The Extravagance of Christmas | Pastor Bryan Jarrett | Northplace Church

Hello, my name is Brian Jarrett, and my wife Haley and I have had the privilege of pastoring North Place Church in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for almost 20 years. We're one church that meets in multiple locations, even on multiple continents, and today you are one of those locations. The church is not about buildings, it is about people, and we have the privilege today of sharing the hope of the gospel with you right where you are. There is no way I can know exactly what you're going through or dealing with right now, but for almost 30 years I have preached about a God who I know, I am confident, knows you, your struggles, knows the very hairs on your head and the thoughts that you think before you think them, and He is passionately in love with you. And our prayer today is that in our time together you feel our love for you and His presence, and we pray that this time together gives you hope. Thank you for joining us. Come on, let's stand together. We're going to sing. Lord, the herald angels sing, glory to the new-born King, peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled, joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies. With angelic hosts proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem. Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the new-born King. We sing glory to the King. Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord. Late in time behold Him come, offspring of the virgin's womb. Filled in flesh the body's seed, held in kind dignity. Pleased as men with bread to dwell, Jesus our dead here we'll. Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the new-born King. Oh, glory in the highest, peace on earth, we sing praises to You, Lord. Oh, glory in the highest, peace on earth, we sing praises to You, Lord. Oh, glory in the highest, peace on earth, we sing praises to You, Lord. He breathes, risen with healing in His wings. Mild He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die.

Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth. Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the new-born King. Oh, glory, glory, glory, hallelujah. We sing praises to the King of kings. Oh, glory, glory, glory, hallelujah. Hail the head, born Prince of Peace. Hail the Son of Righteousness. Light and life to all He brings. Risen with healing in His wings. ♪ Is weak, mild He lays His glory by ♪ ♪ Born that man no more may die ♪ ♪ Born to raise the sons of earth ♪ ♪ Born to give them second birth ♪ ♪ Hark the herald angels sing ♪ ♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪ ♪ Glory to the King of glory ♪ ♪ Sing a praising hymn of glory ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, glory to the King of glory ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, glory to the King of glory ♪ ♪ Sing a praising hymn of glory to the King of glory ♪ Lord, today we come with grateful hearts as we reflect and we remember that you came to earth. Lord, and we respond today to the love that you demonstrated to us first. We love you, Jesus. And it's in your name that we pray today. Amen. ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ For the Lord God Almighty reigns ♪

♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ For the Lord God Almighty reigns ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Holy, holy are you Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ You are holy, holy, holy is your name ♪ ♪ For you Lord God Almighty ♪ ♪ Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ In the darkness we were waiting ♪ ♪ Without hope, without light ♪ ♪ So from heaven you came running ♪ ♪ There was mercy in your eyes ♪ ♪ To fulfill the law and prophets ♪ ♪ To a virgin came the Word ♪ ♪ From a throne of endless glory ♪ ♪ To a cradle in the church ♪ ♪ Praise the Father, praise the Son ♪ ♪ Praise the Spirit, three in one ♪ ♪ God of glory, majesty ♪ ♪ Praise forever to the King of kings ♪ ♪ Praise forever to the King of kings ♪ Come on, would you lift up your name of Jesus? ♪ To reveal the kingdom coming ♪ ♪ And to reconcile the lost ♪ ♪ To redeem the whole creation ♪ ♪ You did not despise or cross ♪ ♪ For even in your suffering ♪ ♪ You sought to the other side ♪

♪ Knowing this was our salvation ♪ ♪ Jesus, for our sake you died ♪ Oh, we praise your name. ♪ Praise the Father, praise the Son ♪ ♪ Son, praise the Spirit, free and one ♪ ♪ God of glory, majesty ♪ ♪ Praise forever to the King of kings ♪ ♪ Of kings ♪ ♪ And the morning that you rose ♪ ♪ All of heaven held its breath ♪ ♪ Till that stone was moved for good ♪ ♪ For the Lamb had conquered death ♪ ♪ And the dead rose from their tombs ♪ ♪ And the angels stood in awe ♪ ♪ For the souls of all who'd come to the Father are restored ♪ ♪ And the Church of Christ was born ♪ ♪ Let the Spirit live the flame ♪ Now this. ♪ Now His gospel truth of all shall not kneel, shall not faint ♪ ♪ By His blood and in His name, in His freedom I am free ♪ ♪ For the love of Jesus Christ who has resurrected me ♪ ♪ We're singing praise the Father, praise the Holy Spirit ♪ ♪ Praise the Spirit, He's three in one, God is one ♪ ♪ God of glory, majesty, praise forever to the King ♪ Praise the Father. ♪ Praise the Father, praise the Son, praise the Spirit ♪ ♪ Praise the Spirit, three in one, God of glory, majesty ♪ ♪ Praise the Spirit, three in one, God of glory, majesty ♪ ♪ Praise forever to the King, we praise forever to the King of kings ♪ And amen.

