The Gift of Christmas

by Rev. Kenneth Gerada, Church Planting Director

I heard a story about two young boys who were spending the night at their grandparents’ house. At bedtime, the two boys knelt beside their beds to say their prayers when the youngest one began praying at the top of his lungs:

“I PRAY FOR A NEW BICYCLE…

I PRAY FOR A NEW BICYCLE…

I PRAY FOR A NEW BICYCLE…”

His older brother leaned over and nudged the younger brother and said, “Why are you shouting your prayers? God isn’t deaf!”  To which the little brother replied, “No, but Gramma is!”

There is another question I want to ask you, WHAT IS THE GIFT YOU REALLY DESIRE TO GIVE THIS CHRISTMAS?

PRAYER: Our God and heavenly Father, we come to you today with thankful hearts for the gift of eternal life that you have given us. May all of us who have received it respond to you, in this Church Planting Sunday by sharing the gift of salvation to those who are in need. Bless your WORD in our midst Oh Lord, Amen.

What do we know about gifts?

1. Gifts are FREE.
2. Gifts are VALUED according to the need of the one receiving the gift.
3. Gifts are to be RECEIVED in order to benefit from it.

Let us take a look at our text for today: 

Texts: Matthew 1: 18-25, John 3: 16-18

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

John 3:16-18: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

Let us take a closer look at what these two passages tell us about the Gift of Christmas.

I – Firstly, The Gift of Christmas is a Gift from GOD.

The angel of the Lord was the one who announced it to Joseph.

Matthew 1:20-21: But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

God is the giver of the gift

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

Because it is a gift from God we can say that…

1. It is GREAT

It is a great gift because it is a gift from the great King of heaven.  God gives us this wonderful gift.

Based on a fictional story about the former professional golfer, 1974 Hall of Fame awardee Arnold Palmer, who played a series of exhibition matches in Saudi Arabia. The king of Saudi was so impressed that he proposed to give Palmer a gift. Palmer politely said “It really isn’t necessary, Your Highness. I’m honored to have been invited.”

“I would be deeply upset,” replied the king, “if you would not allow me to give you a gift.”

Palmer thought for a moment and said, “All right. How about a GOLF CLUB? That would be a beautiful remembrance of my visit to your country.”  Arnold was simply asking for a golf club, the one a golfer used to strike a golf ball.

The next day, delivered to Palmer’s hotel, was the title to a golf club, thousands of hectares with trees, lakes, clubhouse, and so forth.

The moral of the story is: Great kings give great gifts

Note: There is no strong evidence that this story actually happened so this story is deemed to be an urban legend which may have been based on a fictional work written by Lowell Thomas in 1949 for Reader’s Digest. [1]

1. It is a gift greatly NEEDED by everyone.

Matthew 1:21: She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

John 3: 18: Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

All of us need this gift. For without this gift we will be condemned.

Illustration: 

The present administration of President Bongbong Marcos through the department of Justices is working the awarding of Parole to many PDL (Persons deprived of liberty), or prisoners who had been in jail for many years and are 70 years old and above.  If you happened to be one of the recipients of this much needed parole, wouldn’t you consider this a great gift? Of course you would.

We are a people in need and the great king gave us what we really need.  It is the greatest gift of all.

APPLICATION:  How did you respond to the King’s great gift he had given you?

II – Secondly, the gift of Christmas is a Gift of SALVATION

Matthew 1:21

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

Yes, the gift of Christmas is no ordinary gift.  It is a gift of Salvation.  Because of our sins we all are separated from God and are condemned but God gave us a great gift. It is the gift of eternal life.

What does salvation really mean?

1. Salvation is the assurance that in Christ we have been FORGIVEN of all of our sins (John 3:16).
2. Salvation is the assurance that all who received Christ and believed in His Person and His atoning work have been MADE SONS and DAUGHTERS of God and are in a relationship with God through Christ (John 1:12).
3. Salvation is the assurance that in Christ we have been saved from the PENALTY and POWER of sin, and will be saved from the PRESENCE of sin when God brings us to heaven where sin reigns no more.

Paul in second 2 Corinthians 9:15 said:  Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

APPLICATION:  Have you received the great gift of salvation?

III – Thirdly, the gift of Christmas is a gift of LOVE.

John 3: 16: For God SO LOVED the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

It is true that there are people who give us gifts because they love us, and we thank God for them.  However, it is also true that there are people who give us gifts for some other reasons.

• Other people give gifts in order to receive back.
• Others give gifts because it is needed or required (Nakikisama lang).
• Others give gifts just to go along with the “spirit of Christmas” (nakikiuso lang).

It is good to know that God gave us the greatest gift of all because he LOVED us.

1. He proved his love by COMING DOWN to earth.

• Here are some words from a well-loved hymn “Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown:”

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown, When Thou camest to earth for me; But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room For Thy holy nativity:

John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1: 14: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

What a blessed people we are having been loved by God so dearly.

He proved his love by GIVING his life on the cross

Romans 5:8: But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Amplified Bible).

I want you to take a look at the lyric of the song “When He was on the cross” written by Ronald Payne and Ronny Hinson, the second stanza and the chorus go this way:

The look of love was on his face
Thorns were on his head
The blood was on his scarlet robe
Stained a crimson red
Though his eyes were on the crowd that day
He looked ahead in time
Cause when he was on the cross
I was on his mind

He knew me, yet he loved me
He whose glory makes the heavens shine
So unworthy of such mercy
Yet when he was on the cross
I was on his mind

[1]https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2003/june/14472.html

APPLICATION:  How are you responding to the love of God for you?  Is your life a living proof of your great love for God?

IV – Fourthly, the gift of Christmas is intended for EVERYONE.

John 3: 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that WHOEVER believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

      Luke 1: 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”

There is always exclusivity when it comes to giving of gifts.  People don’t just give gifts to anyone let alone everyone.

Example: 

• Employers give gifts to their employees.
• Ninongs and Ninangs give gifts to their godchildren.
• Members give gifts to their pastor (JOKE lang pwede rin tutuhanin hehehe).

The fact is, we give gifts to those we want to give but not to everyone that exists in this planet.  But here in our text, the gift is offered to all.

What are the implications of this?

1. First, we need to see the people in need BEYOND our circles of relationships and influence.
2. Second, we need to tell them of the FREE gift of salvation.
3. Third, we need to help in planting churches so that the GOSPEL will be brought where the people are. 

How can you help in planting churches?

• You can volunteer and help whatever you can in church planting.
• You can make a monthly financial pledge for the church planting ministry of our church.
• You can give 20 pesos a month for the Bayanihan Church Building fund to help build churches for church planting ministries in our district. 

RECAP:  We have just talked about the gift of Christmas:

• The Gift of Christmas is a Gift from GOD
• The gift of Christmas is a Gift of SALVATION
• The gift of Christmas is a gift of LOVE
• The gift of Christmas is intended for EVERYONE

Challenge: 

I have a two-fold challenge here:  First, if you have not received the gift and you want to receive it now, will you please raise your hand?  Second, those of you who already have received the gift, will you raise your hand as you make a commitment to personally tell others about it and help in planting churches so that many more people will know about the great gift of Christmas? (Have the people stand and lead in prayer of acceptance those who want to receive the gift of salvation.  Pray also for those who are committing themselves to support evangelism and church planting ministry)

Word Document: