Candlelight Service

Good morning, everyone. So awesome to have you with us again today. From Life Fellowship Church here in McKinney. Right there on your tablet and whatever facility that you're in. It's an amazing blessing. This this this Pando app that we can come and pour into you and speak into that we want you to feel like you're part of this church family. My name is Logan Williams. My TDC number is 1490218. I have four numbers after that. I went round and round and round the system for many years, did nine and a half years total. I just say that because I want to relate to you. I don't know what part of the process you're in, whether you just got booked in and you're in county jail right now trying to figure out what this is going to look like or maybe you've been in for a long time and you're just trying to figure out if you're ever going to make parole. Man, I get it.

I know all of those feelings and I can just tell you that anything is possible with God with man. Not all things are possible with God. Anything is possible and he got a hold of me and changed my life. He changed my life. He'll change your life too. I promise we just have to get all in with him. It's the greatest gift that there ever is what he did on that cross for us and just simply believing, believing in that. Hey, tell your friends and family they can download the same Pando app on their phone. They can watch the same messages that you watch. Y'all can discuss it, talk about it, do this walk together even though you're behind bars. You can now walk together because of this Pando app. You can watch the same stuff and and talk about it with the Holy Spirit speak to you through that message, son. Um you can lead your kids being behind bars. Don't believe that you can't

because you can. Christ can get a hold of you, change you, and just because you're locked up does not mean you can't be salt and light in your family. It's it's an amazing thing. Um but we gotta believe that. You gotta believe that for it to come to fruition. Um and don't forget to to like uh and subscribe to the Life Fellowship so you don't miss any of our stuff as we as it comes out. We know you don't want to. I just posted like an hour and a half of just LF worship on there and I know you guys love the worship. Um but if you're not subscribed, you might miss that and I know you don't wanna miss it. So, uh but anyway, guys, I love you. I um I just wanna encourage you. I know the year's winding down. A new year is is kicking back off. Um you know, people have a tendency to make these New Year's resolutions or hey, man, this year, I'm gonna do things different or hey, man,

I'm gonna, you know, be different somehow. I was just thinking about, you know, all the times that I was locked up, you know, and I went to a church service, an open church service but I was just checking the boxes. I wasn't trying to live different. I wasn't trying to wage war against sin. I wasn't trying to live a righteous life. I just wanted to check the boxes so that I could say I went to church but I didn't wanna live any differently and there were many times that I heard a very powerful message and I was like, wow, that was great. Like, and it really touched me in that moment but yet, a week later, 10 days later, I'm right back doing the same things again and it's like, I think about uh like a pig, right? You can take a pig and you can you can spray him off and give him a bath and make him smell good. Um but but as soon as you turn him loose, he's gonna run right back to the

mud. And the the reason why is because he's a pig. Like that's his nature. And so we can hear all these messages. We can we can make all these resolutions and have all these ideas but like if Jesus doesn't, if his Holy Spirit doesn't enter into us and change us, the nature of who we are, we're we're just gonna run right back to the mud because because we're pigs. We're inherently, if we don't change, we're just gonna go right back to it. I don't care how good the messages that you hear are. I don't care how um how how resolute you are about, hey, we got a new year coming and this year, I'm not gonna do this or this year, I'm gonna be different or this year, I'm gonna be better. Man, if Christ, if his Holy Spirit doesn't enter into us and change us from the inside out, man, anything we're doing is just it's just white knuckling. So, man, I wanna encourage you to to to seek Him, pray, cry out to God in that regard.

Man, God, change me from the inside out. I was looking at 1 John this morning, pretty challenging scripture. It was in chapter five, starting in verse one. It says, everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. That's awesome. I believe Jesus is the Christ, I become a child of God. That's pretty simple. It says, and everyone who loves the Father loves his children too. Now that gets a little more challenging, especially in the circumstances that you guys are in. You're around some very unlovable people, but hey man, everyone is a child of God. And it says it right here in verse two, chapter five of 1 John, that we know we love, it says, sorry, and everyone who loves the Father loves his children too. So if you say that you love God, there needs to be an outpouring of love towards the people around us, even the unlovable people. That's what the scripture is saying. It says, we know we love God's children if we love God and obey his commands. So it's like this loop. It's like, okay, everyone who believes in Jesus has become a child of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves his children. We know we love God's children

if we love God and obey his commands. He's giving us this loop, like all these things have to be happening, all three of those things. It can't be two out of three. And then verse three is challenging. Loving God means keeping his commandments. Keeping his commandments. What are his commandments? They're in the word. It's fighting against sin. It's loving your neighbor as yourself. It's thinking of others before yourself. These are hard things to do, especially in the places that you're at. But if you can somehow put them into practice there, I'm telling you, you'll be miles ahead when you get out. But then it doesn't stop there. It says, loving God means keeping his commandments, comma, and his commandments are not burdensome. That's the sentence that challenged me this morning. If the things that God are asking us to do are burdensome to us, we really need to check our salvation, doesn't it? Because it says if we love God, we're gonna keep his commands and they're not gonna be burdensome. So man, if it's hard for me not to do some of these things, or if it's hard for me to do some of the things that he's asking me to do,