For the last several weeks on our Advent journey, we have been looking at Christmas through the lenses of one word, extravagance. We have seen the extravagant promise, God speaking hope into our dark world. We have explored the extravagant preparation, God working patiently through time and history behind the scenes. We have stood in awe of the extravagant entrance, God through Jesus stepping into our mess and our brokenness. And we've responded to the extravagant love, a love that sacrifices and stays. People walk out, God doesn't. He always stays. And on this Christmas Eve, we've come to the culmination of all of that, and we'll be looking at the extravagant gift. Because at its core, Christmas is not about lights or meals or tradition or even presents under a tree. Christmas is about a gift, not just any gift, God's gift of himself to us. Some of you are probably familiar with the popular short story, written all the way back in 1905 by O. Henry called The Gift of the Magi. If you aren't, it's really worth your time if you'll just pick it up. It's a short read. It's an old tender story that has endured over a century because it captures something deeply human,

something sacred to us. It tells the story of a young married couple, Jim and Della. They are deeply in love, but painfully poor. And Christmas is approaching, and privately, both of them wanna get the other something meaningful. They just don't have any money. Della's most prized possession in the world is her long, beautiful hair. She has uncommonly long, gorgeous hair. Jim's most treasured possession in the world is a gold pocket watch that has been handed down from generations in his family. It's been a family heirloom. Secretly, Della wants to get Jim something so bad, she does something unthinkable. There is a place that will buy her hair. And she goes and she sells her hair, and takes the money and buys a platinum chain for Jim's watch. But at the same time, Jim wants to get something so badly for Della, he does something equally unthinkable. thinkable, he goes and pawns his watch so that he can buy a beautiful set of tortoiseshell combs for Della's hair. When they exchange gifts, the irony is heartbreaking because the combs are useless without Della's hair and the chain is useless without Jim's watch. And yet this is where the story is the most powerful.

Why? Because Jim and Della are so moved by the other's love expressed in the gift because they see the costly sacrifice that was motivated by a fierce love. And the author, O. Henry, ends the story by saying that Jim and Della are like the magi, the wise men in the Christmas story. They are the wise ones because they understand that the value of a gift is not in its usefulness but in the love that motivated it. It's a beautiful story and it's powerful because it resonates deeply with us. We know instinctively that sacrificial love is the highest form of love. But there's something worth noticing. This story would be harder to write today. And if it was written in 2025 instead of 1905, I don't think it would catch on the way it did because gift giving has changed so much. Today, marketing tells us what we're supposed to want and our wish lists remove the mystery and online shopping removes most of the effort and next day delivery removes most of the weight. So much of modern gift giving revolves around what I want and what I get and the convenience of it all. And yet deep down, the human heart is longing for something more meaningful. We still know when we think deeply about it that the best gifts are the ones that cost something,

the ones that say, I saw you, I thought about you, and I gave of myself, I sacrificed for this. That's why the story, the gift of the Messiah still moves us over a century later because as powerful as the story is, we know that it doesn't go far enough. Every year, somebody will point out the tradition of giving gifts at Christmas started with the Magi, the wise men who brought gold and frankincense and myrrh. And that's partially true, but it's not the whole story because the Magi didn't start the idea of gift giving at Christmas, God did. The first gift was not gold or frankincense or myrrh. The first gift, the best gift, the never to be equaled gift is Jesus himself. Christmas is God giving himself to us. He didn't send a substitute. He didn't come offering us good advice. He stepped out of heaven, laid aside his privilege, entered our world as one of us and brought us good news. He brought us the hope of our eternal salvation. The Christmas story is not just about the theological concept of the incarnation. It is in its essence, an extravagant act of generosity. What does that famous verse say? John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. And what makes God's gift so different from every other gift we're gonna exchange in the next few hours?

