Christmas Eve at Shoreline | Full of Grace and Truth | Manger & Majesty | Full Service

All right, Max, Ethan, Lily, gather around. Let's read the Christmas story together. Again? We read this story every year. Yeah, we've already heard it a million times. Can't we just stay up late and watch a movie? But I love the Christmas story. It's my favorite part of Christmas. My favorite part, too, Lily. It's the story of the night the entire world changed. And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea under the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. And while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. All right, my little shepherds and angel, that is the story of the birth of the King of Kings, Jesus.

Go off to bed with you. Christmas morning comes quick. Good night, Dad. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. Good night. 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. Well, Merry Christmas to you and welcome to Christmas Eve in Shoreline. Let's stand to our feet tonight as we worship the King of Kings. Joy to the world is what we get to declare right now in this moment. The Lord is come. He's here. Savior reigns. Come on, with all our voices lifted high, let's worship the King tonight. And joy to the world, the Savior reigns. Let men their songs employ. While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains, repeat the sounding joy. Repeat the sounding joy. Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. We will sing, sing, sing. Joy to the world. We will sing, sing, sing.

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 ♪ ♪ We will sing, sing, sing, yes, in joy to the world. We will sing, sing, sing, yes. ♪ ♪ Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love. ♪ ♪ Like suns, or like clouds before Thee, holy to the sun, and joy to the world. ♪ ♪ Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love. Like suns, or like clouds before Thee, holy to the sun, and joy to the world. ♪ ♪ Oh come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant. Oh come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem. ♪ ♪ Come and behold Him, born the King of angels. Oh come, let us adore Him. Oh come, let us adore Him. Oh come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. ♪ ♪ Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation. Oh sing, all ye citizens of heaven above. ♪ ♪ Glory to God, glory in the highest. Oh come, let us adore Him. Oh come, let us adore Him. Oh come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. Our Lord, now we greet Thee. Born this happy morning, our Jesus forevermore be Thy name adored. Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing. Oh come, let us adore Him. Oh come, let us adore Him. Oh come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. Oh come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. ♪ ♪ O holy night, the stars are brightly shining ♪ ♪ It is the night of our dear Savior's birth ♪ ♪ Long lay the world in sin and error pining ♪ ♪ Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth ♪ ♪ The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices ♪ ♪ For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn ♪ ♪ For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn ♪ ♪ Fall on your knees, oh hear the angel voices ♪ ♪ Fall on your knees, oh hear the angel voices ♪ ♪ O night divine, O night when Christ was born ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Truly He taught us to love one another ♪ ♪ His law is love and His gospel is peace ♪ ♪ The chains He shall break for the slave is our brother ♪ ♪ And in His name all oppression shall cease ♪

♪ Sweet hymns of joy and grateful chorus raise ♪ ♪ We let all within us praise His holy name ♪ ♪ Christ is the Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, Christ is the night forever ♪ ♪ His power and glory evermore proclaim ♪ ♪ His power and glory evermore proclaim ♪ ♪ His power and glory evermore proclaim ♪ ♪ 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 ♪ ♪ Fall on your knees ♪ ♪ Oh, hear the angel voices ♪ ♪ Oh, night divine ♪ ♪ Oh, night when Christ was born ♪ ♪ Oh, night divine ♪ ♪ Oh, night, oh, night divine ♪ Yes, oh night divine oh, dark night divine come on, who's excited to be in the house of the Lord tonight We give you glory, hey Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o'er the plains In the mountains it replied, echoing their joyous strains Sing Gloria, in excelsis Deo Shepherds, why this jubilee, why your joyous strains prolong What the glass of tidings be, which inspire your heavenly song Come on, we give you glory, we say Gloria, in excelsis Deo We give you glory Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God in the highest forever For all he has done is unfailing love, glory to God in the highest forever So come to Bethlehem and see, him whose birth the angels sing Come adore on bended knee, Christ the Lord, the newborn King

