Well, once again, welcome to Grace. Thank you so much for making us a part of your Christmas plans. My name is Nate. I get to be one of the pastors here. If you are here with small children, I've got my eye on you guys already. If you are here with small children, don't worry. This is going to be very brief. It'll be like 10 minutes, tops, okay? And then we'll get back to the music to cover up all the noise they're making. So if they can just try really hard right now, they're going to make it. I promise. I knew probably in August or September what I wanted to talk about at the Christmas Eve service. There's a verse tucked into the end of the Christmas story that I've always loved. And I'd be willing to bet that the moms in the room who know their Bible, and I don't mean, if you don't know which verse I'm talking about and you're a mom and you feel like you know your Bible, I'm not impugning your Bible knowledge. I'm just saying that women tend to notice this verse, especially moms, way more than men. But it's a verse that I've always loved and it it's always fascinated me, and I've always wondered about it, and I've always wanted to preach out of it. And so I decided that I, but I haven't known what to preach, because it's a mysterious moment. But I decided I would put it on the docket for this Christmas Eve, and just hope that somewhere in the months in between, that something would dawn on me that was worth sharing with you. But before we get to that verse, I want to read you the preceding verses in the Christmas story. The famous Christmas story is found in Luke chapter 2. It's the one that we do Peanuts Christmas, your kids' Christmas pageants do this one. Luke chapter 2 is the famous Christmas story. And so I'm going to read you a good swath of that beginning in verse 11 all the way down through verse 20 so that at the very least we've told the Christmas story today. Luke chapter 2 verse 11. The angels have appeared in the sky, and we pick up the story there. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God is saying, and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning the child and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things pondering them in her heart. Verse 20, and the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them. I've always loved verse 19. That Mary treasured up these things, pondering them in her heart. Because here's this probably teenage girl who's been told by an angel that she's going to carry and then bear the Messiah. And she's got her faithful husband, Joseph, with her, who's been told by an angel the same thing. And they've gone through this nine-month journey together, and it's just been their secret. And then she has baby Jesus. She has Jesus in that manger. And let's be very clear. In a few minutes, we're going to sing Silent Night. That night was not silent. That's a bold-faced lie. And the baby's crying. And Mary and Joseph share in this moment together. And then shortly after, angels appear in the heavens to shepherds that are keeping watch over their flock by night nearby in the hills surrounding Bethlehem. And at first it's one angel who just tells them what happened. And then once that angel tells them what happened, then all of a sudden the sky, I assume, is lit up with a multitude of angels that are praising a heavenly chorus over Jesus. And the shepherds go, let's go see this kid. This is a big deal. Let's go. So they leave their sheep. I don't know where they leave their sheep. It doesn't matter. They go to the manger. They clamber in, and they tell Mary and Joseph, you're not going to believe it. They told them all that they had heard, right? You're not going to believe it. We're in the field. Some angels appeared. They said, Jesus is here. He's the Messiah. This is amazing. And everyone's making this big fuss over Jesus. It's this big, huge deal. Except Mary doesn't join in. She doesn't say anything. It simply says she watches everyone and she listens to everyone and she treasures these things up in her heart. It's as if the moment for Mary was too rich to cheapen with words. It's too much of a moment. I don't want to weaken it with the words that I use. It's too special. I don't want to bother to try to articulate what I feel. And I've always wondered at that moment, what was it that Mary was treasuring in her heart? What was that moment between her and God? What must it have been like to be Mary then? And as I've always wondered that and put it on the schedule and was thinking about it more, I was listening to a book. Listening to a book by a, I think he's a priest named Richard Rohr. And he said in that book something that had never ever occurred to me. He said that Mary is the archetype of what it means to receive Jesus and give the gift of Jesus. What that means in our terms is that Mary is the apex example of what it means. She's the picture and the model for all time of what it means to receive Jesus and then to give him and share him with the world. She received Jesus as a gift from the Holy Spirit. It was from no other place. Mary received the gift of Jesus and then, through no small effort, shared the gift of Jesus with the world. To me, it's an amazing way to think about Mary that had never occurred to me before. And because of that, it also occurs to me that I wouldn't pretend to speak for all the joy that Mary had in that moment and everything that she was pondering up in her heart and that she was treasuring. I can't speak to all of it, but I'd be willing to bet that a portion of the joy that she was experiencing was from watching other people find joy in the gift that she offered them. This Jesus has brought me so much joy. Since having him, he's brought me so much joy. And now I get to share him with you, and I see him bringing you joy too. And I can't