REWIND
The podcast "REWIND" features a collection of past sermons from Organic Church. Each episode takes listeners on a journey through the teachings and messages delivered during previous worship services. The content is a retrospective look at the spiritual guidance and insights shared by Pastor Michael and visiting guests!
Listeners can expect to revisit powerful sermons, meaningful scriptures, and impactful messages that have been shared in the past. The podcast aims to provide a convenient and accessible way for the church community and new audiences to engage with the timeless wisdom and spiritual teachings presented during earlier sermons.
Whether it's a reflection on a particular theme, a series of teachings, or a selection of sermons covering various topics, "REWIND" offers an opportunity for individuals to deepen their understanding of the faith and find inspiration in the timeless messages.
The podcast may also include commentary or reflections on the historical context of each sermon and how it continues to resonate with the present-day congregation.
REWIND
Room For The Redeemer (December 24, 2025)
Ever notice how the Nativity hinges on a simple “no room”? We revisit Luke 2 and zoom in on the innkeeper—an unnamed, unquoted character whose crowded ledger echoes our crowded lives. Rather than scolding or sentimentality, we get a piercing invitation: maybe the real barrier isn’t disbelief but busyness. If Bethlehem was bursting during the census, it’s no surprise our calendars burst during the holidays. The question isn’t whether we’re doing a lot; it’s whether we’re leaving any space for the One who gives the “lot” meaning.
We unpack the difference between wickedness and preoccupation and how easy it is to be “full” in all the wrong ways. From humorous snapshots of long lines, family errands, and the elusive gingerbread chai, to a sober look at success without the Savior, we trace how good things crowd out the best thing. The manger confronts our perfectionism: Jesus doesn’t need a palace, just permission. He steps into the messy places—straw floors, borrowed cloths, unfinished hearts—and brings calm that outlasts the rush.
Along the way, we share practical ways to make room: intentional surrender, device-free dinners, simple prayers that interrupt the scroll, and small daily pauses that keep our attention anchored. We end by lighting candles and asking a personal question: what’s renting your heart’s best rooms, and what can be released to welcome Christ? If you’ve been waiting for perfect conditions, this conversation is your gentle nudge to say a present, imperfect yes. Enjoy the reflection, share it with someone who needs a reset, and if it resonated, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us where you’re making room this week.
Father, we thank you and we praise you for the anointing that rests in this place this evening. Father, I pray for every person that's in this room today, Lord, that you bless their hearts this evening. Allow them to hear the word that you have prepared. Father, so diligently that they may hear the word of Christ, Father. That their hearts may grow this Christmas season. Lord, I thank you for blessing us, for leading us, guiding us, directing us. Father, for the people that you've brought into this house, for the season that you have created. We thank you and we praise you. We give you honor and glory in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. You can be seated. If someone can bring the house lights up for me a little bit. We're gonna start this evening in Luke chapter 2. So if you have your Bibles, you can get that out. Luke chapter 2, we're gonna start at verse 1. We'll put it on the screen if you don't have it, so no big deal. I mean, I think I'm funny, but I didn't know that that one was. When I was joking about the snakes, nobody laughed, and I went, that's the sense of humor my wife has come to love. Luke chapter 2, verse 1, it says, at the At that time the Roman Emperor Augustus decreed that a census should be taken through the Roman Empire. This was the first census taken when Corinius was the governor of Syria. All returned to their own towns to register for the census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem and Judea. David's ancient home in Galilee. Right? No. David's ancient home. He traveled there from a village of the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancee, who was obviously pregnant by this time. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the village inn. Now I just want to say that I think we need to take a little bit of context because the Christmas story is familiar, but oftentimes the familiarity of a story can dull the importance of a story, right? So like I tell a lot of the same stories over and over again that happens as we get older, right? Older folks? Like, okay, listen, if you've got grandparents, I've got a couple of those. I gotta be careful because they're both here, right? Sometimes when you talk to them, they tell you a story. And the next time you see them, they tell you the story. And oftentimes you say, I heard this one, grandma. Right? Or you find polite ways to say it like, oh, you told me that. Right? Am I lying to you? Sometimes it's people our age, our friends, right? Like I heard that story. I work with a guy, tell you the same story a hundred times. You don't care? Yes, Marcus, she says. Maybe true. But here's the problem. Every time we hear that story, it becomes more and more dull. We've already heard it, we already understand it. We talk about the angels, we talk about the shepherds, we talk about the wise men, we talk about the star. But tucked quietly into the story, the unnamed figure who never speaks and is never quoted, the innkeeper. And I think we have to understand the importance of his part of this story because the innkeeper was not placed there by happenstance. And I want to I want to put a