00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Good morning, everyone. My name is James. It's good to be with you today.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:11 I really like all of the stories that add up to the colour of Christmas.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:17 The Christmas lights and the decorations, Santa, the elves, the movies and the Christmas carols.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:23 Yesterday, my family, we bought a real Christmas tree for the first time in years,
00:00:23 --> 00:00:28 and it just smells delightful. I'll bring in a piece of it next week if you just want to smell it.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:37 It's great. I love it. But this week, I thought I would do some investigation into the origin of some of these Christmas stories.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:43 So I started with Santa Claus. One author describes the history of Santa...
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 Let me see if I can get this guy to work this morning. There we go.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:53 One author describes the history of Santa as involving a building project by a Byzantine emperor,
00:00:53 --> 00:00:58 a story about a father preparing to sell his own daughters into prostitution,
00:00:59 --> 00:01:04 a hoard of stolen bones reported to have magical properties,
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 armies of crusading knights, Protestant zealots,
00:01:08 --> 00:01:10 the author of Twas the Night Before Christmas,
00:01:11 --> 00:01:16 a poem you probably read as a child but didn't realise how influential it was,
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 Santa Claus, and Coca-Cola.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:25 All of these different aspects build up to the magic of whatever Santa Claus is.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 Now, I feel like I could do a deep dive into each of those different aspects of history,
00:01:29 --> 00:01:30 but we're going to move on.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:31 What about the elves?
00:01:32 --> 00:01:37 Well, they come from German and Scandinavian origins, from folk stories.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:43 Our elves were house gnomes with magical powers to protect their homes from evil.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:50 The stories were modernised in the 1800s to look about how we would expect elves to look.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:56 There's a story of some classic little fairy pixie-looking elves.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 And then what about the Christmas tree?
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 The Christmas tree that I put up in my house yesterday.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:05 Well, one article I read suggested that the evergreen tree
00:02:05 --> 00:02:11 represents the pagan themes of fertility and new life in the darkness of winter.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:13 And this is why we have...
00:02:13 --> 00:02:16 What plant is this representing, Carmen?
00:02:16 --> 00:02:16 What is this?
00:02:18 --> 00:02:19 Greenery.
00:02:19 --> 00:02:19 Okay, thank you.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:27 Well, holly, ivy, and mistletoe, these are the Christmas plants.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 You know, you have them hanging and you kiss people under them.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 These are the only plants that flower in winter.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:37 And so it's a symbol of new life.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:43 But then, as one legend goes, an English monk, Boniface,
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 was doing some missionary work in Germany in the 8th century.
00:02:47 --> 00:02:52 And the story goes that some native Germans were sacrificing to the oak trees
00:02:52 --> 00:02:53 because they were pagans.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:54 They worshipped the trees.
00:02:55 --> 00:02:59 And so Boniface grabbed his axe and he chopped down to the tree
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 to stop the pagans from worshipping it.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:05 And the legend has it that a fir tree, the Christmas-shaped tree,
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 a fir tree grew out of the fallen oak tree.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:12 The fir tree has a triangular shape, represents the Trinity,
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 And so they brought the fir tree into the house
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 as a sign of their new Christian faith.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:25 And then I learned a new one on Thursday night.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:30 In recent years, in Chinese culture, in China at least,
00:03:30 --> 00:03:31 there's been a new tradition.
00:03:33 --> 00:03:39 Christmas Eve is called Ping An Ye, peace night in Chinese.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:44 And it kind of sounds like apple in Chinese, which is Ping Guo.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:48 And so Christmas Eve is called Ping An Guo,
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 which means peace apples.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 And so in recent years, Christmas Eve,
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 you would give apples to each other
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 until it was banned by the Chinese government.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:05 Christmas just has this long history of strange stories
00:04:05 --> 00:04:09 and exaggerations all being amalgamated into each other.