We didn't deserve it. We didn't request it. We didn't earn it and we can't repay it. Scripture says it plainly. Paul writes in Ephesians 2, God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this. It is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done. So none of us can boast about it, which means Jesus is not a reward for your good behavior. Salvation is not a bonus for your religious effort. Heaven is not a payment for your moral improvement. It's all a gift. It is God's gift to us. And that means salvation is not achieved, it's received. Grace is not accomplished, it's accepted. And just like every sacrificial gift, it changes the one who receives it. Make no mistake, just because the gift is free doesn't mean it was cheap. The gift of Jesus cost God everything. The manger points to the crucifixion. The wood of the cradle foreshadowed. the wood of the cross. The baby wrapped in a swaddling cloth becomes a savior wrapped in grave clothes. Jesus lived the life we couldn't live and he died the death we all deserve to die. He rose again so that death

would not have the final say over our lives. Paul says it this way in 2 Corinthians, thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. It's indescribable because it's immeasurable. It's indescribable because it's unmatched. It's indescribable because it's extravagant. Nothing else compares to the gift of Jesus. At the end of the story, the gift of the Magi, O. Henry says that Jim and Della are like the wise men, the Magi, because they were wise enough to give sacrificially out of their love. And he's right. But the deepest reason we give gifts at Christmas is not because the wise men did. We give gifts to each other at Christmas because God gave first. Our giving is a response, not an origin. Our generosity is an echo, not the source. Our love reflects his love. When we give sacrificially this Christmas, we're simply imitating the heart of God. So as you give your gifts over the next few hours, let love be your motivation, not obligation. And when you receive gifts over the next few hours, don't see them as objects. See them as expressions of somebody's heart for you. But here's the most important question of the day. Have you received the gift? God's most extravagant gift of Jesus. You can admire the story of Christmas

without receiving its meaning. You can celebrate the season without embracing the Savior. You can exchange gifts and still miss the gift. God has already given everything needed for your salvation. The gift is wrapped, the invitation is open, but every gift has to be received. And the most tragic thing imaginable would be to celebrate Christmas and leave the greatest gift unopened. If you've never received Jesus, you have to know he's no longer a baby in a manger in a Christmas story. He is Lord and Savior and King, and he wants to be that for you today. Not because you're worthy, but because he's gracious. Not because you've earned it, but because he's already paid for it with his life. The extravagant gift of Christmas is still being offered today. The only question is, will you receive him? I did today what I often do in moments like this. I wrote a simple prayer to help somebody whose heart is open to receiving that gift. I wanna help you receive him. This is what changed my life, stumbling into a church as an addict so many years ago, as an outsider wanting what they were talking about, but I didn't know where to start. And a preacher helped me pray a prayer that day that began the changing of my whole life's journey. And so let me help you today.

It's called a Christmas Eve prayer, receiving the gift. It'll be on your screen. And if your heart wants to receive heaven's greatest gift today, just make these your words. Jesus, I'm not even sure how to pray this. Church feels unfamiliar to me, faith feels complicated, and yet something in my heart knows I'm here for a reason. Today, I admit I'm tired of doing life on my own. Tired of pretending I have it all together. Tired of searching for love, meaning, and peace. I really do believe that Christmas is more than a story. I really do believe that you came close, not as an idea, but as a gift. Jesus, I don't have the right words, but I bring you a hungry and honest heart. I believe you live for me. I believe you died for me. I believe you rose again so that I could have new life. I receive your forgiveness. I receive your grace. I receive the gift I could never earn. I don't know everything that this means yet, or what it will look like, but today I choose to trust you. Come into my life, make yourself at home in me, be my savior. my guide, my hope. I give you what I have, my sin, my questions, my past, my future. Thank you for welcoming me,

for meeting me where I am, and for loving me first. This Christmas, I receive the greatest gift. I receive you, Jesus, into my life. Amen. The Bible says that when somebody prays a prayer like that and means it with all of their heart, and they surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, that all of heaven rejoices over one person. And I believe today, throughout this day, heaven is rejoicing over people who are making significant spiritual decisions. And if that's you, I wanna help you. When you leave the room today, I don't know what it is, but for me, when I make a significant decision, my family has a significant experience, or God does something in my life, I have a memorial. I have rocks with things written on them. I have frames with significant things. When I look at them, it reminds me of a moment when I encountered God, or something significant happened in my life. So I wanna give you a marker today. Like if today, in this moment, you're making a significant spiritual decision to surrender everything to Jesus, accept heaven's greatest gift. When you leave the room today, at any of our campuses,

