Bobby Schuller - Christmas Hope
Erin Wood, what a treasure you are. Thank you so much, what a gift. As I understand it, I think that's the ninth time in a row she has sung that, and every time it's like the first time, because didn't you sing it like five times yesterday? Or something, you said, or four times. Wow, nine times. Nine times. Christmas bonus for anybody knows what movie that's from. "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," that's right. Well done, choir. That's the right kind of choir. Thank you, Erin, we appreciate you. Thank you guys. Thank you, we're so grateful for our team.
Well, welcome to Shepherd's Grove. This is a church of happy and whole students of Jesus. We're actually happy people, and we're proud of joy and hospitality. It's amazing to me how happiness and joy kind of annoys some religious people, and yet it's supposed to be fruit of the spirit. Don't trust religious people who are annoyed by happiness. Just don't trust them. It doesn't lead down a good path. But we're so glad you're with us, and we want you to know that this is the kind of place where as students of Jesus, we want you to grow and thrive in your walk with him, to not think that you have to be perfect first, but to know that he loves you just as you are. To affirm the gospel in our lives we say this creed every week, and so maybe you've never been here before, but I want to invite you to say this with us.
Would you stand with me? Hold your hands out like this is a way of receiving from the Lord, and we're gonna say this together. I'm not what I do. I'm not what I have. I'm not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God. It's who I am. No one can take it from me. I don't have to worry. I don't have to hurry, I can trust my friend Jesus and share his love with the world. Thanks, you be seated. Man, if we could believe that, what freedom we would get. And that's what God wants for you is freedom. I'm gonna preach just a very short message tonight, so short that in that time you could bake a dozen gingerbread cookies. I promise you it will be that short. Less than 14 minutes. No, a little more than 14 minutes. Anyway, this creed that we just said, you know, this creed is the gospel.
See, people try to change it from what it is, but the gospel that we preach on Christmas and Easter and every other Sunday is the idea that, in contrast to every other philosophy and religion that says do better, try harder, and when you get your report card to like a B-plus or a B-minus or a C-plus, whatever it is in your own mind or heart, then you can call yourself a whatever. Then you're in, then you can go to heaven. And although some Christians wrongly sort of suggest that that is not at all the biblical view of the gospel. The gospel is as sinners, as enemies of God, when we hated God, he still loved us. And all of salvation is simply receiving a free gift, an invitation to come home and to be with the Lord. This building that we're in actually is called a sanctuary, huh? It's called the sanctuary. It's a perfect reference on like a night like tonight when it's raining, you recognize what a sanctuary really is, whatever it is, a shelter, you know? That's a Christmas miracle, by the way.
Many of you are watching on television and online are like what's he talking about? I'll tell you, we do not get a lot of rain in California. And I think this is the first time it has rained on a Christmas service since since I've ever been here, and it was really coming down. It rains so little outside that when children who grow up in California, when it starts to rain, they're like what is this moisture from... what's this word again, dad? What's it called? Kids from Irvine are like I thought water just came from Evian bottles, you know? It comes from the sky? And it actually reminds me of a Christmas Eve, my first time I'd ever been to Israel. I was just a punk back then. I was 18 years old. I went with my grandpa who was a minister. He brought 500 people to Israel, and Israel's like Southern California, it almost never rains, hardly ever.
But because it's such a religious country, they really and always have viewed rain as God's blessing, God's blessing, a symbol. Like, they know it's just rain, but it's also like a symbol that like something special is happening right now. And I still remember on a Christmas Eve in Bethlehem at night overlooking the city, it was raining all night, and there were 500 of us out there with umbrellas, and right when the service was about to begin, the rain stopped so that we could go up on the stage and pray and sing these songs, isn't that amazing? We were there with the guy that did "Phantom of the Opera". I can't remember his name, Michael Phelps? No, pfft. I got it, Michael Braverman. Michael Brickerbron? Crawford! That is it. Brickerbron wasn't even close.
But I still remember as an 18 year old, many of us, that the timing of it was such a wonder in a way, that right when the service was starting, I think it was 7 o'clock, the rain pouring with umbrellas, and then 7 o'clock came and poof, stopped. Rain tonight, my hope is that maybe that can be a symbol for you tonight, that God's blessing is even on you now, that tonight you'll receive a special blessing. I know many of you are struggling or you have a challenge that's bothering you. Maybe it's a health crisis. Maybe it's a relationship. Maybe you just went through a bad breakup or a divorce or just going through a tough time. Maybe have your doubts about God or about life or whatever, and you need a second chance.
Let's just believe that maybe this rain, even for us as Californians or wherever you're, maybe from Minnesota you're like what? But just believe tonight that God has a blessing for you and actually spiritually think about opening your heart and mind to the goodness, love, life, and power of God in you. He wants to bless you and pour out his goodness in your life. That's the heart of Jesus. You know, everywhere Jesus goes in the gospels, never making anybody sick. Everywhere he goes he's healing people, loving people, having mercy with people, having meals with people he's not supposed to associate with, right? Just loving people right where they're at.
