Experience the Gracious Blessings of Christ

The arrival of Jesus changed the world—and it can change your life too. In this message from John 1 and the Christmas story, Pastor Chris Teien shows how Christ’s coming offers us the gracious blessings of God’s presence, purpose, and promises. Discover how to live with hope, share Christ with others, and walk confidently in the love and faithfulness of Jesus every day.

Key Points:

1. Jesus Lived Among Us to Show Us How to Live and Set Us Free – John 1:14. Jesus came to dwell with us, revealing God's love and offering the hope of eternal life.
2. John the Baptist’s Purpose Was to Prepare People for Jesus – John 1:15. Like John, we have a role in pointing others toward Christ through our lives and words.
3. Gracious Blessings Overflow from Jesus – John 1:16. God's blessings—spiritual and practical—flow into our lives when we walk with Him.
4. Love and Faithfulness Flow Through Jesus – John 1:17. Jesus reveals the fullness of God's grace and faithfulness, surpassing what the Law could ever accomplish.
5. The Mysteries of God Are Revealed in Jesus – John 1:18. Jesus makes the invisible God known to us, inviting us into a personal relationship with Him.

Personal Stories from Pastor Chris:

• Reflections on how coming to faith in high school changed his entire future.
• Encouragement to "re-gift Jesus" by giving out easy-to-read New Testaments to friends and family.
• A humorous story about trying to responsibly dispose of a cement truck tire, illustrating how good deeds sometimes cost more than expected.
• Observations on how cultural moments like Christmas create open doors for gospel conversations.

Notable Quotes:

• "Without Christ in my life, I wouldn’t know how to truly live."
• "Re-gifting Jesus is one of the best things you can do."
• "You are never truly alone—Jesus is always with you."

Actionable Takeaways:

1. Give a Bible or gospel resource to someone in your life this season.
2. Pray for courage to share Christ openly with friends, coworkers, and family.
3. Reflect on your purpose—what role is God calling you to play in His story?
4. Remember that God's faithfulness and love are constant, even when life is hard.

Scripture References:

• John 1:14–18 – Jesus’ incarnation and revealing God’s glory
• Matthew 1:18–25 – Jesus' birth announcement to Joseph
• Luke 2:8–14 – Angels appear to the shepherds
• John 6:44 – The Father draws people to Christ
• Genesis 3:15 – First promise of a Savior after the fall
• John 17:3 – Eternal life is knowing God through Jesus Christ

Keywords:
 Christmas, John 1, Jesus' blessings, gracious blessings, gospel sharing, God’s love, faithfulness, discipleship, evangelism, Christian hope

Closing Statement:
 The gracious blessings of Christ are available to you today. Embrace His love, walk in His faithfulness, and share the hope you’ve found with the people around you. You are part of His ongoing story of grace.

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The WELL Faith Podcast offers encouraging, Bible-based messages from Pastor Chris Teien and guests. New sermons are released every Sunday. Replay episodes are marked with an asterisk. Find us online at ChrisTeien.com and Rockwell.Church in Virginia, MN. Email comments to wellfaith24@gmail.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be withchild from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying to Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife. For that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. But you will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in squattery cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to those he favors.