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 And so it's just this mix of pagan worship,
00:04:13 --> 00:04:16 ancient folklore, legends, corporate greed,
00:04:16 --> 00:04:17 all coming together.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:23 The stories of Christmas seem so far from their origins.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 But what about that other Christmas story?
00:04:28 --> 00:04:31 The story of God becoming a person,
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 born as a baby, to die on the cross,
00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 raised to life so that we might have life ourselves.
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 Is this just a hodgepodge story?
00:04:43 --> 00:04:46 Is this just a hodgepodge of a special baby?
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 And there was another story about a man who could do miracles.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 And maybe there was another story from another culture
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 about a resurrection.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:58 And then there's another story about a nation waiting for salvation.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:04 Is the story of the baby at Christmas
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 and the Christian faith just an exaggeration?
00:05:07 --> 00:05:14 Is it just an amalgamation of stories that we'll never really know the true origin of?
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 Can we trust anything the Bible says?
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 This month we're asking the question,
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 Is Christmas unbelievable?
00:05:23 --> 00:05:24 We're asking some pointed questions.
00:05:25 --> 00:05:29 And there is going to be a phone number on the screen texting your questions.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:31 We'll answer them straight after the service.
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 Or you can come and ask me straight after church.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 But the challenge for us today is to question
00:05:36 --> 00:05:40 whether we believe the story of Jesus at Christmas
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 just because it's the story we know.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:45 Maybe there's exaggerations.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 Or is the story of Christmas real?
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 And can we trust the Bible?
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 Is there a truthful core to it that we'll never get to?
00:05:54 --> 00:05:56 Or is it true and we can believe it?
00:05:56 --> 00:05:58 Let me pray as we have a look at this.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 Heavenly Father, I thank you for Christmas,
00:06:01 --> 00:06:07 for this time that seems to come quickly every year
00:06:07 --> 00:06:12 where our shops sing of your greatness,
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 where Christmas carols are on and Christmas movies are on
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 and we put up decorations.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 But Lord, help us to understand
00:06:20 --> 00:06:24 whether we can trust your word,
00:06:25 --> 00:06:26 especially about Christmas.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 We pray this in Jesus' name.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:29 Amen.
00:06:31 --> 00:06:32 We're going to start by having a look.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:33 Oh, there's that great picture.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:34 I keep missing that picture.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 We're going to start with the eyewitnesses to the truth.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 In John's record of the gospel,
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 there is a character who sits in the same seat as us
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 asking the same question.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 Can I trust you?
00:06:49 --> 00:06:50 What can I believe?
00:06:52 --> 00:06:53 His name is Thomas.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:56 And he missed out on seeing the risen Jesus
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 when he appeared to his disciples.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 So have a look at verse 24 with me.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:04 Wendy's going to push the buttons for me, I think.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:05 Thank you, Wendy.
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 Now, Thomas, also known as Didymus,
00:07:08 --> 00:07:09 one of the 12,
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 was not with disciples when Jesus came.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:13 So the other disciples told him,
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 we have seen the Lord just like us.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 Thomas missed out on seeing the risen Jesus.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 He didn't believe the story.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:22 But he said to them,
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 unless I see the nail marks
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 and put my finger where the nails were
00:07:27 --> 00:07:28 and put my hand into his side,
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 I will not believe.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:31 He doesn't say,
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 I'm finding this hard to believe.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 I just really can't believe it.
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 He says, I will not believe.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 Can you imagine if your 12 or your 11 best friends
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 came up to you and told you,
00:07:45 --> 00:07:46 there's a cure for COVID.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:47 It is over.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:48 It's done.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:50 And you said,
00:07:50 --> 00:07:51 do you know what?
00:07:51 --> 00:07:52 I'm not going to believe
00:07:52 --> 00:07:55 until I get a PhD in microbiology.
00:07:56 --> 00:07:57 I will not believe
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 until I fully investigate everything myself.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 Thomas even then was living in a post-truth environment.
