Christmas in Real Life – Love is the theme for our Christmas Eve Candlelight message. The service is one of nine lessons and carols, a very traditional worship service where God gets to speak to his people in Scripture and his people respond in song. Consider verses four and five of the Titus 3 sermon text.
4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
God doesn’t love you because you’re lovable. God loves you in spite of the terrible things that you think, say, or have done. You can triple bogey and break the golf club over your knee everyday and God will still love you. This is a selfless love.
Ryan and Eric Wasson have been giving a gift back to each other every year since 1987. It was a box of LifeSavers. The brothers said that one warm Christmas the lifesavers melted. Ew… When asked why they do this, it started as a joke – one of the brothers didn’t like LifeSavers so of course in 1987 the other brother got this as a Christmas gift. That I understand. However when asked why they keep doing this. They said, “Neither one of us will give up because we’re brothers. We can never give up.”
I know brothers who haven’t spoken in years because of some petty disagreement. Maybe you do too. But as a Christian on Christmas THIS accurately describes the love of my God. He can’t give up.
God doesn’t love you because you’re standing under the mistletoe. He doesn’t love you because you try hard or because you’re good. He knows that you have been bad. You are naughty. He loves you anyway. This inexplicable divine love is one that Mary pondered the rest of her life in her heart. She gave birth to love at Christmas and then she watched that love give up his life on a Friday that we call Good. Because he did we are forgiven. That is Christmas in Real Life – Love.
Want to hear more? Watch this year’s Christmas Eve Message taken from Titus 3.
To learn more about this Advent sermon series you can find the event page HERE.
Book(s): Titus
Series: Christmas in Real Life
Tag(s): Advent, Christmas
Speaker(s): Fred Guldberg