Christmas At Central 2025 | Pastor Jud

What do you mean you're skipping Christmas and going to Hawaii? It's Christmas Eve. I just can't do it this year. I need a break. It feels like nobody cares about Christmas these days. Why should I? Are you serious? There are so many people depending on you. Think of the elves. Think of Prancer. My flight boards in five minutes. Gotta go. XOXO. Judy! Santa's off his rocker again. Help! I'm already on it. Operation Bring Santa Home is a go. Over and out. Boots in the tray, sir. Oh, um, I have a TSA pre-check. Everyone is general security today, sir. Boots in the tray. Please. You need to empty your pockets. Thought I already did that. Attention! For those flying on flight 1225 to Hawaii, your gate has changed from 1 to 92. Thank you. Question. Yes? How long would you say it takes to get to gate 92? Hmm. That is the furthest gate, so probably the exact length of the song that just started. Nothing is stopping me from getting on this flight. Run, run, Rudolph, Santa's gotta make it to town. Run, run, Rudolph, run, run, run. Santa, make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down. Run, run, Rudolph, run, run, run. Run, run, Rudolph, we're reeling like a merry-go-round. Run, run, Rudolph. Come on! Let's go, Rudolph! Let's go, Rudolph! Run, run, Rudolph, Santa's gotta make it to town. Run, run, Rudolph, run, run, run. Santa, make him hurry, tell him he can take the freeway down. Run, run, Rudolph, run, run, run. Run, run, Rudolph, we're reeling like a merry-go-round.

Run, run, Rudolph, we're reeling like a merry-go-round. Run! Cutting it close, sir. We're almost finished boarding. Yeah, I'd like to upgrade to first class. Our only empty first class seat was just assigned to a standby passenger. Seems everyone is traveling for the holidays. You don't say. Paging standby passenger Mr. Grinch. Grinch? You rang? Ah, Mr. Grinch. We hope you enjoy flying first class. It is a pretty long flight, but you will be extremely comfortable. Wow, it must be a Christmas miracle. Hey, I'll see you there, big guy. Aloha. Final call for flight 1225 to Hawaii. I can help you. Okay. La da da dee, la da da da, la da da dee, la da da da. This seat is taken, so go sit back there. Hey, why such a grouch? Tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle. Reservation? Yes. Last name Kringle, first name Chris. I booked the penthouse suite. Let's see here. Do I know you from somewhere? I don't think so. Anywho, I see your reservation and unfortunately there has been a mix-up.

You've been assigned to one of our economy rooms on the ground floor, right next to the elevators. And with an extra fee, you can have our continental breakfast located right outside of your room, which offers a wide array of gluten-free cereal and muffins from last week. No, no, no. Listen, I specifically booked the penthouse suite. This has got to be a mistake. Can it be switched? It's already been assigned to another guest. Oh, looks like he's headed up there right now, actually. Really? Sorry about the confusion. But enjoy your stay. Thanks. Yeah. I recommend blueberry muffin. Can I help you boys? Are you Santa? No. Yeah, you are. Look, I've told you boys six, seven times now. Six, seven! What does that even mean? Look, Brad, Johnny, I am not Santa. He knew our names. You're the best Santa. Love you, big guy. Enjoy your vacay. Hey. Hey. Yeah. Woo! This Christmas And as we trim the tree How much fun it's gonna be together

Yeah This Christmas By your side is blazing bright We're caroling through the night And this Christmas Will be A very special Christmas For me Yeah Santa? Santa? Hi, Mia. What are you doing here? I'm on vacation. But it's Christmas Eve. Will you still deliver presents? I don't think so. I lost my Christmas spirit. Just try to remember what Christmas is really about. Merry Christmas I'll have a blue Christmas without you I'll be so blue thinking about you You'll be doing alright with your Christmas I'm white But I'll have a blue Christmas So what's really going on? What do you mean you lost your Christmas spirit? Christmas isn't just not the same anymore Everybody's so busy Nobody wants to do anything