little bit of context into this. This was a census happening, and everybody had to travel to their respective village to register for the census. Now, sometimes when I read this, and you you can agree with me or disagree with me, I'm just saying when I read it in my mind, I picture everybody walking along the streets joyous and excited because it's the Christmas holiday, right? Well, the problem is they don't know it's the Christmas holiday. See, I know that because I've already read it, but they don't realize what's happening. So this place is busy, right? There's a lot of things happening. Most of these people are not happy to be there because they're gonna pay taxes, right? They're being counted. This is not fun. They have traveled long distances to be there. Now, the the challenge that we have is that because everybody is challenging, everybody is traveling there, there are not enough rooms for everyone to sleep, right? Because this town is not used to having that many people. And I want to tell you a secret. You guys know I used to work in a hotel in the hotel business, and here's one thing I've learned you can't sell somebody else's room. Right? So if you have a reservation, I can't give that reservation to somebody else because you're gonna show up to check in, and I'm gonna say, sure, but you have to stay in the same room as somebody else because I gave your room away. It doesn't end well. And then people are angry, right? Okay, so Mary and Joseph show up at the in. I picture Joseph knocking on the door, and then I picture somebody yelling, who rang that bell? Wizard of Oz? No? Okay, it's fine. I didn't need you to laugh. Don't laugh now. I don't need your pity. I don't need your pity. Joseph knocks, and the innkeeper opens the door and he goes, Ah, I'm sorry, I'm full. And I think we forget to realize that Joseph wouldn't have just been traveling with Mary. He would have had family there as well, right? Because if his entire family was responsible for registering, they would have been there too. Now, likely everybody is looking for a room and there are no rooms to be found. So the story tells us that Mary and Joseph have arrived in Bethlehem, and we can assume that they're tired, they're desperate, and honestly, they're probably losing a little bit of hope. Right? They've arrived, they're tired, they probably just want to sleep, and then all of a sudden, Mary decides it's time to have a baby. Now I'm sure Joseph has said, Are you sure? And Mary says, I'm positive. And he goes, but are you really sure? Right? Are these just false contra, what do they call them, Braxton Hicks contractions? Right? Are you sure that it is time? And she says, I am positive that I'm gonna have a baby right now. And the innkeeper so generously found a place that they may go to deliver a baby, and it tells us that it's a stable. Now, what I want you to hear is that when they knocked on the door and they asked, his response was that there is no room at the inn. The Bible didn't tell us that it was a dramatic refusal and he slammed the door in their face, right? It doesn't tell us that he he shoved them out and told them absolutely not. There was no cruelty, there was nothing. It was simple that there was lack of space. Church. The Son of Man was refused space in the inn. Now I can assure you that it's not likely that the innkeeper had any idea. He didn't reject Jesus out of hatred, right? He rejected him because he was full, he was busy, and he was at capacity. Every room was taken, every bed was filled, every corner was occupied, and because there was no room, Jesus was born in a stable. Now, my message is piggybacking off of a little bit of what Lauren shared with the young adults because I thought, man, we really just miss how important this is. Bethlehem would have been a crowded place at the time that Mary and Joseph would have showed up. It would have been incredibly busy and there would have been people everywhere. However, activity was still high, businesses were booming, and the innkeeper was likely doing pretty well, right? Picture just Mr. Krabs walking around with all of his money, money, money, money, right? Money coming out of the cash, right? He's just got all the cash he could possibly handle because he was doing well. It wasn't a season of lack, it was a season of overflow, right? Now I know not all of you are used to me, but it was not a season of lack, it was a season of overflow. How many of us have lived in a season of overflow? God has been so good to me and my family for so long that I don't know what it is to live without because I've always lived with so much. Now, here's the deal. Isn't that when Jesus shows up? Was when everything is full? Our schedules are packed. If anybody has ever seen my calendar in the fall, if you want to schedule something with me, it's 30 days out. I'm not joking. The schedule is full, we're packed full of emotions, we have all of these responsibilities. We don't refuse Jesus because we don't want him, we refuse Jesus because we don't think we have the space. Right? See, we don't show up to church because our schedules are too busy, right? We don't show up for our friends because our schedule is too busy. We we put Jesus on the back burner because life is taking us other places. The tragedy of the end wasn't wickedness, it was preoccupation. Right? Imagine if he would have just stood and talked for just a moment with Mary and Joseph and realized who they were and what was about to happen. He may have found some room, right? Remember the story I told you about the young pastor who was who was talking to a congregant in the congregant and said, Hey, Pastor, can you pray with me? And he was worried about this event that was happening, and he said, Hey, I'll get you afterwards. And he went and he prayed with the man after, and the man said, Thank you, Pastor, for taking time with me. My wife just passed away. Right? But that event was more important than praying with that man. See, oftentimes we're so preoccupied with other things that we forget about making room for Jesus Christ. The innkeeper provided rooms for travelers, but he had no room for the Redeemer. He hosted all the guests that he could squeeze in, but he missed the glory. My question to you right now is are we so full of busyness that we have lost track of who the Redeemer really is? Do we have room for the Redeemer in our hearts this evening when we have that list of things that still have to be done? How many of you were out shopping today? How many of you were in a store today? God bless you. God bless you. You guys really, really waited, didn't you? You know, I think my kids were at the store three times for us today. But you notice I didn't go to the store, I sent my kids to the store. Thank you, Jesus. We got a family dollar right at the end of the block. Right? And listen, it could be$100 more at the family dollar. I don't care. I ain't going anywhere else. And I'm just, uh we don't think about how busy our schedules have gotten and how much we miss. He accommodated all of the comforts, but he displaced Christ. And here's the hard truth. You can be successful. Do you hear me? You can be successful and still miss Jesus. Right? How many of us are busy? We've all got busy schedules, right? Something in our lives is pushing us towards the next best thing. We've got to get here, we've got to get there, we have to get this. I need a promotion, I need to make more money. Hey, you know what I really need right now? You know what I really need right now? Gingerbread chai. Listen, my wife did not bring me back one last night, and I was not happy with her. She had to run out today, and I was like, certainly she'll bring me back a gingerbread chai. She did not. And listen, I love her just the same, right? But we can't be so busy and worry about filling our lives with the things that don't matter that we displace Christ. See, the problem is, is we become Christians and we start to fall into the church and we we start to think about all of the people in our church and all of the friends and all of the things, and we start to, but our lives become so crowded that we don't make room for the one who actually matters. Listen, I love all of you guys. I love even though you those of you who I don't know, I want you to be, I want to be very clear. I love you just the same. The problem is, I can't fill my heart with people so full that I don't have room for Jesus. Because Jesus is the one that truly matters in all of this. Thank you, Jesus. I'll tell you what, that heat is blazing up here. All right, this is the line. This is I want you to write this down if you're taking notes tonight. Jesus did not need a palace to be born. Amen. He just needed permission. He needed somewhere to go. The manger was that place. My question to you is do you have room for Jesus tonight? We're all gonna leave here and we're gonna go home and we're gonna track Santa for the next seven hours until our kids fall asleep, right? And we're gonna be pumping them full of melatonin and whatever. I mean, at this point, whatever it takes. Because I'm gonna need to get some sleep tonight, right? And we just become so busy and so enthralled with all of the things that are happening, and we think about these things happen in our lives, and we're so excited to celebrate Christmas, but we're not excited to celebrate Christ. We become so obsessed with the holiday that we forget about the reason for the holiday. It's not about the the gifts and the and the things under the tree, it's not about all of the toys and the presents. Do you know what it's about? It's about the birth of a Savior who would redeem our souls so that we might have everlasting life, so that we might have everlasting life. Even when there was no room at the end, Jesus came just the same. He didn't turn back and he didn't wait for better conditions. Church, stop waiting for better conditions. Stop waiting for your life to be perfect in order to accept Christ. Listen, some y'all have accepted Christ and some of y'all are still a mess. Amen. We've accepted Christ into our hearts. We know that he is our Lord and Savior, but our lives are still a mess because we haven't made time for Jesus. We've made time to show up at church, or we've made time to do X. We have not made time for the one who really matters. He didn't wait for better conditions, he didn't demand better treatment. Have you ever met a Christian who's demanded better treatment? Well, let me tell you, my opinion should matter because I tithe. I don't care. You notice I didn't take an offering tonight? You know why I didn't take an offering tonight? Your money doesn't mean anything right now. What matters is your soul, right? I want to see salvation tonight. I don't want, listen, those offerings, I'll take a full offering plate any day of the week, let me tell you. This building's expensive to operate, especially when we keep the heat at 102 degrees. He was born among the animals, he was placed in a trough, trough, he was wrapped in borrowed cloth. That tells us something powerful about our Savior. Jesus was willing to enter at the messiest of places. The question is, is will you let him? Will you let him enter in the messiest of places? I'm gonna ask you something. Is your life messy today? You don't have to raise your hand because Lord, I know your life is messy because my life is messy. There's chaos, there's confusion, right? If you've got kids and they're they're out of school right now, you're like, Lord, help me. Jesus, give me no, don't give me strength, give me patience. Give me patience. And you know that there is constant chaos in the house, and you know that all of these things are going to overwhelm you. But the problem is, is Jesus operates in the messy. Amen. That's where he thrives. He wants to show up. He's not waiting for