A Message of Peace & Presence this Christmas with Pastor Rick

Merry Christmas, dear friends. Have I told you lately that I love you? You know I do. In the next 60 to 90 seconds, I'd like to show you how to explain the three purposes of Christmas to your family and your friends. All you have to do is just remember three words. You know, right now, billions of people are celebrating Christmas around the world, and most of them have no idea of the three purposes of Christmas. But they're found in the three announcements that the angels made to the shepherds at the very first Christmas, 2025 years ago. Now we find those three statements in Luke chapter two. Christmas is a time for three things. I want you to remember these words. Celebration, salvation, and reconciliation. When the angels showed up to announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, the very first thing the angel said was, don't be afraid. I bring you good news, not bad news. I bring you good news of great joy, and it's for all people. Now this is the first purpose of Christmas. The first purpose of Christmas is celebration. It's a party. It's time to party. Specifically, it's the birthday party of Jesus. Christmas is a festival, not a funeral. And Christmas brings us good news, not bad news, that should give us great joy, that's celebration. And who is this party for? Just for Christians? No. Just for religious people? No. It says this is good news that brings great joy, and it's for all people. Christmas is a celebration for everybody to be a part of. Now I'm sure you've seen these signs that say keep Christ at Christmas. I always wanna laugh and go, Christ has never been out of Christmas. It's his birthday that we're celebrating. So have fun. It's a celebration, and that's the first purpose Christmas. Now the next thing that the angels announced was this. A Savior has been born for you, for you today in the city of Bethlehem. Now believe me, if we didn't need a Savior, God would not have wasted the time to send one. So the fact that he sent us a Savior means whether you realize it or not, or whether I realize it or not, we need a Savior. Now here's the second purpose of Christmas, salvation. Celebration, now salvation. God wants to save all of us. You say, well, save us from what? Well, a lot of things. He wants to save us from our past mistakes. He wants to save us from our regrets, from our resentments, from our fears, from our loneliness. He wants to save us from the lack of purpose and meaning in life and significance. He wants to save us from our inability to break bad habits and 1,000 other things we'd like to change in our lives, but we can't because we don't seem to have the power to do it. He wants to save us from ourselves. Jesus came so that we could have our past forgiven, have a purpose for living today, and have a home in heaven tomorrow. Now where else can you get that? Nowhere, nobody else can offer that. That is God's Christmas gift to you and your family and your friends. If we just accept his love that he sent to us wrapped up in the very first Christmas gift, Jesus Christ. So the first purpose of Christmas is celebration, and the second purpose of Christmas is salvation. Now here's the third purpose of Christmas, reconciliation, reconciliation. And friends, right now, we really need this third purpose. The third thing that the angels announced at the very first Christmas was that Jesus came to bring, quote, peace on Earth and goodwill to all people. That means everybody on Earth, regardless of your religion, your background, your political party, or anything else, your economic status. God wants us to have peace on Earth and goodwill to all people. That's what Christ came to bring. You know, today our world seems more divided, more polarized, more in conflict. We're mad at each other more now than ever before, in fact, everywhere you look, especially on social media, you find people yelling at each other. Conflict is everywhere, and sadly, even when families get together at Christmas time, there's often a lot of unresolved tension. We need reconciliation more this Christmas. We need celebration. We need salvation. But we also need reconciliation with the people that we are estranged from, or in tension with, or having conflict, or difficulty, or differences with. So these are the three purposes of Christmas. I hope you'll remember these three words, celebration, salvation, and reconciliation, so you can explain them to your family and friends why Christmas is such a big deal. So make it a time for celebration. It's good news of great joy for all people. Make it a time for celebration. Accept the gifts that God wants to give you in the Savior that he sent for you, and for all people, regardless of our religious background. And then make it a time for reconciliation. Tear down the walls and rebuild bridges with people that you've been in conflict with. Spread a little love. That's the third purpose of Christmas. Now I hope you can pass this video on to others. Maybe even share it with whomever you're gonna be celebrating Christmas with. In closing, I wanna thank each of you dear friends who sent Kay and me a Christmas card updating me on your family. We literally love getting these Christmas cards. It means so much to us, and actually it allows me to pray intelligently for prayer. I can look at your picture to pray for you and your family. Now if you've never sent us one, it would be my privilege to pray for you as we start the new year. Just email me your card. If you're not getting Daily Hope, my daily email inspiration, you can sign up for it this next year at PastorRick.com. One word, PastorRick, that's two Rs, P-A-S-T-R-R-I-C-K.com. That's over 35 million people are part of our Daily Hope family. And get that daily devotional in your email box. I'll post another short video on New Year's Day on how you can have a new you in the new year. Merry Christmas, everybody.