Everybody's just concerned about themselves Everybody wants to just hurry up and get through the holidays But Christmas should be special It should be about spending time with family and loved ones And showing kindness and making memories together That's not everybody though Santa My family makes Christmas super special every year And I think lots of people remember the true meaning of Christmas Maybe you should too We'll see how everybody is when I don't deliver presents this year Come on Santa You know in your heart that Christmas is not about the presents So you're saying you wouldn't be disappointed if I delivered no presents this year? Not one? Maybe a little bit Like this much Hmm Ah Mia What am I supposed to do? How should I know? I am only in first grade Wait I know Come to my Christmas play tonight I'm one of the angels Maybe I'll get you back in the Christmas spirit again You're one of the angels in this? Well I got news for you kiddo You're an angel now It's time for Ben to be a baby to be born She gave birth to her firstborn

There are shepherds living in the field nearby Keeping their watch on the flocks all night The angel of the Lord appeared And they were terrified Angels should not be afraid I have good news You made it Of course I did Now who up there is playing me might want to get their autograph No you're not in this play Wait this is about the real meaning of Christmas When baby Jesus was born When you remember what Christmas is actually about Everything's special You just have to believe It's time to head to stage Mia See you later alligator After a while crocodile Merry Christmas Santa Sir Merry Christmas Judy I'll see you back up north Busted So busted It's about time I come home Isn't it? The sleigh is already packed and waiting for you Merry Christmas Santa Today in the town of Babon Here's a sign

The Lord This will be a sign to you You will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel Praising God and saying Glory to God in the highest heavens And on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests [♪Lost Designs SinsBecauseOfYou by Phystomb vocês derived. qualityِّ ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓→↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↑↑↑↑ because YouTube didn't know when it uploaded this video. Oh well, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay. In fields where they lay keeping their sheep on a cold winter's night that was so deep. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel. Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel. Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel. Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel. Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel. Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel. Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel. Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel. Well, that was an incredible opener and shout out to all of the volunteers and team members. making that experience happen. Well, welcome to Central, where it's OK to not be OK. And if you're new to Central Online, make sure you put it in the comments below where you are experiencing church from. You know, we would love to connect with you. Another great way to stay in touch is also to download the app. You can also find a location near you. We would love for you to join us in the future. Now we're going to transition to a time of worship And in Psalms 100, it says,

And that's what we're going to do right now. So why don't you join us in worship? Come on. ♪ Joy to the world, joy to the world ♪ ♪ All the earth sing joy to the world ♪ Come on. Yeah. ♪ The nations prove the glories of His righteousness ♪ ♪ And wonders of His love, and wonders of His love ♪ ♪ And wonders, wonders of His love ♪ Sing. ♪ Joy to the world, joy to the world ♪ ♪ All the earth sing joy to the world ♪ ♪ Joy to the world, all the earth sing ♪ ♪ Joy to the world, joy to the world ♪ ♪ All the earth sing joy to the world ♪ ♪ What we talking about, what we talking about ♪ ♪ Let's rock it, let's rock it ♪ ♪ What we talking about, what we talking about ♪ Sing! ♪ I wish I could tell you, wish I could describe it ♪ ♪ But I can't contain it, can't keep it to myself ♪ ♪ There aren't enough colors to paint the whole picture ♪ ♪ Not enough words to ever say what I've found ♪ ♪ Wonderful and beautiful and glorious and holy ♪ ♪ He is merciful and powerful ♪ Who we talking about? Let's rock it! We declare the glory, give Him all the honor All together worthy

Who we talking about? Let's rock it! There's no other glory Yes, we will adore Him All of this is for Him Who we talking about? Let's rock it! Jesus, You're the King Yeah ♪ Without writing the rascal, without tuning the chorus ♪ ♪ There aren't enough notes to make the harmony ♪ ♪ It's the song of the angels, angels, of the angels, angels ♪ ♪ Of the earth and heaven symphony ♪ ♪ Wonderful and beautiful and glorious and holy ♪ ♪ He is merciful and powerful ♪ Who we talking about? Let's rock it! We declare the glory, give Him all the honor All together worthy Who we talking about? ♪ That's my King, there's no other boy ♪ ♪ Yes, we will adore Him, all of this is for Him ♪ Who are we talking about? ♪ That's my King, that's my King, that's my King ♪ He's our King. So we sing together. ♪ That's my King, that's my God, we believe ♪ ♪ That's my Shepherd, my Protector, that's my King ♪ ♪ That's my Ruler, that's my Anchor, my Defender ♪ ♪ That's my King, that's my God, that's my Shepherd ♪

♪ My Protector, that's my King, that's my God, my Defender ♪ ♪ That's my Anchor, my Defender ♪ Who are we talking about? We declare the glory. Who are we talking about? That's my King. We declare the glory. All together, worthy. Who are we talking about? There's no other Lord, but so He is. All my help's worth. That's my King. That's my King. Who are we talking about? Who are we talking about? That's my King. Who are we talking about? That's my King. He's my God. He's my Shepherd. Who are we talking about? That's my King. Come on, let's raise it up. Amen, amen. We love getting to worship with you. You guys can go ahead and take your seats. The Christmas season is often filled with joy and celebration. However, for many in our community, it can also bring hardship and uncertainty.

