The Story of Christmas Begins in a Garden Tribe 2022-12-25 Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record. ---- Warm, have a seat, and we will get started here in just a couple minutes. Well, good evening. Merry Christmas. Are you warm enough? It's warm it's warmer in the middle. Scooched together, huddle together. I saw a family walk up with, like, chairs from, like, the Four Seasons. I love it. It was fantastic. They will never know they're missing. We're gonna start by just singing some carols together. We're so glad that you joined us, and, we're gonna keep it fast and furious to keep you guys warm. There are hand warmers back there, hot chocolate for you, coffee. Just go help yourself. There's some words being passed around if you want them, but you guys know most of these songs. Let's sing about the real meaning of Christmas, the joy to the world. Amen? Amen. Oh, let's see if I can hold on to my pit. Hold on. I've already broken three. Alright. Over the hills and everywhere go. Tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. Think about these words about shepherds. Shepherds fear and tremble, ending. Let's do one more. Let's do, Oh Come All You Faith. Yeah. Let's sing it together. Oh, you don't even have clumps on? Okay. Let's sing these singers together. Sing choirs of angels. Sing with the angels tonight around the throne in heaven. Let's just sing this together. Let's sing, for you alone are worthy. Let's just for just one moment, just close your eyes, and we're just gonna remind ourselves why we're here, why we're celebrating Christmas, because he is worthy. Because Jesus came, he was born in a manger, born here on this earth, and lived a perfect sinless life so that we could be forgiven of our sins. Let's just sing this together. For you alone are worthy. Just pray with me. Lord, we go from this time of worship to the next of honoring your word as we hear about the true story of Christmas as Brian comes, just open our hearts, open our minds. Just come meet us in this place. You know, every heart that's gathered here that nobody in this place right now in this town square is here by accident. You see them and you long to meet them in this place. Let us leave here changed because we met you, the God of the universe, Jesus the savior. Amen. Turn to somebody, rub them like this really hard, and say Merry Christmas. Everybody looks so cozy and bundled up. You doing alright out there? Woo hoo. This is great. This is so good. Thank you so much for coming out. My name is Brian Hunter. I'm the lead pastor here at Tribe. This is my wife, Lissa, in her van. Oh, there she is. Sneaking around like a little Christmas elf. Didn't they do great? Yeah. Guys look so good out there. Alright. I'm Who's here? And I really need to hear you. Who's here from the East Coast? Okay. Okay. Alright. How about Midwest? Alright. Alright. And West Coast. Let me hear you. Oh, West Coast. I would have thought. Maybe you're just so cold. Okay. How about international? Europe? Yeah. From Europe? Yes. Okay. Alright. South America, Central America? Amigas, they don't yeah. Yeah. Where are my amigas from? South America. Oh, what am I forgetting? Texas. Okay. Fine. We have to do this every year. E, is there anybody here from the Lone Star State Of Texas? Alright. I know. I know. You're here. You're here. Man, I'm so glad that all of you are here with us tonight. If you if you feel warm enough, go ahead and have a seat. I'm not gonna take a long time, but I wanna talk to you about the story of Christmas. Interestingly enough, I don't know what comes to your mind when you hear the story of Christmas, probably a broad spectrum of things. But the story of Christmas, it doesn't begin in third century Europe with a guy named Saint Nicholas. The story of Christmas doesn't begin in a barn in a little Judean town called Bethlehem. The story of Christmas actually begins all the way back in a garden. This garden was much warmer than where we are tonight, but there is something about this place here in the town square in Jackson. I forgot to even check-in with my locals. Let me ask, who's here from Jackson Hole, Wyoming? Represent Wyoming, the great state of Wyoming. The garden that I'm talking about was a place of beauty, of magic, and it was a blending of two realms. Not quite heaven, not quite earth, but this combined place where the Bible says that God would come down and walk in the garden with Adam and Eve. God, the creator of the universe, he created mankind, including you, for his enjoyment and for us to enjoy him. He placed man in that garden, and he gave him a very special gift, the gift of free will. Regrettably, man abused that gift. He did not take the gift for what it was intended for. But when God took a great risk, he gave man that gift. But regrettably, man used that gift to eat from the tree of independence apart from a relationship with God, resulting in the human race being infected with sin. We see things like war and murder and theft, injustice, persecution, oppression, sickness, and disease. And if those seem like afflictions removed from you, you can still not escape the lineage of your family. In your own hearts, lurk things like selfishness, pride, envy, jealousy, and rebellion to your creator. The condition of sin has infected all of us, and it's terminal resulting in death forever eternal separation from God's family. But God already had the story of Christmas on his heart. In the garden, God told Adam that from him would come a present, a gift, one whose heel would crush the head of evil. With this plan set in motion, God created a nation of people out of whom would come the present promised in the garden. This nation of people were sovereignly chosen by God to bring forth the promise. For generations, they cried out for the savior of their people, but their prophets only caught glimpses of this coming savior. Isaiah nine says, though who those who walked in darkness will see a radiant light shining upon them. They once lived in in the shadows of death, but now a glorious light will dawn. Lord, you