Gloria, in excelsis Deo Sing Gloria, in excelsis Deo Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God in the highest forever For all he has done is unfailing love, glory to God in the highest forever Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God in the highest forever For all he has done is unfailing love, glory to God in the highest forever We shout, Gloria, Gloria, glory to God in the highest Gloria, Gloria, glory to God in the highest It's evening. It's evening. We're so glad you're here. Merry Christmas. And if you are visiting with us tonight, we just want to give you a great big hand clap. Let you know we are so honored and blessed to have you. Let's give everybody that's here for the first time a great big hand. Thank you for coming with friends and loved ones. We're just honored to have you tonight. And if you would like to be a part of this big God family, we would love to have you a part. Please just take a moment, fill out the guest card in the seat pocket in front of you, or you can scan the QR code on that armrest right next to you. But if you're new with us tonight, we just want to let you know. All of us together that God loves you so very much. You are so loved by God. And we here at Shoreline just want you to know that we're trusting that God will touch you with a very, very special Christmas. You know, we are so thrilled to celebrate this monumental event in human history, God coming into the world to save us. And you know, our culture has made this something so different from what it originally was really all about. And we get to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas

together with you. We're so excited. Turn to someone on your right or your left, give them a high five and just tell them Merry Christmas. Come on. We're gonna take a moment here at this part in our service to honor the Lord with our giving. And this is really focused in on those who are a part of the Shoreline family. And so if you're a guest or first time attender, please don't feel any obligation. But here's the reality. What we celebrate at Christmas is God so loving the world that he gave his very best. And it just reminds us at the end of the day, that when you love, you give. I suppose you can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. When you love, it produces inside of you a passion to be generous. You do that with your kids. You do that with causes you care about. And when you think about what God has done for us, he gave his very best. We have the opportunity in our love and devotion to him to give our very best as well. And there are a number of ways you can facilitate your giving. You can use that QR code that is on your arm rest. You can go to shoreline.net.

That's the way Laura and I give. Or you can use the tithe envelope. That's right there in the seat pocket in front of you. And as you give today, know that on the other side of your giving, there are so many different outreaches and so many different ways that we are blessing the Austin community and expanding the kingdom of God around the world. And so just know that there are always people in need on the other side of your giving that are receiving the blessing of your generosity. And we also have this promise that comes back to us, that as we give, God's gonna pour it back into our lives, good measure, press down, shaking together and running over so we can trust him in that promise as well. Let's pray and ask God's blessing upon our giving. Father, we thank you so much, especially today. God, we remember that you sent Jesus to us to show us what you are like. You are so generous, God, in every way, always loving us, always touching our lives, always healing and bringing hope and strength and all the good things in this life to us, God. Father, we thank you that because you gave, God, we wanna be like you. We ask that you would help us to take that step of faith, that we would trust you with our giving. God, as we do, that you would take those seeds that are sown and God, you would multiply them

into our lives in the ways we need, but also and most importantly, God, Father, back into this world, God, we sow this seed, God, that you would touch the countless thousands of people, Lord, that we've been given the opportunity to partner with right here in the Austin and surrounding communities and around the world. Father, we love you, we honor you and we thank you in Jesus' name, amen, amen. Well, we've got lots of really good things that are happening. We do, so you guys. I assure you, you can go ahead and receive our offering by this time. There are some important dates you might wanna make note of and that's this coming Sunday. You know what? We would love to have you back. We're only having one service because it's kind of around the new year and all of that. We want you to just sleep in late, come on back here at 1130 on Sunday, the 28th. It's gonna be a very, very impactful service to kind of kick or end the year. And so please join us then. And then right after that is New Year's Eve. And we have right here a New Year's Eve party that the young adults are putting on. So if you're anywhere in the range of 18 to 30, we would love to have you kicking off the new year

