FBCPS
Sermons, teachings, and podcasts from First Baptist Church in Powder Springs, Georgia.
FBCPS
Your Best Christmas Yet | Colossians 1:15-20
What if you could experience the best Christmas ever by simply shifting your focus? In this episode, we discover the profound impact of centering our holiday celebrations on Jesus's preeminence. Through heartfelt stories, including unexpected life events like a family car accident, we explore the beauty of gratitude and the strength found in community. Join us as we celebrate the myriad of individuals who make church a welcoming haven, and learn how keeping Jesus at the heart of Christmas can transform the holiday's true essence beyond material gifts and perfect meals.
Together, we embark on an enlightening Christmas series, "Jesus Before All Things," where we unravel the rich tapestry of Jesus's presence before his birth. As we journey through December, we delve into the pre-existence of Jesus, his Old Testament appearances, and the fulfillment of prophecies leading to his birth on Christmas Eve. With relatable analogies, like a child stacking blocks, we underscore how Jesus serves as the foundation of our lives, providing stability and purpose amidst life's chaos. Discover how embracing Jesus's sovereignty brings peace and assurance, as he holds all things together in both the universe and our personal lives.
Embrace the tradition of giving three gifts to Jesus at Christmas, inspired by the wise men. Through tithes, global missions, and local community contributions, we reflect on the biblical call to embody the fullness of Jesus. We dive into the transformative journey of faith, inviting listeners to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The importance of a supportive community is highlighted, along with an invitation to new believers to connect with their church through a Next Step card. Concluding with a heartfelt prayer, we express devotion to Jesus, the King of Kings, and encourage a renewed faith journey this Christmas season.
Thanks for listening! Find us on Instagram or visit our Website.
All right, good morning. Aren't you glad you came to church this morning? Put your hands together if God's already speaking to you and working in your life. God is so good and I just wanna give a special shout out just to everyone that makes church happen, everybody that makes church possible. So I wanna give a shout out to our worship team, our production team, our Sunday school teachers, our group leaders Maybe you're one of our greeters or you're on our hospitality team, as we like to say, from the streets to the seats, and God is just working in your life in so many different ways. And I want to give a special shout out to all of our first time guests, whether you're here or watching online. Can we just put our hands together one more time for all that God is doing. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
Speaker 1:My Thanksgiving was a little too good. I was a little too thankful Anybody feeling that besides me and just had a lot to be thankful for, and I showed it in the way that I ate. And so, man, it was awesome. I was with my wife's family in Tennessee. Also, as Raven said, I wanna wish you a 183rd happy birthday. You look good for being 183. You really do. I'm very impressed, but it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year. If you believe that, say amen, and we're just so thankful. I want to give a shout out to our decorating team, which makes our COC and our sanctuary just look so amazing, so awesome, and this morning we're starting a brand new series together that we are simply calling Before All Things. Look at somebody and tell them before all things, before all things. It's so important because we see in scripture that Jesus is before all things, and I'll explain that here in just a few minutes. But this morning, I want to talk to you specifically about how to have your best Christmas yet. How to have your best Christmas yet. Let's pray, Heavenly Father. God, we just want to proclaim you, we want to praise you. God, this is your word, we are your people, this is your church, and so, god, we pray that you would speak to our hearts, you would change our lives, and may Jesus be before all things in our lives. We pray In his name, we pray, and all God's people said amen. Well, I wanna talk to you about how to have your best Christmas yet because, to be honest with you, as you've experienced as well as I do. Sometimes we can build Christmas up so much that some years it can be a little bit of a letdown. It can happen.
Speaker 1:I remember even 20 years ago. I'll never forget a certain Christmas where my family, my parents and I, were driving from Pensacola, florida, where my parents had moved at the time, and we were going back to Tuscaloosa, alabama, which is where I grew up, to go see all of our extended family. They were in the car in front of me, I was in the car behind them. I remember on I-65, right around that Grace Garland exit if you know where I'm talking about all of the interstate traffic came to a screeching halt. I was right behind my parents. I was about to rear end my parents, until I swerved out of the way and drove into the median, came to a skidding stop and I'm literally sitting right beside my parents take a deep breath because I didn't hit them. And then, boom, a car hit them in the back right there and I saw them get into this rear end accident and I saw my dad holding his bloody nose, my mom holding her neck and just thinking what has just happened. And I remember thinking thank God because everything was ultimately okay, and so sometimes things can happen over Christmas that, honestly, we do not expect to happen.