there is a Next Steps booth out in the lobby, and there is an ornament, 2025, is a 2025 Christmas ornament dated for you to remember every time you see that. You can hang it somewhere beyond Christmas, or every time you get it out to put it on a tree, it will remind you, I felt God that day. I met God that day. I surrendered my life. I accepted heaven's greatest gift. Stop by the Next Step booth, pick that up. I wanna help you grow in your relationship with the Lord, and that's the next simple step. Let me help you on this journey. Right before we light the candles today, we're gonna sing one more song of worship just to get our hearts there, so it's not just ritual, but it's an act of worship. And it's a powerful moment, and to help you see the significance of the song, it connects deeply with Revelation 5, and ironically, I'm reading through the Bible again this year, and I'm almost finished, and I'm in the book of Revelation, and I read Revelation 5 yesterday, and at the beginning of the book of Revelation, John the Revelator, Jesus, he has this vision of Jesus, and Jesus said, I want you to write down everything you see, and he sees into heaven. He starts writing this down, and he gets to chapter 5.

He sees this tension in heaven because they're looking for somebody to open a scroll, and it's sealed with seven seals, and in that scroll is God's plan for the world, God's plan for humanity, what God is going to do. His plans are sealed up in that scroll, but nobody knows what's in there because they've not found anybody worthy to open the scroll, and John, it says, literally, he says, when I saw that no one was worthy to open the scroll, I wept, and then an elder said to me, son, don't weep, because the one that came as an infant became a suffering savior. He was the lamb, the root of Jesse, the son of David, and he rose, he is the one that is worthy to open the scroll, so all of heaven was asking, is he worthy, is he worthy, and it's up to us to respond back and say, yes, he is. He is heaven's greatest gift, so before we light this candle today, let's join that moment in heaven, and I want us to ask ourselves, is he worthy, and you answer that question in your own heart. Would you stand with me across this room at our campus family, and let's enter into one more moment of worship today. ♪ Do you feel the world is broken ♪ ♪ We do ♪ ♪ Do you feel the shadows deep in you ♪ ♪ We do ♪ ♪ But do you know that all the dark won't stop the light ♪

♪ From breaking through you ♪ ♪ We do ♪ ♪ Do you wish that you could see it all in me ♪ ♪ We do ♪ ♪ It's all creation calling you, it is ♪ ♪ It's a new creation calling you, it is ♪ ♪ It's the glory of the Lord to be with you, it is ♪ ♪ The light within our midst, it is good ♪ ♪ Is it good that we remind ourselves of this, it is good ♪ ♪ Is anyone worthy, is anyone whole ♪ ♪ Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll ♪ ♪ The lion of Judah who conquered the grave ♪ ♪ He is David's fruit and the lamb who died to ransom the slave ♪ ♪ Is he worthy, is he worthy of our blessing and honor and glory ♪ ♪ Is he worthy, is he worthy of our healing and glory ♪ ♪ Does the Father truly love us, he does ♪ ♪ Does his spirit move among us, he does ♪ ♪ And does Jesus our Messiah hold forever those he loves, he does ♪ ♪ And does God intend to dwell again with us, he does ♪ ♪ Is anyone worthy, is anyone whole ♪ ♪ Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll ♪ ♪ The lion of Judah who conquered the grave ♪ ♪ He is David's fruit and the lamb who died to ransom the slave ♪ ♪ Every people to trust, every nation to trust ♪ ♪ Every nation to trust, every nation to trust ♪ ♪ He has made us a kingdom, a priesthood God to reign with his Son ♪ ♪ Is he worthy, is he worthy of our blessing and honor and glory ♪ ♪ Is he worthy, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord ♪ ♪ Is he worthy, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord ♪ ♪ He is, he is, is he worthy, is he worthy ♪

♪ He is, oh yes, he is, he is worthy of our blessing and honor and glory ♪ ♪ He is worthy, he is worthy, is high on me ♪ ♪ Oh hear the angel voices, Christ is the Lord ♪ ♪ Oh praise his name forever, oh come let us adore him, oh come let us adore him ♪ ♪ Oh hear the angel voices, Christ is the Lord ♪ ♪ Oh praise his name forever, oh come let us adore him, oh come let us adore him ♪ ♪ He is worthy, he is, he is, is he worthy, is he worthy ♪ ♪ He is, he is, he is worthy, is high on me ♪ ♪ He is worthy, he is, he is, is he worthy, is he worthy ♪ ♪ Oh he is, he is, he is worthy, is high on me ♪ ♪ Worthy, He is worthy ♪ ♪ He is worthy ♪ Come on, will you bless Him today? He is worthy. He is worthy. He is a worthy gift, and He is worthy of the gift of your life today. Give Him everything. We come to the moment we all come to Christmas Eve services for, and I'm gonna ask the team of our staff and the folks that are gonna help me today to spread the flame, the light of Christ. We started the first week of Advent celebrating Advent hope, and we lit the hope candle. Christmas is the promise that God breaks in. He comes into our world, and we still have that hope today. He wants to break into your life, your situation. Week two was about peace. When you look at the chaos that was going on in the world,