according to the word of God, maybe I don't love God like I think I do, or maybe I've put something else in the place of God. Maybe I've got an idol in my life that I need to dethrone and put God back on the throne. It can happen very subtly. The enemy is very slick in that. He'll just get us focused on one little thing that's not bad. It's actually a good thing. An idol is just when a good thing becomes the ultimate thing. And so we can be focused on a good thing. It could be ministry. But if that becomes the ultimate thing, slowly, slowly, slowly over time, then the next thing you know, it's on the throne and we don't even realize it because it was a slow, slow, slow thing. It's like we're walking with God. This is me, this is God, and then I get off course a little bit. Now right here in the first few weeks, I'm still pretty close to God, so I can't really notice it. But if I walk it out a while, six months, nine months, a year down the road, I'm miles apart from God and I didn't even realize it was happening because it was such a slow process.

So a way we can tell if that's happening is if keeping his commandments are a burden to us because it's saying right here in verse three that his commandments won't be a burden if we love him. He says we will keep his commandments and they won't be a burden. That challenged me this morning. That challenged me this morning. Verse four, for every child of God defeats this evil world and we achieve this victory through our faith. Man, it all comes down to faith, right? God, give me more faith. Give me a bigger measure of faith. This is a prayer that I pray often and this is a prayer that many of you in the situation that you're at should probably pray as well. I know that be encouraged, God can take any situation and turn it for the good. God can take, he took my situation that was just like yours and turned it for the good to where I can now speak into people's lives that were incarcerated. He's using it as a weapon. The very thing that you hate right now, the very bane of your existence, the darkest of the dark is gonna be your weapon, man, in the future. for you to take ground for the kingdom and make much of his name.

And so I want you to be encouraged and consider these things. If it's a burden to keep God's commands, maybe you need to check and see if there's something else on the throne or check and see if there's something else that you love more than you love God. And that's a hard exercise to do. So I need people around me. So I need people around me. Let me pray for you guys. Heavenly Father, we just thank you so much for technology, for the Pando app, for just the ability to come and encourage and speak to these men and women. And they're my heart because I've been in their shoes. I know all the feelings that they're having. I know the feeling of getting a year set off. I know the feeling of getting offered 25 years. I know the feeling of, gosh, man, am I ever gonna get out of here? Are things ever gonna change? Is this it? Is this just my life? I know all those feelings, God. And I know you know those feelings too, because I know that if things matter to us, that they also matter to you. And so God, I pray that you would let these men and women know how much you love them, that you see them,

even in the situation that they're in. And God, I pray that you would change them from the inside out, that your Holy Spirit would come into their hearts and make them a completely different creature, turn them from a pig into a whatever, so that they don't run back to the mud, change the nature of who they are, God, and give them the wisdom to show them what they need to do, what they need to pray, how they need to navigate and move forward to have that happen. I know that you'd like us to partner with you. You'd like us to, we have to try. We're not gonna be perfect, but we have to try to be perfect. We have to attempt to have a perfect life, because that's the only way we're gonna make any progress towards waging war against our sin and not doing the things that grieve your heart. And so God, I pray that you would bless them, bless their families, God, that this new year would be a new start for many of them, and that you let them know that you see them and that you love them, and that you have a plan and a purpose for their life, God, that they cannot fathom or imagine that's greater than anything they can think, ask, or imagine. And so God, we love you.

We thank you. We give you all the praise and glory. In Jesus' name, amen. Who's house? God's house. Let's give them some praise. In the beginning, silence waited. Creation hesitated. The world held its breath as darkness saturated. A question mark in every heartbeat. Humanity wandering with worn-out feet, searching for rescue, yearning for relief, chasing fragments of hope like falling leaves. Centuries passed. Prophets whispered promises that outlast, foretelling a Messiah who would shatter the past. Hope would take form. Heaven would draw near. A love unafraid to confront every fear. Then on a night wrapped in ordinary starlight, in a quiet corner untouched by spotlight, something extraordinary set everything right. Heaven leaned low. Eternity entered the flow. Majesty chose to grow in a manger resting beneath winter's glow. The word became a baby's cry. The light cracked open the silent sky. No armies marched, no royal decree, just straw in a stable where glory chose to keep.

