WEBVTT 00:00:03.530 --> 00:00:07.110 Hello, this is David, and I am here with Trent 00:00:07.110 --> 00:00:10.550 and Tammy Smith today, and they're going to read 00:00:10.550 --> 00:00:13.150 you a couple of scriptures. But before that, 00:00:13.650 --> 00:00:16.670 I've asked them to share an element that points 00:00:16.670 --> 00:00:19.730 to Christ during this season. Hello, Oak Ridge. 00:00:20.489 --> 00:00:23.030 Hey, everyone. I hope you are having a great 00:00:23.030 --> 00:00:25.629 holiday. I hope this month is a really blessed 00:00:25.629 --> 00:00:27.850 time for you. I know it always is for us. I was 00:00:27.850 --> 00:00:29.989 very busy, but it always ends up being very blessed. 00:00:30.219 --> 00:00:34.619 And one of the things that we do as a big tradition 00:00:34.619 --> 00:00:38.179 in our family during Christmas is we do a scavenger 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:41.939 hunt for our main gift with the family. And so 00:00:41.939 --> 00:00:44.179 we have a group that, I mean, we get together 00:00:44.179 --> 00:00:47.719 every year. There's 16 of us. But what's interesting 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:49.820 about this, this scavenger hunt started with 00:00:49.820 --> 00:00:52.479 my grandmother. So now we're on the fourth generation 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:56.179 of people hunting for gifts. on my side of the 00:00:56.179 --> 00:00:58.780 family. And so it's a real tradition where you 00:00:58.780 --> 00:01:01.880 come to Nana's house and there's a clue on the 00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:04.040 tree and that leads you to five other clues and 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:06.599 eventually you find your gift. And the first 00:01:06.599 --> 00:01:09.040 person to find their gift is the one who gets 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:12.280 to open their gift first. And so there's this 00:01:12.280 --> 00:01:14.959 hustle and there's this excitement about it and 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:18.640 there's this very childlike exuberance that happens 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:21.599 and that just fills the house during this time. 00:01:22.680 --> 00:01:25.260 In a strange way, I was starting to think about 00:01:25.260 --> 00:01:27.780 how does that point you to Christ? Well, that 00:01:27.780 --> 00:01:31.079 for me, if you think about the process, you start 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:33.079 this process of the scavenger hunt, you're really 00:01:33.079 --> 00:01:36.620 seeking that gift. And Christ is our greatest 00:01:36.620 --> 00:01:40.620 gift. If we spend our time seeking Him and going 00:01:40.620 --> 00:01:43.700 from, you're gonna hit a clue here and a clue 00:01:43.700 --> 00:01:45.980 there, and it's going to lead you to something 00:01:45.980 --> 00:01:49.239 even greater all along the way. And if you continue 00:01:49.239 --> 00:01:53.359 to seek Him, then the gifts that you receive 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:56.439 are just incredible and they just continue to 00:01:56.439 --> 00:01:58.900 come on. It's not a once a year thing, it's a 00:01:58.900 --> 00:02:01.140 constant thing that happens. And that's what 00:02:01.140 --> 00:02:04.579 he's asking us to do, seek and find. And so that's 00:02:04.579 --> 00:02:06.680 one thing that kind of crossed my mind. That's 00:02:06.680 --> 00:02:09.199 a huge tradition in our family that we love to 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:13.460 enjoy every year. Awesome. It sounds like his 00:02:13.460 --> 00:02:17.610 presence is your present. So I looked at the 00:02:17.610 --> 00:02:20.569 acronym that you sent David and I saw you know 00:02:20.569 --> 00:02:23.270 the Christ acronym and I saw the first one Carol 00:02:23.270 --> 00:02:27.509 and I'm not a big Christmas Carol kind of person, 00:02:27.509 --> 00:02:30.610 but I do love songs and there has been one funny 00:02:30.610 --> 00:02:33.389 Holiday song that I've been listening to a lot 00:02:33.389 --> 00:02:35.949 lately that you know, it's not your traditional 00:02:35.949 --> 00:02:38.629 Carol But it definitely has brought me great 00:02:38.629 --> 00:02:42.349 joy. And so and it's a song by Carrie Underwood 00:02:42.349 --> 00:02:47.659 and it's called stretchy pants And so it's just 00:02:47.659 --> 00:02:49.639 very appropriate for this time of year, but it's 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:52.659 all about making room for more holiday food. 00:02:52.939 --> 00:02:54.900 So I'm just going to share a few lines, like 00:02:54.900 --> 00:02:56.939 if you haven't heard the song, but she says, 00:02:56.939 --> 00:02:58.819 you know, my tummy is growling and I've been 00:02:58.819 --> 00:03:01.620 saving up space. I've got my place at the table. 