Through our Hope for Kids initiative, we have the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Over the last month, we've had the privilege of blessing our central family in meaningful ways, providing essential resources and helping families enjoy a memorable season. We also provided Thanksgiving meals to our community through our weekly food pantries, through our community partnerships. And just last week, we hosted our Hope for Kids drive-through nights. These nights were more than just a holiday celebration. Along with festive lights, treats, and snow, and Christmas music, thousands of families receiving warm clothing, a holiday meal, hygiene kits, and brand new Christmas gifts for their kids. But Hope for Kids extends beyond the holiday season. Through this initiative, we provide year-round support to our friends and our neighbors, including our 24-7 care and prayer line, our weekly food pantries, school supplies throughout the year, and so much more. And at the heart of it all, we are sharing the hope of Jesus in the places that need it most. None of this would be possible without you, our central family.

With each gift of $50, your generosity helps change someone's life and introduces them to Jesus through the ministries of Central. Together, let's provide hope this holiday season and beyond. You know, at one of these Hope for Kid nights that you just saw in that video, there was a mom and her little girl named Kaylani who took the bus across the city to be able to show up and receive some much-needed resources. And when they arrived, they didn't realize that it was a drive-through event and they didn't have a car. Now, we have solutions for families that show up with similar situations, but somehow Kaylani and her mom, they got lost and they couldn't find a team member to talk to. And they were overwhelmed because mom thought they had come all that way for nothing and they both broke down in tears. But then one of our central family members saw them in the parking lot. They helped mom get all checked in, made sure that she received the food, the toys, the warm clothing. And while that was happening, Kaylani, the little girl, was brought over to our teddy bear station

where we tried to find her the biggest teddy bear that we could to try to stop those tears. And it worked. We found the right bear. But then something even more beautiful. Kaylani noticed volunteers handing teddy bears to the kids in cars as they drove up and she asked if she could help. And we watched this little girl absolutely light up, laughing and smiling and jumping as she handed bears to other kids. You see, Kaylani came to receive a blessing, but the greatest blessing showed up when she got to give. And that's what Hope for Kids is all about. It's not just meeting needs, it's helping people feel seen. And sometimes the miracle of generosity isn't what happens in the hands of the person receiving, it's what happens in the heart of the person giving. Now today, maybe the greatest gift you can give your family this Christmas is giving together, being generous together. We saw a need in our city and we set a goal of sponsoring 30,000 kids this year. And so far, church, we are over halfway there, over 15,000 kids sponsored this Christmas. So if you'd like to be a part of that, you can give through the Central Church app, you can give online at centralchurch.online, or you can stop by the lobby right after this experience.

Our team would love to help you make that gift. But would you bow your heads with me? Can we go to God in prayer for just a moment, thanking Him for these opportunities? God, thank you for your generosity. Thank you for these families represented and for these kids who will be impacted. And tonight, God, we don't give out of obligation, we give out of gratitude. May every gift given represent your love, your joy, your hope this Christmas season. We trust you, Jesus. We love you, Jesus. We place this offering in your hands and we pray all of this in your name, amen. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪

♪ And I'm holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ And the people sing holy to the King of Kings ♪ ♪ Holy, you will always be holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ You will always be holy, holy forever ♪ Church, are you grateful for God the Father who sent his son Jesus for you and for me to bring the kingdom of heaven? Here at Central, we love to, while we worship, take time and pray for each other. If you've been here before, you've probably heard it said that this is a place where it's okay not to be okay. And we believe scripture when it shows us that God is near to the one who knows they need him. And so if you're here today, and you would say that there's a need in your life, I would love to pray for you. We would love to know who you are. And in fact, right now, I'm just gonna ask you, if that's you, I'd like for you to raise your hand because I'd like to see you, and I'd like for our church to see you so that we can come around you and support you and pray for you. Amazing, hands going up all over the room. Thank you, thank you so much. Church, if you see someone with their hand raised, why don't you stretch out your hand towards them and let's all agree in prayer together. Our Holy Father,

