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Well, Merry Christmas. It's uh it's great to see you here tonight. Uh my name is Nick, and if you're a guest here, if you've never been to Point Community Church, whether you're a family friend or a friend or just someone in the community that's come tonight to celebrate Christmas Eve with us, we want to say thank you for being here. And as Harley already said, we want to welcome you here. Uh I love that song Jesus Loves Me, and I love a lot of the Christmas songs. One of my favorite Christmas songs is the song Silent Night. Anybody like the song Silent Night? You know, I love Silent Night because uh it's just a it's got a great melody, it's a fun song to sing with the kids. And uh as I listen to that song, uh there's something about it that just kind of reminds me of of all the days when I was growing up of singing Christmas songs with my family and and celebrating Christmas. But there's an interesting line in that song, and even the whole premise of that song is that it was a very silent, it was a very calm, it was a very peaceful night. And I hope that through the telling of this story by Christoph, and maybe for those of you that saw the video when we started tonight, you realize that actually the night probably wasn't all that calm. It wasn't all that peaceful. And for anyone who's had a baby, it probably wasn't all that silent, right? You see, here's the thing. Uh, Christmas is a time where we celebrate peace, where we celebrate uh the the the the fact that we have peace and that we can have peace. But if you're like me, the world doesn't always feel real peaceful. And it's very difficult to celebrate peace when everything I see around me seems to be uh in unrest, in chaos, and in conflict. You know, we celebrate peace, and then I get in the car and I to go drive to some of our in-laws' house with six kids in the car, and I can guarantee you it is not peaceful. Okay? It is not a peaceful drive. Uh our kids are awesome kids, but they're kids, and it's six and a half hours. But we go and we we try to celebrate Christmas season. But in our lives, we long for peace, don't we? We long for peace. We want peace. There's something in us that that is craving peace. And Christmas is supposed to be a season, a time when we celebrate the peace on earth and goodwill to men. I mean, that's what the angels said. And yet, for us, as I said a while ago, it doesn't always feel real peaceful. Uh I was thinking about that this week and just was thinking about the fact that what I see in the world, what I've hear and what I experience, what I read, doesn't feel peaceful at all. In fact, it feels like the very opposite. I mean, these are just some of the things that I've seen in my own life and in the lives of those around me this last couple months. Uh, when you guys think about San Bernardino, you think about Paris, the shootings there, you think about Syrian refugees, you think about ISIS. What about earthquakes and floods and fires and tsunamis and tornadoes and hurricanes, natural disasters? What about world hunger? What about modern slavery, which is still very strong and vibrant? What about um sex trafficking and pornography and abuse and racism and ageism and classism? What about those things? What about as a married person going through hardships in your marriage? What about an unfair boss, a hurtful or an unfaithful spouse? What about rebellious kids? What about mental and physical illness? What about accidents? What about financial crisis or terminal illness or death of people that we love? What about infertility or miscarriages? What about addictions? I mean, are you feeling it? My guess is that every one of us in this room has probably experienced personally one of those things, some of those things. Or we know people that have. And this this time of year, like we're trying to get to peace, but it doesn't feel very peaceful. And you're like, thanks, Nick, for like pouring a bucket of cold water on us. You know, we're celebrating this is joy to the world, and you just listed off all the things I was trying to block out. Right? Just for a moment to block those things out. Because the world doesn't feel peaceful. And it's not just what's going on around us, it's what's going inside of us. When we get quiet, when we get still, and we realize that our hearts are not at peace. Like we're struggling to with unforgiveness, we're struggling with big bitterness, we're we're struggling to forgive ourselves, we're struggling with our past, we're struggling with our struggles, our pain. And it leaves us in this place of unforgiveness or depression or discouragement. For some of us, it even leads to anger, resentment, fear, shame. We're overwhelmed, we're bitter, we're hurting, we're all those things. It's a very bleak situation, isn't it? I mean, we're just gonna get on tonight. That's the world in which we live. And we have the opportunity tonight, as we celebrate Christmas, to remember that though that is an accurate picture of what's going on around us, that we have a God who stepped into that mess. A God