Chris T 3:05

So when Christ came into the world, it changed or gave us an opportunity to change for all time. So it literally D. James Kennedy wrote a book on if Jesus hadn't been born, in which he lists many things that came about because Christ came into the world, including people who cared about each other and built hospitals and taught others how to read and developed education and so many foundational things that we take for granted today. And you and I have an opportunity to make a difference in the world. In the script of our lives, you and I can make choices based on what we choose to do with our time and our resources and how we choose to show care for each other, and even on what we choose to do at Christmas time. So many times people get caught up in the commercialism of Christmas and they think that they need to buy all this stuff because they don't want anybody to be disappointed, and they have to have the perfect spread. And maybe you right now are cooking a big meal. Maybe it's in the crock pot or it's going to be in the oven, or maybe you're watching online because you couldn't get out of the kitchen. Nonetheless, it is a good time to take time to celebrate Christ in your life. A good time to remember all that he has done. Number one, that Jesus lived among us to show us how to live and to set us free to live forever. So without Christ in my life, I would not have an idea of what God expected of me without Christ in my life. Without the Bible, I would not have an idea of how I can live a better life than what I could come up with on my own. I wonder sometimes what I would be like if Christ hadn't come into my life when I was in high school and if I hadn't taken following him seriously. Many times people come to Christ or they say a prayer and nobody steps in to follow up, to teach them how to live a Christian life. No one steps in to disciple them and help them. And many people are in different places in their spiritual life. There's different felt needs at different times. And we have these How to Find God New Testaments out there on the table as you walk in the door. And I would love, if you're not familiar with them, if you would take one. And if you are going to some Christmas gathering today or tomorrow or something, and you have a friend or relative or somebody you care about, and you would like to help them find a right relationship with Christ, find how to be saved, know how to learn how to live the Christian life, be able to have a New Testament that's easy for them to read. I would love it if you would take one or two or whatever and bring that to them. Maybe you could even gift it. Gifting is funny, so regifting is just fine as far as I'm concerned, as long as you don't re-gift it to the person that you got it from, because then it's just awkward. So unless you say, Oh, it's because I loved it so much that I wanted you to have one too. Then that works out pretty good. But re-gifting Jesus is one of the best things that you can do. If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you want to spend the rest of your days telling people about how wonderful that is and why you would want to do that. In John chapter 1, verse 14, it says, The word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. We have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only. So we read about Jesus. And John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, that's how John describes himself, writes about this. And he has literally seen Jesus' glory at the transfiguration when Jesus was up on the mountain, and Elijah and Moses showed up and that whole thing. You can read about that, but John literally saw that happen. And we read about it and trust that the word has come from God through the Holy Spirit to us so that we can see that and understand that. But Jesus was perfect. Jesus was perfect as he lived among men, as he was born into the world as an infant, as he grew up in a family. Yes, Jesus had brothers and sisters. As he grew up in a family, as he most likely learned a trade from his dad or stepdad, Joseph the carpenter. So Jesus had skills, Jesus had opportunities, Jesus chose to do what's right, Jesus was perfect and sinless. Literally, God came to us in the flesh so that we could understand, so that we could see his likeness, so that we would understand how much he cares and loves us. And the word became human and made his home among us. So his home is among men and women, among us. And we celebrate that. That is what Christmas is all about is remembering when Jesus came to earth, when Jesus came to make a difference. And that is a wonderful thing to celebrate that his unfailing love and faithfulness. There is nobody more faithful and nobody more loving that cares about you more than Jesus. And to experience that, to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, to have him come into your life, to have that personal relationship, to pray about your needs and your fears and your aspirations. And sometimes we find ourselves hopeless, but as we spend time in God's word and as we pray it through, we find hope to answer our hopelessness. Sometimes in the course of life, we find disappointment. And God can get us through. Jesus knows what it's like to be disappointed. He was disappointed by other people. Life can be difficult. And I know when we come to Christmas time that different people are in different stages of life. Someone, a friend, had posted something on a social networking site that said that she used to be bothered by the busyness of what they had to do, especially at like family gatherings in Christmas time. They had to run here and run there and had to get the kids here and there, and it was just so busy. And then things slowed down, and then people died, and things aren't busy anymore. Now it's just memories. And they look back and they wish that they would have appreciated those busy days more. They wish that they would be able to experience some of that again. And maybe you have room at your table to invite some lonely person into your