with worshiping Jesus. And then- And then on January the 4th, we're back to our regular service times, 930 and 1130. And we're kicking off a brand new collection of talks on when less is more. Jesus made that incredibly profound statement when he said, those who lose their lives for my sake will find life. We're gonna explore all of the ways that, you know, Jesus intended that wisdom to enrich our lives. You know, he was talking about quality over quantity. He was talking about how, you know, when we think about our lives and how we approach things, you know, your calendar might be full, but that doesn't mean you're living. a full life. And so we're going to talk about all of the ways that we can explore really living the way that God wants us to live as we kick off 2026. It's going to be a really great time together. We look forward to gathering together with you on January 4th. All right, we'll sit back, relax, and let's continue to enjoy this Christmas Eve together. Be near me, Lord Jesus. I ask Thee to stay close by me forever and love me. I pray, bless all the dear children in my tender care and take us to heaven to live with Thee there. Dad? Sweetheart, you still awake? Yeah, I couldn't sleep. Me neither. Christmas has a way of doing that. I think sometimes the wonder keeps us awake more than the waiting. I was just looking at this. Oh, little King Jesus himself. Dad, can I ask you something? Always. If Jesus really is the King, then how come he came out like this? Why didn't he come out with a crown or armies or a big light show in the sky? I mean, why start with just hay, animals, and a major? Well, I wondered that same thing when I was your age. It's what Pastor Rob has been talking about at church all month, and honestly, that question is kind of the whole story. It is? Yeah,

because if Jesus came in a palace, only the powerful would have felt invited. If he came with armies, only the brave would have dared come close, but he came as a baby in the lowest of places so that everybody would feel included, even the scared, even the messy, even the broken, even the people who feel like they don't deserve anything good, even you, even me. Even Max and Ethan? Yes, even your brothers. See, Jesus didn't come to intimidate us. He came to include us, and that lily is grace. Grace is his gift, and Jesus is that gift. You know how we put presents under the tree? Well, God put his gift in a manger. So the king became tiny, like tiny enough to fit in a small manger, like a little tiny baby gift. The king of the universe, choosing the manger over a throne, and that tells us that God isn't far away. He came close enough to know us, close enough for us to know him, close enough to be our Lord. Christmas Eve is about the arrival of a king. ♪ There was mercy in your eyes ♪ ♪ To fulfill the law and prophets ♪ ♪ To a virgin King the Word ♪ ♪ From the throne of endless glory ♪ ♪ To a cradle in the dirt ♪ ♪ Praise the Father, praise the Son ♪ ♪ Praise the Spirit, three in one ♪ ♪ God of glory, majesty ♪ ♪ Praise forever to the King of kings ♪ Dad, we're ready for battle. Yeah, we're the kings of Christmas. You two are ridiculous. Easy there, your majesties. What's your first royal decree? No bedtime ever. Yes, an unlimited hot chocolate. Yeah, unlimited hot chocolate. You two would make great kings of chaos. You know, when Jesus came into the world,

a lot of people thought he would show up that way, like a superhero king. A king who would come in and fix everything by force. A king who would roll into town with soldiers, giant horses, chariots, trumpets blaring, crowds cheering. Like, boom, the king is here. Exactly, and people thought that the king that God had promised would show up like that, strong and loud, powerful, and that he would kick out the bad guys and take over. But God did something so different, so upside down that most people missed it. Instead of a throne made of gold, he chose a manger made of wood. Instead of being surrounded by armies, he was surrounded by farm animals. Instead of announcing himself with royal trumpets, he was announced with a baby's cry. And that's why we don't just celebrate that he came, we celebrate because of what he became. Our savior, our redeemer, our king. Wow, he really is the king. No, Max, he's the king of kings. He's the king of kings, the king of Christmas. The king who chose a manger, and now wears the crown. Thank you, God. You could've stepped into creation with fire for all to see. But every tribe and nation to their knees. Arriving with the host of heaven

