We have unwrap the gifts different ways…we’ve probably all unwrapped the Christmas story differently, looking at different aspects

We can sometimes feel like our Christmas is falling far below expectations:

Too much time with family.

Too much boredom.

No control over what you do.

Too much time in the car, or in traffic.

You might not get the presents you think you’ll get.

So despite what the ads, commercials, Christmas movies, and holiday songs seem to say, we can often feel like our Christmas is falling far below expectations. In other words, there’s not as much magic as we thought there’d be during this magical season.

Mary

No one seems more magical than Mary, the mother of Jesus, when you think about Christmas. In fact, if you go around your town, you’ll see her countless times in some form in a nativity scene.

She always seems calm and peaceful. The light is always shining on her just right. And you always see her at her best angle…..not the “real, unwrapped story” :)

When we unwrap the story, we see that nativity scenes don’t give us an accurate view of what was happening in Mary’s life, including before and after Jesus was born.

Here’s the unmagical reality that surrounded Mary’s life:

Mary:

-Around 14-15 years old

-Could have been killed

-Was scandalized

-Gave birth to Jesus in a barn

-No access to medical attention

…God was WITH her

So how does Mary respond to all of this?

Mary didn’t overreact or overdramatize. She didn’t try to fabricate some magical feeling. She just held on to something and thought about it—pondered it.

…God was WITH her.

There was still something amazing to be experienced, EVEN THOUGH it didn’t make her circumstances perfect.

It didn’t turn her barn into a luxury hospital.

Even though baby Jesus was fully God, He was also fully man, which means He cried and didn’t sleep though the night!

It didn’t control the way people around her acted or treated her.

It just gave her something to consider.

In the middle of Mary’s scandalized, teenage, lack-of-medicine delivery in a barn, something else was happening down the road.

Actually, it was happening out in an open field.

And it was pretty amazing! Check this out. It’s a long passage, but it sets the scene for how awesome the first Christmas was:

An angel? Followed by “a great company of heavenly host”? Whatever that means, it sounds like a big deal. Bottom line: Heaven was ready to show up BIG with a powerful message: A savior has been born to you!

Wait, really? This was the Messiah people had been waiting on for hundreds of years? No wonder it took an angel and his “heavenly host” background singers!

(GOD OFTEN IS WORKING ON THINGS FOR US SIMULTANEOUSLY...in our "less than best" circumstances: Mary / Shepherds)

*We should respond like Mary: *Faith *Obedience

Back to the reality of Mary’s life during the first Christmas. It was no walk in the park. So imagine some random strangers showing up and giving you a message like this! It’s as if they were saying, “God is here. Everything that was promised to you is true!

**…Even though you’re reality doesn’t feel great, and even though it seems like things are falling below what you expected, & you’re in a barn, & you could be in danger, we want you to know that God—yes, GOD—is with you!”

As Mary thought about this in her heart, I’m sure she remembered when an angel visited her before and told Mary this:

-Yes, the “Son of the Most High” was with her.

-Then the shepherds went back & told others!!

*We can believe (& even celebrate), even when things don’t feel great.

-Even when things don’t feel magical.

-Even when things fall below expectations

(or Target commercials)

-Even when they don’t seem as good as everyone else’s lives…or social media feeds

…Mary believed the promise that God was with her.

Mary believed the promise that God was with her.

When you think about it, Mary spent her whole life believing a promise that God is with her. That’s why she is a woman we still celebrate thousands of years later. So if we all took a cue from Mary, we would still believe that there’s a reason to celebrate, even when things don’t look the way we want them to.

Why? Because we know God is with us!

It’s a change in perspective. It’s when you choose to believe that you can celebrate, even when things aren’t great.

*Take-away (in your worship guides)

Even when things aren’t great, we can CHOOSE to believe

…our choice, our obedience to God, our trust in God

Challenge: get plugged in & invite someone to join you on Toys for Tots Sunday

Challenge: invite someone to Christmas Eve service! (take pens/take cards)