1 00:00:00,500 --> 00:00:01,792 Hi there Mars Hill Church 2 00:00:01,833 --> 00:00:04,833 and the extended family of Mars Hill Global. 3 00:00:04,917 --> 00:00:08,167 I'm pastor Sutton Turner here in Dilla, Ethiopia 4 00:00:08,250 --> 00:00:10,167 and I wanted to take a moment and explain 5 00:00:10,208 --> 00:00:14,250 what the extended family of Mars Hill Global is. 6 00:00:14,333 --> 00:00:18,167 I was a podcaster when I was living in the Middle East 7 00:00:18,250 --> 00:00:21,917 and consuming those podcasts every week, 8 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,000 participating, really one way, from Mars Hill Church. 9 00:00:26,042 --> 00:00:27,667 I was really a consumer. 10 00:00:27,708 --> 00:00:29,333 So what we're doing is setting up 11 00:00:29,375 --> 00:00:33,125 the extended family of Mars Hill Global and saying, 12 00:00:33,167 --> 00:00:38,750 "Come, be a part of what Jesus Christ is doing in and through our church." 13 00:00:38,833 --> 00:00:40,625 So what does Mars Hill Global do? 14 00:00:40,667 --> 00:00:46,000 Well, Mars Hill Global is doing and participating in church planting 15 00:00:46,083 --> 00:00:48,458 here in Ethiopia and also in India. 16 00:00:48,500 --> 00:00:51,333 Also, we're doing church planting in the United States as well. 17 00:00:51,375 --> 00:00:53,667 We're doing all of that because in Mars Hill Church 18 00:00:53,708 --> 00:00:58,333 we believe that Jesus has called us to make disciples and plant churches. 19 00:00:58,417 --> 00:01:02,250 So I want to ask you to be a part. I want to as you to be a part 20 00:01:02,333 --> 00:01:03,958 of the extended family of Mars Hill Global. 21 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:05,292 Sign up today. 22 00:01:05,333 --> 00:01:08,167 Become a member of the extended family, 23 00:01:08,250 --> 00:01:10,500 start participating online with us, 24 00:01:10,542 --> 00:01:13,500 and let's see what Jesus Christ is going to do, 25 00:01:13,542 --> 00:01:16,417 not only in the United States, but to the ends of the Earth. 26 00:01:17,667 --> 00:01:21,667 [music] 27 00:01:28,250 --> 00:01:31,167 Something that many people may not realize about 28 00:01:31,208 --> 00:01:33,167 Mars Hill Church is 29 00:01:33,208 --> 00:01:35,917 Mars Hill started as a kidless church. 30 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,667 Pastor Mark and Grace as they launched the church 31 00:01:38,708 --> 00:01:41,625 as a small Bible study, didn't yet have kids, 32 00:01:41,667 --> 00:01:45,167 and I don't believe we had a single child 33 00:01:45,208 --> 00:01:48,042 at Mars Hill Church until at least the church began 34 00:01:48,125 --> 00:01:50,458 its second, maybe even third year. 35 00:01:50,500 --> 00:01:53,333 But here's what's incredible today: on any given Sunday 36 00:01:53,417 --> 00:01:55,833 at Mars Hill Church we have almost 3,000 children. 37 00:01:55,875 --> 00:01:58,708 Almost a megachurch of children alone that attend 38 00:01:58,792 --> 00:02:01,500 Mars Hill Church. 39 00:02:01,542 --> 00:02:03,875 Who's excited that it's almost Christmas? 40 00:02:03,958 --> 00:02:08,667 Alright, absolutely. 41 00:02:08,750 --> 00:02:10,167 Why do we celebrate Christmas? 42 00:02:10,250 --> 00:02:11,833 What's Christmas about? 43 00:02:11,875 --> 00:02:13,333 It's Jesus' birthday. 44 00:02:13,375 --> 00:02:14,708 It's Jesus' birthday? 45 00:02:14,792 --> 00:02:16,208 Good, did you have something different? 46 00:02:16,292 --> 00:02:20,875 To celebrate and have fun on his birthday. 47 00:02:24,500 --> 00:02:27,167 What's the funnest thing you do on Jesus' birthday? 48 00:02:27,208 --> 00:02:30,042 I like to open presents. 49 00:02:30,125 --> 00:02:33,542 Awesome. 50 00:02:33,625 --> 00:02:39,833 Go over to my grandma's house and we have ice cream 51 00:02:39,917 --> 00:02:42,250 while we're watching a movie. 52 00:02:42,333 --> 00:02:45,833 Wow. 53 00:02:45,917 --> 00:02:47,917 What's so special about Jesus? 