Give Your Time
Notes
Transcript
Kid’s Story
Kid’s Story
connect tablet to TV
tell the story of Jesus’ birth on Bible for Kids
Let kids interact with the tablet and show parents what the app can do
give all kids a candy cane, pointing out that it is in the shape of a ‘J’, reminding us that Jesus is the best gift of all
Sermon
Sermon
Intro
Welcome to our Christmas Eve Service. We are so excited that you decided to make us a part of your Christmas time.
I just have a quick thought for you this morning before you are dismissed.
Over the past month, we’ve been talking about generosity, and how Jesus and authors of the New Testament encourage us as believers to live a generous life. So we looked at a study that suggested that living a generous life may actually be the secret to a life of health, weath, and purpose. We looked at how Jesus defined true generosity as those times we give to those who can’t give back, and their is an eternal reward for such generosity. Last week we looked at how everyone has something to give, even in these financially trying times that we find ourselves in.
All the while, I’ve been intentionally pointing to Jesus as the example of this generosity we are called to live. The reminder is that Jesus doesn’t ask us to do something that He didn’t exemplify, and Jesus was extremely generous. What the story I just read to the kids doesn’t show is how Jesus stepped down from eternity, limited His divine nature so that He could live among us. Imagine leaving heaven to spend time on earth. I don’t know how about anyone else, but I once a get there, I’m staying.
One of the gifts that we get from Jesus is His perfect example of how to live life. One of the things that has always struck me about the life of Christ is how He spent His time. The apostle John says this at the end of his gospel account. John 21:25
Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.
Jesus Didn’t Waste Time
Jesus Didn’t Waste Time
I want you to think about that statement. Jesus walked this earth for 33 years, and John says that in that short amount of time, He did so many things that if they were all recorded, the world couldn’t contain the books that were written.
If someone wanted to write a story about my life, it would probably be a singe volume collection. I’m not saying I haven’t done anything with my life, I’m just saying it probably would probably all fit in a good sized book.
What John is saying is that the accounts we have, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as impressive as they are, they are just a snap shot of the life of Christ. They are written so that we can know and believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world. They are not comprehensive.
I bring this up because that sounds like someone who didn’t waste any time. Jesus sounds like someone who made the most of the time He had on earth and gave it abundantly
We live in a era where the idea of spare time is almost a luxury. You ask anyone and the common consensus is that everyone is busy, and they are racing from one thing to the next. No one seems to have any time to spare.
But the question is, when you do have time to spare, or time to kill as some may put it, what are you doing with it? Stanford Business did a study a few years ago and split the participants of the study into two groups. The one group was told to take their spare time and write a letter to a sick child in the hospital, while the other group was told to just waste the time. At the end of the study, those who wrote the letter actually felt they had more time in their day, while those who wasted felt like they never had enough.
As I was reflecting on this message, I was reminded that when people get to the end of their life, one of the greatest regrets of their lives is the amount of time they wasted. They regret prioritizing the stuff that seemed so important at the time, only to look back and realize they missed what was really important.
As we go our separate ways this morning and prepare to spend the holidays with loved ones, I want you to consider how you are going to spend the time. I wonder if the reason many people get to the end of the holiday season feeling more stressed then they started is because they see the holidays as time to kill, and it just goes by so fast. Maybe the key to a great Christmas season is being more intentional with our time, looking for ways to give our most valuable resources to the ones we love most. My challenge for you is to waste less time and give more of it, and see how if there is a change this holiday season.