
the sitting and the wondering. Mary finds out
that she's pregnant with Jesus. And what does
she do? She treasures them. She ponders on them.
She wonders about them. I mean, can you imagine
the questions Mary had? Hey, Siri. Can a virgin
be pregnant? And Siri goes, only by God. I don't
know where that came from. Verse 22. When he
came out, he could not speak to them. They realized
he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept
making signs to them, but remained unable to
speak. When his time of service was completed,
he returned home. What do you think he did when
he got home? What do you think he did? Elizabeth's
waiting. Oh, Elizabeth, the journey was so long
today. I don't know. It's just... How's work?
Oh, it's fine. An angel showed up. No. How do
you think he returned home? Elizabeth! You got
to hear this! And what did he share? He shared
good news that he was given. Now, I want to give
you four things because it's important to our...
Christmas Eve and Eve gatherings. Four things
about good news that are true. He returns home.
After this, his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant.
She became pregnant. You know what it confirmed
for her? That God hears. The good news confirmed,
it declared to Elizabeth, God hears me. What
the good news does is it confirms that God hears
us, right? When I share with you a story of good
news about healing for somebody, right? Because
they prayed and gathered and God answered the
prayer. All of a sudden you go, hey, good news
is telling me that if he can hear your prayers,
then maybe he's hearing mine. It reminds us that
God hears. I just need you to know today, if
you're sitting in the tension, I get it. I've
got unanswered prayer in my life. That I long
for God to answer. The way I want him to answer,
by the way. I long for him to answer. And he
hasn't. So when I hear this, I go, oh, he hears
me though. He hears me. The next thing, she became
pregnant, and for five months, she remained in
seclusion. Whole message about remaining in seclusion.
Anyways, 25. The Lord has done this for me, she
said. In these days, he has shown his favor and
taken away my disgrace. The Lord has done this
for me. What is she saying? The Lord sees me,
and he's working on my behalf. The Lord sees
me. I don't know where you are today. I don't
know how far you think you are away from God.
I don't know how given up of hope you are. I
don't know how far past hope you are. I don't
know what struggles you have. I don't know how
dark it is for you, but I need you to know this,
that God sees you today. The good news declares
it. The good news declares that he sees every
tear you cry, every moment your mind wanders,
he sees you. And then the next part, she says,
in these days, he has shown his favor. That word
favor is grace, right? It's a reminder that God,
good news reminds us that God is for us. You
know, God's for you today. I don't mean just,
I don't just mean like, I kind of like that person.
He is for you and for your good. And he is working
on your behalf right now, even though you can't
see it or feel it. Right, there's a story after
story after story in the Bible, right, in the
scriptures that we get. There's story after story
after story in our church family of what? Of
people who go, man, I did not deserve this, but
by grace, I got it. Why? Because God's for you.
And his grace will not run out. There is a cross
that is stained red and an empty tomb for all
of eternity that proves that God is for you today.
And I don't care how bad you think you are. I
know how good God is. And his good is always
better than your bad. So he wins. His grace doesn't
run out. And he has taken away my disgrace among
the people. End of the story is found in verse
39. Mary finds out she's pregnant. At that time,
Mary got ready and hurried. If you're not sure
who Mary is, let me catch you up. Mother of Jesus.
There we go. At that time, Mary, no, I'm being
serious. Like sometimes we throw out names and
we don't know who they are. At that time, Mary,
who was pregnant with Jesus, got ready and hurried
to a town in the hill country of Judea where
she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby
leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with
the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice, she exclaimed,
blessed, blessed. Are you among women? And blessed
is the child you will bear. But why am I so favored?
Why am I so covered in grace that the mother
of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the
sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby
in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who
believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises
to her. Verse 41 captured this part. was filled.
When the greeting happened, Elizabeth was filled
with the Holy Spirit. What good news tells us,
what good news reminds us, is that God is near.
God's near. How near? That she is filled with
the Holy Spirit, which means that she is filled
with God. Right? That's how close, that the very
breath, it's a reminder. That how close does
God want to get? How close the nearness of God
in Christmas? We see it because he becomes a
baby. It gets even better because as you follow
scriptures, it ends up with God living in you.
And that's the hope of glory, right? That God
would live in you and be so close as your breath
today. Good news reminds us that he is near.
Now, okay, God hears. That's what good news does.
It declares to us that God hears us. Good news
declares that he sees you today. That you're
not just in a crowd. You're not just lost. Good
news declares that he is for us today. And good
news reminds us he is near today. So here's my
question for you. Remember, I'm coaching you
today. Who in your life Who in your life? Holy
Spirit, put names on our mind right now. Who
in your life needs to know that God hears them
today? Who in your life needs to know that God
sees them today? Who in your life needs to know
that God is for them today? And who in your life
today needs to know that God is near? If anyone
came to mind, You need to pick up an invitation
and on your way out, write their name. Will you
come to hear some good news? Why? Because we
know that the good news will what? Let them know
he hears them, he sees them, he's for them, and
he's near them. And so you're on mission, church,
because Christmas is not about us. It's not about
us. We've got a kingdom mission in front of us.
and people that need good news in our community.
And we have the privilege by a simple invite
of going, will you come hear some good news?
And would you be reminded of those things? Would
you maybe see them for the first time? And so
who is it that God put on your mind? Let me pray
for you. God, we thank you today for Jesus. We
thank you for the good news of Jesus. We thank
you for the Savior, our Savior. God, we are grateful
people. God, out of our gratitude, Holy Spirit,
would you bring faces and names to mind? Holy
Spirit, would you give us courage to step out
and invite somebody to come along with us to
hear the good news of Jesus? You are the one
who changes everything. through the power of
your death and burial and resurrection. And so
we thank you for hearing us. We thank you for
seeing us. We thank you for being for us. We
thank you that you are near as our breath today.
We are grateful people and everybody said, amen.