Speaker 1:Christmas can be a little bit of a letdown. I was just thinking this week how can Christmas be a letdown in our life? Well, sometimes the family won't get along as well as you want it. Sometimes you won't get everything that you wanted. Sometimes people won't be as excited as you wanted them to be about what you got them. Sometimes the food won't be as good and it takes you all year to get it back off again, amen.
Speaker 1:So we try our best, year after year, to have our best Christmas yet, and so we think, man, I'm going to do a better job. I'm going to make sure that we have better family time together. I'm going to give better gifts. I'm going to ask for things that I really want or I really need. We're going to make the food better. We're going to make the food more healthy this year, but Christmas will never truly really be what you want it to, because Christmas is not ultimately about any of that. In fact, there's something about the imperfection of Christmas. That is God's gracious way of reminding us that Christmas really is not about any of that. Christmas is all about Jesus. That's why the Bible calls.
Speaker 1:The Bible says that Jesus is truly before all things. In fact, the Bible uses one big word for that I like big Bible words and the one big word that we don't use this really for anything else, and it's the word preeminence. Everyone say preeminence. It's this big, beautiful biblical word preeminence. In the Greek the word is protuo and the word preeminence the reason that it is so important, because it is full of so many big words that not just one word encapsulates the word preeminent. So preeminence means it's talking about Jesus's superiority, jesus's supremacy, that he is first in rank, he's first in place, he is first in time, he is first in importance. And so I wanna teach you this passage this morning that God has just done a work in my life this week just studying through it, and I want to teach you three truths to believe this Christmas about Jesus's preeminence. Three truths for you to believe this Christmas about Jesus's preeminence. So number one you can see here is going to be from Colossians 1, verse 15 through 17. Number one is Jesus is preeminent over the creation.
Speaker 1:Now, before we go any further, I want you to know this whole passage that we are studying this morning was actually a hymn of the early church. They would sing these preeminencies, these preeminent truths about Jesus. Why? Because often what we sing gets memorized in our minds, just even the music that we've been singing this morning. I'll tend to sing it throughout the week. You hear Christmas music all the time and even this year, our Christmas Eve services. I've told our worship teams and choir and orchestra I just want our songs, our music to be as familiar as possible, because I think that people want to come to Christmas Eve services and they know all the songs and they know all the music so they can sing along and they can have that familiar, that traditional Christmas together.
Speaker 1:And isn't it interesting that it seems like all year long the world denies the deity of Jesus, that Jesus is God. But during December, during the Christmas season, you walk into stores and you walk into restaurants and you hear all of this Christmas music about Jesus, about his birth, about his lordship, about him being God, about him being over all of creation, about Jesus and who he is. And it's like the world is wishing so much for it to be true. But it is true. Can I get an amen? We believe in who Jesus says that he is, who the Bible says that he is. We believe in what Jesus has said, that he has done. So Jesus, preeminent over the creation.
Speaker 1:Colossians, chapter one, verses 15 through 17, simply says this says that Jesus is the image, he's the image of the invisible God. Everyone say image. It is as if the apostle Paul, who wrote this, is going back through the first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis, and he's looking at Genesis 1, where Genesis 1 says that God says and that we created man in our image, speaking of father and son and the Holy Spirit that you are created in the image of God. You are an image bearer of God that brings worth and significance and value in your life. But that's not what he says about Jesus. He doesn't just say that Jesus is an image bearer of God, he says that Jesus is the very image of God. In other words, jesus is God. He's not just the son of God, jesus is also God, the son. He says he's the image of the invisible God, meaning Jesus came and he remained fully God and he became fully man in order to make the invisible God visible. Jesus coming, his incarnation, the very reason that we celebrate Christmas. Christmas is the divine miracle of God becoming man, taking on our human flesh and living among us so that we can see God in action, so that we can see what would God do in that situation. What would God say to that person? How would God serve, or how would God save? Or how would God sacrifice himself for all of humanity? We see that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. We also see that he is the firstborn of all creation.