54 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,458 How is Jesus different than any other boy that's ever been born? 55 00:02:51,500 --> 00:02:53,333 He's God's Son. 56 00:02:53,417 --> 00:02:55,250 Okay, good, he's God's Son. What else? 57 00:02:55,333 --> 00:02:56,833 He doesn't sin. 58 00:02:56,917 --> 00:02:58,500 He doesn't sin, good. 59 00:02:58,583 --> 00:03:01,083 He loves us more than anything. 60 00:03:01,167 --> 00:03:02,500 Good. 61 00:03:02,583 --> 00:03:04,500 Alright, let me ask you guys another question: 62 00:03:04,583 --> 00:03:06,708 what were the names of Jesus' mom and dad? 63 00:03:06,792 --> 00:03:08,625 Who were they? Mary and Joseph. 64 00:03:08,667 --> 00:03:10,167 Okay, Mary and Joseph. 65 00:03:10,250 --> 00:03:13,167 Do you think Joseph and Mary ever had any problems with Jesus 66 00:03:13,250 --> 00:03:14,667 when he was a little boy? 67 00:03:14,750 --> 00:03:16,667 No. No. 68 00:03:16,750 --> 00:03:18,708 Who wants to sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus? 69 00:03:18,792 --> 00:03:20,333 Who wants to start us off? 70 00:03:20,375 --> 00:03:22,208 Can you start us off? 71 00:03:22,292 --> 00:03:23,833 Alright, you stand up. 72 00:03:23,917 --> 00:03:25,625 Alright, you stand up and lead us. 73 00:03:25,667 --> 00:03:27,833 We're all going to sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. 74 00:03:27,875 --> 00:03:29,833 Okay, start us out. Ready, go. 75 00:03:29,875 --> 00:03:31,333 ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ 76 00:03:31,375 --> 00:03:32,708 Real loud. 77 00:03:32,792 --> 00:03:36,667 ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ 78 00:03:36,708 --> 00:03:41,625 ♪ Happy birthday dear Jesus ♪ 79 00:03:41,667 --> 00:03:46,125 ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ 80 00:03:46,167 --> 00:03:48,792 ♪ Cha-cha-cha ♪♪ 81 00:03:50,167 --> 00:03:54,625 The biggest opportunity in the world 82 00:03:57,208 --> 00:03:59,833 is to be a part of God's people, 83 00:03:59,917 --> 00:04:01,583 God's family, his church. 84 00:04:01,667 --> 00:04:04,083 If Jesus is ultimately important, 85 00:04:04,167 --> 00:04:06,625 then the people who love Jesus are critically important 86 00:04:06,667 --> 00:04:09,083 to us as well. 87 00:04:16,667 --> 00:04:18,417 Merry Christmas. 88 00:04:18,500 --> 00:04:22,042 This is our big Christmas celebration, 89 00:04:22,125 --> 00:04:25,250 and for those of you who are part of the Mars Hill family, 90 00:04:25,333 --> 00:04:26,667 we're glad to see you. 91 00:04:26,708 --> 00:04:29,417 For those of you who are visiting our church family, 92 00:04:29,500 --> 00:04:32,125 we want to welcome you, especially the kids. 93 00:04:32,167 --> 00:04:34,958 We're doing this service a little bit differently. 94 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:39,167 The family style means that the little people 95 00:04:39,208 --> 00:04:41,708 will be with us in the big room. 96 00:04:41,792 --> 00:04:44,542 So if your kids are making noise, climbing around, 97 00:04:44,625 --> 00:04:46,958 running around, that's totally fine. 98 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:48,958 We love them; it's good to have them. 99 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,708 And when families get together for the holidays it's the kids 100 00:04:51,792 --> 00:04:53,750 who really make Christmas, right? 101 00:04:53,833 --> 00:04:56,667 And at our house we've got our kids and then the cousins 102 00:04:56,708 --> 00:04:59,625 come over, and yes, it's going to be loud, and yes, 103 00:04:59,667 --> 00:05:03,000 it's going to be a mess, and yes, it's going to be noisy, 104 00:05:03,083 --> 00:05:04,833 and that's what makes it wonderful. 105 00:05:04,875 --> 00:05:08,292 So don't "shh" your kids a lot; just let 'em have a good time, 106 00:05:08,333 --> 00:05:10,708 and we're glad to have you with us. 107 00:05:10,792 --> 00:05:14,667 And one of the things that makes Christmas so wonderful is that 108 00:05:14,750 --> 00:05:18,375 we get to think about and celebrate birth. 109 00:05:18,458 --> 00:05:20,583 And who doesn't love birth? 