thank you for sending us the gift of your son, Jesus. Thank you for sending us the gift of your spirit. Lord, I pray your favor over my brothers and my sisters. Spirit of God, bring healing, bring comfort, bring direction, bring next steps. Ultimately, bring the kingdom of God. May it be so here in our lives as it is in heaven. We love you. This time is for you to honor you and to bring you glory. Innocent, your beautiful name, Jesus, I pray. And everybody say, amen, amen. Amen. Let's continue to sing together. All my gratitude. I can't sing these songs as I often do. And every song must end and you never do. Come on, if you know it, can you sing? So I put my hands, praise you again and again. Come on. Just lift it up. Oh yeah. Come on, from your heart. Sing. ♪ I know it's not much or nothing else before a king ♪ ♪ We sing for our hearts, sing it, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ To you be the glory.

♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ Come on. Sing. ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ Is he worthy of your praise? Lift your hands and sing, come on. ♪ Come on my soul, don't you get shy of me ♪ Lift up your song. ♪ Cause you've got a light inside of us ♪ Get up and praise the Lord. To the king of town, come on, sing it like you mean it. ♪ Come on my soul, don't you get shy of me ♪ Lift up your song. ♪ Cause you've got a light inside of us ♪ Get up and praise the Lord. Get up and praise. Get up and praise. Come on, all across this room, can you lift your hands in the air and sing to your king? ♪ For I throw my hands, praise you again, again, again ♪ Come on, just sing. ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it's not much, but I'm happy just before I king ♪ ♪ It's said for all to see here ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ Come on, just with you. ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ Come on. Oh Lord Jesus. ♪ So I throw my hands, I praise you again and again ♪

Come on, lift it up. ♪ Cause all that I have is love ♪ ♪ And I know it's not much but I'm nothing else before my king ♪ ♪ It's said for all to see here ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ All for you Jesus, honor and glory be your name ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ Man, we absolutely love worshiping with you guys. Go ahead and take your seats. Well, Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope you have been enjoying this experience. Listen, right now, I'm in the lobby right next to the Hope for Kids booth. And if you haven't already sponsored a child, there's still time. All you have to do is come back out here to the lobby and sponsor a child. Someone will help you. And when you do, you get this really cute special bell that you get to put into the display. Now, we wanna welcome everyone who has joined us online. And we wanna give a huge shout out to those who are watching through our partnership with God Behind Bars. Now, I want everyone to welcome our senior pastor, Pastor Judd Wilhite, as he brings us a special Christmas message of hope. All right, all right. Good to have you guys with us today. Merry, Merry Christmas.

Wanna say a special welcome to each of our central locations that are joining us today. Sunrise Mountain, Summerlin, Kingman, Aliante. Love you guys. It's good to have you with us. Hey, you know, Christmas comes with a lot of traditions. Like one of the traditions, at least in our house, household is usually movies. How many of you watch Christmas movies this time of year? You know, the Elf, the Grinch, Die Hard. Come on, somebody. It's not really Christmas till Hans Gruber falls in Nakatomi Plaza, right? Come on. My wife's been on this kick though this holiday. She's had this whole list of unexpected Christmas movies. And so it's kind of wild, like, like we've only watched one, but it was Lethal Weapon. Okay. I don't know if you remember that movie from the 80s, Mel Gibson, Danny Glover. It was, like, filmed around Christmas, so I guess that makes it a Christmas movie, right? But anyway, we watched it. It hasn't aged well, I'll tell you that. It was a little rough. And then Edward Scissorhands is on the list, and I'm like, what, what is happening to Christmas? So, so there's movies, there's food, you know, cookies, and, and fudge, and peppermint bark, and pecan pie. Oh man, love the food at Christmas. But one of our Christmas traditions is we always put out a nativity. And so a nativity are, it's just figurines that represent the characters that were there and present at the birth of Christ. Some people have used, like, nativities to kind of punk the rest of the family. Like, I saw this on social media. I thought it was kind of funny. This person says, point of view, waiting to see how long it takes my wife to notice. You got Yoda there. But it did make me think, just seeing this, you know, it is, there are so many things competing for our attention in the Christmas season. So we've got the manger up here from our live nativity. And when you think about it in our lives, like, like, a lot of our time and attention this time of year goes to Christmas gifts, right? To shopping, to creating the gift, to trying to, you know, get everybody taken care of. And so gifts are wonderful. I've