No palace gates, no jeweled display, just shepherds arriving with hearts ablaze, daring to believe what angels would say. The song that shook the cosmos still resounds, peace that calms what chaos surrounds, joy strong in sorrow's chains, a gift that outlasts every ache and strain. Glory to God, a kingdom unshaken, unrivaled, unscarred. Tonight we stand in the same wonder. Screams blow, cities rumble like thunder. Troubles crowd minds, convictions go under, yet this miracle still pulls us from the plunder. While deadlines press tight and fear screams loud, while headlines darken like gathering clouds, hope breaks through every modern shroud. Because the infinite God was a human heartbeat, the Prince of Peace walked our streets, sits at our tables, speaks to the anxious, the tired, the unstable. The Savior came close enough to feel our pain, to enter our strain, to rewrite every story with freedom's refrain. So let every voice rise. Let every heart awaken. This night is a proclamation that cannot be shaken. The wait is over. The time has come. When the world felt hopeless, Heaven did not run. Hope is here. His name is Jesus. Lift up your eyes. Lift up your praise. The King has entered our every day. Heaven has breathed upon the earth. Life has found its truest birth. This is Christmas. This is glory.

This is love, rewriting every single story. The Savior came close enough to feel our pain, to enter our strain, to rewrite every story with freedom's refrain. So let every voice rise. Let every heart awaken. This night is a proclamation that cannot be shaken. The wait is over. The time has come. When the world felt hopeless, Heaven did not run. Hope is here. His name is Jesus. Lift up your eyes. Lift up your praise. Yeah! What's up, LM Church? Come on, let's stand and worship Jesus today. We have a reason to celebrate the birth of our risen Savior. So come on, clap your hands. One, two, three. Here we go. Come on. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. We are. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. We are. Come on, clap your hands. Come on, come on. Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and heaven and nature sing. Come on, sing it out. Come on. Joy, joy, joy to the world. Joy, joy, joy to the world. Joy, joy, joy to the world. Joy, joy, joy to the world. Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns.

Admit their songs and sing. While fields and floods, mountains and plains Repeat the sounding joy. Repeat the sounding joy. Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. Joy, joy, joy to the world. We sing joy, joy, joy, joy to the world. We sing joy, joy, joy, joy to the world. Joy, joy, joy to the world. He rules the world with truth and grace And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness And wonders of His love, and wonders of His love. And wonders, wonders of His love. And wonders, wonders of His love. Joy, joy, God's great joy. Joy, joy, down in my soul. Sweet, beautiful, soul-saving joy. Oh, joy, joy in my soul. Joy, joy, God's great joy. Joy, joy, down in my soul. Sweet, beautiful, soul-saving joy. Oh, joy, joy, joy to the world. Joy, joy. Joy to the world. We sing joy, joy, joy. Joy to the world. We sing joy, joy, joy. Joy to the world. Joy, joy, joy to the world. Joy to the world and welcome to you all. Welcome, welcome, welcome. I just want to say Feliz Navidad. Feliz Natal. And Mele Kalikimaka. If you guys are here for the first time, we are so glad to have you. This is your family tonight. This is Christmas with your family. And everyone joining online at the correctional centers and all you people online from home,

welcome to your Christmas family tonight. If you're new here, please text the word new to 51010. And also we have some activities out there waiting for you guys. We have a log cabin photo booth. Listen, if you want to take some pictures with your family, we got some good stuff over there. And also lastly, we got some good stuff. That's the best part. That's the best part. So we have an annual tradition around here with Christmas trivia. Everyone may be seated because we will require your participation. So what we're going to do is we're going to ask some hard questions and some easy questions. And we're going to come out there for your answer. So raise your hand if you think you have the answers to these questions. Come on, Isaac. Here we go. Let's go with the first question. In the classic movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Grinch was described with these three words. What are the. Wow, she's ready. Say it, man. Say it. Stink, stink and stunk. That's correct. It is correct. All right. We got one. All right. Next question. I'm going to roam around over here. OK. What is the best selling Christmas song ever? OK, this is good. Best selling Christmas song. This is really hard actually. Think about it. What, what, what, what, what, what? Oh, you knew the answer. I told you this past week. I love it. It is White Christmas, you guys. It was White Christmas. White Christmas. Not Mariah Carey, but White Christmas. Hey, I want to do another one. How about you? This is another one. I like this one. Think. This is a thinker, you guys. Come on. Come on. Which one of Santa's reindeer has the same name as another holiday mascot? Another holiday mascot. That was fast.