110 00:05:20,667 --> 00:05:23,833 I know every time Grace was pregnant with one of our kids 111 00:05:23,875 --> 00:05:28,167 I was thrilled, excited, really anticipating the great gift 112 00:05:28,208 --> 00:05:29,958 of the next child. 113 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,750 Any time someone in my extended family or a church family 114 00:05:32,833 --> 00:05:34,333 comes up and says, 115 00:05:34,375 --> 00:05:36,250 "I've got good news to tell: We're pregnant," 116 00:05:36,333 --> 00:05:37,958 it's a celebratory joy. 117 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,250 It's a wonderful opportunity when somebody introduces you 118 00:05:41,333 --> 00:05:43,458 to their newborn baby. 119 00:05:43,500 --> 00:05:48,167 What an amazing, epic moment and event and gift that is. 120 00:05:48,208 --> 00:05:51,333 And at the Christmas season we celebrate the birth 121 00:05:51,375 --> 00:05:53,250 of Jesus Christ, 122 00:05:53,333 --> 00:05:55,250 Immanuel, God with us. 123 00:05:55,333 --> 00:05:57,833 The eternal God entered into history, 124 00:05:57,875 --> 00:06:00,500 the Creator God entered into creation. 125 00:06:00,583 --> 00:06:06,875 God who made man came down as a man, starting as a baby. 126 00:06:06,958 --> 00:06:11,208 And ultimately we celebrate every year this great birth of 127 00:06:11,292 --> 00:06:14,833 Jesus, the most important person who's ever lived 128 00:06:14,875 --> 00:06:16,833 in the history of the world. 129 00:06:16,875 --> 00:06:18,708 More songs have been sung about him, 130 00:06:18,792 --> 00:06:21,333 more paintings painted of him, more books written regarding him 131 00:06:21,375 --> 00:06:23,750 than anyone who lived in the history of the world. 132 00:06:23,833 --> 00:06:27,417 Our calendar is all about Jesus: B.C., before Christ, 133 00:06:27,500 --> 00:06:30,333 A.D., anno Domini, "the year of our Lord," 134 00:06:30,417 --> 00:06:32,750 is what it means in Latin. 135 00:06:32,833 --> 00:06:36,458 Our entire recording of human history is around the birth 136 00:06:36,500 --> 00:06:39,208 of this baby, the Lord Jesus Christ. 137 00:06:39,292 --> 00:06:42,542 That's why we sing songs about the birth of Jesus, 138 00:06:42,625 --> 00:06:45,333 we send out cards with depictions of the birth 139 00:06:45,417 --> 00:06:49,250 of Jesus, and that's why we're here today to examine 140 00:06:49,333 --> 00:06:51,333 the birth of Jesus. 141 00:06:51,417 --> 00:06:54,458 And I know some of you are Christians and you believe that 142 00:06:54,500 --> 00:06:57,833 Jesus grew up and lived without sin, and died for your sin, 143 00:06:57,917 --> 00:07:00,833 and rose for your salvation, and ascended into heaven, 144 00:07:00,875 --> 00:07:02,708 and he's alive and well today. 145 00:07:02,792 --> 00:07:05,667 Some of you don't believe that or you at least question that 146 00:07:05,750 --> 00:07:08,500 or in the process of coming to believe that. 147 00:07:08,583 --> 00:07:11,667 In light of that, here's the question I want to answer 148 00:07:11,750 --> 00:07:14,708 in what will be a short sermon for you. 149 00:07:14,792 --> 00:07:18,333 Maybe that's my Christmas gift: you get one short sermon a year. 150 00:07:18,375 --> 00:07:20,917 So here it is, we're going to answer this question: 151 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:25,417 Why was Jesus born? 152 00:07:25,500 --> 00:07:29,167 At Christmas we celebrate that he was born, the question is, 153 00:07:29,208 --> 00:07:31,958 why was Jesus born? 154 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,542 Here's the answer: Jesus was born so that we 155 00:07:35,625 --> 00:07:38,042 could be born again. 156 00:07:38,125 --> 00:07:42,333 Go to 1 Peter 1:3 and if you don't have a Bible it's okay, 157 00:07:42,417 --> 00:07:44,542 we'll put it up on the screen. 158 00:07:44,625 --> 00:07:46,250 Let's read it together. 