Speaker 1:Now, there are a lot of heresies that have come out of this passage of scripture, so a lot of people have said firstborn of all creation, meaning that somehow God created Jesus. There was a man in fourth century AD. His name was Arius Arianism is what has come from his belief and he believed that Jesus was born, but before Jesus was born Jesus did not exist, that at Jesus's birth God created Jesus, and so this man, arian, was actually a worship leader and he would actually put to worship. He would put to music this heresy, and even little children would be running around town singing. There was a time that he was not, but I want you to know that that is a popular heresy today, that Jesus did not exist before his birth Right. Rather, the Bible teaches, and we believe the Bible. The Bible says that Jesus is the eternal son of God and there has never been a time that he was not. Can I get an amen? Jesus has always been there, jesus always existed, jesus has always been God. And so what we see?
Speaker 1:What does firstborn of all creation mean? What the language the apostle Paul is giving you ever thought about this before? He's actually using a kingly type language. When a king has a firstborn son, it is the firstborn son who is going to take the rule, it is the firstborn son who is going to inherit the kingdom. That's exactly what the apostle Paul is saying about Jesus. He is saying Jesus is preeminent, he is king, he is all powerful, he is authoritative. Jesus comes before everything else. Jesus has all power over the creation, it says, for by him all things were created, for by Jesus, all things were created. In other words, god, the Father, created everything through his son, jesus Christ. You ever thought about how much power he has over the universe? Can we just scientifically nerd out for just a second? Think about the eternal power that Jesus.
Speaker 1:Jesus demonstrated over all things, over the creation, over demons, over people, over everything while he walked the earth. Jesus demonstrated this by controlling and altering fundamental forces and molecular structures of creation. He calmed the storm by commanding atmospheric systems. He calmed the storm by commanding atmospheric systems. He walked on water by transcending surface tension and gravity. He transformed water into wine by instantaneously rearranging molecular bonds. He multiplied food, the fish and the loaves by creating matter ex nihilo, which means out of nothing. He healed the sick by regenerating cells and tissues. He raised the dead by reversing decay and restoring life at the very cellular level. He cast out demons by exercising authority over all of the spiritual realm, and such actions reveal a power that surpasses even our own understanding of physics and chemistry and biology and quantum mechanics, demonstrating his sovereign authority, his preeminence over all creation.
Speaker 1:The Bible says that God, the Father, created everything by Jesus. What that means is that God, the Father, didn't just create it all independently, but the Father wanted to create everything by Jesus, so that we could see he wanted to create everything through Jesus, so that he wanted to create, so that, therefore, he could create everything for Jesus. Everybody say for he created everything by Jesus so that everything would be created for Jesus. You were created for Jesus. You were created for Jesus. I was created for Jesus.
Speaker 1:Everything in the entire universe was ultimately created for Jesus. What were all of those things In heaven? In heaven, things that were created. We're talking sun and moon and stars. We're talking about the atmosphere. We're talking about the universe. We're talking about the galaxies. We're talking about the angels and those that fell as angels to become demons. Everything was created on the earth. We're talking about all the water, all the land, all the animals, all of the people, everything that is visible and invisible. That's the physical realm and the immaterial realm, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities. We're talking about the spiritual forces. We're talking about angels and demons, spiritual warfare. And also we're talking about earthly authorities, earthly powers, all governments, all kingdoms, all people who are powerful on earth. Jesus created all of these things. All things were created through Jesus and all things were created for Jesus. Why? So that Jesus would get the glory of all things. And it says that he is before all things, and that Greek word simply is pro. Everybody say pro. Pro, he's before, he is before all things and in him all things hold together. The word pros simply means that he is in front of he's above, he outranks everything. He has the authority over everything and everyone, and that is why, as we are studying Colossians, chapter one together today, that it is so important that we see the big picture of where we're going.