experience, and that would be great if you could do that. But if you have Jesus Christ in your life, even if you're on a deserted desert island, you will never be alone because Jesus is with you. Now, if you are in a deserted desert island and you don't want to be there, I would strongly encourage that you pray that Jesus would send somebody to rescue you and get you off of that island or help you to understand what you're supposed to learn while you're on that island waiting to be rescued. But his glory is overwhelming. His holiness, his purity, his power is something that we can't even fathom, but we read about and we worship this holy, perfect, wonderful God. In John 6, 44, it says, No one can come to me, Jesus says, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. As it is written in the scriptures, they will also all be taught by God, and everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. And here this verse is saying that people don't come to God on their own. People don't come to Jesus on their own, that the Holy Spirit draws them. The Holy Spirit convicts them. They learn through God from what Jesus taught and through the scripture that we have, through the Old New Testament that we have, through scripture that is hard for sometimes, sometimes it's hard for people to understand. Sometimes people, they're not readers nowadays. A lot of people would prefer to watch a two-minute video and make their opinion based on that than to be reading things and to be critical readers and to ask questions about what they're reading and trying to figure out what's true and what's not. So in this New Testament that we offer, there's a section in the front that has an index of all the different topics that are covered in here. But things like how you can know God, what's missing in our lives, the solution is Jesus Christ, and we put Jesus on the cross and adopted and assured in Christ. And so those are some articles in there. And then basic discipleship things like who is God, who is the Holy Spirit, who is the devil, who are angels, what is hell, what is love, what is forgiveness, what is purity, how can I study the Bible? How do I pray? How do I find the right church? How do I resist temptation? Things about marriage, children, priorities, prayer time are all in this paperback that we would love for you to take with you. We want to plant seeds in people's lives. So you have an opportunity to reach into people's lives that the church never can. So I highly doubt that I will be able to get on the same level of connection and friendship or camaraderie or care as you are with your coworkers and your neighbors and the people that you know. And so you need to take responsibility to plant seeds. And we as a church want to equip you and to help you to do that. But no one comes to Jesus unless they are drawn, unless God comes first, if God calls them, and then they respond, and that is a good thing. Verse 46 not that anyone has ever seen the Father. Only I who was sent from God have seen him. I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. So in this passage, it talks about how no one has seen the Father, and that the Father draws people to Christ, and that people that are drawn to Christ have eternal life change, are transformed, can become children of God, can live the Christian life, can be able to read Scripture and to understand it and apply it to their life. And the Holy Spirit not only guides us and convicts us of sin and helps us to come to Christ, but also teaches us, helps us to understand Scripture and gives us the power that we need to share our faith with other people. And so when you go to the family gathering, you might say, I'd really like to tell my brother-in-law or my siblings or friends or whatever about Christ, but I'm so afraid. So pray about it and just show up and start doing it and watch the Holy Spirit kick in and help you. Sometimes, when you're the most terrified, you do the best job because it's not necessarily you doing the best that you can, but it's God working through you. And sometimes even it seems like you walk away and you're like, oh, that didn't go so good, but actually God can still use it. God can still use it. Even if you say simple things like, you know what I used to be like. Christ has come into my life and is changing me in this way. I'm not that person anymore. I'm not perfect, but I am changing. And that is a good thing. So we have an opportunity to grow in Christ. We have an opportunity to believe in Christ. And so we celebrate that at this Christmas time. So we don't get hung up on the Christmas debate on is it a pagan holiday? Are we celebrating a pagan holiday? It's our culture has taken a time out and even given people time off work to do Christmas things. And we have an opportunity to talk about Christ right now at this time of the year. This is the time of the year we can talk about Jesus more than any other time. So I was happy to. A while back, I walked into a Shields store and which is a sporting goods store. I don't know if they have them up here. I think they're based out of Mankato. But anyway, and I wanted to buy a treadmill, and the guys, we can get you a great discount on this if you just take one of our credit cards. I'm like, so if I sign up for the credit card, hey, then I get a great discount. And he's yeah, you get a great discount, but you got to get the credit card. I said, How long does that take? And he's I don't know, about 60 seconds if you have good credit. I'm like, what? So he's come here. And he's what's your social security number? And he's this information. He's okay, sign here. And the guy literally prints out a credit card right there and hands me a Shields card. And he said, Okay, now you can get that great discount on the treadmill. And I got the great discount and paid off the card, but I still have it and I use it sometimes. And I was delighted to get the statement, not only because it said I didn't owe anything, but because they sent a little thing in there that says that we paused to celebrate Jesus and