Best Gifts Ever - Week 1 - The CORE - Pastor Mike Novotny
Best. Gifts. Ever.
Week 1 - The CORE
Pastor Mike Novotny
Good morning everyone. Happy Sunday, welcome to a brand new sermon series called Best. Gifts. Ever. Before we jump in, I just want a quick encouragement announcement, to be honest with you. Sure, if I've ever said this before this Sunday is historically a super Bittersweet Sunday for me as a pastor. Super sweet because all the decorations are up and it feels like the holidays. But the difficult part of this Sunday, every year is that we put out the offering envelopes in the lobby. Um, and what's really tough about that is, I can see right in front of me, every single person who's an official part of our church family. I want to get the church in the morning, I just read through the envelopes and what always happens every year is I think, oh wow. I haven't seen that guy in Forever. And I haven't seen that family in Forever. And oh, man, it's been too long since and there's name after name after name of people who made a commitment to be connected to our church family, but they drifted for one of 100 reasons. But I gotta tell you this morning, when I showed up, I was reading through the names and I thought, oh, I see them, and I see them, and I see them, and I see him and I see her, and it's just felt really distinct that. So many of you have not just made a commitment to be part of this but you've really changed the habits of your life and connected. So often. So that means the world to me. I hope it's good for you in your faith. It's super huge for the person next to you. So turn to someone and sit next to give him a high five and say, thanks for being here.
Thanks for having a great habit to connect to God's word and God's people are super grateful for you.
All right, so we are in week. Number one, of a brand new sermon series called best gifts ever.
Let's talk about gifts today. Um, Chef Annes, how many of you love? The concept of gifts the gift, giving the gift, receiving the shopping for the perfect present, the wrapping, the big reveal, where my gift lovers at,
You know, if your hands up you are exactly like my oldest daughter, Brooklyn.
Brooklyn recently created a two-page spreadsheet of gifts that she wanted for Christmas? She gave me permission to tell you this story. She handed it to Mom and Dad and not only did she give us the list of gifts? She also included a very convenient Amazon link for one, click shopping for Mom and Dad if that's not enough to guess when she gave us this list. Mid October. Yes, our daughter. In this, a double digit list of gifts with two and a half months to spare just so we would be prepared to bless her with gifts and if you're like my daughter Brooklyn, I totally don't blame you. Dr. Gary Chapman, he's the author, the doctor who wrote that famous book, “The Five Love Languages:. He's has a survey say that 18 of us feel most loved not with quality time or acts of service. But with gifts, Giving them, receiving them. Just makes us feel close and connected to the people in our lives.
And brain scientists have recently found just how true that is. And it knows before they measured what happens in the human, brain in the whole process of gift giving and what they discovered was that the chemical oxytocin. It's a chemical that makes you feel close to other people. It's released not just on the moment when someone's unwrapping a gift, but through the whole process,
So, literally, when you're thinking about a gift, your brain is like bonding you to the recipient of that gift when you're shopping, when you're clicking, when you're wrapping when you're watching them, unwrap like it's almost like God designed in our brains. This whole process of connecting us with our family and friends through the process of gifts. So, if you love them, I can't blame you.
But if you don't,
I can't believe either Chapman, how many of you could really do without all the shopping and the wrapping and the returning. There's a whole bunch of YouTube. You're just like my dad.
Uh, my dad now has a long as I've been alive at 43 year streak of asking for absolutely nothing for Christmas. My dad has never asked me for a birthday present or a Christmas present. In fact, just to do some sermon research I called him up a week or two ago. I said, hey Dad, a quick question. What do you want for Christmas?
And my father replied, quote. “Stop calling me.”
This is true. We get my dad just a big bag of beef jerky, every single year. This is all, I'll give it for Christmas and he seems super happy about it. You know, if you're like my dad I can't blame you either. Because there's a lot of stuff that can go wrong in this whole gift process.
Or maybe it's just the obligation, it's December. So you have to get someone, something doesn't feel like it comes from the heart. Maybe it's just the pressure of finding the perfect gift the sweater that they're going to like the thing that they're actually going to use.
Maybe you love to get people gifts, but it's a rough financial year for you & so people can buy you stuff, but you just feel stressed about spending money to buy them stuff. Maybe people in your family are picky about what they like. It's really hard to please them maybe someone buys you a big gift and you don't think you were going to exchange gifts and you feel like this imbalance In the gift, giving process maybe spend all the money and after the season is over, Look at your banking app your credit card. It's not experience that you want it to be.