What's your name? Isaac. You know what's crazy? My name is Isaac. What's the name? Cupid. Is it Cupid? Cupid. It is Cupid. OK, see all these cutie patooties up here. This is going to be the best part of this service today. They've been practicing so hard. You guys are great. So this is the cue. Grandmas, grandpas, parents, friends, cousins, brothers, sisters, prepare your video. And as being a grandparent myself, it is OK grandparents to cheer out their name. So just get your hearts ready to enjoy this sweet, sweet songs. Way to go, you guys. ♪♪♪ ♪ Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head. The stars in the sky looked down where He lay, the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay. ♪♪♪ ♪ The cattle are going, the baby awakes, the little Lord Jesus no crying He makes. I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky, and stay by my cradle till morning is nigh. Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay close by me forever, and love me, I pray. Let all the dear children in our hearts endure fear, and take us to Heaven to live with Thee there. And take us to Heaven to live with Thee there. On our very first date, I was like, I'm for sure going to adopt one day, and so if this isn't something you're into, this isn't going to work out. And I'm sure he loved hearing that on date one. I think from that moment, it was always just what we were going to do. Once we had Lila and Jackson, I just felt like, let's go for this. The plan was we were going to adopt, but the Lord really put it on our hearts to pursue fostering. When Cyrus came into our home, there was so much excitement. We were watching them pull into our driveway, and we're just like, he's here, he's coming. Having him physically in our arms and getting to love on a prayer that I cried over, it was just pure bliss. The goal for foster care is reunification, and so we do sign up for the opportunity and possibility of being heartbroken. I would really pray, God, if he stays, you're good, and if he goes, you are good.

You're faced with the reality of how beautiful this is, and then the reality that this could hurt really bad. When I got that phone call, there was peace, yes, but there was such grief in it. The morning that he left, I felt like our walk from our front door to the car was miles long. He had no idea that this was it, and we had every idea that this was it. I just felt the Lord grab me and just say, you did it, thank you for doing this. And I had never felt like I've achieved anything better than having him come into our home and love on him for six months and then give him back. When he drove away, I said, God, you're still good. You are still good. Even though the heartbreak was still there for Cyrus, I realized we will do anything for these kids. I mean, they just deserve it. We got another call about being placed with a girl named Monet. So within a matter of months, our youngest daughter Nora was born, and an adoption day was set for Monet. The way that God orchestrated that was just amazing. In the adoption process, I ran into the CPS worker, and she said, oh my gosh, you're Hannah Benjamin. I've actually been trying to get a hold of you. Cyrus, he needs a home. Can he come home with you? Oh my gosh, my baby. Like, yes, absolutely, yes. Word that the goal with CPS everybody involved was for us to adopt him. That was a surreal moment God is just good. He's good. Even when he doesn't feel good because we don't always know what he's doing in the background we went from two kids to five kids in five months and There was this excitement and this feeling of wow. This is our family The way that the Lord put all this together it's so much better than we could have planned ourselves All my words were short I've got nothing more How could I express All my gratitude I could sing this song As I often do But every song must end And you never do So I throw my hands And praise you again and again Cause all that I have is a Hallelujah

Hallelujah And I know it's not much But I've nothing else good for you Except for hearts in Hallelujah Hallelujah All I have is a heart of gratitude for you Jesus We worship you I've got one response I've got just one new In my heart to trust Hallelujah I've got one response I've got just one new In my own spiritual heart I will worship you So I throw my hands And praise you again and again Cause all that I have is a Hallelujah Hallelujah And I know it's not much But I've nothing else good for you Except for hearts in Hallelujah Come on! So I throw my hands And praise you again and again Cause all that I have is a Hallelujah Hallelujah And I know it's not much

But I've nothing else good for a king Except for hearts in Hallelujah Hallelujah We worship you We love all you Oh God we love you Jesus This is a good moment to begin to worship the Lord. We worship you, Lord. So come on, my son. Oh, don't you get shy when you lift up your voice. You've got a fire inside of you. Get up and praise the Lord. Come on, get up and praise the Lord today. Come on, my son. Oh, come on, my son. Oh, don't you get shy when you lift up your voice. You've got a light inside of you. Get up and praise the Lord. Come on, my son. Oh, don't you get shy when you lift up your voice. You've got a light inside of you. Get up and praise the Lord. So come on, my son. Oh, don't you get shy when you lift up your song. Cause you've got a light inside of you. Get up and praise the Lord. We praise the Lord. We thank you, God. We exalt you. We love you. We praise you. We love you. You deserve it. You deserve it. You deserve it. We give you the highest praise. Oh, we say Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh

Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh night Oh night Divine Merry Christmas everybody. God bless you. You can be seated. I want to welcome every single one of you for being in service today. I want to say a big hello to our church online family. As always, it's our delight and honor to welcome 150,000 men and women in correctional facilities across America. Come on everybody. Would you make them all feel welcome on this Christmas Eve service? Come on everybody. Come on everybody. Let them feel welcome today. God bless you guys. And men, ladies in the correctional facility,

let me tell you today that you are not a project to us. You are a part of this church family and we love you and it's our honor today to be able to speak into your life and I really am praying that God is going to visit you right where you're at, that the same spirit that is in this place, the Holy Spirit is going to touch your life right there. And tonight, I just want you to know that I'm going to bring a message to you that's gonna be very simple. Believe that it has the ability to transform your life and I dedicate tonight to any person that is walking through something that you didn't plan on it happening. It's unexpected in your life. In fact, let me ask this question. I'm kind of curious today. How many of you are planners? Come on, all of my planners, put your hands up. All my planners. Yeah, that's right. You guys already had your Christmas presents bought back in August, right? All wrapped up, ready to go. Okay, how many of you still have yet to buy all your Christmas presents? Come on, where you at? You still need to go do some Christmas shopping? Look at this. You guys are putting those hands up proud, too.