159 00:07:46,333 --> 00:07:49,625 Here is Peter, now, for those of you who may not be familiar with 160 00:07:49,667 --> 00:07:53,208 the ministry of Jesus, he had disciples, students, 161 00:07:53,292 --> 00:07:55,667 and they followed him and they learned from him. 162 00:07:55,708 --> 00:07:58,042 And one of them was a man named Peter, 163 00:07:58,125 --> 00:08:01,500 and he ended up being the leader of the disciples. 164 00:08:01,583 --> 00:08:04,667 And so at this point Jesus has died, risen, 165 00:08:04,750 --> 00:08:07,833 returned to heaven, and this man Peter is the leader 166 00:08:07,875 --> 00:08:10,125 of early Christianity. 167 00:08:10,167 --> 00:08:14,417 And here's what he writes in a book bearing his name, 168 00:08:14,500 --> 00:08:18,708 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!" 169 00:08:18,792 --> 00:08:20,917 He says, "I'm really excited about something. 170 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,000 "I want to share something amazing with you. 171 00:08:23,083 --> 00:08:26,167 This is something to be really enthusiastic about." 172 00:08:26,208 --> 00:08:29,833 That whole concept of "blessed be" is a way of rejoicing, 173 00:08:29,917 --> 00:08:34,167 of celebrating; it's the kind of emotional response we have when 174 00:08:34,208 --> 00:08:37,250 a really sweet couple comes up and says, "We're engaged," 175 00:08:37,333 --> 00:08:39,750 or a couple comes up and says, "We're pregnant," 176 00:08:39,833 --> 00:08:42,958 or someone comes up and says, "Meet my newborn baby." 177 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,500 It's a rejoicing; it's a celebrating. 178 00:08:46,583 --> 00:08:52,250 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! 179 00:08:52,333 --> 00:08:55,125 According to his great mercy--" 180 00:08:55,167 --> 00:08:58,000 He's here alluding to the love of God, 181 00:08:58,083 --> 00:09:00,292 the kindness of God, the compassion of God, 182 00:09:00,333 --> 00:09:03,208 the affection of God, the Father heart of God. 183 00:09:03,292 --> 00:09:05,917 He just told us that God is a Father, 184 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,000 and he has now this great insight of mercy is 185 00:09:10,083 --> 00:09:12,500 the Father's heart toward us. 186 00:09:12,583 --> 00:09:14,583 Some of you didn't have a father. 187 00:09:14,667 --> 00:09:17,500 Some of you didn't have a good father and when you would 188 00:09:17,583 --> 00:09:21,000 do something wrong you would live in terror of your father. 189 00:09:21,083 --> 00:09:23,000 Will he get angry? Will he care? 190 00:09:23,083 --> 00:09:25,250 Will he help? Will he hurt? 191 00:09:25,333 --> 00:09:28,167 Well, God's a Father whose heart is filled with mercy. 192 00:09:28,208 --> 00:09:31,000 God's a Father who loves his kids. 193 00:09:31,083 --> 00:09:34,833 God's the kind of Father that in your time of need you run to 194 00:09:34,917 --> 00:09:39,833 him, not from him, knowing that he'll help you and not harm you. 195 00:09:39,917 --> 00:09:43,167 "According to his great mercy--" What has he done for us? 196 00:09:43,208 --> 00:09:47,542 What has this great Father done for the family of God? 197 00:09:47,625 --> 00:09:54,458 "He has caused us to be born again," born again. 198 00:09:54,500 --> 00:09:58,333 So Jesus was born that we might be born again, 199 00:09:58,417 --> 00:10:01,667 "to a living hope through the resurrection of 200 00:10:01,708 --> 00:10:04,833 Jesus Christ from the dead." 201 00:10:04,917 --> 00:10:09,000 Let me unpack this big idea of being born again. 202 00:10:09,083 --> 00:10:12,167 And this comes out of John 3. 203 00:10:12,208 --> 00:10:16,042 While on the earth, Jesus was out preaching and teaching, 204 00:10:16,125 --> 00:10:18,208 and he met a man named Nicodemus. 205 00:10:18,292 --> 00:10:21,042 Nicodemus was a devoutly religious man. 206 00:10:21,125 --> 00:10:24,083 He'd studied the Scriptures, he knew quite a bit. 207 00:10:24,167 --> 00:10:28,750 He'd been born into a believing household and family line. 208 00:10:28,833 --> 00:10:32,875 Though he had been born, he had not yet been born again. 