So, if you love gifts, I can see why if you don't really love gifts, I can see why
But I want to share with you today. Is that This American idea of, we're going to find a gift that's going to reach the heights of all the big things we talk about during the holiday season the joy. In a peace and hope and the unity. We talk really big and yet we try to fill that desire of our heart with something that just Honestly, we know this after all these years, right? It Doesn't work.
I would say that the human problem that we have is that we try to fill that hole in our heart with gifts that just can't get there.
It's what I call the one percent rule. If you're taking notes in your program I think this is a human problem with gifts. The one percent rule says. That only about one percent of the people in your life will get you a gift.
And the one percent of the people who get you, a gift will probably only get you a gift on one percent of the days of the year.
And even the gifts that you do, get on the one percent of the days, from the one percent of the people, a year from now, you'll probably only remember one percent of what they got you.
Is that true?
Hundreds and hundreds, and hundreds of people do know neighbors. Fellow church members, co-workers, classmates, cousins, siblings out of all those people. How many will get you a gift in the next few weeks?
Couple, one percent, maybe ? And often even those close relationships. Do they buy you something?
Three or four days out of the year, one percent, right? Christmas. Your birthday, maybe an anniversary, Mother's Day and 365 days from now. Do you think you're going to remember what they got? You let's put it's a test if you're sitting next to a loved one today, turn to them right now and tell them what they got you last year for Christmas.
Uh, I see a lot of nervous. I saw one husband’s eyebrows. Go up immediately like this. Like, oh no. I'm in trouble.
Reggae, I mean gifts can be good. In the best circumstances, gifts can be great, but gifts cannot reach that level that. The human heart craves.
And that's why I'm so glad that you're here today because we are about to kick off a series where we talk about. Not human good gifts, not even human great gifts. But the best gifts that come from God.
And what the many cool things that I love about our Father in Heaven, is what I'm going to call this. That God is a 100% sinner.
God doesn't give to like one percent of his family. Doesn't just give to the best Christians, the most obedient Believers. He gives to 100 percent of his family, and he gives them 100% of the time.
Not just every holiday season, but every single day, you wake up to unwrap this gift. And my goal in the series is to help you remember it, 100% of your days.
To unpack and unwrap gifts that God is literally giving to you in the name of Jesus that are so much better than whatever is under the tree. In the weeks to come.
So the next few weeks we're just going to unpack one. Bible passage, which is jam-packed with some of the best spiritual gifts that we have in Jesus name Um, here's the passage from John chapter 1. Verse 14.
Genre, the word became flesh. And made his dwelling among Us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only son who came from the father full. Of. And Truth.
Next few weeks, we're going to talk about the gift of God's word. We're going to talk about the gift of God's glory. We're going to talk about the gift of God's grace. The gift of God's truth and a Christmas Eve of the gift of God's. And only son Jesus. I'm going to help you realize what incredible gifts these are to satisfy that desire. You have for joy and hope and peace in the days to come.
So, let's get things off with the very first gift. The gift of God's word.
John says in this passage and maybe you notice it? That the “became flesh”.
That's kind of interesting if we actually go back to verse 14 here on the screen. You might notice in these verses that. The “Word” is capitalized. Why is that a capital? W the “Word became flesh”.
Well, the answer is because this is an official nickname for Jesus.
Sometimes the Bible they call Jesus teacher, sometimes they called him Lord. But in this verse Jesus, nickname is The Word.
And you ask yourself. Why would that be? What would they call Jesus? The Word. Filling in blanks. There's a really simple explanation because words Your words, my words all words, words, reveal Hearts.
In people speak words, you can know what's happening in their heart.
Can't read someone's mind, but if they speak words, you know what's happening up in their mind and in their heart,
There's actually really the plot of almost every Hallmark Christmas movie.
This is true. Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy but they haven't yet spoken the words and so, you know, she's talking to her sister and maybe he's talking to his father, but they have an expressed their affection to each other. So, is she going to go back to her hometown? Is he gonna inherit a Christmas tree for? I don't know. These movies work, right? But it takes that moment where someone speaks and oh, oh, I didn't know. That's what you were feeling sensing in your heart. So words, we need to be spoken So that we can reveal what's inside.
And so when the Bible says that Jesus is the Word, what is trying to say is that Jesus is the one who reveals the heart of God.
What has got to feel.
I don't know. I can't see him.
What is God? Think about you?
I couldn't know. I can't read God's mind. Unless and less and less. God would speak. A word.