everything about his birth. And it was as overtly evangelistic as you could ever imagine coming in my credit card statement. And my wife said, wow, we should buy more from them. And I'm like, yeah, if their stuff wasn't so expensive. But anyway, it was an opportunity and they took it. Because it's Christmas time and that's allowed. Now, if they were to be sending that stuff out in February, you know, it's Valentine's Day and Jesus loves you, people would be like, oh, I'm gonna cancel my card. But they can get away with it right now. Even Easter, you don't get the same kind of opportunity as we get now to talk about Jesus. But it's not about the baby infant, helpless little baby Jesus that can't do anything because he's an infant. No, it's about the fact that Jesus came into the world and he gave us an opportunity to learn about what God is like and how he loves us and what he expects from us and how he wants us to be part of his family, and how as we give our lives to him, he guarantees us eternal life, and eternal life is something to be enjoyed from the very beginning. So it is a good thing. Number two, John's life purpose was to prepare people to meet the Savior. So this is John the Baptist now. John the Baptist is in this text in the beginning of John, and it says, so John the Baptist testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, this is the one I was talking about when I said, Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me. So if you remember from your gospel readings of the Christmas story, that John was actually born about six months before Jesus and he came into the world, and his primary purpose was to be like a forerunner, to proclaim that the Savior, the Messiah was coming, that he was baptizing people for uh their uh for repentance, the remission of sins, to get them ready for Jesus to come. And he knew his place. He knew that he wasn't the great one, but Jesus was. He knew that while Jesus was just a little younger than him, that Jesus was eternal and that he had been part of creation, and that he was there and he identified with that. Now part of me wonders, okay, so if your moms knew each other, if Mary and Elizabeth knew each other, and then you guys were born into the world, and I know that you like Jesus moved to Egypt for a bit and came back and stuff. How did you like lose the connection in such a small spot? How did you guys not know about each other? But hey, that happens even in a small town. But nonetheless, John the Baptist knew his place. John the Baptist knew when he saw Jesus, the Holy Spirit coming down on Jesus helped, but he knew when he saw Jesus that he was the real deal. That he was the real deal, that he was the one that was God in the flesh, that he was the Messiah, that there wasn't any sin about him, there wasn't anything that was not right about him. There was a time when John the Baptist questioned Jesus and his plan and everything, but we all have questions sometimes. But I think it's even more interesting that James, when James writes about Jesus, the glorious one, James, Jesus' brother, that James would call out that Jesus was the perfect son of God. When James grew up with him, he was Jesus was James' big brother. And so he had every opportunity to see Jesus be selfish, get mad, do something sinful, have some bad thoughts or whatever, and none of that was there. Can you imagine growing up with Jesus for a big brother? That would be pretty awesome. But Jesus was God in the flesh, incarnated, or incarnated as God in the flesh. And one question that I have when we come to Christmas time and we think about where we are in the scope of life is if John's life purpose was to prepare people to meet the Savior, what is your life purpose? What is what are you doing? What will you be doing? Actually, I'm going to talk about that on next week. Open doors in 2024. Rhymey. Sounds like a campaign slogan. But nonetheless, what open doors do you have? If you had an opportunity to write yourself into the Christmas story, so if you somehow knew that Jesus was coming and that there would be certain roles that were going to be written about in the Bible and stuff like that, what role would you want? What would you want yourself written in as? If it was like going to be a big deal and God's going to say, Okay, I need you to serve me. Here's some opportunities. So would you like to be Elizabeth and Zacharias, who got to be John the Baptist parents? So that could be pretty cool. He was an interesting kid to raise. So would you like to be Mary? Because while she gets a lot of credit now. When she was most likely a pregnant teenager, most people didn't have much good to say about her, were very suspicious about her story about, yeah, I'm pregnant, but I've never been with a man. I'm sure everybody's, yeah, I'm sure. Or Joseph, to be responsible, to help raise Jesus, to be there, to protect him, to provide for him, to guide him, to help raise him up to do that. Would you like to be Joseph? So would you like to be the magi who spends your time and resources looking for the Savior, looking from what that new star shows up and you follow because you want to give gifts because you're led to glorify God? And maybe those gifts were needed to help them escape to Egypt, and maybe that was something that was a resource that was needed. But would you spend all of your time and all of your resources to go on a long trip in church of the Savior who was a baby because you knew that was the thing that you wanted to do? Would you like to? To be a shepherd, and I'm going to talk a little bit more about shepherds tonight at 4 30. But would you like to be a shepherd that nobody really cares about in the city or the culture? You stink, you take care of sheep. That's your job. Stay away from me. But Jesus came to the shepherds. Jesus would be called the good shepherd. Jesus understood shepherds. Shepherds raised sheep. Sheep were often sacrificed for people's sins. Jesus was the sacrificial lamb. So I think I'll probably say this tonight, but I think one reason that God