209 00:10:32,958 --> 00:10:36,167 And so he encountered Jesus, and he had questions for Jesus, 210 00:10:36,250 --> 00:10:38,375 and Jesus said something to Nicodemus 211 00:10:38,458 --> 00:10:40,375 that utterly confused him. 212 00:10:40,458 --> 00:10:43,083 He looked at him right in the eye and he said, 213 00:10:43,167 --> 00:10:45,083 "You must be born again." 214 00:10:45,167 --> 00:10:47,375 Nicodemus was confused. 215 00:10:47,458 --> 00:10:50,500 "What do you mean born again?" 216 00:10:50,542 --> 00:10:54,667 What he's talking about is that we are born physically 217 00:10:54,750 --> 00:10:56,375 and we celebrate that. 218 00:10:56,458 --> 00:11:00,042 That's why we have birthdays and we celebrate our birth. 219 00:11:00,125 --> 00:11:02,833 But in addition to being born physically we need to be 220 00:11:02,875 --> 00:11:05,167 born again spiritually. 221 00:11:05,208 --> 00:11:07,958 We need a second birth of our soul. 222 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:12,708 The first birth is of our body, the second birth is of our soul. 223 00:11:12,792 --> 00:11:15,500 Let me explain why this is necessary. 224 00:11:15,583 --> 00:11:18,625 We are born in sin. 225 00:11:18,667 --> 00:11:21,833 Some of you don't like to hear about sin, but let me say, 226 00:11:21,917 --> 00:11:25,458 it is incredibly helpful to believe in sin. 227 00:11:25,500 --> 00:11:28,833 It explains why the world is not the way that it should be. 228 00:11:28,917 --> 00:11:32,042 It explains why we are not the way we should be. 229 00:11:32,125 --> 00:11:34,958 It explains even why our relationships and sometimes 230 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:37,500 those difficult moments during the holidays, 231 00:11:37,583 --> 00:11:41,458 why our families are not the way they should be. 232 00:11:41,500 --> 00:11:43,458 Something's gone wrong. 233 00:11:43,500 --> 00:11:48,542 And the Bible tells us that it's sin. 234 00:11:48,625 --> 00:11:50,667 Let me explain that to you. 235 00:11:50,708 --> 00:11:56,000 Sin is in relation to God. The Bible says that God is holy, 236 00:11:56,083 --> 00:11:58,333 and God is good, and God is perfect. 237 00:11:58,375 --> 00:12:02,667 Sin is anything that is contrary to the will of God, 238 00:12:02,750 --> 00:12:04,833 the Word of God, the ways of God. 239 00:12:04,875 --> 00:12:07,333 To make it as simple as possible, 240 00:12:07,375 --> 00:12:11,083 sin is whatever God is not. 241 00:12:11,167 --> 00:12:14,667 Sin includes our thoughts because God knows our thoughts. 242 00:12:14,750 --> 00:12:18,000 Sin includes our words, sin includes our deeds, 243 00:12:18,083 --> 00:12:21,000 sin includes our motives, why we do and don't do the things 244 00:12:21,083 --> 00:12:22,542 we do and don't do. 245 00:12:22,625 --> 00:12:25,708 Sin includes commission; this is where you do a bad thing. 246 00:12:25,792 --> 00:12:28,167 Sin includes omission, where you were supposed to do 247 00:12:28,208 --> 00:12:30,667 a good thing and you failed to do it. 248 00:12:30,708 --> 00:12:34,500 All of that is what the Bible means by "sin." 249 00:12:34,583 --> 00:12:39,042 And we're sinful from our mother's womb. 250 00:12:39,125 --> 00:12:43,625 There's a guy named David, he writes a book of the Bible 251 00:12:43,667 --> 00:12:45,042 called Psalms. 252 00:12:45,125 --> 00:12:47,625 He contributes many of these songs. 253 00:12:47,667 --> 00:12:53,167 In Psalm 51 he says that we are sinful from our mother's womb. 254 00:12:53,208 --> 00:12:57,125 Everyone is, with the exception of Jesus Christ. 255 00:12:58,125 --> 00:13:01,417 Everyone is, with the exception of Jesus Christ. 256 00:13:01,500 --> 00:13:04,917 That's why Jesus had an earthly mother but no earthly father. 257 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:10,500 He did not have any inherited sin nature handed down to him; 258 00:13:10,583 --> 00:13:12,375 he was without sin. 259 00:13:12,458 --> 00:13:15,208 He was the beginning of a whole new humanity. 