Go back to John 1. This is the point he's making, he says the word Jesus. Became flesh and made his dwelling Among Us.
So Christmas time Jesus took on flesh, he came with lungs and lips and teeth and tongue. And during his ministry, he was not immune Messiah.
That he spoke.
Because Jesus spoke, he was revealing the very heart of his father in Heaven.
Exactly. What John says, a few verses later. verse 18. He adds this.
No one has ever seen God. But the one and only son who is himself, God and is in closest relationship with the father. See these words with me has made him known. Aha.
Not a scene, God, you would, could only guess what God thinks and what God feels unless someone came down from heaven and would speak, “To make our heavenly father known one of the greatest gifts of Jesus is that he is the word who reveals the very heart of Our Father in Heaven.”
A few Christmases ago, a woman from our church gave me an incredible gift. Her name is Mary. A few of you from our church family might know that she is maybe maybe the greatest maker of Christmas cookies, in the history of Christianity.
Mary just has some supernatural, angelic gift with sugar and various other ingredients. So, I got this message from Mary that she had made me and all the other pastors like this big Tupperware container full of the best Christmas cookies. I could not wait. In a co-worker of ours said he would deliver, personally deliver, the cookies to me because they're on our other church campus. Except before he dropped off Mary's cookies at my front door, he decided to wrap the gift.
But he did not wrap it with wrapping paper.
She wrapped up my Tupperware full of cookies with duct tape and more duct tape.
It's a more duct tape and then instead of putting a bow on top of the duct tape, he found some zip ties.
Zip tie after zip tie, after zip tie after zip tie, then he ding dong ditched me. And what did I find on my front porch? I'll show you a picture of what I found. I found that.
I cannot tell you how much work it was to get to those cookies. It was so hard like to get at the thing that was inside of the gift.
Now, listen, um some of you actually think that God is a lot like that.
Like what does God think?
It's like you're looking for some sign, you're waiting for some whisper in your heart, some secret mysterious spiritual news. You almost think like God's heart is duct tape and zip tied up and it's so much work to get to know God but I'll tell you. That is not true.
God, didn't zip his lips and make you guess about his heart.
Because the word became flesh. And he revealed he made known. The heart of our heavenly father.
And one of the beautiful things about being a Christian, is that God not only gave us his son, the word he gave us this book. Which is the word of God.
Instead of wandering what God is thinking, you and I have the incredible privilege of just grabbing this book that God gave for our benefit opening its pages and actually discovering what is in the heart, and in the head I've got himself.
I recently got done reading a really nerdy book about ancient Greek and Roman culture. And one of the chapters was about what these ancient Pagan people thought of their gods, like Zeus and Aphrodite and Hermes. And the answer of these scholars was back in the day. They just guessed.
Like when a woman would miscarry, people would struggle with fertility. What..were the Gods mad? People didn't know, they just guessed.
When the crops were growing, I guess God is happy. When it's a drought. I guess God. They had no clue what these gods actually thought. These gods weren't real.
But our heavenly father hasn't made us guess, because Jesus is the word God has given you the gift of not having To guess.
You grab the book. And you know, exactly what God wants for your life. You know exactly where you came from, you know, exactly where you're going. You know, exactly why you're alive. You know exactly where to find forgiveness and salvation in the name of Jesus. We Christians sometimes, get used to the book.
It's an incredible gift that God has spoken his word. To reveal his heart.
So I know the holidays are a crazy time of year, but can I just give you an invitation and an encouragement. To spend some time every day knowing the heart of God.
Like in the midst of all of our lists and wrapping I mean God. Once to speak to you, you don't have to travel to the Middle East to hear his voice. He just grabbed this book. It's a free copy in the labview if you want.
Maybe if you've gotten out of the habit of connecting to the Bible, just God wants to speak to you as his child every single day.
This holiday season, would you listen as he reveals his heart?
Couples. Especially husbands and wives.
There's there is nothing more powerful. And when two people pursue the heart of God and listen to his voice together,
I hear about the survey years ago, you know, America one and two couples, get divorced. Do you know what the odds are? If a couple grabs the Bible and just prays together out loud, what their divorce rates are
One in ten thousand.
Because if we're pursuing God together for hearing his voice and talking back to him in prayer that there's something deeply intimate and bonding about that experience.
The number one predictors of whether a kid when he grows up is going to stay connected to Jesus. The church, the Bible.
It's not happens on Sunday.
That's what happens in our home.