got a Christmas gift here. I hope you get your favorite gifts. I hope you get the 900 piece Death Star Lego box. And then you ask your parents to help you build it. I hope you get your phone or your shoes or whatever's on your list this year. But a lot of our time and attention can go to gifts. Another thing a lot of our time and attention can go to is just what we might call traditions. So I've got up here just, you know, a bundle of, like, Christmas lights. And these go up all in the house, outside of the house. We have, we have trees. Who are my, raise your hand if you're a, if you're a live tree person. Who are my live tree people? Okay, we got a few of those. Who are my fake tree people? Yeah, a lot of those. Awesome. We put the trees up. We put the decorations up. It takes a lot of time, a lot of energy. And sometimes it starts to take the center of our focus during the holiday season. And then we've got family. And family is good. Family's important. I've just got, you know, a picture of family here. And, and we all have our families that we love and appreciate. And I hope you get to have your family around the table this year. And I hope it's a special Christmas for you. But can I just, I'm here to just remind you of what I think is the good news, which is even if you don't get any gifts this year, and even if all the traditions don't happen the way they happened in the past, and even if all the family can't be together this year, Christmas is still just as meaningful and just as special because it's really not about those things anyway. It's about Jesus and his birth, his life, his death, his resurrection. And there is all of this consumerism and Christmas that starts to compete for all of our attention. And so we want to call our focus today back to Jesus and who he is. And to do that today, rather than just have like a, you know, some kind of a prop, I'm going to actually ask all of our volunteers to come back out that were involved in our live nativity. Okay, so would you sort of put your hands together, and we're going to set the stage here, and we're going to bring them back out. Now these are just people like yourselves in the church who are kind enough to volunteer their time to do a million services, to dress up as these individuals from the biblical story, and to come and share their time with us. And we appreciate

them. How you doing, Joseph? You good, bro? Mary? I don't know if Mary would piss bump, but anyway, there we go. You know, when you see like Joseph and Mary in a, like, from a Christmas standpoint, we often think of it like a Hallmark card. Like, everything's really nice and perfect. We're gonna sing at the close of our experience, Silent Night. And so we tend to think like, like it's this beautiful, peaceful night, but we forget all that these guys actually had to go through to get there. It was a wild ride. And it starts when Mary realizes that she's pregnant. In fact, let's go to the scripture now. Luke chapter one, beginning in verse 34. Check this out, we'll bring it up. It says, and Mary, so Mary just finds out she's pregnant. It says, and Mary said to the angel, how will this be, since I am a virgin? And the angel answered her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. Now, when I get to the red word here, say it real loud here with me. It says, for nothing will be what? Impossible with God. Nothing is impossible with God. And so Mary gets this amazing announcement, this incredible declaration, and then she's got to navigate life for nine months. I mean, she's engaged to her husband Joseph, or to her fiance Joseph, and an engagement was almost like a marriage back then.

It was very rare to break an engagement. But one of the things that we learn is that Joseph was actually considering breaking off his engagement with Mary, because Joseph's like, yeah, sure, the Holy Spirit came upon you, and therefore you have a child growing in you. He's like, I wasn't born yesterday. Joseph isn't really buying it, until an angel comes to him and basically says, don't break the engagement. And so they have to deal with nine months of gossip, nine months of crazy, nine months of tension, and then there's a census. They have to go back to the city of their origin. So they have to travel from Nazareth, multiple days, all the way back to Bethlehem. And when they get there, it's packed out, because there's people there for the census. There's no room for them in the inn. And so she's had to make this journey pregnant, and now she's gonna deliver a child. It had been a wild ride. It had been a wild ride. Now, when it comes to her actually having that child, we wonder, like, did she have the child in a stable? Was it like outside? Says there's no room for them in the inn. And I think it's interesting, when you look at archeology, it actually challenges us,

because archeology reveals that many Jewish people in that time, in that part of the world, would, they would bring their animals in with them at night. We know animals were present at the birth of Jesus. They would bring their animals into the bottom floor of their house. They would often sleep, like, in a loft, or they might sleep in a room that's beside it. They'd bring the animals in, because they didn't want them to freeze, right? And they were valuable assets. So the animals would come in. And when you think of, like, the Jewish people as humane people, I think it's likely that Jesus was actually born, not in some animal stable, but in a family home, just in that center area, with the dirt floor, with the animals present. And then it says they took the baby, and they placed him in a manger. We know manger just means trough. A manger was a food trough. And I know we represent it in our live nativities, like, a wooden thing like this, but more than likely, it could've very well been, like, concrete. You know, the animals would've eaten or drank out of this. And so there may have been as many animal witnesses to the birth of Jesus as there were human. Why would God bring his Son into the world that way?