Speaker 1:This is our month of December, the Christmas series that I want us to go through together. We're talking today that Jesus before all things. Next Sunday, we want to talk about what was Jesus doing before he was born. The Sunday after that, the 15th, we want to talk about the Old Testament, christophanies, or all of the times that Jesus showed up on. To talk about the Old Testament, christophanies, or all of the times that Jesus showed up on the scene in the Old Testament before his incarnation, before his birth, december 22,. The Old Testament prophecies, or in other words, all of the ways that the Old Testament prophesied of his coming and how Jesus' birth, his life, his death and his resurrection fulfilled those prophecies. And on Christmas Eve, december the 24th, we'll be looking at the Christmas story Jesus' incarnation, his very birth together.
Speaker 1:But also, this is a part of a mega series, not a mega series, a mega series, and so what we're looking at here in this mega series is December, december this month, before all things in January, I want us to go through the life of Jesus together. February the message of Jesus. March the miracles of Jesus. April the passion of Jesus. May the mission of Jesus. In other words, I believe that God has called us to study about our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ, from Christmas, from his birth to Easter and his resurrection, so that we can go through his entire life together. Put your hands together right now, because we get the honor. We get the honor of studying Jesus together.
Speaker 1:But I wanna remind you what the verse said. The verse said that in Jesus you ever thought about this All things hold together in him. Hebrews, chapter one, verse three, says that by the word of his power, he is holding together the very universe. Jesus holds all the universe together, including all galaxies, all planets, all suns, all moons, all matter, all elements, from the smallest of particles to the greatest of galaxies, as well as the spiritual order of the chaos. But let's just stop for a second and just go a little bit deeper. Let's go below the surface and let's ask ourselves what would happen if Jesus ceased to hold all things together in this moment. I did a little research this week. Scientists recognize that there are four fundamental forces that govern the whole universe the gravitational force, the electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force. If Jesus ceased to hold all of them together, all things holding by his power, what would happen? Atoms would explode, planet stars and galaxies would implode, molecules would disintegrate and no energy like light or heat could be transferred. The universe would either we're not sure would either collapse altogether or expand so rapidly and spin outwardly into oblivion. In other words, aren't you thankful that Jesus is holding all things together, even when you don't realize it, even when we don't think about it Right now?
Speaker 1:My little boy, cruz. He's two years old and one thing that he loves to do is play with his blocks. We're not into Legos yet, we're in the blocks right now, and so he loves to stack his blocks. He loves to make the highest tower of his little Duplo blocks possible. The problem is, cruz has zero concept of a foundation Zero. He has zero concept of Tetris. He would be the worst Tetris player ever, right? So what Cruz does is he'll take these blocks and he'll just start stacking them all on top of each other, and one is like the four block, one's the three block, one's the two block, one's the one block. The problem is they're all jagged, it's all rickety, like. He only gets so high and it just falls right over and he laughs. But he wants it to go higher and higher. So what does his daddy do? Because I love seeing my son have a good time, I hold his tower together while he continues to stack it higher and higher and higher.
Speaker 1:And that's exactly what God is doing for my life and exactly what God's doing for your life. See, we're so good at I'm so good at making a rickety, jaggedy, flimsy, frail tower of my life that if I was just building it of my own, it would just fall all by itself, and so would yours. Don't look at me all spiritual. So would your life too. But you know what Jesus does. Not only does he hold the tower of our lives together.
Speaker 1:The Bible says that Jesus is also our foundation. The Bible says that Jesus is not just sitting back and he's just watching us. No, the Bible says that he is the preeminent one, he's the authoritative one, he's in control, and that Jesus is the one thatinent one, he's the authoritative one, he's in control, in that Jesus is the one that is building our life for us. So the more I take my hands off my life. The more I allow Jesus to lead me, the more I allow Jesus to build my life, the more stable my life is and the more that I can see his hand work in my life, in that Jesus has a much higher goal for my life than I have for my own. There is something that is so important about taking our hands off of our life, because Jesus loves to make something out of our lives and Jesus loves to hold it all together.
Speaker 1:If Jesus is the one through whom all creation was made, jesus is the one that is holding all matter and all particles together. Jesus is the one that has all power over weather and angels and demons and all creation and all things. If he can do that, if he can hold it all together, then you can rest in peace that Jesus is holding you, that Jesus is bringing peace to your life, that Jesus is bringing purpose to your life. You can rest in his care, that he is over all things, he's over you and he's got you. So let his preeminence, the very belief in the truth of his preeminence, fill you with hope, faith and the deep assurance that he will never let you go. Number two very quickly, this will be a little bit shorter is Jesus' preeminence in the church. Not only is he preeminent over all creation, he's also preeminent in our church, in every church, in all of his churches.