have multiplied the nations and given them overwhelming joy. They are ecstatic in your presence and rejoice like those who bring a great harvest and those who divide up the spoils of victory. For you will break the chains that have bound your people and will lift the heaven the heavy bars across their shoulders, the rod of oppression used against them, and you will shatter all their bondage. The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will will conceive and give birth to a son and name and will name him Emmanuel, God among us. A child will be born for us. A son will be given to us. The responsibility of complete dominion will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be the wonderful one, the extraordinary Stredges, the mighty God, the father of eternity, the prince of peace. Great and vast will be his dominion. He will bring immeasurable peace and prosperity. He will rule on David's throne and over David's kingdom to to establish and uphold it by promoting justice and righteousness from this time forward and forevermore. The Lord sorry. The marvelous passion that the Lord Yahweh, commander of angel armies, has for his people will ensure that it that it is finished. Amen. Like a woman giving birth, the chosen people of Israel labored in travail for the arrival of their savior. And finally, after generations, as the Bible says, at just the right time, God fulfilled his promise that he made back in the garden. During those days, the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus ordered that the first census be taken throughout his empire. Everyone had to travel to the hometown of their family to complete the mandatory census. So Joseph and his wife, Mary, left Nazareth, a village in Galilee, and journeyed to their hometown in Judea, to the village of Bethlehem, King David's ancient home. They were required to register there since they were both direct descendants of David. Mary was pregnant and nearly ready to give birth. When they arrived in Bethlehem, Mary went into labor, and and there she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped the newborn baby in strips of cloth, and Mary and Joseph laid him in a feeding trough since there was no available space in any upper room in the village. That night in a field near Bethlehem, shepherds were watching over their flocks. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared in radiant splendor before them, lighting up the field with the blazing glory of God, and the shepherds were terrified. But the angel reassured them saying, do not be afraid, for I have come to bring you good news, the most joyous news the world has ever heard, and it is for everyone everywhere. For today in Bethlehem, a rescuer was born for you. He is the Lord Yahweh, the Messiah. You will recognize him him by this miraculous sign. You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in the feeding trough. Then all at once in the night sky, a vast number of glorious angels appeared, the very armies of heaven, and they all praised God singing, glory to God in the highest realms of heaven, for there is peace and a good hope given to the sons of men. When the choir of angels disappeared and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, let's go, let's hurry and find this word who is born in Bethlehem and see for ourselves what the Lord has revealed to us. So they hurried off and found their way to Mary and Joseph. And there the baby lying in a and there was the baby lying in a feeding trough. Upon seeing this miraculous sign, the shepherds recounted what had just happened. Everyone who heard the shepherd's story was astonished by what they were told. But Mary treasured all these things in her heart and often pondered what they meant. The shepherds returned to their flock ecstatic over what had happened. They praised God and glorified him for all they had heard and seen for themselves, just like the angel had said. Wow. Master. So good. The story of Christmas is about giving gifts, but not the material gifts that run on batteries and are delivered by Amazon late this year. The story of Christmas is about God giving the present of a savior to the nation of Israel. And if you don't know this, it's one of the wonderful things about God. He always goes one step further than you expect. The gift of a savior wasn't given exclusively to Israel. The gift of a savior was given to the whole world. Amen. Two thousand years ago, God sent his son to live as one of us. He lived without sin but died a criminal's death. He paid the price for the sin of Israel and for all of mankind by shedding his perfect blood on the cross. With his death and resurrection, he paid the price for our sin, destroying the power of the curse and providing a way for God and man to be reunited as family once again. This gift is for anyone that will receive it. The bible says that for God so loved the world, you, that he gave his one and only son so that whoever would believe in him would not perish but have eternal life. Tonight, I know that you might have thought that you were just coming for a Christmas Eve service, and there's probably a good handful of you that thought you were just doing some last minute Christmas shopping and maybe just seeing the lights on the town square while you're here on vacation. But I believe that God brought you all the way to this moment in this place to hear maybe for the time that reaches that critical mass in your heart that God has brought you here regardless of what you think you did to end up here in this place. This is a holy, sacred, divine moment that has been orchestrated by the God of the Bible. He has set you up on a collision course for this moment to possibly soften your heart and encounter the truth, the love, the life changing message of Jesus Christ. Tonight, there is a present waiting under the tree for you of your heart. That present is a saving relationship with him. Is it really a present if you if somebody hands you a gift, you take the gift and you say, oh, thank you, but then you go and you set it down on a shelf