and royal Roman crown, rulers of the earth all bowing down. You chose meekness over majesty, wrapped your power in humanity. Glory be to you alone, King who reigns from a major throne. My life, my praise, everything I own to Jesus, the King on a major throne. You could've marched in all your glory into the heart of Rome. Sure this land and life they'd never know. But you're all a better story in humble Bethlehem, creator in the arms of common man. You will die for our intentions and your eyes so we can live. Glory be to you alone, King who reigns from a major throne. ♪ My life, my praise, everything I own ♪ ♪ To Jesus, the King on a major throne ♪ ♪ From heaven to the cradle, from cradle to the cross ♪ ♪ And heaven and nature sing, this is our King ♪ ♪ But the grave couldn't hold Him, our God is overcome ♪ ♪ Let heaven and nature sing, this is our King ♪ ♪ From heaven to the cradle, from cradle to the cross ♪ ♪ Let heaven and nature sing, this is our King ♪ ♪ But the grave couldn't hold Him, our God is overcome ♪ ♪ Let heaven and nature sing, this is our King ♪ ♪ From heaven to the cradle, from cradle to the cross ♪ ♪ From heaven to the cradle, from cradle to the cross ♪

♪ All hail the King, all hail the King, all hail the King ♪ ♪ All hail King Jesus, and all hail Lord of heaven and earth ♪ ♪ All hail King Jesus, and all hail Lord of heaven and earth ♪ ♪ All hail King Jesus, and all hail Savior of the world ♪ ♪ All hail King Jesus, and all hail Lord of heaven and earth ♪ ♪ All hail King Jesus, and all hail Savior of the world ♪ ♪ All hail the King, all hail the King, all hail the King ♪ ♪ Let every knee bow before the King of kings ♪ ♪ Let every tongue confess that He is alive ♪ ♪ Lift up your shout, let us join with all of heaven ♪ ♪ Singing holy, singing holy, singing holy, singing holy ♪ ♪ We're singing holy, singing holy, yeah ♪ Can you imagine this baby born into the world 2,000 years ago is King and Lord and Savior and creator of the world. Come on, let's give Him praise together here tonight. So great to have you. Welcome, welcome, welcome. You may be seated. You know, when you think about Christmas, you can't not think about the fact that this is a holiday where we exchange gifts. And the gifts are such an emotional part of what we do. I've got a couple of gifts here. Leo, this is for you, all right? Now, I want you just to hold on to this, okay? I don't want you to open it. And, Aubrielle, this one is a little bit heavier. This one's for you. Maybe mom can help, all right?

Oh, man, no, you're strong, you've got it. Now, I'm giving you these gifts, but there's one condition, all right? Do not open it until I tell you, okay? And I'll tell you a little bit later in the message and you can open it. It's a gift for you to take home and enjoy. But no pressure. The whole message is resting on your shoulders, okay? So just hang with me, all right? Right? Okay, don't unwrap them. Some of my earliest memories, maybe you too, about Christmas was waking up at four o'clock in the morning and walking down the stairs and seeing the Christmas tree filled with presents. And it was an agonizingly painful experience to wait all of the hours before the rest of the family would get up and that we would have a chance to open up those gifts. But you know what, since those early days, things have kind of shifted. We still delight in the gift giving, you know, with the kids and now with the grandkids. That's awesome, it's amazing. But for me personally, the receiving of gifts have kind of diminished a little bit, especially since Laura has already told me that I'm not gonna receive the gift that I asked for. She told me it's not happening.