00:08:03 --> 00:08:04 I don't believe your truth,
00:08:05 --> 00:08:06 but only my truth.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 He's only risen if I have seen that he is risen.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 Thomas doubted because he hadn't seen it for himself.
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 He wanted to trust his own senses.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:16 And now Jesus,
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 Jesus is good.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 He is good and generous to Thomas,
00:08:21 --> 00:08:22 even though he doubted.
00:08:23 --> 00:08:24 Verse 26,
00:08:24 --> 00:08:25 a week later,
00:08:25 --> 00:08:26 when Thomas is there,
00:08:27 --> 00:08:28 Jesus appears to Thomas
00:08:28 --> 00:08:29 and he says,
00:08:30 --> 00:08:30 peace be with you.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:31 Okay,
00:08:32 --> 00:08:32 come on,
00:08:32 --> 00:08:32 Thomas,
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 put your finger into my side.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:35 Come on,
00:08:35 --> 00:08:35 you can do it.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 I'll let you,
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 here's exactly what you wanted.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 And Thomas says,
00:08:42 --> 00:08:43 he reacts and calls him God,
00:08:43 --> 00:08:45 my Lord and my God.
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 And then Jesus really speaking to us says,
00:08:49 --> 00:08:50 because you have seen me,
00:08:50 --> 00:08:51 you have believed.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 Blessed are those,
00:08:53 --> 00:08:53 us,
00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 who have not seen Jesus
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 and yet have believed.
00:08:58 --> 00:08:59 And then we get the whole purpose.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:00 This is the purpose.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:01 This is the point.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 This is the key part of John 20 for us today.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 These are written
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 that you may believe
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 that Jesus is the Messiah,
00:09:08 --> 00:09:09 the son of God,
00:09:10 --> 00:09:11 and that by believing
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 you may have life in his name.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:15 John wrote down the records
00:09:15 --> 00:09:16 of the eyewitnesses
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 to be trustworthy
00:09:18 --> 00:09:19 with the purpose
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 of believing in Jesus.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:23 These are not just a collection of stories.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:25 It's not just interesting.
00:09:25 --> 00:09:26 John wasn't hoping
00:09:26 --> 00:09:27 for a bestseller for Christmas.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 These are eyewitness testimony
00:09:30 --> 00:09:31 recorded
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 so that we might believe
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 that Jesus is the Messiah.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:37 Trusting others
00:09:37 --> 00:09:39 is how people have always operated.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 Not all of us
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 are experts in science
00:09:43 --> 00:09:44 and historians
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 and social scientists.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 We are always people
00:09:48 --> 00:09:48 who have listened
00:09:48 --> 00:09:50 to other people's opinion.
00:09:51 --> 00:09:51 This is why
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 we pull out our phones
00:09:53 --> 00:09:53 in the morning
00:09:53 --> 00:09:54 and check the weather
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 and find out
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 it's going to be
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 pretty hot today, I think.
00:09:59 --> 00:09:59 We are people
00:09:59 --> 00:10:01 who routinely trust others
00:10:01 --> 00:10:02 and the same goes
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 for with history.
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 We trust the eyewitnesses.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 But if there were eyewitnesses,
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 why is there such a lag
00:10:13 --> 00:10:15 between the events happening
00:10:15 --> 00:10:16 and the writing?
00:10:17 --> 00:10:18 Surely that means
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 it's open to exaggeration.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:22 Surely it means that
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 they've forgotten the story
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 and they've just written it down
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 and they've written it down wrong.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 Jesus is reported
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 to have been crucified
00:10:31 --> 00:10:32 around AD 30
00:10:32 --> 00:10:33 and then the first
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 of the books of the Bible
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 of the New Testament,
00:10:35 --> 00:10:36 Galatians,
00:10:36 --> 00:10:37 was written about AD 50.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:38 Mark
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 is written
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 between about 50 and 60
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 and then John,
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 the most recent gospel,
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 was written around AD 90.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 That is a fair time lag,
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 some might say.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 Can we trust the reports
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 if they were written later?