260 00:13:15,292 --> 00:13:20,000 Now, the truth is, going back to the very beginning, 261 00:13:20,083 --> 00:13:23,000 we had two parents: our first parents, Adam and Eve. 262 00:13:23,083 --> 00:13:27,333 They were created by God, and he loved them and provided 263 00:13:27,417 --> 00:13:31,958 a perfect environment for them, and they sinned against him. 264 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:37,333 And as a result we inherit a sin nature from our mother's womb. 265 00:13:37,417 --> 00:13:42,000 This leads to a life of sin separated from God, 266 00:13:42,083 --> 00:13:46,750 the consequence of which is death, so we could be born 267 00:13:46,833 --> 00:13:52,333 physically, live sinfully, and die eternally. 268 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:59,042 And God loves us so much that he chose to do something to save us 269 00:13:59,125 --> 00:14:01,208 from that terrible thing. 270 00:14:01,292 --> 00:14:07,500 His Father heart of mercy causes us to be born again, 271 00:14:07,583 --> 00:14:11,208 a new birth, a spiritual birth. 272 00:14:11,292 --> 00:14:16,208 And this is in--he says it this way: "Through the resurrection 273 00:14:16,292 --> 00:14:19,167 of Jesus Christ from the dead." 274 00:14:19,250 --> 00:14:24,125 So God's a Father, we're a sinner, Jesus is the Savior. 275 00:14:24,167 --> 00:14:27,667 And what he's saying is this: salvation, 276 00:14:27,708 --> 00:14:32,333 this great gift of mercy, the means by which we are born again 277 00:14:32,417 --> 00:14:35,750 spiritually--because you could be physically alive 278 00:14:35,833 --> 00:14:37,833 but spiritually dead. 279 00:14:37,875 --> 00:14:41,125 You could be breathing but not connected relationally 280 00:14:41,167 --> 00:14:42,958 to the God of the Bible. 281 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,958 That God has done something to take away our sin problem, 282 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,458 and he does that through Jesus Christ. 283 00:14:49,500 --> 00:14:51,458 So now we're back to the Christmas story. 284 00:14:51,500 --> 00:14:53,542 Why was Jesus born? 285 00:14:53,625 --> 00:14:57,250 Well, his name indicates the reason that he came. 286 00:14:57,333 --> 00:15:01,583 The name "Jesus" literally means he is our Savior, 287 00:15:01,667 --> 00:15:03,708 he is our Savior. 288 00:15:03,792 --> 00:15:07,792 And so Jesus is born, conceived in the womb of Mary. 289 00:15:07,833 --> 00:15:09,917 He does not have an earthly father, 290 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,708 he does not have an inherited sin nature, 291 00:15:12,792 --> 00:15:16,708 he's not a biological descendant of Adam, our first father, 292 00:15:16,792 --> 00:15:18,208 and he is born. 293 00:15:18,292 --> 00:15:20,375 And that's what we celebrate at Christmas. 294 00:15:20,458 --> 00:15:22,667 And then he grows in wisdom, stature, 295 00:15:22,708 --> 00:15:25,500 and favor with men and God, Luke tells us. 296 00:15:25,583 --> 00:15:28,708 And he lives a life without any sin. 297 00:15:28,792 --> 00:15:31,250 He preaches, he teaches, he heals people, 298 00:15:31,333 --> 00:15:34,500 he cares for the widow, the orphan, the outcast, 299 00:15:34,583 --> 00:15:36,500 the marginalized, the needy. 300 00:15:36,583 --> 00:15:39,625 Jesus lives the most amazing, extraordinary life 301 00:15:39,667 --> 00:15:41,458 in the history of the world. 302 00:15:41,500 --> 00:15:45,125 That's why we still have our biggest holidays regarding him. 303 00:15:45,167 --> 00:15:47,542 And so Christmas is about his birth, 304 00:15:47,625 --> 00:15:50,667 and Easter is about his death and resurrection, 305 00:15:50,708 --> 00:15:53,125 what Peter is speaking of here. 306 00:15:53,167 --> 00:15:56,042 And Jesus lives without sin, and he goes to the cross, 307 00:15:56,125 --> 00:16:00,625 and he dies in our place for our sins. 308 00:16:00,667 --> 00:16:04,500 And then he rises 3 days later, actually on a Sunday. 309 00:16:04,583 --> 00:16:07,000 That's why Christians worship on a Sunday. 310 00:16:07,083 --> 00:16:09,625 It's the day of Jesus' resurrection. 