This is great. You're the reason why Amazon has overnight delivery. Well, here's the thing. When life doesn't go as planned, it has this ability to rattle your life, to rattle you on the deepest part of who you are. And I know that listening in our services today, I'd have to imagine almost every one of us have walked through experiences in 2025 that were not what you planned. It's not exactly what you were expecting. So maybe for you, you're one of the people that I've talked to and my heart hurts for you because I know that there are those that right now you are out hunting for a job and you never expected to be looking for a job. And yet, you look up and you think, well, this is just not what I had planned. Or maybe for you, you're battling a health diagnosis that a doctor has given you and you're fighting for your life. You're fighting for equality of life and you're thinking, man, this isn't what I had planned. Or maybe, maybe for you, a season like this that should be full of joy and peace is actually a season that is unsettling to you right now because you're walking through a separation in your life and you're thinking, man, this is just not what I was expecting, this wasn't what I was planning. Or maybe, maybe you're gonna face

what I call the empty chair. That's that person that you thought would be in your life, the person that you thought would be there with you. And now, you're looking across a dinner table or you're looking across a present opening gathering and they're just not there. And you think to yourself, that's just, it's not fair. And when any one of those moments happen in our life, it's so easy for our lives to get unsettled and it shakes us at the deepest part of who we are and we look up and we ask, God, where are you in the middle of all of this? And so with that in mind, I want you to think about the story of Mary and Joseph. These were Jesus's earthly parents. Now, what is wildly fascinating to me is that the Bible only gives us a few paragraphs in scripture that actually describe the Christmas story. So there's a lot of detail there that is not given to us. For some reason, God saw fit not to give us all of the enormity of it all. And there was a lot there. So for example, if I told you, why don't you describe your 2025 year but you only got one paragraph to describe it in? Well, you'd have to leave out a whole lot of stuff, right? And so I want you to just go with me tonight on an imaginary study of scripture. Because there are details that the Bible does not tell us that I think that God sometimes would say,

it's okay for you to, why don't you imagine? Why don't you pretend? So for example, how did Mary and Joseph meet each other? Well, we don't know, the Bible doesn't tell us. So let's pretend. So maybe it was a Wednesday night and Mary went down to a youth group at the synagogue because she was a teenager that was in love with Jesus. She was in love with God. So when she got there, there was a youth leader that was teaching, he was opening up the book of Isaiah and he was preaching with everything he's got. His name was Joey. And he was preaching with everything he's got. And so Mary and her other girlfriends, they were having a real hard time listening to what he was preaching about, talking about, because they were all thinking, man, he is really, really cute. And I just like the way that his mouth moves when he says those certain words there. And man, I just, I wonder what he's like. And so after the Bible study was over, youth group, Joseph comes over to Mary and her group of friends, and Mary finds out he's got a job. He's a carpenter. And that's a whole lot better than the last guy that I liked because he was unemployed, living at mom and dad's house, addicted to his Xbox. Come on, somebody. And Joey actually looks at Mary and thinks, ooh, I kind of like her. So he prays about it, and one day he works up the nerve, he squirts on some cologne and asks her out to go grab some coffee. Well, they start talking, and they hit it off.

So after that, they go home, and they introduce each other to each parent, and before you know it, every love song on the radio now starts making sense to them. You know what I'm saying? And Mary knew that Joey really liked her the day that he gave her a stuffed animal puppy dog. But what Mary didn't know was that Joey had been working extra, extra hours so that he could raise enough money so that he could go on out and buy an engagement ring. And so one night, everything was set. Joey had it perfect. He took Mary on a long walk. The sun was setting. He had his friends hiding in the bushes with cameras, waiting for the exact moment that he would get down on his knees and ask her to marry him. And when they did, they were going to take pictures, and it would be this perfect Instagram moment. It was just going to be perfect, perfect. So he gets down on his knees and says, Mary, would you be my wife? And she starts crying. She says, of course I'll be your wife. And so they get so excited, they go home, and they tell their parents, and of course her mom gets involved and wants to plan out the whole wedding, and she's driving everybody crazy because she is... How many of you can just imagine what that must have been like? And then the two of them, they probably started planning out their future. They probably started thinking, oh, I know what we're going to do. Joey says, we're going to build the carpentry business. We're going to build it up, and we're going to build a home. And then Mary said, yeah, and let's plan out a family. We're going to have two kids. Let's have a boy first and then a girl.