00:10:56 --> 00:10:57 There's a children's game
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 that I remember
00:10:59 --> 00:11:00 and fondly remember playing
00:11:00 --> 00:11:01 called Telephone.
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 It has another,
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 a more unhelpful name,
00:11:04 --> 00:11:04 Chinese Whispers,
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 but we'll go with Telephone,
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 where you start with one person,
00:11:08 --> 00:11:08 I'm going to pick on Nick,
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 I'm going to tell Nick a phrase,
00:11:11 --> 00:11:12 I'm going to get back on camera,
00:11:12 --> 00:11:12 Nick,
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 the phrase is,
00:11:14 --> 00:11:14 you know,
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 yellow jelly bean
00:11:16 --> 00:11:17 and then Nick's going to tell people
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 and it's going to get to the line
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20 and it's going to get over here
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 and Kel is finally
00:11:21 --> 00:11:21 going to be the last one
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 and he's going to tell us
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 what he's heard
00:11:23 --> 00:11:24 and it's morphed into
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 potato piano
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 or something like this.
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 We know this game,
00:11:28 --> 00:11:29 this is quite a fun game,
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 I always loved it as a kid.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 Some think that
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 the story of the Bible
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 starts with that,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:37 you know,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 the phrase was originally
00:11:38 --> 00:11:39 Jewish leader
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 and it's retold
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 and told
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 over so many years
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 that the meaning
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 has been completely lost
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 and that Jesus,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:49 who was maybe
00:11:49 --> 00:11:50 just a guy
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 and influential leader,
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 all of a sudden
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 by the time we get to
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 it being written down,
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 Jesus is now
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 God himself
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 who can walk on water
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 and come back to life.
00:12:01 --> 00:12:01 Clearly
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 an exaggeration
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 some might say.
00:12:04 --> 00:12:05 One historian,
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 Richard Baucom,
00:12:07 --> 00:12:07 argues that
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 one of the key reasons
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 that there is
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 a time delay
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 between the events
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 of the writing
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14 between the events
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 and the writing
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 is that the eyewitnesses
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 were dying out.
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 Unlike the game
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 of telephone with kids,
00:12:21 --> 00:12:22 the stories
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 were not passed
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 along a single line.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:26 They were told
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 to many people.
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 So when Jesus
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 was alive,
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 he proclaimed
00:12:31 --> 00:12:31 in synagogues,
00:12:32 --> 00:12:32 he preached
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 to thousands of people.
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 You think about
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 the feeding of the 5.
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 Large crowds
00:12:37 --> 00:12:37 followed him
00:12:37 --> 00:12:38 and he had
00:12:38 --> 00:12:38 an intimate group
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 of 12
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 that followed
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 his every step.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:42 And then
00:12:42 --> 00:12:43 with the eyewitnesses,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:44 there are
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 so many specific
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 people mentioned
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 in the Bible.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 Specific eyewitnesses.
00:12:50 --> 00:12:51 Mary Magdalene,
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 Peter and Andrew,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 sons of Jonah.
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 James and John,
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 sons of Zebedee.
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 Even Thomas Didymus
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 here
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 has a specific name.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 In the news
00:13:02 --> 00:13:02 immediately after
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 Jesus' death
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 and resurrection,
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 you can imagine
00:13:06 --> 00:13:06 people would have
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 gone up to Thomas
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 and said,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 oh,
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 you're the guy
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 who doubted Jesus.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 Did you really see him?
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 And then maybe
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 he would
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 remember
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 his doubt
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 that Jesus was alive
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 and be grieved.
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 But then maybe
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 his face would light up
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 remembering how good
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 Jesus was to him.
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 And so what do you do
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 as the eyewitnesses
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 who saw Jesus
00:13:30 --> 00:13:30 start aging
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 and dying out?