00:03:01.620 --> 00:03:04.479 I can't fit no more on my plate. I've got my 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:06.539 fork in my hand. I'm ready to stuff my face. 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:09.340 So bring on those turkey, the potatoes, the casserole 00:03:09.340 --> 00:03:11.979 dishes, because I'm not messing around with them 00:03:11.979 --> 00:03:14.120 buttoned up britches because I got my stretchy 00:03:14.120 --> 00:03:17.159 pants on. The song is just so much about making 00:03:17.159 --> 00:03:21.039 room for more food, more celebration, more joy. 00:03:21.379 --> 00:03:23.659 And I was just thinking about what that, how 00:03:23.659 --> 00:03:26.719 that relates to Christ for me. And, you know, 00:03:26.740 --> 00:03:29.219 because it's about making room, you know, for 00:03:29.219 --> 00:03:31.900 Christ to come into our messy lives, to this 00:03:31.900 --> 00:03:34.759 busy time in our lives. It's about making that 00:03:34.759 --> 00:03:38.139 space for Him. So the Stretchy Pants song is, 00:03:38.139 --> 00:03:40.800 you know, joyful and it's silly. And but honestly, 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:43.840 you know, for me, I needed that reminder because 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:46.919 many times we put pressure on ourselves for everything 00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:48.759 to be perfect during this Christmas, to have 00:03:48.759 --> 00:03:51.599 the perfect meal, to have the perfect gift, you 00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:53.680 know, to just, everything to just be perfect. 00:03:53.979 --> 00:03:56.159 And so, and Christmas really shouldn't be about 00:03:56.159 --> 00:03:58.620 perfection, you know, it's about God choosing 00:03:58.620 --> 00:04:01.259 to come to earth for us and perfect people. You 00:04:01.259 --> 00:04:03.919 know, we all crave something deeper than food, 00:04:04.020 --> 00:04:06.159 you know, we can put the stretchy pants on, but 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:08.639 we'll eventually get hungry, but Christ satisfies, 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:12.560 you know, every hunger. Wow. I love how you heard 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:16.519 that. And then it just ran with it in your mind, 00:04:16.860 --> 00:04:20.720 and it made room for Christ, which is, I mean, 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:23.560 what we all hope for. Yes. It's definitely a 00:04:23.560 --> 00:04:25.500 fun time of the year, and I'll take it all the 00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:28.160 way around. All right. So do you all have some 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:32.100 scriptures to share? We do. So I'll lead us off 00:04:32.100 --> 00:04:43.110 with Genesis 15, verses 1 through 18. Do not 00:04:43.110 --> 00:04:46.250 be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and 00:04:46.250 --> 00:04:49.189 your reward will be great.' But Abraham replied, 00:04:49.350 --> 00:04:53.149 O sovereign Lord, what good are all of your blessings 00:04:53.149 --> 00:04:55.949 if I don't even have a son? Since you've given 00:04:55.949 --> 00:05:00.069 me no children, Leaser of Damascus, a servant 00:05:00.069 --> 00:05:02.970 of my household, will inherit all of my wealth. 00:05:03.269 --> 00:05:06.370 You have given me no descendants of my own, so 00:05:06.370 --> 00:05:08.889 one of my servants will be my heir.' And then 00:05:08.889 --> 00:05:11.699 the Lord said to him, No, your servant will not 00:05:11.699 --> 00:05:14.379 be your heir, for you will have a son of your 00:05:14.379 --> 00:05:17.579 own, and he will be your heir." Then the Lord 00:05:17.579 --> 00:05:20.439 took Abram outside and said to him, look up at 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:23.480 the sky and count the stars if you can. That's 00:05:23.480 --> 00:05:25.819 how many descendants you will have. And Abram 00:05:25.819 --> 00:05:28.560 believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:31.139 righteous because of his faith. The Lord told 00:05:31.139 --> 00:05:34.259 him, I am the Lord who brought you out of the 00:05:34.259 --> 00:05:37.620 Ur of Chaldeans to give you this land as your 00:05:37.620 --> 00:05:41.139 possession. But Abram replied, O sovereign Lord, 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:44.779 how can I be sure that I will actually possess 00:05:44.779 --> 00:05:48.180 it? The Lord told him, bring me a three -year 00:05:48.180 --> 00:05:50.600 -old heifer, a three -year -old female goat, 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:54.319 a three -year -old ram, a turtle dove, and a 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:57.720 young pigeon. So Abram presented all of these 00:05:57.720 --> 00:06:00.819 