As a parent, one of the best things that you can do this holiday season is just to grab a book, a kid's Bible. Like digging remind them of the beauty of this story. We are part of a religion where God speaks and we get to hear his voice.
There's a million ways to do it. But if you're starting from square one today, can I encourage you just to read the gospel of John?
Recently, discovered the whole gospel of John takes the average reader about two hours to get through. It's about one Hallmark Christmas movie, maybe a little bit more.
And in the Gospel of John 42, percent of the words are direct quotes. From the lips of Jesus.
So, if you want to know, what our Father in Heaven is thinking, The gospel of John has the answer.
You have to read the whole thing. You're not going to understand everything but I pray that you take a small step today. Because God wants to give you the gift of not guessing. That's why he speaks a word.
But before I say, Amen let me give you a preview of the kind of things that you're going to discover. If you do.
I'll grab a pan real real quick. Four points that Jesus the word May flesh revealed. About you and God. Here's number one.
According to Jesus and his words, God, Is so good.
And if some people believe in just a vague higher power,
Other people see the design of creation and believe in some intelligent designer. Jesus took that and he increased it by a thousand.
He believed that God was so glorious so magnificent, he was everything that his heart needed and because Jesus believed in a God that magnified and exalted, he did not need the approval of people.
If you want to be truly free from needing everyone to like you.
Like, there's something in your heart that wants to be liked. But Jesus knew that God, a big God can fill that desire of your heart.
If you read the Bible, you're going to find out two things. Number one, Jesus was not very popular. And two, Jesus was filled with joy.
For most of us, people have to like me for me to be joyful. Not what Jesus.
I mean he wasn't tossing and turning anxious at night with a Pharisees, didn't like him. He had God.
He was the son of the perfect God. He had such big thoughts about God, that that's all that mattered in the end like him, don't like him. Thumbs up, thumbs down. Jesus was totally free from needing people's approval. And if you believe in a big God, And you won't have to go back to middle school, just hoping someone likes you. Do your work presentation Palm sweating. I hope they like me. You can do your best and serve God and be absolutely free to live with joy. Because that big God in his glory will fill. The desire of your heart.
According to Jesus, the Word, God is good.
Here's the second thing, he revealed you aren't. You're not good.
That's one of the hardest things. Jesus ever spoke. It's something we don't often say even in churches, these days.
I was actually at my life group, this past week, we're reading through the teachings of Jesus. In Matthew 7, there's just really sweet section where Jesus says, you should pray because God's a good father, and he'll give you exactly what you need in the moment. You need it. But in the middle of that teaching, Jesus said something really peculiar.
She's talking about Earthly moms and dads like me and he says, hey, you parents know how to give good gifts to your children, even though you are.
Don't worry. He said next.
Evil.
Just said, if you know how to give Christmas gifts to your kids even though you're evil people. How much more will they not evil? But holy and perfect Heavenly father, give good gifts to his children and we read the section and People in the group said, whoa.
That's pretty harsh.
But that's what Jesus revealed. God's heart is apparently so good. And so pure.
And so holy.
The average human is not just human or imperfect or trying. No like what comes out of me and you is evil.
Like to be caught up in shopping carts, One, Click Christmas list but to not like think often about God.
To Jesus, that was evil.
Like, To make life so much about you, what you feel what you want.
To sabotage people's holiday experiences by by your mood and your moodiness that was so selfish and hellish to Jesus, he called it, what? It was evil.
Most people think that those people are the real problem, but Jesus said, no, even though you are Evil, you are. Sinful. He revealed the Holiness of his heavenly father by speaking these blunt but so true words that you and I are not good.
Which is what makes his third point. So shocking.
Jesus also revealed that God was good.
Jesus did not come down from heaven just to applaud us for getting everything, right?
Lord, did he come down from Heaven to shake a finger because we had done everything wrong. Instead he came down from heaven to do the greatest good that Humanity has ever known.
I mean this Christmas, I bet you will buy a gift for people that you love.
Can you imagine giving a gift to someone that has wounded you deeply?
Because that's what God did.
He didn't distribute these amazing gifts of forgiveness, and salvation to his closest friends. He gave them to people who were his spiritual enemies.
Jesus loved us so deeply that he came in flesh and blood made his dwelling Among Us and then died on a cross for the Forgiveness of our sins. He gave you the gift of forgiveness. The gift of Mercy. The gift of God's patience. The gift of a place in heaven. Not because you earned it, not because I deserved it, but just because God, his heart apparently is so good, he loves people that don't deserve it.