Well, the angel just said it. For nothing will be impossible with God. Our God is a God of surprises. I don't know what kind of situation you're facing right now, but I know some of you are in a situation that feels impossible, right? Work may feel impossible. Your parenting may feel impossible. Finances may feel impossible. But can I tell you something today? Part of the Christmas miracle is when you begin to walk in faith, and grow in your faith, and trust God in your life, you realize that nothing is impossible for God, that he can break down walls, that he can make a way when there is no way, that he can help you get through when you can't see a way through. Nothing is impossible for God. And if God doesn't make the situation in your life suddenly possible, then he will give you the strength to go through the impossible and to depend on him even more. So Mary and Joseph remind us nothing is impossible for God. But we've got some other characters that are part of that live nativity. For example, we've got the shepherds.

And so I've got the shepherds over here. How we doing? How we doing, dudes? How are we? Okay, that was good, thank you. How you doing there? All right, man, how are you? All right, you guys good? You all right? These guys have been navigating live animals, so this is easy, right? Just stand up here, no problem. Now, back in the ancient world, shepherds were actually seen as kind of, outcasts a little bit. The religious leaders were frustrated with shepherds because they couldn't be at the temple, they couldn't jump through all the religious hoops. They were kind of seen as nobodies. who are smelly, you know, how you doing, right? You know, smelly, kind of gross. This is your, you can tell your mom you don't have to take a shower tonight because you're like, you're in character. So anyway, but isn't it interesting that when the angel comes to make the announcement of the birth of the Son of God, he chooses to go to shepherds, right? Instead of, not politicians, not religious leaders, not people that are wealthy and powerful,

not celebrities, not social, ancient social media influencers. He goes to nobodies, the anonymous, even the small, and he makes this amazing announcement. Look at this, Luke chapter two, beginning in verse eight. Let's bring it up. It says, that night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep and suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared among them and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them and don't be afraid, he said. I bring you what? Good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior, yes, the Messiah, the Lord, has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David. Turn to the person next to you and say, good news. Good news. Good news, that is the message of Christmas and the fact that God chose to share that message first with shepherds tells me this, nobody is too small for God. Nobody's too small for God. I don't know how you're doing right now in your life, but I know in my life, some of my loneliest years were when I was in middle school and high school and even college and I spent a lot of time feeling completely invisible. Like my parents didn't see me, nobody really saw me at school. It didn't really matter if I was there or I wasn't there.

I was kind of like a ghost just moving through the halls. And sometimes we feel that way, we feel invisible at work. We can feel invisible in our own family. Some of you today may feel invisible even at the holiday dinner table with people that you're related to, but here's the good news, you are not invisible to God. You're not invisible to God because nobody is too small for God. And so God sees you, he loves you. You are created in his image. And if you will believe in Jesus and follow him in your life, he can give you purpose and significance and meaning. Nobody is too small for God. All right, we got one more group up here and that's the wise men. How are we doing? Are we feeling wise? How you doing, man? You good, bro? You guys, you feeling wise? They're not sure how wise they are because they signed up for 13 services. You know, so we'll see how they're feeling by the time this is all over. But the wise men. So the wise men, they're called magi. And the magi, we don't know exactly where they're from. We don't even know how many there were exactly.

We often assume there were three because three gifts are mentioned that were brought. But the wise men were these group of scholars and academics from another culture from far away. And God basically led them with a star to come to the birth of Jesus or to come and experience Jesus. And so Matthew chapter two, beginning in verse one, tells the story of the magi. Look at this, it says after, help me out when we get to the red word. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea. Now notice this. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to what? Worship him. So the magi, the wise men, the scholars, they were like the astrophysicists of the day. They looked at the stars, they studied the stars. And all of a sudden this star like reveals to them that something supernatural and amazing is happening. And it says after Jesus was born, they come. So the truth is we don't even know when the magi showed up. It could have been at the birth of Jesus. It could have been a year after the birth of Jesus. Some scholars say it could have even been two years after the birth of Jesus for a lot of reasons.