Speaker 1:Colossians 1.18 says and he is the head, jesus is the head of the body. Everybody say head. Jesus is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning. He is the firstborn from the dead. That in everything he might be preeminent. So what do we see here? That Christmas is not just about Jesus being born. Christmas is also about Jesus being born, living, suffering, dying, being buried and then raising from the dead.
Speaker 1:Easter is the pinnacle of Christmas. Can I get an amen man? That is why we celebrate, because we know the end of the story that he's the firstnacle of Christmas. Can I get an amen man? That is why we celebrate, because we know the end of the story that he's the firstborn from the dead. He was not the first to be raised. We know that Jesus even raised Lazarus. He was the first. Jesus was the first to be raised and never die again. He was the first to be raised into eternal life. He is the firstborn from the dead. Why? So that he can even have preeminence over life, so that you can trust him with your very life.
Speaker 1:And so when we think about our church, is that Jesus is the head of our church. This is not my church, this is not your church. This is Jesus's church, and we should not want what we want. I pray that we don't get what I want. I pray that we don't get what you want, but because this is Jesus's church, I pray that he gets what he wants. Why? Because it is the head that identifies the body. The head identifies the body. At my past church, when we were living in Virginia, there was another pastor there. His name was John. John Dickerson actually came and preached here a few months ago, and John and I look a lot alike. In fact, you might've thought it was me preaching that Sunday, but it wasn't. And so John, he's a bald guy. He's about my height, he's about my size. John, he's a bald guy. He's about my height, he's about my size. And even our wives, when they come up from behind us, they have to look around and make sure it's us before they kiss us or hug us. You know what I'm saying why? Because it's the head that identifies the body.
Speaker 1:20 years ago, when I got started in ministry, I was an intern at a church in Detroit, michigan, and they all started laughing at a Christmas party and telling the story. I was like what's the story? And they said well, a few years ago our secretary her name was Jan Jan was at the church Christmas party and Jan was over by the food table and her husband was bending over getting something at the food table. She looked around, nobody was looking, just kind of flirting with her husband and she pinched him on the bottom. She pinched her husband on the bottom at the church Christmas party. The only problem is the man that shot up wasn't her husband, it was the senior pastor.
Speaker 1:Why I tell you all that? To say before you hug somebody, before you kiss somebody, before you pinch somebody, you better look at their face first. You better know who you're hugging, who you're kissing, who you're pinching. And that is exactly. That is exactly what he is saying. Well, not exactly, but that is similar to what he is saying that Jesus is the head of the church. I want you to know this morning that, because this is Jesus's church, we need to get into Jesus's word to know what Jesus wants for his church. We will be as successful and we will reach as many people as we continue to become the church that Jesus wants us to be.
Speaker 1:Did you know that today there are atheists who grew up in the church but they no longer go to church because they don't believe in Jesus and they've started their own churches together, but it's churches without Jesus. They get together because they miss the community, they miss the friendships, they miss the storytelling, they miss singing together and they want everything about church, but they don't want Jesus. May we never Be guilty of wanting a church without a church that Jesus wants. May we always be the church that fulfills exactly who Jesus calls us to be. Did you realize that Matthew, chapter one, verse 21, a Christmas verse, says this that she will give birth. Mary will give birth to a son and you're to give his name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. In other words, what is Christmas really all about? People getting saved. What is Christmas really all about People getting forgiveness of their sins? That is why we do what we do.