who did not just leave us in the chaos and in the conflict, but stepped into the mess. In fact, I want you to understand that this is not how the world started. This is not how the story began. You see, the story Christoph told earlier, it's connected to a bigger story, isn't it? And if you go way back to the very beginning in the book of Genesis, you find that there was a time when none of the things that I listed off, the depression, the sickness, the struggles, the fears, all those things, those didn't exist. It was what the Bible calls in the Hebrew language shalom. Where everything was healthy and whole, complete, where there was peace. There truly was peace on earth. There was contentment, there was satisfaction, there was beauty, there was joy. And none of the evil things that you and I deal with on a daily basis. They weren't there. They didn't exist. And our hearts know that, don't they? Our hearts know it. We know that there's something missing. We know there's something wrong. I mean, when I make this list of things that are wrong, we know that this is not right, that this is not what we were made for. This is not the world that we're intended to live in. And if you believe that, if you feel that, you see that you are right, that's not the world that God created. But we then try to pursue this peace, this elusive peace. We try to find this place of shalom where we feel complete and whole and healthy and we can be protected from life's storms and the difficulties and the struggles that we're going through. And so we pursue it. And sometimes we try to we attempt to control our circumstances, right? We try to pad our lives by maybe uh putting enough money in the bank to weather a financial crisis, or we try to make sure we have the best health care to do to avoid sickness or struggles with with our physical limitations. Uh we try to go to counseling or we try to get involved in politics, and we think, man, if we can do these things, we can fix this. And world peace and peace is actually possible. And so we have all these means and all these methods of trying to get there. We we try to control other people's behavior, like our kids, right? Peace. Come on, quit. We try to control our own behavior. We try to control our spouses, we try to control our coworkers, we try to control our friends, and we try to get them to do what we want them to do. If they would just do what we would we want them to do, then we would have peace, right? And so we try to do all these different things to pursue peace. But all the while, peace eludes us. And when all else fails, we just try to escape. We just try to find a hole and we just try to hide. Just don't want to know what's going on. I just want, I don't want to watch the news. I don't want to be around people, I just want to hide, I want to get away, and we try to escape. But the problem is, is even when we're all alone, we still feel this struggle in our souls that we are we need peace. We need peace. See, there's an inherent problem with our pursuit, pursuit of peace. The solution's not in the avoidance of or removal of conflict, it's it's not in trying to just act like it's not there or try to fix it with our own means. The solution to our problem is in the person. You can see peace is a person, it's found in a person. And his name is Jesus. That's right. You see, in Isaiah, 700 years before Christ comes on the scene, Isaiah says this. He's a prophet in the Old Testament. In Isaiah chapter 9, in verse 6, he said, For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be named wonderful counselor, mighty God, eternal father. And the pinnacle of this passage there, he says, He will be the what? Prince of peace. He's talking about Jesus. What does that mean, the Prince of Peace? That means that he has authority, that he has power, that he's in charge. He has the capacity and the ability to fix the problem of conflict and chaos and to bring peace, to bring shalom, to bring restoration with what is broken, what is messed up in the world. He can fix it because he is the prince of peace. He is the authority to do that. In Luke 2, verse 11 through 14, it says this today, this is the angels. Today, a Savior who is Messiah the Lord was born for you in the city of David. This will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a feeding trough. Suddenly there was a multitude of heavenly hosts with the angel praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest heaven. And what? Peace on earth to the people he favors. Jesus, when he came, he brought in a new day. In fact, the kingdom that he talked about, bringing, restoring what was broken, restoring and reconciling a relationship that would bring peace. And then the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 2, he says this. This is really profound. He's actually speaking to the unrest and to the disunity between the Jewish people and the Gentile people, the people who were the insiders, if you will, because they had been given a promise through their father Abraham, and the outsiders, the Gentiles, that would be us. And he speaks