We'll name him Quinn, and we'll name her Kelly. They started thinking about all these different things. Their plans were in motion, and then one day, Mary had a holy encounter. The angel of the Lord showed up and said, Mary, you have been blessed and chosen of the Lord God Almighty. You will be the bearer of the Son of the living God. And Mary looked at the angel and said, how is that going to even be possible? Like I'm not even married to Joey yet. And the angel said, no, no, you don't understand. It's not going to be because you are with another man. It's because the power of the Holy Spirit is going to come upon you, and you are going to conceive with inside of you the Son of the living God. Can you just imagine what that moment must have been like? Well, Mary went to find Joseph. And let me just take a vote here today. How many of you think when Joseph heard the news, how many of you think that he was excited? Come on, how many of you? He was excited. How many of you think he was freaking out? Freaking out. Of course he was. He's a normal guy. He's like, Holy Spirit, who? Oh, really? I'm going to kill that guy. So here's the thing. We don't know really what he said. We don't really know how he responded. What we do know is that in between verse 18 and 19, everything hits the fan. And here's what it says in Matthew.

It says, this is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph. But what? Come on everybody, but what? Yeah, before, like before their plans came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. So she goes off and tells Joseph, hey Joseph, I'm pregnant. And we don't know how he responds. All that we know. is that he was deeply hurt. He was hurting because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace. He had in his mind to divorce her quietly. Here's what we do know. The dude was devastated. And if you actually read in between the lines, he's probably thinking, you know, I've already put the non-refundable down payment on the wedding venue. The wedding invitations have already gone out and now? Now I've got to tell this to my parents. I've got to face my friends. I'm going to experience public disgrace. Mary, why would you do this? I thought that you loved me. Like I told you things that I didn't tell anybody else. It was just between you and me. Like I opened up my heart to you and then you go ahead and you cheat on me? You betray me like this? Now if you're listening to this story and you're intent, you may be asking the question, why would he have to divorce somebody that he wasn't even married to? How is that even possible?

Well you would need to know that in the culture of the day, if somebody were to be engaged with someone, the only way to break that off was a public divorce, an official divorce. And divorce in that day was shunned upon a whole lot more than it is in the culture that we live in today. In fact, I want you to think about Mary's perspective. Because the angel of the Lord shows up to Mary and says, you are going to birth, you're going to bear the very son of God. And notice Mary's response to the angel. Here's what she said, I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled. And now fast forward just a couple months, and everything now is falling apart. She's about to be pregnant without a husband. She's about to be a single, divorced mom with no way to provide for herself because in the culture of the day, women were not allowed to work. So that meant that she would have to beg for the rest of her life. She most likely was looking up to God saying, God, I said yes to your plan. This isn't what I expected. It just doesn't seem fair. And I don't know, maybe you can relate to this. Maybe you've walked through some things that you just think, this wasn't in my forecast. So maybe for you, you were finally starting to get ahead financially, and you thought, but this is going to be the Christmas. We finally pull ahead, and now all of a sudden your car breaks. And now you're not ahead financially anymore, and you're thinking, this is just not a part of my plan. Or maybe for you, your kids, you pour your life into your kids, your heart, your soul, your effort, your energy, your everything, and now they start going in a direction that's completely opposite the way your heart is, and it's breaking your heart, and you're thinking, this is just not my plan. Or maybe you had a dream that you would have a marriage that would be, you'd live happily

ever after. You sit here today, and the happily is not there, and you're wondering if it's actually going to be ever after. And you're just thinking, man, this is not what I was expecting. I mean, I could give you a list of all kinds of different things here for you. I mean, you could say, man, I didn't plan on having migraines, I didn't plan on taking care of my aging parents, I didn't plan on walking through this legal battle, I didn't plan on depression, I didn't plan on these health issues, I didn't plan on, I just didn't plan. And here's the thing that I came today to remind you of. That when you can't understand God's plan, trust God's heart. When you can't understand God's plan, I want you to feel this, trust God's heart. So their plans have been shattered. And Joseph decides that he is going to divorce Mary privately, and this is what the Bible says in verse number 20. And again, I'm just going verse by verse today through the Bible. After Joseph had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph Son of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife Because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit To which Joseph would have probably looked at that angel and said wait, wait, wait a second You're telling me that everything that Mary has been telling me is true and The angel said yes She will give birth to a son and you're to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins and you could almost imagine Joseph looking up to God saying wait, wait, wait a second You're telling me that you're the one that's been behind this the entire time And I can just see God whispering back to Joseph