Speaker 1:I wanna show you some great opportunities that Jesus is giving us to be a missional church this Christmas. Three mission opportunities this Christmas. First of all, this coming Thursday. There's signs up everywhere. You can go online. But there's a Christmas community packing or wrapping party Next Sunday. We're gonna have a lot of families in from our community that you have raised money for that, you have bought gifts for that, you have bought gifts for that. We get to bless them and they're gonna be in this service and you're gonna have an opportunity to walk up to them to shake their hand, to give them a hug, to welcome them here, to invite them back, and we're gonna bless them with Christmas gifts to show them that we don't wanna just be a church in the community, we wanna be a church for the community. This Friday, as Raven was talking about earlier, is the Christmas parade, and so we wanted to put together a pre-parade party to invite the community to our property here at First Baptist, just to show them we don't wanna just be a church in the community, we wanna be a church for them, for the community, and you can be a part of that. Starting at five o'clock, the pre-parade party and the parade itself starts at 6.30.
Speaker 1:But also, I just want you to know that I had a pastor years ago some nine, 10 years ago. That taught me something that I have done since then every year with my family. He taught me that, just as the wise men gave three gifts to Jesus at his birth, that Christians that we can take the same opportunity and give three gifts to Jesus every Christmas, those three gifts that we can give to Jesus. This is what he's taught me and this is what my family has done ever since, and this is what my family is doing here at First Baptist. That we continue to give our regular tithes and offerings, that we give to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering, which is giving to global mission, to our global missionaries, but also enable to give to the local community. We're starting a fund here at First Baptist Church and I'm so excited about it that we are going all have the opportunity. I'm gonna have the opportunity, you're gonna have the opportunity to give to our local mission fund and every penny that is given is going to be used to love, to reach, to invite and to meet the needs of our local community, because Jesus wants to use his church to see the local community saved.
Speaker 1:Put your hands together this morning. If you believe that, praise God for the opportunities that he is giving to us. So here's what we see. We see that the apostle Paul says for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell In Jesus, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. In other words, why was Jesus, why was all the fullness of God pleased to dwell in Jesus? Because Jesus is fully God.
Speaker 1:But did you know that the Bible says in Ephesians 1, says that the church is the fullness of Jesus. So if Jesus is the fullness of God and then we are called to be the fullness of Jesus, then when people walk into our churches we want them to experience him and them not to experience us. In other words, how do we get more full of Jesus if we're called to be the fullness of Jesus, we feed on his worship and we feed on his word. When you feed on the worship of Jesus and you feed on the word of Jesus and you feed on the word of Jesus, you get filled with the wonder of Jesus. You become to be amazed about Jesus again, be in awe of who Jesus is. It's like as we get full on that.
Speaker 1:But Thanksgiving meal is my favorite food all year long. I'll wait for that meal all year long, right, because I wanna get filled with that. Thanksgiving meal is my favorite food all year long. I'll wait for that meal all year long, right, because I wanna get filled with that Thanksgiving food. My goal this year was to lose 15 pounds and I'm happy to report I've got 20 pounds to go. Can I get an amen? So let's continue to make our church more and more about Jesus.
Speaker 1:I need to ask myself, and I wanna encourage you to ask yourself in what ways do I want my church to be the way I want it to be, and am I willing to give up those things so Jesus' church can be what he wants it to be? He's preeminent in the church and lastly, very quickly, and I'm done, jesus is preeminent by the cross. And lastly, very quickly, and I'm done, jesus is preeminent by the cross. The Bible says and through him to reconcile, and through him to reconcile all, do himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, he was making peace by the blood of his cross. In other words, hear me say this this is unbelievable that the preeminent one, the superior one, the supreme one, the one who is first in rank and position, the one who is first in time and importance, the one who is first in power, the one who is first in, over all things, that he would be the one, the most powerful one, that he would go to the cross.
Speaker 1:And the Bible says that he loves to make peace. He loves to reconcile. He loves it when people come together. It is a blessing that the Christmas season is when families come together, all under the name of Jesus. But he doesn't just want us to come together out of tradition. He wants us to come together out of faith. He wants us to come together out of grace. He wants us to come together out of love. He loves to reconcile people. Only Jesus can reconcile your life to God. Only Jesus can reconcile other people's lives to God. Only Jesus can reconcile broken marriages. Only Jesus can reconcile wrecked families. Only Jesus can reconcile hurting communities or country in the nations of the world. At his birth, jesus announced the angels, announced peace and peace on earth. Jesus is the only way this world will find peace. Jesus is the only way our country will find peace. Jesus is the only way our community will find peace. Jesus is the only way your family will find peace and Jesus is the only way that your soul will find peace. He is peace and he makes peace by the blood of his cross. And that's why we do things like this Our choir and orchestra, our celebration service December 14, a couple of times in December 15.