So I'm not getting her anything either. You know, I was thinking about it. I mean, it was a request. I thought it was reasonable. I put it in the basket, you know, the internet basket. I said, this is what I want. And I think I've come to the conclusion that she's just either too cheap or selfish to give me what I really want. I think you'll agree, this is what I asked for. It's not much. But I know how things are gonna roll for me tomorrow. It's so predictable. I'm gonna get some clothes because I'm a trophy husband. I'm gonna get some golf balls because I hit them where nobody can find them. And I'm gonna get some socks, which incidentally is what I really like. There's nothing like a good pair of socks that fit just right, not too tight, not too loose, that have the right cushion. Yeah, I'm a man of simple tastes. But the reason why gifts are exchanged at Christmas is because Christmas is about the gift, the greatest gift, a gift that we all desperately need more even than the food that we eat or the water we drink or the air that we breathe. It's the gift of God's grace. If you've been a part of Shoreline for the last couple of weeks,

you know that we've been kind of feasting on a verse that is found in the Gospel of John 1 and the 14th verse. We have been in this verse the entire Christmas season. Here's how this verse expresses the Christmas story. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. In this verse, we see the manger and the majesty of Christmas. In the manger, we see the flesh. In the majesty, we see the Word. In the manger, we see the human. In the majesty, we see the divine. In the manger, we see the shepherds. In the majesty, we see the three kings. In the manger, we see the vulnerability. In the majesty, we see the invincibility, the manger and the majesty, the Word becoming flesh. But the focus of tonight is the last part of this verse, full of grace and truth, the truth about grace. The word grace literally means a free gift, God's unmerited favor, God doing for us what we don't deserve, and Christmas is all about grace. And so tonight, we are going to unwrap the truth about the gifts of Christmas grace. By the way, how are you guys doing over here? You're doing good? Not yielding to the temptation to open up that present yet? Thank you, thank you.

Come on, give it up for Aubriella and Leo. So let's talk about some of the gifts of grace that we get to unwrap at Christmas. The gift of His presence. Have you ever really pondered what Christmas is truly all about? This idea that the creator of the universe is becoming a man. Do you ever think about how grace is becoming personal? Grace is becoming relational. At Christmas, grace becomes a person, or more accurately, grace becomes a baby. And when God became one of us, it was because he wanted to be with us, with us in the good times, but also with us in the difficult and challenging times, with us in the storms of life. And not just the good times and the bad times, he wants us to be in relationship with him in the everyday times, the Monday through Friday times of our life. I don't know, I just kind of felt in my heart that someone needed to hear this tonight. Christmas means that you never have to be alone. And if you came to church tonight and you were feeling a little bit alone, a little bit isolated, a little bit disconnected, I just want you to know he came to be with you. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. We unwrap at Christmas the gift of his presence, but we also unwrap the gift of pardon. There is one thing that unites us. There is one thing that is the same about every single one of us here this evening. There's lots of differences. We come from different backgrounds, maybe even different ethnicities, different educational levels, different professions. We have different preferences, things that we like to do that are different from other people. We have a unique fingerprint, an eye retina. Yeah, we are unique and different in lots of ways, but there is one thing that every single one of us have in common. And the Bible says that every single one of us have fallen short. Every single one of us have sinned. Every single one of us are flawed. And some of us are more flawed than others. They say that in every single family, there is one person whose flaws outshine all the others. In every family, there is someone with outsized flaws. And so when you gather around the Christmas table tomorrow,

sharing a meal, and you're wondering who it is around that table that has more flaws than anyone else, and you look around that table and everybody seems reasonable, guess what? It's you. And so when we come to what Christmas is all about, Matthew chapter one and verse 21 illuminates us. She will give birth to a son and you will call him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. Jesus was born the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. Maybe you came to church here tonight and you know that your life is a mess. The things you should do, you don't do. The things that you shouldn't do, you do. You're looking for peace and joy in all of the wrong places. But I'm here to tell you tonight that there is a gift for you. The gift of forgiveness of your sins, the gift of pardon. And maybe that's the greatest gift you'll unwrap tonight. But we have the gift of his presence, the gift of pardon. We also have the gift of power. Everyone is trying to tell you how to live your best life. You know, just two days ago, I went to Barnes & Noble and one of the biggest sections in that bookstore is the self-help section. And I was kind of perusing through the different titles. You know, everybody's got an opinion on how you should live. But it seems to me that following the advice

