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[0:00] Christmas is weird, isn't it? There's lots of weird things about Christmas. It's the only time of the year we chop down a tree and some families set fire to their Christmas pudding.

[0:33] Any families here that set fire? That is great. Traditionalists. Weird things about Christmas. Things that we don't understand. But there's nothing compared to the very first Christmas.

[0:48] The very first Christmas was really weird, wasn't it? There was a star above Bethlehem. There were wise men that brought presents that cost thousands and thousands of thousands of parents to a family they'd never met before and they didn't know.

[1:05] None of those things happened when I had a baby. No shepherds turned up. I didn't have a baby. No, my wife turned a baby. Shepherds didn't turn up. Wiser men didn't turn up. Why did they happen? Why did all these weird things happen at that first Christmas?

[1:18] Well, because the baby is an incredible infant. That's the first thing I've got to say today. An incredible infant. We saw that in the reading, didn't we? The name that Mary and Joseph gave to their baby was Jesus.

[1:31] He was going to give birth to a son and his name shall be Jesus. Which means, the word Jesus means God saves. It's a strange name, isn't it?

[1:42] It's like calling your child fireman. Fireman. God saves. And Jesus showed everyone he was God the saviour.

[1:55] This baby is God. Now that explains some weird things. He is an incredible infant. It explains the star in the sky. God is entering this world. The wise men, the angels.

[2:08] And I think, don't you, I think it would be very weird if weird things didn't happen when God entered the world. He is the king of the universe.

[2:22] Christmas, that first Christmas, is a big fuss because the creator is entering his creation. Jesus is God.

[2:34] Is there a God? You might ask that. Well, Jesus shows what God is like. Just look at Jesus in the pages of the Bible. And there is nothing un-God-like in Jesus.

[2:46] An incredible infant. An incredible infant, secondly, who had a low-down life. The Christmas story is not just about the amazing things, is it?

[2:57] It's not just about the star and the wise men and the gifts and the shepherds and choirs of angels. The story of Christmas is very humble.

[3:09] It's very lowly. They end up in someone else's house. On someone else's floor. Maybe even sharing a room with sheep and with goats and with cows.

[3:24] Or, as you know, the baby is put in a manger. There's no talk of a cattle shed. But there is talk of a manger. He's put in a feeding trough. It's very, very lowly.

[3:35] It's meant to jar us. It's not what you would expect when God comes to the world. Now, you sing a song, don't you, in Christ, Christ, and Son of the Spirit.

[3:47] My God is so big, so and so there's nothing my the the the the stars are his my God is so so and so mighty.

[4:07] There's nothing my God can do. Now I'm going to teach you two new verses, okay? Here's a few verses. Okay? Here they are. This verse says, My God is so small so weak and so helpless there's nothing that God child can do.

[4:21] Is that alright? My God is so small so weak and so helpless there's nothing that God child can do. The mountains are his the rivers are his the stars are his handiwork too.

[4:34] But my God is so small so weak and so helpless there's nothing my God will not do for you. And that's the story of Christmas, isn't it? The God is so big so strong so mighty becomes so small so weak and so helpless.

[4:51] And the God child lies in a manger and there's nothing he can do. But wonderfully that God child is so small so weak and so helpless there's nothing that he will not do for you.

[5:05] Jesus had a low young life his dad was a carpenter. Lots of people didn't like him there's nothing special about him. The people he went to were not the rich and the famous they were the lowly and the humble and the poor.

[5:19] people that you and I might think oh they believe me but not for Jesus. Jesus is God he could have hanged out with angels couldn't he but he hanged out with losers.

[5:32] And in the end he died on the cross now why is he dying on the cross? So the incredible infant the lowly life would be the Greek gift.

[5:44] Great Christmas gifts is brilliant isn't it? What's been your favourite gift of the morning? So don't tell me. Peter what was your favourite gift this morning? Your white Debbie what was your favourite gift this morning?

[6:00] Do you have an opener? All these traditionalists John a bike racing blu-ray have you opened your presents yet Marius?

[6:15] What was your favourite present this morning? A jumper it's a very nice jumper isn't it? Everybody compliment what about you Rebecca? What was yours? A face meeting face painting set face painting sounds to death is it?

[6:34] It's great gifts great gifts sometimes boring presents imagine you got up this morning and there was a parcel at the end of your bed and you opened it up and it was washing up liquid boring presents I bought Clara Blender once Jesus comes to bring you rescue rescue what a rubbish gift rubbish gift but it is actually the greatest gift you should call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins and Jesus means God saves but here's the thing you might be sitting here this morning and you might think I don't need that gift I don't need it but let me say this to you you could go without any present that you will have today you could go without the greatest present that you've got but you cannot do without this present for us because he will save his people from their sins what is sin?

[7:44] sin is living life without God we wake up we get on with our day we brush our teeth we get out of the house we go on our way and we don't think of God God is the God of all he gave us everything we enjoy he should be our God so how do you think God feels when we live life without thanking him without honouring him and in fact we just ignore him how do we treat people we don't like?

[8:18] we never thank them we never bother with them in fact we just try to avoid them sometimes we even ignore them it's like I invite you to my house for Christmas day and I welcome you in and as soon as you're in you open the front door and you push me out of my own house and you lock the door and you throw away the key and I'm outside of my own home and that is how we treat God and we need rescuing from that from ourselves the angels tell us that he came to save us from our sins that he came to take the punishment that we deserve for pushing them out and locking the door the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is a little bit like a key it's a little bit like the key that unlocks the door that you pushed God out of and that door opens that door so God can come in and we can be friends and know him forever and that's what Christmas is about it is about God's invitation to be friends with him and it's invitation for all people for people who come to church every week for people who come to church maybe just once a year you can have this gift this gift is for you simply by acknowledging the reality of how you've lived that you've lived life without paying any attention to his son and saying sorry and asking to be forgiven and if we will mean it

[9:57] God will say yes Christmas makes us do weird things people sing songs and love singing songs they don't believe in things they don't do for the rest of the year they decorate their house in a way that they never decorated in February or January they send cards to people that they can't even remember who they are we eat turkey when none of us really like it and maybe today you can do something else that you wouldn't normally do that you think may be a little bit weird you've been thinking about the Lord Jesus God has come to save us in his son if we could save ourselves he wouldn't need to have sent his son God came to save us through Jesus and whatever gifts you get this year and I hope you get who you want it I hope you get great gifts I hope you have a great day but even the greatest gift that you get today doesn't compare with the greatest gift of knowing God through Jesus because we have treated him like an enemy and we can leave here today knowing him as our friend and so I want to wish you a very very happy Christmas but I want you to think and I want you to consider

[11:25]  Christ Jesus came into this world to see the sinners let's pray