perfection, and he doesn't require you to be polished and clean. All he asks for is room in your heart tonight. Room in your heart tonight. Now, listen. We've been four weeks, and I've been talking about this, so make this sermon number five. Making room requires intentional surrender. Right? See, it's rarely accidental that we don't have room for something in our lives, right? Our schedules are full because my kids have a better social life than my wife and I have. I don't know how that happens, but they're like, hey dad, you're gonna take us here. Or mom, you're gonna take us over, or they've got basketball and they've got soccer, and then they've got, I don't even uh cheerleading and and I don't even know, right? I can't keep track of all of it. But the problem is that is intentional. We've scheduled those things, we've signed up for those things, right? Are we still keeping time for what really matters? Now, in my house, we find special ways to do that. We say grace every evening before dinner. We have dinner as a family as often as humanly possible. Um, and that is something that we we hold sacred in our house. But the problem is we don't just find that room. We have to make it, right? Because it's intentional surrender. It's intentional surrender of the things that don't matter, let those go and put in the things that truly do matter. So you have to move things around, you have to realize what matters most, right? And what matters most in our house is our ability to be together, right? To sit at one table, to be able to laugh, to be able to carry on. Listen, some of the weirdest things are said at the we have this little box of cards on our table, and we pull one out and we ask questions, right? Like if you could go, if you could be invisible and go one place, where would you go? Like though the idea is that we're having conversations with our children that we wouldn't normally have. Listen, my kids, they sit there and they answer those questions, they're excited to talk to us. The problem is most of the time they don't even realize what we're doing. We're creating a bond that cannot be broken, right? That my kids, hopefully, Lord willing, will not be afraid to come and talk to us when life is not treating them well. Amen. Making room for Jesus means saying no to the distractions, slowing down your pace, reordering your priorities, and letting go of what crowds your heart. The innkeeper had rooms, but they were already spoken for. The question is: do you have space? And what is occupying all of the space in your heart? I promised something tonight that I would keep this short and sweet. And what I'm gonna do now is I'm gonna ask that Bobby, Roger, Blaine, and Dale all come forward for me for just a minute. And then Pastor Holly, if you could go get four snakes. The big ones, please, not the little ones.
unknown:Stay away from the head.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, just stay away from the head. That's the only part that bites. If each of you gentlemen would grab a candle off of your respectable respectful candle opera, Bobby, you can grab one right here. Pastor Roger right here. Dale, go all the way down to the end. If you want to get your candles out and ready, they're gonna come and light one section at a time, and you guys can light off of one another, but they'll be helping everybody to get lit. There are fire extinguishers handy, just so you know. We are fully prepared for any mishaps. Uh the Grinch, you took off your gloves, we're good. Her hands were a little hairy, and we wanted to make sure there weren't gonna be any fires. As I'm finishing this message, you go ahead and start lighting. Feel free to go ahead and start lighting. The Christmas story doesn't just ask us to admire the manger, it asks us to examine our hearts. Bethlehem still exists today, not necessarily as a city that we're discussing, but as a choice. Every day Jesus stands at the door, not demanding, not forcing, just waiting. And the decision is still the same. Each of us is our own innkeeper deciding if there is room for our Savior. Church, this evening, as they're lighting your candles, I want to encourage you to examine your hearts. We're all going to stand together as we get everybody lit and we're going to sing Silent Night. I've asked my good friend Chris Tomlin to come and sing this for us. He will be here this evening. Now, mind you, it's just on the screen, but he will be here this evening to sing Silent Night for us. And while we're doing this, I don't want you to just stand there in your seat singing words to a song that you've heard a hundred times. I want you to examine your heart. I want you to look to see if there is space for Jesus in your heart this evening. Can we take all of the lights out, please?
SPEAKER_03:Over his kingdom established and hopefully justice and righteousness.
SPEAKER_02:Heavenly Father, we thank you for our time together this evening. Lord, I pray that you've blessed us because you've blessed us abundantly this evening, that we go out and bless others around us. Father, I thank you for the move of the Spirit in this place. Father, I thank you for the people who have been called into your house today. Lord, allow us to move forward, celebrating your birth, making room in our hearts for you this holiday season. Lord, that we are not so consumed by the things that have to happen, the places we have to be, but Father, we are consumed by your love and by your grace and by your mercy. Father, lead us as we leave this place. Guide us. Father, allow us to show your love to the world around us. We give you praise, honor, and glory in the mighty name of Jesus. And the church says, Amen. We love you guys. We'll see you on Sunday morning. On your way out, there are Christmas ornaments for everybody. Take one with you. There are also cookies that Margie and Nick made, and everybody will collect one of those as they leave as well.