Speaker 1:Why we love to get together and experience Christmas every year. But that's not the ultimate purpose that Jesus calls us to do these things. The ultimate purpose that Jesus calls us to do things like this is because the lost come to church at Christmas more than any other time of year, and Jesus came to die and to rise from the dead to see people saved. That's why we do Christmas Eve services. Last year one service. This year, because of our growth, praise the Lord, two services, three and five o'clock.
Speaker 1:And last year there was a man by the name of Clayton who was invited by his niece to come to our Christmas Eve service. He had not been to church in over 20 years. He comes to the Christmas Eve service. God speaks to him, he gets saved. He comes every single Sunday since, except for one Sunday, that he broke his foot and he even got baptized just a few months ago.
Speaker 1:Clayton, would you raise your hand for his brother? There's Clayton right there. Y'all put your hands together for Clayton, so thankful for what God has done in your life. Brother Clayton, shakes my hand and gives me a big old bear hug every single Sunday, because I love Clayton and Clayton, I love what God has done in your life and I just wanna remind you this morning, I wanna remind us this morning, and I just wanna remind you this morning, I wanna remind us this morning, who is it in your life that God wants to work in? Who is it in your life that God wants to change them, that God wants to save them? It's December 1.
Speaker 1:We have an opportunity right now. You have an opportunity right now to make this your best Christmas yet, and it's by putting Jesus before all things, because he's preeminent over all things, to enjoy all of the things and all of the experiences and all the fun and all the tradition of Christmas, but that Jesus remains first over everything. Can I ask you to bow your heads and close your eyes, with every head bowed and every eye closed this morning. I just wanna encourage you right now that you can just be focusing on Jesus and just ask him Jesus, help me to put you before all things, above all things, because you're preeminent over all things. Give me my best Christmas yet, because I'm putting you first and right here, right now. Maybe God is speaking to you, just like God spoke to Clayton.
Speaker 1:And today is your day of salvation. Today is the day that you give your life to Jesus, that he becomes the Lord of your life, believing in his death and his resurrection for your salvation. This morning, right here, right now, I would encourage you. If you've never done it before, in your heart, from your own words, you can tell Jesus something like this Jesus, I believe in you and Jesus, I need you.
Speaker 1:Jesus, I believe that you died on the cross for my sin. I'm asking you to forgive me of all my sin, past, present and future. And, jesus, I believe that you rose from the dead and so, jesus, I turn from my sin and I turn and I give my life to you. I live my life for you, and the Bible says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. Confess Jesus right now.
Speaker 1:Jesus, be the Lord of my life, be my God, be my Savior, be my Lord and Jesus, we believe that. We thank you for that truth. We pray that in Jesus' name and all God's people said would you put your hands together right now for anybody that gave their life to Jesus, anybody that got saved this morning. We're so thankful and we just want to say welcome to the family and I want to encourage you everyone, as Raven mentioned Now, for anybody that gave their life to Jesus, anybody that got saved this morning, we're so thankful and we just wanna say welcome to the family and I wanna encourage you everyone. As Raven mentioned earlier, there's a Next Step card in front of you. You can simply fill it out and you can bring it to me or you can take it to our Next Step station after the service, for any decision that Jesus has led you to make this morning. We're just here to help serve you and walk alongside you in your journey with Jesus.
Speaker 1:Let's all stand together. I'm going to pray one more time and we're going to worship him together right now. Let's stand and let's pray. Heavenly Father, we just thank you for Jesus. We believe that he is preeminent, we believe that he's all powerful, he is authority, he holds all things together, that he comes before all things. God, we thank you for sending Jesus into this world and God, thank you for sending Jesus into our lives. Thank you for, even though we go through all of the hardship and difficulty and chaos of life. Thank you that Jesus holds our life together, and so, jesus, we pray. As you've been so good to us, may we be faithful and obedient to you. We worship you right now, the King of kings, the Lord of Lord, the one who is preeminent over all things. We love you, we worship you In Jesus' name, and all God's people said