never having opened it. Have you actually even received the gift? And for just a moment, think about the gift giver. Imagine you've put a lot of time and effort into this gift. My my wife, Lisa, my daughter, Selah, they're two of the best gift givers that I know. They're really good at giving creative, thoughtful gifts. Imagine Yeah. Oh, and then there's my son, Kai too. He has other talents. But imagine somebody that's put a lot of thought into giving a gift. You hold out your hands. You receive the gift. You go, oh, wow. Thank you so much. And then you just set it on a shelf, then you walk away. Don't walk away from this gift tonight. I know that there are many of you here with your knees beginning to knock in the frigid temperatures that you've already received that gift. You've ripped open you've ripped open the wrapping paper. You've invited Jesus into your heart. You've made him the leader and the boss of your life. And isn't it the most incredible gift that you've ever gotten in your whole life? For others of you, maybe you've received that gift and it's been unwrapped, but it's just kinda sitting there on the shelf. Don't hold back. Cross that line of faith. Invite Jesus into your heart and and receive the gift of Christmas. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sin. Invite him into your heart and make him the leader or the boss of your life. And, guys, the present gets even better. He came once to redeem us from sin and establish his kingdom in our hearts, and he will come again and establish his physical leadership on planet Earth where we will live together with him as a family forever. That's why we sing this special song at Christmas because God has put the light of Jesus in our hearts and brought us back into his family. It's a song that you're all familiar with, but just listen to the words of this song. Silent night, holy night, son of God, God's pure light, radiant beams from thy holy face with the dawn of redeeming grace. Jesus, Lord, at thy birth. Jesus, Lord, at thy birth. And that is the story of Christmas. Let's help them all sing this. Think about these words. You guys ready? Let's sing this last verse all together. Silent night. Sing that last line again. Jesus, Lord. Thanks for singing with us, guys. I'm gonna if you can hang tight with us for a few more moments, I'm gonna give few more announcements. My name is Jay. I am one of the young adults leaders at Tribe. If you're new, thank you guys for joining us. Thank you to all the volunteers that helped made this possible setting up the stage, shoveling snow, setting up chairs. Thank you guys so much for volunteering and sharing your time with us. And then thank you Town of Jackson for letting us have a church service on the square. That's not too that's pretty awesome. Right? And thank you guys for coming and with us and hearing the true story of Christmas. And, yeah, if you guys are new with us and you wanna be a part of our tribe fam, we have service every Sunday at 10AM and Tuesday night at 6PM except for tomorrow. Tomorrow, we're gonna take the day off, and we want to encourage you guys to hang out with your families and stay warm and cozy in your jammies. But we'll be back on Tuesday, the twenty seventh at 6PM. We always do a meal, and then we start service and worship at 06:30. So we'd love to have you guys out with us. On Sunday, if you guys or tomorrow, if you guys aren't doing anything, we do have a meal at the Tribe Ministry Center. We're right across from Whole Foods. You'll probably see our big Tribe bus parked in that lot right there. That's an easy way to find us. And there'll be a meal there. Darcy and Lanisha, if you guys can raise your hands. Lanisha's right over there. If you wanna eat eat a meal with us tomorrow night, go find Lanisha. She'll get you guys plugged in. And then on the first Sunday, we are back to our regular Sunday service. And to welcome in the New Year, we're also having baptism. So if you guys are interested in getting baptized, you know somebody that wants to get baptized, or you just wanna celebrate somebody giving their lives to the Lord, we'd love to have you guys there with us on Sunday the first for some baptisms. And then last announcement is Tim Better. Right. Tim Better is right here. He's gonna wave his hand. I don't know if you can see him. He's, like, sitting in the front row. He's got an orange beanie. If you guys he's he's in charge of our tribe's benevolent giving. So if you or someone you know is in financial need this holiday season, go talk to Tim. He's gonna hook you guys up, and we'd love to pray for you. And then last thing is that banner right over there. It says prayer. If you need prayer, we're gonna have some people stay in late after service, and we'd love to pray with you guys. And that's it. We're gonna welcome PB back up here to pray us on out. Hey. Hey. Come on, Jake. You did it. You survived. Toes, TBD. But, again, thank you all so much for making us a part of your Christmas Eve service. Would that be alright if I just prayed a blessing over you really quick before I send you out? Alright. I'll start at the bottom of your toes. Lord Jesus, we pray for warm toes throughout this gathering all the way up through their knees to the top of their head. Lord Jesus, would you reveal yourself in wonderful, special, unique ways to each and every person that's a part of this service tonight. I command a blessing over those that are here gathered in the town square and our tribe fam that's watching from the livestream. Blessings over each and every person, and may 2023 be an incredible year for all of you in your finances, in your health, in your marriage, in your relationship, in all of the dreams that God has placed in your heart. Or pray these things in Jesus' name, the strong son of God. And everybody said Amen. Amen. From my family to your family, we wish you the merriest of Christmas and a happy New Year. I love y'all so very much. Have a great evening. You are dismissed. And remember, you got this. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.