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 You visit them
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 and you write it down
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 and you record it.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 And if this is true,
00:13:37 --> 00:13:37 the Gospels
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 are not like
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 a story passed
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 along many years.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:43 It is
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 the story
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 to the first person.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 This is what
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 really happened.
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 And the beauty is
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 that when it's written down,
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 there are still people
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 around who are eyewitnesses.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:56 So you could say,
00:13:57 --> 00:13:57 hey, I got this letter.
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 Did this really happen?
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 One of my children
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 recently thought
00:14:03 --> 00:14:03 it would be a really
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 good idea
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 to start spreading
00:14:06 --> 00:14:06 some rumours.
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 They were at school
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 saying they had COVID
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 and their friends
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14 were rightly distressed.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 And so Alyssa
00:14:17 --> 00:14:17 got a call
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 from the school
00:14:18 --> 00:14:18 saying,
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 your child
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 is saying
00:14:20 --> 00:14:20 that they took
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 a COVID test
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 and that you
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 were eyewitnesses,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 you saw the test
00:14:24 --> 00:14:24 and you let them
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 go to school anyway?
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 Yes,
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 they did take
00:14:28 --> 00:14:28 a COVID test.
00:14:29 --> 00:14:29 No,
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 they don't
00:14:30 --> 00:14:30 have COVID.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 And so
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 there's an exaggeration.
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 A change
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 in the story
00:14:39 --> 00:14:39 got told.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:40 It was right
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 to a point
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 but then it was
00:14:42 --> 00:14:42 exaggerated.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 And you could check
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 with the eyewitnesses.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 Did this happen?
00:14:46 --> 00:14:46 No,
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 it didn't.
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 Don't let the facts
00:14:50 --> 00:14:50 get in the way
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 of a good story,
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 my child,
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 maybe you would have thought.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 The Bible
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 can be trusted
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 because it is
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 not an exaggeration.
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 Written down
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 when eyewitnesses
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 were still alive.
00:15:02 --> 00:15:04 Written very early.
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 We might think
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 it is a time lag
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 but there is
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 no time lag there.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:09 The Bible
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 was written
00:15:10 --> 00:15:10 very early
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 with eyewitnesses
00:15:12 --> 00:15:12 still around
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 so it could be checked.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:16 It was written
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 very early
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 and if it wasn't
00:15:18 --> 00:15:18 real,
00:15:19 --> 00:15:19 people would have
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 called it out.
00:15:20 --> 00:15:20 No,
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 don't be silly.
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 Jesus didn't really
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 walk on water.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 It was just
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 low tide
00:15:25 --> 00:15:25 that day.
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 Eyewitnesses
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 like Thomas
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 were around
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 long after
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 they were written.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 So what we have
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 recorded
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 is history
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 and the Bible
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 can be trusted.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 But not only that,
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 the Bible
00:15:41 --> 00:15:41 has
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 embarrassing
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 truth to it.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:45 There is a phrase
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 called the ring
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 of truth.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:48 It is a test
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 to see whether
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 a story sounds
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 like a fanciful tale
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 and an exaggerated
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 story or real
00:15:54 --> 00:15:54 history.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 The idea of it
00:15:56 --> 00:15:56 says that when
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 people lie
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 or make up a story,
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 they don't add
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 material to make
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 them lose
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 credibility.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:04 I know a man
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 who broke
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 his leg.