Joseph Joseph you haven't realized it, but I've been actually working behind the scenes in ways you never even dreamed of And I've been doing it for your benefit I've been doing it for the benefit of all humanity So, let me tell you a story from my own life that might help make Might help you see yours a little better So I grew up in a little town Called Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It's smack-dab in the middle of that state It was a smelly paper factory town small town Like it was my home Is my identity I all my friends were there all my memories were there. I knew every single Street and One day my dad walked in and dropped a bomb On me that I think that no teenager is emotionally prepared for because he looked at us and said Chris God is calling us to leave Stevens Point, Wisconsin and to move to Memphis, Tennessee, I Looked at my dad I said you mean like an Elvis Presley, Memphis, Tennessee. I Don't know how to describe it like my life did not just get shaken. It's like a bulldozer came through the whole thing because I was thinking like I had all kinds of strategy and plans and ideas of what my future would be like and now I Looked at God. Oh my god. This is not in my plan. This is this is unexpected. This is not right So we moved to Memphis and it was a very very lonely season for me because I didn't know anybody I Mean I didn't talk like everybody else. I didn't act like everybody else. I didn't dress like everybody else I Almost felt like you, you know, you get put into a blender and somebody hit the puree button on it thing And I didn't know it back then. I know it now. I know it so well That oftentimes God does some of his greatest work in our lives in moments that we didn't choose Did you hear what I just said So It was a normal Sunday morning I walked into church and

I saw her for the very first time. I Saw my wife Tatum. I Can still remember it? I think the lights got brighter Like angels may have been singing or they might not have I don't really know But A year and a half later after that Tatum and I we had fallen in love and we had gotten married and Looking back at that now. I Remember being so upset at God that he would move us He would do all this kind of stuff and I fought against it. I'm like God, this is not you This is an attack of the enemy God. This is not right. This goes against everything that I was planning and my expectations And yet little did I know in my peon brain God was actually answering the prayer that I had been praying throughout all these years God bring me the woman of my dreams bring me my wife and He had to get me out of Stevens Point, Wisconsin down to Memphis so that I could meet my wife Tatum And I want you to think about this had I never met her. I wouldn't be pastoring here today You wouldn't be in this service Like my whole life would have been completely different had God not gone and done something that was outside of my plan and my Expectations, so I tell you today that when you don't understand God's plan Trust his heart and this is exactly where Marion Joseph were at I Mean think about this Mary was pregnant with the Son of God like Jesus himself in her womb If I was Joseph, I probably would have been thinking man. This is gonna be smooth sailing right We're gonna get a epidural from heaven There's gonna be no pain she's gonna sneeze and the baby's gonna come on out But Remember where Mary went into labor on the back of a donkey

And I could just see Joseph like just dragging that thing through the red lights, you know trying to to get to Bethlehem and That's actually when he gets there. He forgot to make reservations and So the Son of the Living God Was born in a cave Surrounded by animals And you would think well everything would get a lot easier after that Well as soon as Jesus was born Herod the Great found out about it Released his armies to go and kill Mary's son, and I want you to stop and think about that Internalize that Ladies think about it Your son Fast forward 33 years Mary the same girl that Told the angel I will do whatever God asks me to do. I will serve the Lord I will follow his plan whatever the situations I will be faithful. I will be the Lord's servant Now stands at the foot of a cross and looks up at her naked son Nails through his hands and his feet His back had been whipped so much That most likely historians tell us that his internal organs would have been exposed They pulled out his beard they Subbed a crown of thorns into his head. The Bible makes it very clear that he was unrecognizable as a human being And I can just picture Mary looking up saying this is not what I signed up for God This is not what I was expecting when I said I would give you everything that I would go after you and follow your plan And be your servant Like he did nothing wrong Like end this madness finish this like Mary experienced something that no Mother should ever have to go through Jesus while he was on the cross in the middle of the agony and the suffering and the pain

He lifted up his voice and he cried out it is Finished father into your hands. I commit my spirit and he died I Can only imagine That the enormity of the grief and the pain of what Mary was experiencing she dropped her head and her head From the pain of what Mary was experiencing she dropped to her knees and utter agony You don't understand God's plan Trust his heart See Mary and Joseph they had a plan but God had a purpose You say what was God's purpose you ready for this It was you I Know that we say it all the time throughout the Christmas season. Hey that Jesus is the reason for the season But if you ask the father He would say the reason for the season is you For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son I I don't know. Maybe you've had some changes in your plans this past year that have caught you off-guard Your expectations haven't panned out the way that you thought maybe you're walking through some really dark times some difficulty and it hurts I'm not saying that it doesn't hurt. I'm not saying that it hasn't been difficult I'm not saying that you haven't looked up to God and hugged a pillow and cried and asked God Lord. This is not fair Why is this happening? But I came here tonight to remind somebody that when you can't understand God's plan Trust his heart Trust his heart because he's for you When you were faithless He's been faithful to you When you turned your back on him He never turned his back on you you. He is the God that delights to show mercy. In other words, let me say it like this. It's His favorite part of the day. You're not a disappointment to Him. You're His prized possession. And I know that some of us, we walk into a service like this tonight, and I don't know why you're here. Maybe for some of you, you got dragged here. Drugged here. Dragged, drug, I don't know. What is it? Maybe for some of you, you're thinking, God, this is your last