told this had the angels show up to the shepherds is because I think that since the shepherds didn't have a whole lot to do except watch their sheep 24 hours a day and keep them safe from robbers and wolves and everything, I think shepherds were excellent storytellers. I have a feeling that they just told a lot of stories and they are really good at hearing a story and telling it to others. And so I think their primary role wasn't to just be shepherds out taking care of sheep, but their primary role was to go tell everybody everywhere the story. And I think they were probably good at that. I'll probably say that tonight. Or would you want to be Simeon, who is old and sees Jesus and his parents at the temple and said, says that the Holy Spirit said, I wouldn't die until I get to see the Savior, and here he is, and now my life is complete because that's the only thing that he wanted her Anna, a widow who spent so much time just praying. After her husband died, she spent all of her time praying at the temple and she was focused on the things of God. And so would you like to be her? Would you like to be John the Apostle who got to be with Jesus, experience Jesus, be one of Jesus' best friends so much that when Jesus is dying on the cross, Jesus is like, John, take care of my mom. Would you like to be John the Apostle? He had some hard times. He was persecuted, he was sent to an deserted island. All of Jesus' followers had difficulties and problems. Where would you like to be? Because everyone that I just mentioned had a purpose and a reason to be in the story. And they all did good, godly things that glorify Jesus. And so we have an opportunity. If we wake up in the morning and we're still breathing, we should say, okay, God, I'm still here. How can I serve you? What can we do? What can I do? How can I make a difference in someone's life today? Pray about it. Tell God that you're available and see what kind of script God has for you, what kind of narrative we can tell about you. Sometimes we don't know all the good things that a person does for Christ because they don't tell anybody. Sometimes we do find out things and we highlight it at their memorial service. But sometimes you do awesome things for God. You just go, you step all out and you do a good thing. You just you felt the God's Spirit wanted you to share or do something, and it doesn't work out as you expect. You thought that they would respond, but instead you planted a seed and they do end up responding years later. You have no idea it was you that kind of started the whole thing off. Sometimes you get involved in stuff and it costs you more than you would expect, more than you would think. I mentioned this before, but I was going down the highway and a cement truck blew a tire, and so there was like rubber all over the road, and I didn't want to see people swerving and getting in an accident. So I stopped, I picked up all the rubber of this truck, I put it in the back of my truck, and told the cement truck driver, he had pulled over too, that I was gonna take it to the co-op and get it recycled. And he's thank you so much. He said, I'd hate to see anybody get hurt. He said, I don't actually know what I would do with the tire. But so I did this good deed. And I go to the co-op and I expect them to just take my tire for free. But instead they charge me. They charge me the cement truck tire recycling fee, which wasn't cheap. I'm like, seriously, I'm trying to do a good thing here. Oh, I've got to pay the fee. So, anyway, so I'm gonna keep milking that to get my money's worth out of that for a sermon illustration. So I I paid for that tire for some reason, and now you have to hurry up, you have to hear about it. But nonetheless, number three, gracious blessings overflow from Jesus. Gracious blessings overflow from Jesus. So, from his abundance, we have received one gracious blessing after another. So, Hope for the Heart is a radio program and has a bunch of counseling material and stuff like that, and June Hunt leads it. I have a lot of her research. I bought her entire counseling library, but they have a Christmas devotional, and she had a good thought about Christmas. Says, why did Jesus come? How would you answer that? Most people might say to save us or to show God's love or something similar. That's true. But the apostle John gives a rather unexpected and clear statement as to why Jesus came. He said, The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work in 1 John 3.8. She says, Immediately after the fall, God made a promise. He told the serpent, the devil, that from the offspring of Eve, the offspring of Eve would eventually come someone who would crush the head of the serpent in Genesis 3 3.15, known as proto-evangelism. This is the first reference to the good news that the Savior would come to destroy the devil's work and redeem us. Christmas, then, is a reminder that even in our broken world full of darkness, sin, and evil, God is still at work bringing light to those in darkness. So in Isaiah 9 2, the people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned. So one we can thank Jesus that he has come to be our light. I talked about that last week. But also, what are you doing to be a light in the world? And what can you do to unravel, to undo the devil's work? I think that's kind of a fun mandate, call, challenge. Sometimes it's fun to undo things, but it's even more fun to undo the devil's work in people's lives, to set them right on the right path with Christ so that they can experience grace, so that they can experience hope from his abundance. We have all received one gracious blessing after another. When I was thinking about blessing, because I know that blessing isn't just spiritual, it can be physical, and as we want to serve and follow Christ, we are told that we're to seek him first, his will, his righteousness. He'll provide everything that we need to delight ourselves in the Lord, and he'll give us the desires of our heart. That I thought in the beginning of next year, on the 14th, I could talk about how