Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
December 21, 2008 - W0851

Christmas time is for gifts, but gifts come in all shapes and sizes. They might be small or big, expensive or cheap. Today we want to give you a gift of the Christmas message. Christmas time is all about relationships. It is where family and friends cement their relationship together.  It is about deepening our love for one another.  But mostly it should be about God and His gift to us. This gift is not from a store – it is a gift certificate from Heaven redeemable for eternal life. And it was presented to us through Emmanuelle.

Some gifts come beautifully wrapped in tinsel and bows. Rare gifts sometime come with tears. For example, an obvious wrong has been committed but instead of retaliation there is the gift of forgiveness even though others call for revenge. Sometimes this gift of forgiveness is well received but sometimes it is left unopened. In either case this gift is the diamond of Heaven. It is the heart of our Father. At around the turn of the century, Queen Liliuokalani was forced out as Queen and ruler of Hawaii. But Liliuokalani gave forgiveness instead of retaliation. In essence this state of Hawaii was born not out of warfare but forgiveness. This queen followed the example of her one true King who offers forgiveness to you today. So take it! This is the gift Jesus wants to give all of us. If we receive His gift it will make this Christmas into our first true Christmas and tomorrow a bright new future for us.

This is Queen Liliuokalani’s Christmas prayer, written while imprisoned:

Your loving mercy

Is as high as Heaven

And your truth

So perfect

I live in sorrow

Imprisoned

You are my light

Your glory, my support

Behold not with malevolence

The sins of man

But forgive

And cleanse

And so, o Lord

Protect us beneath your wings

And let peace be our portion

Now and forever more

Amen

My best Christmas memories are simple ones. We simply received one or two modest gifts and shared closeness with family. Today mom acts as a secretary recording down all the gifts everybody received and who gave it. Simplicity: as we get older we want more of it. God’s gift was simple.  He did not want to give us another complicated religion. He simply wanted a genuine relationship with us and gave us the gift of forgiveness. God wanted us to live simply. His greatest commandment for us is to be right with Him and right with one another. It should not only be the heart of God but the heart of everyone.  We have been given not only the gift of the land in these islands but the gift of one another.

Christmas began with the heart of God and an obedient woman named Mary. She wanted to be used by God in whatever way He wanted. But even Mary was taken aback by the assignment of being the mother of God Himself. It was an exciting adventure that had her feeling exhilarated and unworthy almost all at the same time. But because of her love and devotion, the world was changed forever. The first Christmas gift was baby Jesus in a manger.

The story of the Christmas is found in the Book of Matthew.  In it, Joseph discovers that his bride Mary is pregnant though he is not the father and so he decides to quietly divorcer her. But an angel comes to him in a dream and tells him that he should not and that Mary will give birth to our savior Jesus. That is it. Christmas is not anything more complicated than that. It is the gift that God gave of forgiveness in the person of Jesus Christ. Christmas should not be so much about the things we get for Christmas.

We have made it more complicated that it is. We have commercialized Christmas and made it about buying things and having more things. We simply should open our hearts to the gift of forgiveness that is found in Jesus. Christmas is about the gift God gave not the ones we get. People can live a lifetime and never really celebrate Christmas. Only in Christ will we find our hope so don’t miss another true Christmas. Find a church this Christmas and attend the service. Open His gift and find Christmas and life as you know it will never be the same.

May Christmas find you at the manger closer to Him with a heart filled with life at its best.

DISCUSSION SUGGESTIONS:

1. What is Christmas all about?
2. What is the greatest gift you want this Christmas?
3. What is the greatest gift that you will give this Christmas?
4. What would have happened had Queen Liliuokalani been unforgiving?
5. How can you make Christmas less complicated for your family?