Sermon

Christmas Unwrapped

Theme

The Sunday after Christmas

Object

A large stocking or gift bag full of used Christmas wrap, bows, tissue paper,etc.

Scripture

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

Today’s object is a little hard to explain so let me show you. Remove the contents of the bag or stocking and throw it on the floor. Did your house look like this after Christmas morning? You know mine did because all this stuff came from my house. Sometime Christmas presents aren’t what we really expect. A couple of years ago, I got my son a remote control helicopter that wouldn’t fly. This year, one of the gifts we gave my grandson was a stick horse that made real horse sounds. Well, it quit working before the day was out. If Christmas is all about the gifts we get, it can be a real let down. The good news is Christmas is about the gifts God gave us. He gave us his only son who was born to die to save us from the punishment of our sins. And when we accept His gift, he gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit to live in us and guide us. Unlike video games that you might beat in one day, the Holy Spirit never runs out of levels. And unlike toys that get broken, God’s plan of salvation through the gift of Jesus is perfect and never breaks. Let’s pray now and thank God for his gifts to us.