and you look at the Christmas story, you're like, oh, God was behind everything all the time, preparing the world, and when you realize that, you can have peace today in the middle of life's chaos. He's still in control of your life and everything that's in the world. The third week of Advent is joy, Advent joy, because God comes in the most unexpected ways to the dirtiest and most unholy places, and he redeems the brokenness of our lives. He's still doing that. He can bring joy where you're broken. On Sunday, we talked about Advent love. It's a loyal, faithful love that stays and doesn't quit. People do. His love doesn't. That's Advent love. Today, we're gonna light the Christ candle, and the light of every candle in this room is gonna be a shared flame from the Christ candle, and what we're doing right now is a prophetic picture of what God wants to do in our life, the light of Jesus spreading from one person to another, pushing the darkness out of our lives. As we pass it on, it pushes the darkness out of cities and neighborhoods and nations. He pushes back the darkness, and may it not just be a ritual today, may it be a prophetic picture of what really happens in our lives and in our world.

Come on, let's pass this flame, the light of Christ, to the nations. ♪ Silent night, holy 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 ♪ ♪ Silent night, holy night ♪ ♪ Silent night, holy night ♪ ♪ Shepherds quake at the sight ♪ ♪ At the sight, glories stream from heaven afar ♪ ♪ Heavenly hosts sing alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Christ the Savior is born ♪ ♪ Christ the Savior is born ♪ ♪ Born ♪ ♪ Silent night, holy night ♪ ♪ Son of God, love's pure delight ♪ Radiant beams from Thy holy face With the dawn of redeeming grace Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth I don't know how to explain it, so I'll just pray it, okay? If you'll just give me the place to do it. Lord, I sensed in my heart I needed to stop and pray for miracles today. There are people in this room who need miracles in their relationships. There are people dealing with diagnoses and battles with ongoing sicknesses and disease. There are financial needs and job loss and transitions. There are burdens that are weighing your people down. And if we're going to come to a service and light candles and do these all day long because we actually believe that God was born in the flesh, He entered the womb of a virgin teenage girl that was a peasant.

If our whole lives are calibrated around something that impossible, then may you release faith in us to believe that you still do the impossible. This isn't a children's fairytale story. It is a reality. So, Lord, I ask today that you would incarnate in our need. That the incarnational Jesus would come into every sick cell. That the incarnational Jesus would come into every broken relationship. That the incarnational Jesus would come into every home and every financial situation and every circumstance that weighs your people down. Lord, I pray for Christmas miracles. If Christmas is real and we're here today because we believe it, then we have every right to say, God, do it again in our life and our families. Show up, Lord, in a way that only you can. So in this tender, holy moment, would you let something begin in people's lives they will tell the story of down the road, God met me and He changed the situation. I'm trusting them and their circumstance to you today. And I pray you come into their lives just like you did a manger 2,000 years ago and make the difference. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. And amen. Would you blow out your candles together? When you leave the room today, there will be receptacles for you to place your candles in. And this is my pastor's heart. I want to speak this over you today, this Christmas. Before you go, it's the priestly blessing from the book of Numbers. I want this for you and your family. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face shine down upon you. May He be gracious to you. And may He turn His countenance your direction and give you peace. Amen. Hey friends, I just wanted to spend a second with you at the end of this message today and just encourage you if in some way you've made a spiritual decision, maybe you've given your life to Christ today, you've recently given your life to Christ, you want to talk to somebody about giving your life to Christ, our team would love to help you. We're on the Pando app and have several ministries into various prisons because God has called us to you.

We have a heart for forgotten people and forgotten places and that means we serve widows and we serve orphans and we serve special needs kids and God has given us a heart for men and women in the prison system because I believe Jesus died for you. He has a plan and a purpose for your life and we want to help you know that and discover that. There is an address on the screen that you can communicate with us. We have a team of people that would love to hear from you, especially if you've made a decision to follow Jesus, so that we can resource you and point you to tools that can help you grow. Just know that we're praying over you and we're genuinely honored that you've taken time to watch our channel and these messages from North Place Church.