PERFECT GIFT, MONUMENTAL RESULTS

JAMES 1:17

Pastor Rick Jackson

Christmas Day is a monumental day commemorating a monumental event. It is one of the three most important days in all of history [the other two being Good Wednesday and Resurrection Sunday]. Any time you have an event or series of events that have monumental results you also have the potential for:

I. MONUMENTAL MISTAKES – internet article

“Several metro churches are not holding services on Sunday in order to let their members, staffers and volunteers spend time with their families.”

1. It’s the Lord’s Day”, not “family Day” [Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 16:2, Rev. 1:10] most people are off Sat. and/or Mon. anyway- make one of them family day, or take your family to church

“With a church as large as ours, we have thousands of volunteers, and we feel that as a church it’s more important for them to spend time with their families on Christmas” another church said,

“One of the biggest factors for skipping regular Sunday services is there will be two services—at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.—on Christmas Eve… So many people come to those services, he said, that it just didn’t make sense to have another service roughly 12 hours later.”

2. That is a worldly decision, not a spiritual decision [Titus 2:11-15, Eph. 5:11]

Another church said, “On Christmas Day, there will be a pre-recorded sermon by Lead Pastor… that members can watch on the church’s website… the day away from a physical building is a way to show appreciation for volunteers and staff, “who really work every Sunday.”

3. It misses the point of the church’s gathering and the church’s mission [Heb. 10:25, Mt. 28:18-20]

It seems the inn was not the only place with no room for Jesus on the day of His birth. But though mankind has made mistakes since God is involved there is also:

II. MONUMENTAL MERCY

1. The World didn’t know Him, but He knows the World [Jn. 1:10-12, 2:25]

2. The World has no place for Him but He prepares a Place for Us [Mt. 8:23, Jn. 7:53-8:1, 14:6]

3. The World has no real Peace, He gives True Peace [Jeremiah 6:14, Luke 2:14, 19:38; Jn. 14:27, 16:33, 20:19-21, Acts 10:36]

III. MONUMENTAL MANIFESTATION

1. Monumental Delivery [1 Tm. 3:16]

2. Monumental Destiny [2 Tm. 1:8-10]

3. Monumental Truth [Titus 1:2-3]

4. Monumental Love [1 Jn. 3:8, 4:9]