So God loves you just as you are, not as you should be. Stop trying to get it all right, stop trying harder, and just yield your life to his love and kindness. He's so for you. He loves you, 'cause he's your father, he's your dad. Well, I'm gonna begin with a little history lesson. I like history. Most people don't, but sorry. You're here now, you have to hear it. It was the year 270 it was the last great persecution of the Roman empire. A young man named Nicholas of Bari, a Greek speaking, Ionian Greek was born into this world, a Christian at a time when Christians were being crucified by Rome, burned alive, fed to lions. It was a very dark and hard time, especially in this now very Christian part of the Roman empire. And this young man devoted his life to God and just simply wanted to bring joy and happiness to people, even though life was so, so dark and so hard for them.
Many ways that he tried to do this, and then something happened. His parents tragically died and left him a fortune. He knew they were wealthy, but he didn't know they were this wealthy. And they left in this immense fortune, and as a believer he felt called by the holy spirit to rather than embellish his life and ego, to use it to make people happier, maybe we could say spread some Christmas cheer, you know. To go around and help people who are hurting. And so he devoted the rest of his life. He became a priest and a pastor, and Nicholas of Bari decided that he was gonna give away, he spent his life just giving his money and even his life away to people in need.
There's three kind of odd stories. The second one is really weird. I thought about removing it, but I said I wouldn't, so I'm a man of my word. First story goes like this, there was some men who were arrested and were about to be executed by a corrupt magistrate who had been bribed by these men's enemy, wanted them dead, and knowing this Nicholas jumped in there, threw his body in front of the sword. Some people say he took the sword and drove into the ground, preached and chastised the magistrate and the executioners, and saved these men's lives. He believed that they, knew they were innocent but wanted them to have a second chance.
In another story, and I'm gonna pre-apologize for this work of medieval art. This is supposed to be little boys, but honestly they look like 40-year-old men that just got like shrunk on Photoshop. But this is how medieval art is. You just gotta deal with it. That one guy's butt in the front, it's supposed to be a five-year-old or something, okay? Somehow he's bald on the back. I don't know what that's about, but... In this story, Nicholas of Bari saves these children who were being imprisoned and were going to be used by a butcher who was going to kill them and feed them to people, just a really gross story, but an amazing story that, you know, he rescued them. And then the one he's most famous for, he loved to give money away to poor families who couldn't afford a dowry for their daughters.
So in the Roman empire for a young woman to be married, her family had to pay a dowry, some amount of negotiated money to the family of the groom. And so, even if you were a beautiful woman, very often, you know, or very likable or madly in love with a guy who wanted to marry you, if you didn't have a dowry, it was hard to do it. And so he would just go around finding ways to give money to these families that their daughters could be married. And of course the most famous one was there was this groom or this dad who had three daughters, a single dad, and all three of his daughters were, you know, in love or had a boyfriend or something, couldn't get married. And so when they were hanging their socks, their stockings, up on the fireplace to dry because they were wet from a rainy day, at night he went and he reached his hand through the window and dropped gold coins in their socks so that they could afford a dowry.
And that's where we get the tradition of hanging our stockings on the fireplace. If you haven't guessed it by now, the historic figure I'm talking about is St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, miracle worker, he has many names. He is the patron saint of repentant thieves. So if you're a thief and you repent tonight, St. Nicholas is your guy. He's the one that's gonna. We're not Catholic, but you know, it's an interesting story. And of course, when we read stories about any believer like this, especially when we hear about Santa Claus and how his story sort of begins, I see someone who believes in second chances, that even if those, I feel like those prisoners, even if they were guilty, he would have wanted them to not be killed, you know what I mean? That those children, that those women, that people deserve a chance. You deserve a chance. You deserve a second chance, I believe that for you. And God has that for you too.
Many of us in this room are relatively good people. When we get to know our neighbors, we want them to have a second chance, you know? If they've messed up or lost everything or really just whatever, they messed up their lives and... Most of us in an abstract way root for our neighbor to have a second chance. Very often we don't want to give ourselves a second chance. Maybe you're that type of person. You look in the mirror and you say there's no second chance for me. Bobby, you don't know what I've done or what I've been through in this room are so many people who've done a lot of good, but all of us have also made some big mistakes in our lives, things we regret, unfinished symphonies, sad stories, lost relationships, bad decisions.