00:16:07 --> 00:16:07 Now,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:07 he could have
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 said that he
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 had just fallen
00:16:09 --> 00:16:09 over,
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 but the truth
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 is more
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 embarrassing.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 He was trying
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 to show his
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 son how to
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 do a bike
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 trick on a
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 half pipe
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 that he'd set
00:16:21 --> 00:16:21 up,
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 thinking he
00:16:22 --> 00:16:22 was much
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 younger than
00:16:23 --> 00:16:23 he really
00:16:23 --> 00:16:23 was,
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 and he
00:16:24 --> 00:16:24 came off
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 it and
00:16:25 --> 00:16:25 landed
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 heavily and
00:16:26 --> 00:16:26 broke his
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 leg.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 One story
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 I fell
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 is true,
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 but the real
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 story is far
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 more embarrassing,
00:16:36 --> 00:16:36 far more
00:16:36 --> 00:16:36 shameful,
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 and it's not
00:16:38 --> 00:16:38 the story you'd
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 choose to tell
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 unless it was
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 true.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:42 If you were
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 going to make
00:16:43 --> 00:16:43 up a story to
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 try and convince
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 people that Jesus
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 was real,
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 and not only that
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 he was real,
00:16:48 --> 00:16:48 but he'd come
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 back to life and
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 that he is
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 God, you
00:16:51 --> 00:16:51 would want to
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 make it the
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 most plausible
00:16:53 --> 00:16:53 story ever.
00:16:55 --> 00:16:55 But the
00:16:55 --> 00:16:55 Gospels are
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 actually really
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 embarrassing.
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 Peter, one
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 of Jesus'
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 closest friends,
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 had a key
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 hand in writing
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 Mark's Gospel.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:06 If I were
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 Peter, and I
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 was involved in
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 writing it, I
00:17:10 --> 00:17:10 would have made
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 myself look a
00:17:11 --> 00:17:11 lot better.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 Instead, Peter
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 betrays Jesus
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 three times.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 His most
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 cowardly and
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 moral failure.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 Peter was one
00:17:22 --> 00:17:22 of the key
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 leaders in the
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 early church.
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 The only way
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 he'd let his
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 betrayal be
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 told was if it
00:17:28 --> 00:17:28 was really
00:17:28 --> 00:17:28 true.
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 If I was
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 writing about
00:17:31 --> 00:17:31 Jesus'
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 resurrection, I'd
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 want it to be
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 as believable and
00:17:35 --> 00:17:35 plausible as
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 possible.
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37 And there's two
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 small aspects of
00:17:39 --> 00:17:39 the resurrection
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 that are just
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 embarrassing, and
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 lean it to have
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 the ring of truth
00:17:44 --> 00:17:44 to it.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:45 And they both
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 involve the first
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 witnesses.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 John records
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 Mary Magdalene
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 went to Jesus'
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 tomb, but
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 found it empty.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 Standing there
00:17:55 --> 00:17:55 crying, Jesus
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 comes up to her,
00:17:57 --> 00:17:57 and Jesus says,
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 if you can go to
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 the next slide,
00:18:00 --> 00:18:00 thank you, Wendy.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:01 Jesus says to
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 Mary, woman, why
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 are you crying?
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 Who is it you
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 are looking for?
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 Thinking he was
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 the gardener, she
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 said, sir, if you've
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 carried him away,
00:18:12 --> 00:18:12 tell me where you've
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 put him.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:14 Mary confuses
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 Jesus with a
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 gardener.
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 It's just a
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19 small, little
00:18:19 --> 00:18:21 note, embarrassing
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 for the future of
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 Mary.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 I saw Jesus, I
00:18:25 --> 00:18:25 thought he was
00:18:25 --> 00:18:25 just tidying up
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 the gardens.
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 In all four
00:18:29 --> 00:18:29 gospels about
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 Jesus, the first
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 witnesses to the
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 resurrection are
00:18:32 --> 00:18:32 women.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 Luke 24, it
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 was Mary Magdalene,
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 Joanna, Mary the
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 mother of James, and
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 the others with
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 them who told this
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 to the apostles.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 But the apostles,
00:18:45 --> 00:18:45 they did not
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 believe the
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 women because
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 their words seemed
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 to them like
00:18:49 --> 00:18:49 nonsense.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:51 In the first
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 century Jewish
00:18:52 --> 00:18:55 culture, women's
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 testimony wasn't
00:18:56 --> 00:18:56 accepted in court.
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 People didn't
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 listen to them.