shot. And you're thinking, man, God can't be all that pleased with me right now. And if you think that, then you don't know who God is. Because God's not mad at you. He's madly in love with you. In fact, when He thinks about you, He smiles. That's my God. And tonight He is here for you. So why don't you bow your heads all across this place. If you're here today, and you are away from the Lord, I want you to know that what you're feeling on the inside is not the manipulation of man. That is the presence of the Holy Spirit drawing you close to Him. Stop running. Just stop. It's amazing to me that we run so hard away from God, when if you would just stop and turn around, you're going to discover that He's not angry at you. His hands are not lifted with fists towards you, but He's wanting to welcome you home. And if you're ready to do that on this Christmas Eve, won't you pray this prayer with me? Just say, Jesus, I give you my life. I surrender it all. I ask you to forgive me of my sin. Make me new. Cleanse me. I repent of my old ways. I turn from them. And I turn to you. I ask this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen. This heart adores you. Hope of a life spent with you. So here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God. You're altogether lovely. Altogether worthy. Altogether wonderful to me. Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God. You're altogether lovely. Altogether worthy. Altogether wonderful to me. Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God. You're altogether lovely. Altogether worthy. Altogether wonderful to me. If you can't understand God's plan, trust His heart. So I'm going to ask the team in production, would you guys just please turn off all the lights in the house? You know, this is what life feels like when it just seems like your plans go awry. Expectations are not met and there is this propensity in every single one of us that you begin to ruminate on things and you come Up with your own ideas of how to satisfy yourself But darkness is darkness I Can make you a promise today go try it all Go travel the world Go climb the corporate ladder make all kinds of money be the uber most successful person that you've ever met I mean get all kinds of memorabilia

Get get all kinds of hobbies go from relationship to relationship try all kinds of different things in which you're going to come back to is Darkness because darkness can never produce light You see the thing that you've been missing this whole time is the light and the presence of Jesus Because when Jesus's presence fills your life It's when it finally starts making sense Can I tell you that that golden doodle that you bought is not going to fulfill you It's only the presence of Jesus And it's amazing to me what a little light can do to the darkness So as the team begins to sing this song you're gonna have your candles lit and when yours is lit Would you please light the person next to you? Come on, would you all please stand to your feet? And let's sing this song together silent night On Virgin Mother and Child Holy infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peace Silent night Holy night Son of God Love's pure light Radiant beams Through the perilous fight O'er the ramparts we watched Were so gallantly streaming And the rockets' red glare The bombs bursting in air Gave proof through the night That our flag was still there O'er the land of the free

And the home of the brave Radiant beams From Thy holy face With the dawn of redeeming grace Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth Silent night Holy night Shepherds quake At the sight Glories stream From heaven afar Heavenly hosts sing Hallelujah Christ the Savior is born Christ the Savior is born Christ the Savior is born I don't know about yours tonight, but it's just something absolutely beautiful. How the darkness is dispelled with the light. And I want to offer you a challenge that I make every single Christmas Eve. Give me a year of your life. I'm going to ask that question to you. Give me a year of your life. Question to you boldly. Give me a year of your life Like get plugged into the programming of the church like be a part of what is taking place here And I promise you here's what's gonna happen You're gonna come back a year from now And you're not gonna say that my life has been perfect and that I haven't had disappointments and that there hasn't been Challenges and that my plans haven't gone awry, but what you're gonna find is community

You're gonna find a place where your roots have been able to drill down deep You're gonna be able to look at me and say you know what I found purpose I found God's presence And I'm challenging you Come with me on this journey In fact your next step is going to be the very first Sunday in January January the 4th In fact, you may not know this but it's an opportunity for all of us To get closer to God in a way Maybe than you have ever gotten before because on the 4th of January I'm going to teach you how to hear the voice of God. It's going to be an experiential service You're gonna go on an exploration and as you walk out of that service before you walk out You will have encountered the voice of God God is going to give you a specific Word for your life that is going to bring guidance and direction to your 2026 I'm just telling you it's a Sunday that you're not going to want to miss and I'm just challenging you come with us on this journey You know Christmas is that season where we celebrate Jesus's birthday and what's crazy to me is that When it comes to birthdays We visit other people we always bring them a gift, but when it comes to Jesus's birthday we buy ourselves gifts, right? And so I know that on a day like this There are many of us that ask how can I do something special for the Lord and bring him a gift? And there's no obligation to you. But on the back seat of your chair There's a little round circle there And if you'll just tap your phone to that it'll take you to a giving link that if you would like to be able to Give you're more than welcome to do that But Tatum and I we just we wanted to tell you today how much we love you What an honor it is to be able to pastor you and so from our family to your family We want to wish you a very Merry Christmas. It's a Merry Christmas everybody

God bless you all which by the way all your calories you eat today and tomorrow do not count But everybody our prayer teams are going to be here you can blow out your candles we have receptacles for you as you leave today Merry Christmas. We'll see you in the new year. God bless