help but imagine that that moment that Mary found to be too rich to cheapen with words was entrenched in this sense of, I have received the Savior, and now I have shared him. And my joy is watching you find joy in him. And if that's true, and if that's what Mary was, isn't that what all Christians should be? Isn't that what Christianity is? The people who have received the gift of Christ and now spend the rest of our lives offering that gift to others, hoping that they find the same joy in him that we do? Isn't that the role of all Christians? Aren't all of us, if we are believers, to be like Mary? Now listen, I know that not everyone in this room is a believer. You came to be nice to your family and not put up a fuss and wear like the button-up shirt and all the stuff that you don't normally wear, and we're so glad that you're here. But if you're here and you're a Christian, then isn't our job to be who Mary was? To be a people who receive the gift of Jesus, offer that gift with joy, and then take great joy in what it is to see others experiencing the joy that they found in Jesus? And if that's what Christians are supposed to do, then isn't Christmas the perfect time to do that? Christmas every year when our whole culture slows down and focuses on a holy holiday, a Christian holiday, all our whole culture for what we know slows down, focuses on Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, the reason for the season every year. And every year isn't Christmas an opportunity for we Christians to share our Jesus with the needing world and watch them hopefully meet Jesus and experience the joy that we have found in him as well. I can't help but think of the band and the tech team that have worked so hard on all the songs today. The rehearsals and the time spent and the effort that they put in. What must it be like to stand up here during the energy of Drummer Boy, which was great. It was a great recommendation I made, by the way. What must it be like to be up here having put in in that work, to try to share with you their giftings that God has given to them, and then hear you sing to their God with joy. And now because of their work, now because they've done what they can to give you their Jesus, you are enjoying their Jesus and celebrating him too. What must that feel like? I'll never know, because they'll never invite me to sing up here on a Christmas Eve service. But this is what Christmas offers us the opportunity to do. So my hope and my prayer is that around your trees and around your tables and around your living rooms when you go from here and you do your things and you wake up tomorrow and you do more things. That those of you who are Christians, those of you who have received Jesus, will watch others find joy in him too. I hope that what happens around your tables and what happens around your rooms pushes people closer to Jesus and that they see him too. And if you're here this afternoon and you've not yet received Jesus, you don't know him, I've been praying for you. I've been praying that what we share in the service and that the joy that you see here would nudge you closer towards this Christ that has been offered to you too. I've been praying for you that the joy that you experience in your families around rooms and around tables would be a joy that's contagious for you and will encourage you to take one step closer to this Jesus that is offered you. So as I reflect on the Christmas story and on Mary and pondering up all these things, treasuring these things in her heart, I can't help but think that that's what we all Christians should do, is be conduits. People who, like Mary, receive the gift of Jesus and then give the gift of Jesus and then take joy in watching others find joy in our Jesus. So we hope that this service does that for you. I hope that your family celebrations do that for you. And I hope and pray because there is no greater joy than watching a child that you've raised come to know Jesus in a sincere way and they find joy in the faith that you share with them. Then praying for an adult child who may have wandered, who re-engages with Christ and accepts that gift anew and finds joy in their relationship with him. I hope that happens for you. I pray that happens for you. There's no greater joy than when you've shown your Jesus and offered your Jesus to people who don't yet know him and they make decisions to come to know him. That's the joy of Mary. That's what's being pondered up in Luke chapter 2 verse 19. And so I hope this service and your festivities encourage everyone to push, to find joy in Christ, and I hope that you get to experience some joy of people in your circles finding joy in Christ as well. I'm going to pray, and we're going to sing a couple more songs, and then we will let kids, you go probably open presents. I don't know, I don't want to speak for your parents, but hopefully you get a present. All right, let's pray. Father, we thank you for the gift of Jesus. We thank you for who he was and who he is. God, I pray that we could be more like your servant, Mary, who received the gift of Jesus and then offered him to those around her. God, I pray that you would show up in our family celebrations and our gatherings, that you would bring a unique joy there that's contagious to everyone around. Father, for those in the room that might not be close to you, that might even be far from you, I pray that something would happen in this Christmas season that would bring them just a step closer to the love that you offer and to the Jesus that you offer. Father, be with us as we continue to worship. Be with us as we go, as many of us go and potentially travel from here. Keep us safe. And bring us back here in January to continue to learn more about you and who you are and why you love us. In Jesus' name, amen.