311 00:16:09,667 --> 00:16:13,083 Death is the consequence for sin, 312 00:16:13,167 --> 00:16:18,667 and because Jesus had no sin, death could not hold him. 313 00:16:18,750 --> 00:16:24,042 And since he died for our sin, his resurrection is our victory. 314 00:16:24,125 --> 00:16:26,250 That's what Peter is saying. 315 00:16:26,333 --> 00:16:29,208 Here's my question to you: Have you been born again? 316 00:16:29,292 --> 00:16:30,833 You say, "I don't know." 317 00:16:30,917 --> 00:16:34,542 Have you turned from sin and trusted in Jesus? 318 00:16:34,625 --> 00:16:39,542 See, what I don't want you to do is simply appreciate the life 319 00:16:39,625 --> 00:16:45,000 of Jesus; I want you to experience the life of Jesus. 320 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:52,167 Anyone can appreciate the life of Jesus, loving, gracious, 321 00:16:52,208 --> 00:16:57,500 merciful, kind, generous, very nice to women, children, 322 00:16:57,583 --> 00:16:59,750 those in need. 323 00:16:59,833 --> 00:17:02,333 Anyone can admire the life of Jesus, 324 00:17:02,375 --> 00:17:05,208 but only someone who's been born again can experience 325 00:17:05,292 --> 00:17:07,417 the life of Jesus. 326 00:17:07,500 --> 00:17:09,833 The resurrected life of Jesus Christ 327 00:17:09,875 --> 00:17:12,208 coming into your life. 328 00:17:12,292 --> 00:17:14,625 That's what it means to be born again. 329 00:17:14,667 --> 00:17:17,708 It means to be born again in Jesus Christ. 330 00:17:17,792 --> 00:17:21,417 That takes two things: repentance and faith. 331 00:17:21,500 --> 00:17:25,167 Repentance is where we see ourselves as a sinner in need 332 00:17:25,208 --> 00:17:28,708 of a Savior, and faith is where we trust in the death, burial, 333 00:17:28,792 --> 00:17:31,417 and resurrection of Jesus. 334 00:17:31,500 --> 00:17:33,333 Again, back to Peter. 335 00:17:33,417 --> 00:17:38,333 "He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through 336 00:17:38,417 --> 00:17:44,458 the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 337 00:17:44,500 --> 00:17:49,333 Now, let me say what happens to you when you become born again: 338 00:17:49,375 --> 00:17:52,208 Everything changes. 339 00:17:52,292 --> 00:17:54,625 For some it changes a little bit at a time, 340 00:17:54,667 --> 00:17:58,125 for some it changes a lot at a time, 341 00:17:58,167 --> 00:18:00,292 but you begin to change. 342 00:18:00,333 --> 00:18:03,000 Just like when someone is born physically, 343 00:18:03,042 --> 00:18:06,625 their environment changes, their activities change, 344 00:18:06,667 --> 00:18:10,125 they begin to grow and change outside of the womb. 345 00:18:10,167 --> 00:18:12,583 The analogy is similar. 346 00:18:12,667 --> 00:18:15,833 When you're born again spiritually you start to grow, 347 00:18:15,875 --> 00:18:20,708 and you change, and the life of Jesus starts working through you 348 00:18:20,792 --> 00:18:23,167 and taking over your life. 349 00:18:23,208 --> 00:18:25,917 That means you'll never be the same, and for the rest 350 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:29,708 of your life you'll grow to be more and more and more 351 00:18:29,792 --> 00:18:33,333 like Jesus, if you've been born again. 352 00:18:33,417 --> 00:18:35,458 A couple of things that this includes, 353 00:18:35,500 --> 00:18:37,167 number one: a new Lord. 354 00:18:37,208 --> 00:18:40,333 All of a sudden, if you're born again and if you have been 355 00:18:40,417 --> 00:18:43,333 born again, the most important person in your life is not you; 356 00:18:43,417 --> 00:18:44,833 it's Jesus. 357 00:18:44,917 --> 00:18:48,000 The highest authority in your life is not you; it's Jesus. 358 00:18:48,083 --> 00:18:50,667 The greatest goal of your life is not your will, 359 00:18:50,708 --> 00:18:52,500 but his will be done. 360 00:18:52,583 --> 00:18:54,042 A new Lord. 361 00:18:54,125 --> 00:18:57,208 Number two: if you've been born again you become a new person. 362 00:18:57,292 --> 00:19:00,625 The Bible talks about Christians becoming new creations. 