00:19:00 --> 00:19:00 And even Jesus'
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 friends, the
00:19:02 --> 00:19:05 apostles, didn't
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 believe what seemed
00:19:07 --> 00:19:07 to them like a
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 ridiculous story.
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 Jesus coming back
00:19:10 --> 00:19:10 to life.
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 You would not
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 report that.
00:19:14 --> 00:19:14 You would not
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 tell that women
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 were the first to
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 see him and were
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 the first to share
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 the good news,
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 unless it actually
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 happened.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 It's another deeply
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 embarrassing aspect
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 for the early church
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 leaders.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:28 An exaggerated
00:19:28 --> 00:19:31 story told by a
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 bunch of women was
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 easily discredited.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34 You're going to
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 trust those women?
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 That's ridiculous.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38 But again, these
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 women's names were
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41 recorded because
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 they were eyewitnesses.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 They could be
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 trusted and they
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 could be visited to
00:19:46 --> 00:19:46 ask if this really
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 happened.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 Now, none of this
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 is its own proof.
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 But when it's
00:19:52 --> 00:19:54 read, it holds
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 together as a story
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 that has the ring of
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 truth to it.
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 One that clearly
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 suggests that the
00:19:59 --> 00:20:01 Gospels are history
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 and they're not an
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 exaggeration.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:06 So the stories
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 about Christmas
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 like Santa and
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 the elves, the
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 Christmas tree and
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 even peace apples,
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 these have been
00:20:13 --> 00:20:15 added together into
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 a hodgepodge
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18 boiling mess of
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 Germanic, American,
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 Chinese, religious,
00:20:21 --> 00:20:23 cultural mishmash.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 But the story at the
00:20:26 --> 00:20:28 heart of it, God
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30 become man, born and
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 placed in an animal's
00:20:32 --> 00:20:32 food trough.
00:20:32 --> 00:20:35 raised to be
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 murdered in the
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 most embarrassing,
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 shameful way,
00:20:40 --> 00:20:40 crucified on a
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 cross.
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 This story is true.
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 The Bible can be
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 trusted.
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49 My kids have the
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 best conversations
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 with me at the
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 most annoying times.
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 And that is, just
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 after I've tucked
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 them into bed and
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 just after I've said
00:20:57 --> 00:20:57 goodnight, that's
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 when their brains
00:20:59 --> 00:20:59 just start ticking.
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 And recently I'd
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 prayed with one of
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 them, we'd read the
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 Bible, saying
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 goodnight, you
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 know, just about to
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 step out the door.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 And one of them
00:21:09 --> 00:21:11 started asking the
00:21:11 --> 00:21:14 question, how can I
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 know?
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 How can I know that
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 it's real?
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21 Can Jesus speak to
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 me?
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 Then I'd know.
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 My heart went out
00:21:25 --> 00:21:25 for them.
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 They wanted
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 certainty.
00:21:27 --> 00:21:30 In a time where
00:21:30 --> 00:21:30 kids are juggling
00:21:30 --> 00:21:32 with all the
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 different stories and
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 finding out what is
00:21:34 --> 00:21:36 true, what is
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 fairy tale, what can
00:21:38 --> 00:21:40 be trusted, my kid
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 wanted certainty.
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 I want to know that
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 this magnificent,
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46 wonderful, life-changing
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48 story is real.
00:21:49 --> 00:21:49 Don't let me be
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 disappointed.
00:21:51 --> 00:21:51 Not again, not
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 after I believed all
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 these fairy tales.
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 Don't let me be
00:21:54 --> 00:21:54 disappointed again.
00:21:54 --> 00:21:57 I want you to
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 have the same
00:21:58 --> 00:22:00 comfort that I
00:22:00 --> 00:22:00 gave my child.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:04 Jesus is real.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 God is real.
00:22:06 --> 00:22:08 Jesus, God made
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 flesh, came and
00:22:09 --> 00:22:11 dwelt with us.
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 It is no mere
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 story or
00:22:14 --> 00:22:14 exaggeration.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:17 People saw him.