of so many of the authors will leave you exhausted. Their advice is contradictory. They say things that just seem opposite. Like be spontaneous, but start planning that today. You're unique and special, just like everyone else. Don't care what others think about you. No, now go buy this book. So you can become what people want you to be. So, there's all these conflicting words, and we're kind of coming into the new year, and we're gonna be bombarded with messages. Eat this one type of food, run a marathon, think only good vibes, work harder, relax. It'll happen when you least expect it. Just get over it. Wake up earlier, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But I think most of us realize that the problem is seldom that we don't know what to do. The real problem is that we lack the power to do it. And what Christmas is all about is the celebration of a baby coming into the world to give us power over ourselves, to give us the ability to do things we never could do on our own. I love how the Apostle Paul records it in Philippians chapter four and verse 13. You could add, because of Christmas, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. And then there's the gift of his promises. Study after study, and we highlighted this this past Sunday,

but study after study shows that the number one negative emotion that people carry in their hearts is worry and fear. They're anxious. And people who study human behavior have identified over 500 different fears that people have. Topping the list is the fear of public speaking. For some reason, that's number one on the list. Number two, which is right behind it, is the fear of dying. So some people have come to the conclusion that if you go to a funeral, most people would rather be lying in the casket than giving the eulogy. But I've got some good news for you here tonight. For the 500 fears that people carry, there are 7,487 promises, nearly 15 promises in the word of God for every single fear out there. Christmas is about unwrapping the promises that God gives. And when the angel said to them in Luke 2 in verse 10, do not be afraid, he wasn't just saying that because he showed up unexpectedly and was now speaking to them. I would imagine that would cause some concern if an angel just spontaneously showed up in our lives and started speaking to us. So he starts out and says, do not fear, but I don't think it's just about him showing up. It's what he said next. He said, do not fear because what I'm about to tell you

will change everything about life. Do not be afraid for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy that will be for all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord. There are so many beautiful gifts that we get to unwrap, the gifts of grace at Christmas, the gift of his presence, the gift of pardon, the gift of his power, and the gift of promises. But perhaps the greatest gift is the gift that he gives to us at the very end, the gift of paradise. Heaven is our home. Isn't, is there any other greater antidote in all of life to the fear that people carry about death? He promises that all who put their trust in him will experience abundant life. Heaven is our home, a place of reunions with loved ones, streets of gold and gates of pearl. No more sickness, no more pain, no more heartache, no more evil. In fact, in 1 Corinthians chapter two, the Bible says, no eye has seen and no ear has heard and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. But here's the thing about gifts. You can see them underneath the tree. You can hear about them in a sermon. You can sing about them in Christmas carols.

But it won't benefit you in any way, shape or form unless you unwrap them. So, Leo, would you unwrap your gift? Abriel, when you unwrap your gift. Come on now don't do it shyly don't do it timidly just come on rip off the paper just rip it off. Come on give them a good hand clap as they open their gift. Their Christmas starts tonight. No way he says. Do you know that that's exactly what I want you to do with the gifts that I'm talking about here tonight with that same type of enthusiasm and childlike heart that you would say no way I get the gift of God's presence the gift of his pardon the gift of his power the gift of his promises and the gift of paradise itself. Don't you dare let Christmas pass you this year without the joy of unwrapping the gifts that he gives. And I know some of you might be thinking well how do I unwrap the gifts that God gives. Well he made it something that every single one of us could do. In Ephesians chapter 2 in verse 8 for it is by grace that you have been saved the Bible says through faith it is the gift of God. It's the way that we receive all the gifts that he gives. We simply have to believe to surrender entrusting dependence upon to have faith. And when we believe with childlike faith those gifts become active in our lives and the beauty behind each and every one of the gifts of Christmas become ours if we simply believe. So let's unwrap the wonderful gifts of Christmas. Let's unwrap the majesty of his presence and the majesty of his pardon. Let's unwrap the majesty of his power and the majesty of his promises. So that together all of us can unwrap the majesty of paradise. Let's receive by faith the beautiful gifts of grace at Christmas. Could I hear a good amen. There was a king who loved his people dearly.