in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 14, he says this, for he, Jesus, is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In his flesh he made of no effect the law, consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that he might create in himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace. He did this so that he might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross and put the hostility to death by it. When the Messiah came, he proclaimed good news of peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. You see, Jesus is our peace. But the question is, is how does Jesus bring us peace? How can you experience peace this Christmas? How can I live and experience and walk in peace this Christmas? Well, Jesus does three things. We could talk more, but these three things simply he puts in the passage. The first thing he says is that Jesus breaks down the wall of hostility. The wall of hostility. I don't know if you guys know this, but before you put your trust in Christ, according to Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1, and another passage in the New Testament, it says that we were enemies of God. That we were his enemies. That God actually viewed us as enemies. And there's hostility between us and God because we follow in the pattern of our father from Genesis, Adam, who disobeys and rebels against God. That's my nature. That's me. I'm not exempt from this. Just because I'm up here proclaiming the truth, that does not mean that I have a free pass on this. I struggle with this. I struggle to obey God. I've rebelled. I'm a sinner. And because of that, there's hostility, is what the scripture says between God and man. But the hostility is not just between God and man. The hostility is between people. Our relationship with God deeply impacts our relationship with others, doesn't it? And so in our lives, we see that Jesus breaks the wall of hostility. But how does he do that? Well, because Jesus, as we said a while ago, he didn't just come to live a good life. To teach some good teachings and to show us a few things and to show us how to live a better life. That's not what Jesus came to do. Jesus came with a purpose. And that purpose was to end the hostility that God had towards men. He was to reconcile a relationship. And in order to do that, he took the wrath of God upon himself. The reason that Christmas is so beautiful tonight, guys, and the reason that we can have peace on earth is because Jesus took God's anger and wrath upon himself. He took the hostility that we deserved. He put himself in our place. Notice he says that he did away with the law. Trying to earn our way to God. My guess is that some of you have tried to get peace in your life by being a good person, by doing enough good things. Can I just tell you tonight, you can never do enough good things to earn the gift of salvation. It's not about going to church, it's not about being a good person. It's about putting our trust and our hope in Jesus Christ. That's why Christmas is beautiful. That's why we can have peace because we can get off the treadmill of self-righteousness and we can begin to put our trust and our hope in Jesus Christ alone to be our Savior. It's a beautiful thought, isn't it? That Jesus is our peace, that he took on our pain and our suffering that we deserved. So Jesus came. He was born to die on the cross. And notice the next thing he says. He says that Jesus makes us new. Jesus makes us new. Jesus has not only saved us, he's not only forgiven us of our sin, he's not only removed the penalty of our sin, but he's actually made us new people. He's made us new and unified under the person of Christ. I want you to understand something tonight. That no one in this place is any better than anyone else. Because all of us in Christ, all of us are equal, and all of us are have the same need. We need a Savior to rescue us. And that's who Jesus is. He is the equalizer. He is the one who came, and he came not just to die for the rich or for those who had it all together or all figured out or the righteous or the good or the law, the rule followers. He came to die for every person and to make a way for every person to have life and forgiveness. And not only when he makes us new, he doesn't just change our desires. He changes everything about us. He changes the lens through which we see life. He changes how we see our struggles, and he helps us understand that there's a bigger picture. That even though we might not experience peace on earth right now, that there is one day that he will come back and fix all of the broken things, and there will be peace. And that peace will reign forever. That's a good thing, isn't it? That's a great thing to know tonight is that Jesus makes us new. He gives us that new perspective that helps us to realize that there is an eternal reality that's bigger than the things that we're dealing with right now. Maybe on that list that I mentioned earlier. And he gives us power by his spirit to forgive others and to avoid hurting others, to live new lives, to live peace-filled lives. But the third thing that we understand that God that Jesus does when he comes as the person of peace, the prince of peace, is that he comes and he gives us access to God's presence. I don't know where you stand tonight. I don't know where you are spiritually. I don't know if you have been running from God or if you've been running to God. I don't know if you're here tonight saying, I'm here to celebrate Christ or I'm here because this is a tradition of our family. But I do know this: that in Christ we have access to the presence of God, and that that changes everything. That's where we will find true peace is in God's presence. We have access to God, is what the scripture says in Ephesians. That Jesus made a way. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. And so this Christmas we celebrate the peace that comes through the person of Jesus. The access that we now have to God. Now, some of you are thinking, well, this is great and all, but I'm a Christian. I've put my trust in Christ, and I'm still struggling with peace. I'm still struggling with the circumstances and situations, and I'm still struggling with all the things that you mentioned. What do I do? Well, I can't tell you that there's some sweet little pill that you can take and all your worries go away. But I can say this that because we have access, we can call on God, we can pray, we can seek God, and we can ask Him to give us peace. In fact, Philippians chapter 4, verse 6 says this don't worry about anything, but in everything through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. You know where you find peace tonight? If you're struggling for peace, call on God. Call on God and ask him. God, would you help me have peace? And he will give it. And it's a peace that passes understanding. Christmas is great. Would you agree? Kids, would you agree? Christmas is great. It's awesome. But here's the thing: what makes Christmas so incredible is that the doom and the gloom and the sadness and the sorrow and all the suffering and pain of this life is overshadowed by the beauty of the gift that comes. The Jesus who steps into our mess and into our world and helps make things right. You see, Christmas is an invitation to peace. Hand delivered, personally delivered in the flesh by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And when he comes, he offers us peace. Peace with him and peace with one another. My question to you tonight is have you received the gift of peace? Have you received his gift of salvation? And if you have received his gift of salvation, have you received and are you walking in daily the peace that he offers, the peace that passes understanding? Life is hard, but Jesus is better. Life is difficult. Suffering is hard, but Christ is better. And Christ can bring peace. A peace like no one knows except for his children who call on him and ask for it. Let me pray for us tonight. Father, I thank you so much that you're a God of peace. I thank you, Jesus, that you are the person of peace. You're the prince of peace. You have the authority to bring peace into our broken worlds. God, I know that there are people in this room, in fact, all of us at some level, suffering in some way. Things have not gone well like we wish they had over the past year. Sickness and maybe financial difficulty, maybe relational strife, maybe things that we just didn't expect. God have robbed us of the joy of knowing you. Have robbed us of the joy of life. And I just pray, God, that you would just help us tonight to recognize that Christmas is a time when we celebrate your peace. Just as the angels proclaimed, peace on earth, goodwill to men. That's possible because of what you've done, Jesus. And I thank you for that tonight. And praise in your name. Amen. Well, tonight, as we continue on, my prayer is that you will experience peace this Christmas season. And we're going to light some candles in response to the person and work of Jesus because in Isaiah 9, which I alluded to earlier, verse 2, it says this that the people walking in darkness have seen a great light. A light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness. Jesus was declared that he would be the light of the world, that he would bring that light into a dark world, a depressing, discouraging, difficult place to live. He would come and he would bring light and he would bring spiritual light. He would illuminate our hearts to help us see that he was life. And in John 1, verse 4 and 5, it says this that life was in him, and that life was the light of men. And that light shines in the darkness, even though darkness and darkness did not overcome it. Christ is the light of the world. And so tonight, symbolically, we're going to celebrate Jesus as the light of the world in his coming through lighting some candles. And I would simply ask that the person whose candle is not lit, you would dip yours to the person whose is. That'll save us some uh wax. But as we celebrate tonight, we remember that the light of the world is Jesus. So these guys sing, we're gonna pass this light around and let's reflect and celebrate Jesus, the light, the true light.