You know what? God's not done with you yet, my friend. He has a second chance for you. And that's what the gospel's about. You know, it's not just a second chance, it's a third chance and a fourth chance and a fifth chance and a sixth chance, isn't it amazing? Seventy times seven says the Bible, that's how many chances you get and multiply that times another 70 and then put a little infinite next to it, that's how much God is for you and not against you. He just wants us, in many ways my hope is that tonight you'll believe in that second chance for you, for you. That God has a great plan for you and that you don't have to be wrapped up in the shame of your past and all of these things. Tonight, of course, we remember Jesus's birthday. This is a party, isn't it? That's what a Christmas service is, it's a party, huh? We're celebrating the most joyful person ever, Jesus Christ.
And when you think of the nativity, we always think of all those characters who came. Jesus was born in a barn, in a water trough, which would be embarrassing in those days for a king, right? But this is a different kind of king. It's an upside-down kingdom, and it's in this place that all sorts of folks are, from shepherd's, a lowly position. By the way, those shepherds were teenage girls. If you come to this church, you know that historically they were teenage, probably teenage girls. They weren't old men with beards. And there were poor people and rich people and and Magi and all these things.
When we think of the nativity, we think of an invitation to anyone, anyone who would just say yeah, that's for me too. I'll take a second chance. The gospel is this, that when we are messed up or broken or all these things we say to ourselves and beat ourselves up, Christ gave his life for us that we could be saved, not by our own good works, but by his good work for us. And we just believe that, right? We believe that God loves us, that wants the best for us, and so our moral and everything else, our lives just become a natural response to believing that this is true. There are three things that you are not, and we say it every Sunday, you're not what you do.
I remember when I was a kid, I wanted a BMX GTE Elite bike for Christmas, and I got it finally, and I was thrilled for about three weeks, and I was kind of over it. You know, it's amazing how what we have, you know, becomes so much of our identity, your car, your house, your clothes, your status in life, or what we do. You've probably been to a work Christmas party and you met a stranger, and what's the most common question somebody asks you if you never met them before? What do you do? You know, what do you say? It's a way we identify people, and we begin to internalize that, that what I do for a living, what I do morally, what I... that that's who I am. Or what people say about us. Man, if somebody says 100 nice things to me, and one person says a bad thing, what's the one thing I remember? Well, if you're anything like me, if you're a human being, it's that one negative thing. You can't, it just, it's in there. So often we are so bound by the opinions of others.
So often we're bound by our need for another thing or our need to have a better job or to have some credit and, my friend, all of those things are fine and good, but can I just give you some freedom? Can I give you some freedom right now? That's not what life is about. Life is about understanding in this moment that even if nobody loves you, even if nobody cares about you or notices you, you are the apple of God's eye. I think about my own children and how much I love them and how broken and messed up I am, and the Bible says God is love and he has that for you. I know a lot of people here don't believe in God, but the Bible also says that if you give one, if you give just a mustard seed of faith, that you can move a mountain.
Maybe most of you doesn't believe in God, but maybe 1% of you does, like there's just a little thing, I want to challenge you today, give that to God and see what he can do with it. Stop obsessing about what you have, what people say about you, or what you do for a living, or all of these things. Begin to believe for just a moment that you are an absolute treasure and that that's a final stop, that you are a treasure, and that your future, if it's under the loving care of Jesus Christ is so bright. All of us have a choice. We can follow the Lord whenever we want. You can follow God whenever you want. You could do it today, and all you gotta do is make a decision up here and in here, and your life will never be the same. I hope you do that. It's your choice, of course. But we're so glad. I want to invite my family to come up. We're gonna light the final candle on the advent wreath. It's my wife, Hannah; my daughter, Haven; and my son, Cohen. All three look amazing, wow. Look at this fine-looking family. Do you have you card, Hannah? Oh.
Haven Schuller: The four candles we have lit signify hope, peace, joy, and love, four promises God continually offers to us, and all of them are made manifest in this one we light tonight, the Christ candle. The prophet Isaiah spoke, For to us a child is born, for to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. His name shall be called Wonderful, counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. In Christ we find the hope of transformation, the peace that flows from justice, joy of authentic Christian community, and the love that encompasses us in our diversity, empowering each of us to make our own unique contribution to God's kingdom. In Christ we find light and dignity and the courage to be like him, answering his call and following his footsteps. Please break your glow sticks.
Bobby: Merry Christmas everyone.
Hannah: Merry Christmas.
Haven: Merry Christmas.
Bobby: Well, thank you all so much. Can we give these musicians, our staff and our volunteers have been here for five services, can we give them a big hand? Thank you. I appreciate you so much, thank you. Made it a special day for a lot of people. And of course we hope it was a special night for you, wishing you, I'm looking forward to, I think, oatmeal pancakes. I'm not 100% sure tomorrow, for me. So many of us have our food in mind, and I'm the only thing that stands between you and that thing. So I will let you go. Thank you for coming tonight. Come back to church sometime. We have church at 9:00 and 11:00, we hope you come on a Sunday.
And now the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift his countenance upon you and give you his peace in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.