It reminds me of my friend's tattoo.
Recently my friend, got this Bible quote tattooed on her arm. Let me show you a picture of it.
There it is and you want to quote that reveals the heart of God.
The cross is as good as it gets.
Could God forgive me after the evil things? I've done.
There's God's answer. Can I make it to heaven after all those years? When I was just so far from what God wanted,
There's the answer.
Watch, I'm still struggling with addiction, with patience, with insecurity, with worry. Whatever. Yeah. God. Has spoken a definitive word that our sin might be great, but his mercy and forgiveness is so much greater. And Jesus revealed what all the people of the world never would have guessed that God did something so good for people who were not It's what we call Grace. It's Mercy. It's amazing. And we celebrated every Christmas and every day in between.
Because God did so much good for you and me this last point is true.
Through the name of Jesus, you and God are good.
Man, I love thinking about this. Yeah, we work hard to have good relationships with people. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but because of what Jesus did for us at Christmas and the cross and that the empty tomb you and God are as good as it gets.
You don't have to ride this kind of relationship with God. You can know at the beginning and end of every single day. I'm good with God.
So, this is so stunning to me that God likes me. You ever think about that?
God.
To the big glorious God. He actually is a fan of me. Not because I'm better than him though. Just the opposite.
And get more than a husband. Loves his wife, more than a mother loves her child. More than a best friend loves their best friend. God loves likes us for is in favor of us.
Such a profound thought. We we struggle every single day with a thousand different things, but because of the name of Jesus, you're good with God.
You know how the story ends with you seeing the face of God, You have to wonder if the gates will be open when you take your last breath. No, because of Jesus. This is his teaching that God. So loved the world.
It gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish. But have eternal life.
Man, what a God? And what word?
So if gifts are your love language, go crazy.
And if you have to grin and bear it during this holiday season, you're going to get through it.
But what an incredible, miraculous gift that we have a father, Who speaks?
A couple days ago, I was at my niece and nephew's house and they grabbed the remotes and they stumbled upon Coco, a classic movie. Have you seen it?
Coco is about this Mexican family that's fighting and not getting along because Miguel one of the kids loves music and some other people in the family hate music because of a long dramatic history in the family. And the only person who can bring the family back together is Coco. It's avery, very old grandmother who just sits silently in her wheelchair every minute of every day.
Except at the end of the movie,
Miguel grabs his guitar, and he starts to play.
And as often happens in very elderly people the music reaches, these old memories in Coco's, mind, and she starts to liven up. She perks up she sings. And then she speaks.
Hidden in her heart were the truths. That would bring this family back together, but no one knew until she opened her lips and spoke a word.
And the family in the movie ends just as you'd expect it to with music and hope and joy and laughter and dancing. What? What changed the story?
Words.
So this season, what you don't need is another pair of shoes. Sweater or even three, dozen Christmas cookies. Now, what you need is God to open his lips to reveal the ancient truths that are the key to laughter and dancing and unending hope. Enjoy my friends. It is right here. It's absolutely free. The word that reveals the heart of God is yours. In the name of Jesus. What a gift?
That's great. Oh, dear, heavenly Father. Um,
I've seen it so often that there are moments
That changes things for us.
They're just are those catalyst moments where one Sunday is not like another Sunday. And I pray that this Sunday is that kind of Sunday?
That someone maybe for the first time in a long time, maybe the first time ever would grab your sacred word and open its pages, and actually believe that you are speaking to reveal your heart,
I wonder how many couples God are just busy with work and scrolling on their phones. And if they would just take 10 minutes.
To hear your voice to let you define the agenda of their lives. It can only imagine the unity of a couple like that.
I brought the kids who are here today.
Those are watching at home. To be able to look up at Mom and Dad and see them seeking your heart together. Well, you could
God, you could transform a family tree.
And it's all possible because of this gift that you are a god, who speaks
Today, we don't want to take that for granted and said we want to lean in and leverage this opportunity that we live in a time and place unlike ancient times, where most of us are literate. Where the Bible is available on. Countless free platforms. God, you've thrown us a slow pitch. Help us swing at it. If we could hear your voice. Know, your heart and find joy, and confidence and peace in your holy word. And I cannot wait to see what you do with these words.
And this other we believe that Roots produce fruit. You've rooted us here in the teaching of Jesus. Now may grow into fruit, peace, and joy, and patience and love in our lives. British with confidence because we know how you feel about us because you revealed it in your word. Friend, the name of Jesus and all God's people said, Amen.