God can bless our finances, and then how God can bless our timeline, which is kind of what I'm talking about now. Your life from beginning to end, how God can bless that, and then how God can bless you through the church, and how God can bless you through the work, through, through your work, whatever it is, whether you're retired or not. And then three weeks after that, we can talk about miracles. And I've got two guests, two guest speakers in there too. But nonetheless, blessing in your life. There's so many things that are blessings that you don't realize that you have. There's many things that are blessings that just show up, you actually realize they're blessings, and you had no idea what a blessing that it would be and how good it would be. My wife and I have been watching some of those Hallmarkey Christmas videos, you know, those programs where the guy from the big city shows up in the small town and falls in love with the country girl, and you know how it ends. And so last night I'm like, yeah, that was another kind of cheesy movie. So they knew each other for three weeks, and now he's given up his big marketing career in New York City to come live in Podunk, wherever. And he's gonna spend the rest of his life with this girl that he's only known for a few weeks. I'm like, that doesn't work. Who does that? I met you in June and we got married in October. And she laughs and she's I know people do that. I prayed for a wife, and God provided a great blessing, a great thing. Number four, love and faithfulness flow through Jesus. Love and faithfulness flow through Jesus. I, when I was young, I wrote like a song on the radio, I really wanted to know what love was. Is it physical? Is it a feeling? What does it mean to be truly loved? And you can find the perfect ultimate love in Christ. He gives it, he models it, he teaches us, he helps us to love others. Matter of fact, we are told to love each other and to love even our enemies, and the best way to do that is when the love of Christ flows into you and then it just flows out of you to others. And that is a good thing, a good way to live. But love and faithfulness. John 1 17 says, For the law was given through Moses, but God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. So when the law was given, it was a list of rules that the Israelites needed to follow to be right with God. And they're extensive. In the first five books of the Old Testament, we learn about how God dealt with the people, and then we see like a list of God's laws for that people at that time. And some of them actually are good for us today, and some of them are just for those people at that time. But there's no way we could keep all the rules, that we could keep the whole law that Moses laid down to be right with God. It would be frustrating, it would be difficult, and it's just not gonna happen. But unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus as he showed love, as he sacrificed his life on the cross so that he could take on the sin of men and women, so that those who believe in him would be saved, their sins would be canceled, they would be unchained from the devil, they would be adopted as child of children of God and be able to experience life today and eternal life. And that is one thing, another thing that we celebrate at Christmas. And as Sophia read, 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. Are you a believer? And if not, what is keeping you from believing in Christ? In the front of this, how to find God New Testament, it answers questions like who is God and how can I believe upon Jesus and guides you and directs you in that. And finally, the mysteries of God are revealed in Jesus. The mysteries of God are revealed in Jesus. Nobody would know much about God besides what he revealed if Jesus hadn't taught, if Jesus hadn't shared, if we didn't have the resources that we have here in Scripture. So, John 1.18, no one has ever seen God, the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father's side, he has revealed Him. So there were in the Old Testament, there were like Theophanies or there were Godlike representations, but not God in all of his glory, not God in that way. But Jesus makes him known. Jesus makes it possible for us to know him. It has been said that if our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior. So in Colossians 2, it says, I want them, Paul says, I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God's mysterious plan, which Christ Himself, which is Christ Himself, in Him lie hidden all the treasures and wisdom and knowledge. And so in Christ we have all of those things. And so you also see strong ties of love and encouragement. And if you have those things, you will have Christians that can get along, Christians that can work together, and a healthy church. Why we're connecting people to Christ the Rock to live well lives of worshiping, encouraging, learning, and loving. So it's in the Bible. It makes sense that if we are strong ties of love and encouragement, we are going to be a happy group that changes the world. So John 17, 3, this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. So eternal life starts now. As soon as we receive Christ, we start that eternal life. It isn't when we die, we start eternal life. It is a quality of life. It is a blessing in life. It is lifestyle that we follow Christ. And as we do, we find reward. As we do, we find peace and satisfaction and contentment and hope in a difficult time. And so I'm going to continue this tonight. And Lord Jesus, I thank you so much for Christmas time and that we can pause and remember you, that we can tell this old story over and over again to people that may have heard parts of it but don't totally understand it or don't see how it applies. But we see that it applies and it affected us and it changed us and it transformed us. And we are Christ followers who want to live for you. So Lord help those who are questioning, help those who struggle in their faith to grow and help us to help them. So we ask us in Jesus' name. Amen.