Don’t Lose Jesus This Christmas

Notes: Don’t Lose Jesus This Christmas

Sunday, December 21, 2014 — 10:00 a.m

Luke 2

Pastor Greg Laurie

MUSICAL GUEST: Shane and Shane

Greg is talking about who we know that are not yet believers. We need to invite them to church on Christmas. A study showed, must people would go if someone invites them on Christmas.

The message today is in Luke 2. 

He has started the message out by talking about the bad things that have been going on in this world. The angels came to us and offer good tidings 2 thousand years ago and they still are wishing that upon us.

Longfellow wrote how sad the holidays were for him. He had lost his wife in a fire.

I heard the bells on Christmas day, was written by Longfellow and how he thought about all the sad things and knew the only hope for men is through Jesus Christ.

Greg is now telling us about Louie Zamperini and the book or movie Unbroken. The movie is only going to cover the story until Louie comes home from the war. The book covers his conversion and faith in Christ.

What got Louie’s attention by Billy Graham was when Billy asked if anyone remembered a prayer that God had answered. Louie remembered when he was on a raft in the ocean and prayed to God and God did save him. Louie was saved then and he says immediately cured of PTSD.

Greg is telling an anecdote about a little boy that was in trouble for losing God…it was funny.

The story was to show us how we can seem to lose God in the holidays. But even though we may lose God, God will never lose us. The holidays are for the celebration of Jesus.

Numbers 6:24-26 NLT ‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’

God is very interested in your life. He came down from Heaven to walk among us.

We know a lot about Jesus’ birth and ministry but not his childhood.

Jesus Speaks with the Teachers

41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. 42 When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. 43 After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, 44 because they assumed he was among the other travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him there. 46 Three days later they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. 47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.” 49 “But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they didn’t understand what he meant. 51 Then he returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And his mother stored all these things in her heart. 52 Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.

God came to walk among us, fully God and fully man. Christ was God, not because He was virgin born, He was virgin born because He was God.

Joseph was the unsung hero of the Bible. Joseph is hardly mentioned in the Bible but had such a crucial part in the Birth. God chose Mary and He chose Joseph to be His own father. 

When God was born as Jesus did He have all knowledge or did He grow into that knowledge. We believe He was a baby and learned things as any child would. That is the experience He wanted for Himself.

It is hard for people to believe that His family could of lost Him like they did in this story. His parent’s had to scold Him for disappearing. 

Luke 2:48 His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son,” his mother said to him, “why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.” 

We like to blame God for reaping what we sow. Like a marriage failing or dealing with addiction. It is all things we do to ourselves and look to God after with blame and also for help.

How do we lose Jesus at Christmas:

1. We lose Jesus when non-essentials replace essentials.
2. We lose Jesus when work replaces worship. - Luke 10:38-42New Living Translation (NLT) 38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me. 41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Revelation 2:4-6 NLT - “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.

If you want to get back to Christ then you need to Remember, Repent and Repeat.

You can’t be a solo Christian, you need the Church and the people of the Church and the Church needs you.

Matthew 18:20 NLT - For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

You can lose sight of Jesus but He will never lose you.

For many, Christmas is a birthday party for someone that they forgot to invite to the party.

Jesus was not born as a human to give us a reason to go shopping or buy gifts. 

Jesus was born to die for us.