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CHRISTMAS PASTORAL MESSAGES (December 23, 2015)

Editor’s Note: Each year the Progress invites the clergy from all of the local churches to write a Christmas message addressed to the community for publication in our holiday edition. The following is what we received for this year’s edition. We appreciate all of the local clergy for their great service to the community and for their thought-provoking and heartwarming messages to us over the years. We always welcome such messages at any time throughout the year.

It’s Not About Religion, It’s About A Relationship

Pastor Scott Adams
Lake Mead Baptist

christmas5Before time began, God dwelt in a perfect union within Himself. He was God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the three in one. Like a perfect equilateral triangle, they were unified into one God. God was self-sufficient in and of Himself. The reason this is important to understand is because often we think God created man because He was lonely or needed worship, which is completely false. He literally needs nothing from us, which makes the gift of Christmas even more amazing.
At Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Immanuel (Isaiah 9:6) which means God with us. God came to earth and took on flesh to be with us. Not because He had to, but simply because He chose to love. He chose to have a personal relationship with mankind because we needed it. This was not about religion, which is something you do, but about a relationship which is something you have. This is one of the reasons that you will hear Christians say it is not about religion, but about a relationship with Jesus.

So what does this have to do with Christmas? Everything, since Jesus is the greatest gift ever. When you place your trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are “born again” or have received the gift of salvation. All your sins are paid for (Romans 5:6-9), you receive His righteousness (Romans 3:22; Phil 3:9), and you receive eternal life with Him (John 3:15-16; John 10:25-28). If this was all you received, it would be enough reason to praise Him for all eternity, but there is more to the gift of Christ.

When you are saved you are literally placed “in Him” (Ephesians chapters 1-2), and you begin a relationship with Jesus. This union with Jesus also brings you into relationship with God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and with all other believers. Jesus tells us “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30) indicating their unity. He also tells us “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me” indicating their relationship. In John 17:21, Jesus asks the Father, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

Do you understand the true gift of Christmas? The gift of salvation is much more than just having your sins forgiven, or receiving His righteousness. These things are required to be in His presence, but He does this things for you, you can’t accomplish any of these things yourself (Ephesians 2:8-10). He plucks us out of the muck and mire of our sinful lives and places us in a relationship with Himself. John 17:3 says, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” The word for “know” in the Greek means a personal intimate knowledge of another. This is not knowing about someone, but truly knowing them. He saves you so that you can spend eternity getting to know Him personally.

It truly is not about religion, but about an intimate relationship with God. Once you have this relationship, you will never be alone or without hope. He has promised to never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).

Lake Mead Baptist Church prays that this year, during the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, Immanuel becomes a reality for you. May you accept the true gift of Christmas and experience the love, joy, and peace of Christ. May your Christmas season be filled with God’s presence!

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