things to him and he killed them. Then he cut 00:06:00.819 --> 00:06:04.199 each animal down the middle and laid their halves 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:07.540 side by side. He did not, however, cut the birds 00:06:07.540 --> 00:06:10.240 in half. Some vultures swooped down to eat from 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:13.420 the carcasses, but Abram chased them away. As 00:06:13.420 --> 00:06:16.720 the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:20.139 sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over 00:06:20.139 --> 00:06:24.079 him. The Lord said to Abram, You can be sure 00:06:24.079 --> 00:06:26.740 that your descendants will be strangers in a 00:06:26.740 --> 00:06:29.540 foreign land, where they will be oppressed as 00:06:29.540 --> 00:06:32.199 slaves for four hundred years, but I will punish 00:06:32.199 --> 00:06:35.240 the nation that enslaves them, and in the end 00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:38.620 they will come away with great wealth. As for 00:06:38.620 --> 00:06:42.680 you, you will die in peace and be buried at a 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:46.560 ripe old age. After four generations your descendants 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:49.759 will return to this land and for the sins of 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:52.680 the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction. 00:06:53.560 --> 00:06:57.220 After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram 00:06:57.220 --> 00:07:01.399 saw a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch pass 00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:04.250 through the halves of the carcass. So the Lord 00:07:04.250 --> 00:07:07.709 made a covenant with Abram that day and said, 00:07:08.569 --> 00:07:11.689 I have given this land to your descendants all 00:07:11.689 --> 00:07:14.490 the way from the border of Egypt to the great 00:07:14.490 --> 00:07:17.689 Euphrates River. So what's significant to me 00:07:17.689 --> 00:07:22.490 about that verse really is the original covenant 00:07:22.490 --> 00:07:26.269 was always for the weaker party to walk through 00:07:26.269 --> 00:07:31.009 that. But yet in this instance, and even now, 00:07:31.250 --> 00:07:35.879 God chose to walk through there to Abram instead 00:07:35.879 --> 00:07:39.060 of the opposite way. And so God is making that 00:07:39.060 --> 00:07:41.699 covenant saying, I know you will never be able 00:07:41.699 --> 00:07:44.420 to keep this covenant, but I will make sure that 00:07:44.420 --> 00:07:46.699 you keep it. I'll take all the heat basically. 00:07:48.060 --> 00:07:50.660 It'll take the repercussions when it's broken 00:07:50.660 --> 00:07:56.019 and it keeps showing up over and over. So I have 00:07:56.019 --> 00:08:01.079 Matthew 12, 33 through 37. And it says, a tree 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:04.180 is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, 00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:06.879 its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:09.620 fruit will be bad. You brood of snakes, how could 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:11.899 evil men like you speak what is good and right? 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:14.300 For whatever is in your heart determines what 00:08:14.300 --> 00:08:16.920 you say. A good person produces good things from 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:19.500 the treasury of a good heart. And an evil person 00:08:19.500 --> 00:08:22.399 produces evil things from the treasury of an 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:25.000 evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:27.339 an account on judgment day for every idle word 00:08:27.339 --> 00:08:29.949 you speak. The words you say will either acquit 00:08:29.949 --> 00:08:33.409 you or condemn you. To me, this is an invitation 00:08:33.409 --> 00:08:35.549 to just look in our hearts and ask ourselves, 00:08:35.629 --> 00:08:38.690 you know, what is there? Is God occupying the 00:08:38.690 --> 00:08:41.529 space there? You know, what is the fruit of our 00:08:41.529 --> 00:08:44.110 life producing? You know, have we made space 00:08:44.110 --> 00:08:46.889 for Him? If we have, then others will see Him. 00:08:47.090 --> 00:08:50.110 You know, and then going back to the stretchy 00:08:50.110 --> 00:08:53.340 pants song. It makes me think about like putting 00:08:53.340 --> 00:08:56.379 on my spiritual stretchy pants, you know, and 00:08:56.379 --> 00:08:58.960 letting Christ stretch me. Well that's awesome. 00:08:59.220 --> 00:09:02.299 Who would have known that stretchy pants could 00:09:02.299 --> 00:09:05.419 have had such meaning? She didn't know she was 00:09:05.419 --> 00:09:06.820 writing a theological song.