Sometime after his birth is all Matthew tells us, the magi showed up and they bring three gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These are the gifts that are fit for a king. And they come, and that's why we often assume there are three. And they come and they bow down and they worship. And you know what the magi remind me? They remind me that nobody is too. far from God, right? Nobody's too far from God. Look, I don't know where you're at right now, spiritually. Some of you may be feeling very far from God right now in your life, or maybe you know what it is to feel far from God in your life, but nobody is too far from God. God loves to forgive people and rescue people and heal people and give them a second chance and a new life and a new beginning. He's in that business. Jesus came into the world. John chapter three, verse 16 says, for God so loved the world. He loved the world. That's you and me, that he gave his one and only son so that whoever would believe in him would not perish, but have everlasting life. That's the good news. God loves you and nobody is too far from God. And so I think when it comes to Christmas, we're left with the story of Jesus and with questions like, how is it that this baby born in complete obscurity without title or wealth or influence, how did this baby completely transform the world? Right? Like, like how did a man who never had an army, never wrote a book, never owned anything, but the clothes on his back, how did he literally split the calendar between BC and AD? How did he create the world's largest religion? How did he transform human morality? How did he have hospitals found founded in his name and universities and modern science? How did he shape art and music and literature for 2000 years? And I believe that the answer is apparent because I believe that it wasn't just a baby born on Christmas day. I believe that it was God incarnate born in Jesus Christ. And he lived the most extraordinary life. And he gave up that life then on a cross. And he rose again to sit at God's right hand. And he is alive and available today. Jesus is the rightful center of Christmas. And he's the rightful center of our lives. And his words changed the world. Here are some of Jesus' words. He says, come to me,

all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. He says, anyone who has seen me has seen the father. The son of man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed. But three days later, he will rise from the dead. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows, man, isn't that true? But he said, take heart, because I have overcome the world. My purpose, he says, is to give them a rich and satisfying life. I am leaving you with a gift, peace of mind and heart. So don't be troubled or afraid. And be sure of this. I am with you always, even to the end of the age. I've been given all authority in heaven and on earth. I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live even after dying. I tell you the truth today, you will be with me in paradise. Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. I am the first and the last. I am the living one. I was dead and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Look, I am making everything new. His words changed the world. His life changed the world. Can I tell you today, if you'll follow him in faith, if you'll reignite your faith, if you'll lean in again, he can bring hope to your world as well. You know, for me, when I was 17 years old, I had been caught up in a four-year drug addiction. And it had just gotten to a place where I knew I couldn't control it anymore. And I was so tired. I was tired of lying. I was tired of partying. I was tired of the drugs. I hated my life. I sort of hated everything. And I didn't know what to do. And I remember one day, I just got down on my knees in my little bedroom in our family home. And I just said, God, help me. I'd sort of grown up around church, but I didn't have a lot of church in me, if you know what I mean. I was kind of afraid I might get struck by lightning. But I said, God, help me. And I didn't hear like angels sing. And it wasn't like the ceiling rolled back. It wasn't a supernatural moment like that. I didn't really hear anything, but I just sensed something in my heart and life, which was two words, welcome home. And I remember I got in my little Fiero the next morning. Anybody remember the Fieros? And I'm driving to high school, and I had a whole bag of drugs, all my stuff, I rolled the window down doing about 60 miles an hour, and I threw it all out the window. And then I thought about stopping, and then I kept going. And I walked into a church that weekend for the first time in my life on my own terms. And there were a group of people there, just like the people sitting around you today, that didn't judge me, that encouraged me, that prayed for me, they loved me.

