[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:07] Chuck Allen and Merry, Merry Christmas. I am so thrilled that you've joined me today of all the most wondrous days. Take a deep breath. You made it. The world has officially slowed down for just a moment. And this moment right here is sacred.
[00:00:28] If you think about it, Christmas morning is this collision of opposites. It's kids ripping open gifts while parents sip coffee trying to keep up. It's joy and exhaustion, hope and heaviness all braided together. And right in the middle of it, there's Jesus. Luke writes it this way in the New Living. He says, when the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, let's go. Go to Bethlehem. Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.
[00:01:00] They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby lying in the manger.
[00:01:05] The shepherds hurried. I love that. They didn't schedule it. They didn't add it to the calendar. They hurried toward wonder.
[00:01:15] What if that's part of what faith looks like? Not having all the right answers, but willing to hurry toward what's holy.
[00:01:22] It says in the Scriptures. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherd's story were astonished. But Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.
[00:01:39] Two reactions. The shepherds can't stop talking about it. Merritt quietly treasures it. Both are worship, both are right.
[00:01:48] Sometimes love leads you to sing at the top of your lungs. And sometimes it's just sitting in the quiet, holding onto something beautiful that you don't quite understand.
[00:02:00] That's Christmas. That's awe. And there's ache, noise and stillness. And somehow God in the middle of it. John puts it this way, so the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.
[00:02:15] And we have seen his glory.
[00:02:19] How beautiful is that.
[00:02:22] On this Christmas day, let us celebrate the joy, wondrous beauty of Christ.
[00:02:31] Emmanuel. God with us. God with skin on.
[00:02:36] Oh, it's a beautiful picture. Have a merry, merry Christmas and know that you were loved so much more than you could ever imagine.
[00:02:45] And the Savior came to give you that love. Take care. Bye, now.