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 They touched him.
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 They knew him.
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 They ate with him.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 And just as John
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 20 said, it was
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 written down so
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 that we might
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 believe.
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 The Bible is no
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 exaggeration, is no
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 fairy tale.
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 But Jesus came,
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 giving us the
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 comfort that God
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 is with us.
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 He knows us.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 Because we are in
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 need of him.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 Because we are
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 people who are
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 prone to
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 exaggeration
00:22:43 --> 00:22:45 ourselves.
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 We are prone to
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 tell ourselves that
00:22:48 --> 00:22:48 we've got everything
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 together.
00:22:49 --> 00:22:51 Prone to think that
00:22:51 --> 00:22:51 we don't need help
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 from God.
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 that we pretend
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 that we can do
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 it.
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 Effectively, we're
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 telling ourselves
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 fairy tales and
00:22:57 --> 00:22:57 we're living in
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 those fairy tales.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 Very rarely do we
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 reveal the deep
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 embarrassing and
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 shameful truth of
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 who we are.
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 We might let it
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 slip in front of a
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 good friend.
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 Sometimes the
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 mask of our
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 identity might
00:23:12 --> 00:23:12 drop.
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 But God sees
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 through our
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 exaggerations, the
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 walls and the
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 masks we put on.
00:23:18 --> 00:23:20 He knows deeply
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 who we are.
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 He knows our
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 secret sins and
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 our shame.
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 But despite that,
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 he offers us love
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 and forgiveness.
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 1 Peter 2 says
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 that we are chosen
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 and precious to
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 God.
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 This is no
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 exaggeration.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 Now it sounds
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 like a wild tale
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 that we could be
00:23:39 --> 00:23:41 loved and chosen
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 and precious to
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 the God of the
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 universe.
00:23:44 --> 00:23:46 But this is the
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 wonderful truth of
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 the gospel.
00:23:47 --> 00:23:49 we who were
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 once far off are
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 brought close in
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 Jesus.
00:23:52 --> 00:23:54 Today, in a
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 minute as we head
00:23:55 --> 00:23:57 out to eat, drink
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 coffee, head to
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 the shops to buy
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 Christmas decorations,
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 to buy a Christmas
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 ham.
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 That's a note for
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 you, Alyssa, buy a
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 Christmas ham.
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 As we head off and
00:24:07 --> 00:24:09 to do many different
00:24:09 --> 00:24:11 things, we will tell
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 many tales about
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 ourselves that we're
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 okay.
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 Many other people
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 will tell us tales
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 about them.
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 They will
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 exaggerate.
00:24:19 --> 00:24:19 You should buy
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 this.
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 You should trust
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 me.
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 But there is only
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 one God who would
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 shamefully and
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 embarrassingly die on
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 the cross, showing
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 his love for you.
00:24:31 --> 00:24:33 Hold fast to him
00:24:33 --> 00:24:33 this Christmas.
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 Let me pray.
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 Heavenly Father, I
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 thank you for your
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40 word and that we
00:24:40 --> 00:24:42 can indeed trust in
00:24:42 --> 00:24:42 you.
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 We can trust in
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 you because your
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 word was written
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 down.
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 As John 20 said,
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 it was written so
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 that we might
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 believe that Jesus
00:24:50 --> 00:24:52 is the Messiah, the
00:24:52 --> 00:24:54 Son of God, sent by
00:24:54 --> 00:24:58 you to die for us so
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 that we could be
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 precious with you.
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 Father, help us to
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 trust in you today.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 Amen.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 Amen.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 Amen.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 Amen.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 Amen.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 Amen.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 Amen.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 Amen.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 Amen.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 Amen.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:06 Amen.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 Amen.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 Amen.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:08 Amen.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 Amen.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 Amen.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 Amen.
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 Amen.
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 Amen.
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 Amen.
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 Amen.
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 Amen.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:13 Amen.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 Amen.
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14 Amen.