They had no idea what addiction was, but they loved me no matter what. And I was able to learn how to live sober, because when you're not sober for four years of your life in those formative years, you don't even know how to function as a sober person. I learned how to live sober just by watching them. I watched how they joked with one another, I watched how they interacted, and I learned from their cues, oh, this is how you deal with things in your life without just turning to drugs. This is how you actually have friends that isn't just about partying. This is how you live a different way. They showed me a different way of living, and I have said since then that God saved my life through those people. He used the church to do it, but He saved my life all those years ago. And friends, I want you to know, you're sitting around a community full of people who could say in their own way, from their own background, God also saved their lives. And He can save your life as well. So maybe you're here today, and maybe you've felt like you're too small right now in your life, or you feel like you're too far gone right now in your life, or you feel like things are just too impossible in your life, but the birth of Jesus reminds us nothing is impossible with God, nobody is too small for God, and nobody is too far from God. Jesus' birth is your invitation to follow and to grow and to find your purpose and your meaning. And so for all of us, I hope you get the gifts, I hope you get the family time, I hope you have the traditions, but more than anything, I hope you remember in a special way this season what God has done for us in Jesus. And if you're here today and you've never crossed that line of faith, I want to give you that opportunity just to reach out to God and to trust Him in your life today. Would all of you bow your heads and close your eyes? If you'd like to become a follower of Jesus today, you can begin that journey by just repeating a simple prayer after me, either out loud or in your own heart. Just say, Dear God, I thank you for loving me.

Thank you for sending Jesus into the world. I believe He died on the cross for my sins. I believe He rose again. Forgive me for my sins. Give me the gift of eternal life. Help me face the challenges that I'm up against. God, I surrender my life to you in Christ's name. Friends, with every head bowed and every eye closed today, if that's your prayer, I want to ask you just slip your hand in the air. Just make eye contact with me. Just to say before God, to say to me, you're going to trust Him and follow Him in your life today. God bless you guys. Hands going up around the room. Bless you guys. Let's reach out to Him today. Thank you guys. God bless you. Just trust Him today. God, I thank you for each person reaching out to you, and I pray you will do a miracle in their life. Give them purpose and forgiveness and hope and meaning. God, we thank you for all that our faith means to us every day. We thank you for these moments when we can come together and worship you. We give you praise today in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Let's put our hands together for those who made spiritual commitments in their life. And hey, if you made a spiritual commitment at the end of our experience, I want to encourage you to go out and see any number of our volunteers out in our lobby areas, across our locations.

We have a little pin that's a nativity that just says Christmas at Central. If you want to mark this moment, this is a great way to do that. We also want to give you some tools and resources that'll help you as you begin to go on that spiritual journey. Well, can I ask all of you to stand together with me now? We have a special moment at the end of our experience every year where we sing Silent Night together and have a candlelight moment. And so there's candle lighters that are coming down the aisle, and I just encourage you to take that candle and get it lit from the person. beside you, and then light that candle to your left or right. We'll go ahead and begin to light this room up. But we light candles this time of year. It's just a reminder that when Jesus came into the world, Isaiah chapter 9 prophesied His birth and said that it was like a light coming in to the darkness. On those who are facing a deep darkness, it says, a light has dawned. And so Jesus is the light of the world. In fact, He said, I am the light of the world. His light was available. His light shone so brightly. And He shared His light with His followers, with His disciples. Because, you know, Jesus didn't only say, I am the light of the world. He also said, you are the light of the world. And His followers shared that light with others who shared that light with others. And before you knew it, the Christian faith had gone all over the world and is still going all over the world. God is doing amazing things in the Middle East. He's doing amazing things in China. He's doing amazing... These are not things you see on the media, but these are the things the missionaries tell us from the front lines. God is working powerfully. The light is still going forward. And we're a part of that. I'm gonna ask you just to raise your light for a minute. Just to think about what it means in our lives when we shine the light, when we show kindness and love and forgiveness and mercy and grace to those around us, the difference that it can make. And now will you lower your light for a moment? Because we all have opportunities to kind of hide our light. And when we do, we know this world, it just gets darker. It's the darkness of sin and the darkness of

corruption and the darkness of pain and the darkness of depression and loneliness. But let's raise our lights up again. When we raise our light, when we shine our light, when we love our neighbor, we can make a true impact in the world and we can point people to the light of Jesus. So let's remember who He is and let's go into this week, shining our light. Will you sing together with us, Silent Night? All is calm All is bright Round yon virgin Mother and child Holy infant So tender and mild Sleep in heavenly Peace Sleep in heavenly Peace Well, from our family to yours, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas, an amazing holiday season. We've got a lot of Christmas services coming up, so invite some friends, tell some people to come around. We would love to see them. I hope you have a great Christmas with your friends and family. And remember this, Romans 8, if God is for us, who can be against us? God bless you guys. If you go ahead and blow these candles out, then we'll head out. Merry Christmas.