The Gift of God :)

Text: Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 12:1

Prop: a gift bag with a piece of paper or cardboard marked "GRACE" in it
Summary: God's gift of grace is for us to receive.  We cannot earn our way to heaven; we must trust Jesus to save us.
I know you are excited now that Christmas has come.  Did you get any gifts this year?  [listen to responses]  One of the songs we hear played this time of year is The Little Drummer Boy.  In the song we learn that the little boy did not have anything special to give to the baby Jesus.  He could only give of himself so he played on his drum for the baby Jesus.  Today I want to tell you about the gift of God.
God decided long ago that he would send us his Son Jesus.  He came as a baby in a manger.  God loves us so much that he gave us a gift.  Let's look in this gift bag and find out what he gave us.  [open the bag and pull out the paper marked "GRACE"]  What does this say?  Yes, it is GRACE.  Grace is a word we hear a lot in church but sometimes we don't know what it means.  Grace means we have been given something we don't deserve because we cannot do anything to earn it.

BEAUTY&THE BEAST :P

Set in and around a quaint French village during the late 18th century, Beauty and the Beast follows the fantastic adventures of Belle, a bright and beautiful young woman who finds escape from her ordinary life, and the advances of a boorish suitor, Gaston, by reading books. Meanwhile, off in a castle in the distance, a cruel young prince is cast under the spell of an enchantress who turns him into a tormented beast, while transforming his servants into animated household objects. In order to remove the curse, the Beast must discover a true love who will return his affection before the last petal falls from an enchanted rose.

THE GIFT

Imagine a husband and wife. They have a very happy marriage. The husband lays down his life for his wife on a daily basis. He regularly seeks to give her gifts and surprises her with flowers, cards, and regular time away from the kids so she can go read her favorite book at the local coffee shop. He takes time to play with his children and loves to make them laugh when they wrestle on the floor.

The husband makes a fair amount of money and can afford to provide for all the material needs of his family well beyond the base necessities. The kids have a huge yard to play in. The wife has a great car to drive. They regularly go on nice vacations. The wife has beautiful jewelry and a closet full of complimentary clothes. All is well.

Then tragically the husband dies in a head-on car crash with a drunk driver while he is away on a business trip. The integrity of the family unravels in light of the loss. They can’t quite figure out how to move forward.

After his death will his family be focused on the fact that he won’t be around anymore to provide such great gifts?

How odd would it be if the family simply continued on business as usual. How odd would it be if one of their close friends asked them, “How you are getting along after your loss?” and they said, “We are doing just fine! We still have all the stuff he bought us! We don’t miss him at all!”

Sure, those gifts were nice, but a million times more than their desire for those gifts they just want him back! They would give up all the vacations, toys in the yards, and precious jewelry to just have him back. Him and him alone. They want him. His gifts don’t matter in the least if they can’t have him.

This is how God wants us to yearn for him. Him and him alone. Not his gifts but the giver. And the greatest news in the world is that if you want him, you can have him, and no car crash will ever take him away from you.

What do you want most?

More than any other gift, God loves to give himself. Would you care if God was taken away but you still received all his blessings? God is most interested in giving you himself.

That is what he wants to give.

What do you want most?

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”