And he would get in his chariot pulled by magnificent white horses and ride through the city. And his townspeople his subjects would bow before him some would back off in fear. And he thought to himself I want to tell them how much I love them. But there was a barrier. They saw him as a ruler someone who could never relate to their struggles to their heartaches to their journey to their life. And so this noble king who loved his kingdom so much took the crown off of his head and put it on a velvet pillow. Took off his royal robe and put on ordinary clothes. Left his palace and walked into the city. And he ate their food and worked on their jobs. Felt the bites of the winter wind lived in their world. And if it was possible the more he spent time with his subjects the more love he carried in his heart for them. And when he spoke they listened to him and loved him in return. Because they weren't just looking at a king on a throne. They were looking at a brother who had dirt under his fingernails and tears in his eyes. And that my friend is what Christmas is all about. The word became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace. Let's believe and receive his gifts tonight. Let's pray. Father I thank you so much that we come here to this place to worship. To give thanks for the wonderful gifts of Christmas. And Father I pray that every single person here. Would through faith receive The wonderful benefits of the gifts that you have made possible by coming into our world in Jesus name I Would like for all of us here

Tonight, would you just stand to your feet? We're gonna sing a classic song that reminds us of the beauty of the manger The reality of what Jesus came into our world to do. So let's sing together this classic Christmas song Your virgin Holy Come on turn on your light Me Holy Gee music music music music music music music music music music music If you wouldn't mind, if you wouldn't mind, every head bowed and every eye closed, with nobody leaving or moving around, I want to ask you about where you are in your relationship with God. Are you ready to receive the gifts of Christmas grace? Maybe you came to church here this evening and you're not where you need to be with God. You'd say, Pastor, I'm not living right. I'm not doing right. I'm not where I ought to be. I need prayer. Maybe you made that decision at one point in time in your life. Maybe years ago when you were young, but now you've kind of lost your way and you need to rededicate your life to serving Him. Or maybe you have never invited Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.

That can change tonight. If you want to meet Him for the very first time or you want to rededicate your life to serving Him, I want you to do something bold here this evening. I want you to slip your hand in the air and you say, that's me. I want to be prayed for. Would you do that? Hands are going up all over this building. It's beautiful to see. Be bold. Be a part. God wants to transform your life. All of you with your hands raised, I want to lead you in a very simple prayer to invite Jesus into your heart. Everyone else, all of us here, to join them in this prayer as a reaffirmation of our faith in God. Let's all of us pray together. Heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, for making Christmas happen. Jesus, I ask you to come into my heart. I received the gift of your pardon, and I will live for you. From this day forward, by the grace that you supply, for the glory of your name, in Jesus name, amen. Amen. Come on, give him a great big hand clap. We sang a song tonight that reminds us of the manger, but we're going to close with this song that reminds us of his majesty. Come, let's sing together. Wrapped in cloth and majesty, and then the angels there appear, with good news to bring, for the world to hear, and receive her king. King. In all hail King Jesus. In all hail, savior of the world. All hail King Jesus. In all hail, savior of the world. All hail King Jesus. In all hail, Lord of heaven and earth. All hail King Jesus. All hail, savior of the world. Yeah. May every single one of us unwrap this Christmas, the majesty of the manger.

May we not just go through Christmas as just another Christmas, but may we never be the same again as we see his majesty in everything that we do. Amen. I want to remind you guys that this Sunday is going to be a little different, only 11.30 service. It's going to be an incredible time together. The young adults are gathering for New Year's Eve, and then the Sunday after that, we're starting an incredible new series to kick off the new year. You do not want to miss that. Have a fantastic evening. Thank you for joining us for Christmas Eve at Shoreline Church. Have a great Christmas.