363 00:19:00,667 --> 00:19:02,625 You're a new person. 364 00:19:02,667 --> 00:19:05,667 You get a fresh, clean start and total forgiveness. 365 00:19:05,750 --> 00:19:08,208 This is why sometimes in the Bible people who become 366 00:19:08,292 --> 00:19:11,000 Christians, they get a new name, that's how new they are. 367 00:19:11,042 --> 00:19:13,125 So Abram becomes Abraham, and Cephas becomes Peter, 368 00:19:13,167 --> 00:19:16,167 and Saul becomes Paul, and people get new names. 369 00:19:16,250 --> 00:19:17,792 Why? 370 00:19:17,833 --> 00:19:20,500 They're just a radically new person. 371 00:19:20,583 --> 00:19:23,333 Here's the big idea: You can't meet Jesus and not change. 372 00:19:23,417 --> 00:19:24,750 Some of you may say, 373 00:19:24,833 --> 00:19:26,958 "Oh, but I'm a Christian but I've not changed." 374 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:28,500 You may not be a Christian. 375 00:19:28,583 --> 00:19:30,833 You may have been born into a Christian family, 376 00:19:30,917 --> 00:19:34,458 but you have not yet been born again into the family of God. 377 00:19:34,500 --> 00:19:38,250 Number three: You get a new identity. 378 00:19:38,333 --> 00:19:41,708 You no longer identify yourself by what you've done, 379 00:19:41,792 --> 00:19:44,917 or what others have done to you, what successes, failures, 380 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,542 achievements you have throughout the course of your life. 381 00:19:48,625 --> 00:19:51,542 Now your identity is in Christ. 382 00:19:51,625 --> 00:19:57,333 "He loved me, he forgives me, he saves me, he'll never leave me, 383 00:19:57,375 --> 00:20:00,333 "he'll never forsake me. 384 00:20:00,375 --> 00:20:02,667 "Whatever I go through is an opportunity to become 385 00:20:02,708 --> 00:20:04,667 more like him." 386 00:20:04,708 --> 00:20:07,417 It changes our entire understanding of who we are, 387 00:20:07,500 --> 00:20:11,750 where we come from, why we're here, and where we're going. 388 00:20:11,833 --> 00:20:16,625 To be born again includes, number four, a new power. 389 00:20:16,667 --> 00:20:20,500 What happens with sin is that it becomes very powerful, 390 00:20:20,583 --> 00:20:23,875 and in the face of it we feel very powerless. 391 00:20:23,958 --> 00:20:28,792 This is why around New Year's there's a flood of new books, 392 00:20:28,833 --> 00:20:33,292 "New Year, New You," that's what all the marketing slogans say. 393 00:20:33,333 --> 00:20:36,333 Everybody gets a gym membership and is totally committed to 394 00:20:36,417 --> 00:20:41,167 the treadmill for 3 consecutive days and then it's over. 395 00:20:41,250 --> 00:20:44,875 And the talk shows and the social media is 396 00:20:44,958 --> 00:20:46,583 all about your resolutions. 397 00:20:46,667 --> 00:20:49,583 What are you going to do this year to make a change 398 00:20:49,667 --> 00:20:51,000 in your life? 399 00:20:51,042 --> 00:20:54,042 Here's the truth: Apart from God's power, 400 00:20:54,125 --> 00:20:56,875 we cannot live a new life. 401 00:20:56,958 --> 00:20:59,292 We may be able to make some changes, 402 00:20:59,333 --> 00:21:02,333 but we're ultimately not changed. 403 00:21:02,417 --> 00:21:06,250 And some of you have besetting sins. 404 00:21:06,333 --> 00:21:10,958 What that means is you've tried, and you can't stop. 405 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:14,333 Maybe the pattern is every day or every week or every month 406 00:21:14,375 --> 00:21:19,500 or every quarter or every year, but you're stuck. 407 00:21:21,583 --> 00:21:25,833 You may try to excuse it, blame someone else for it, manage it, 408 00:21:25,875 --> 00:21:28,458 control it, deny it, hide it. 409 00:21:28,500 --> 00:21:33,333 In Christ you can be rid of it because there's a new power 410 00:21:33,417 --> 00:21:35,458 if you're born again. 411 00:21:35,500 --> 00:21:38,125 And it's not your power living a life for God; 412 00:21:38,167 --> 00:21:42,250 it's God's power living a new life in you. 413 00:21:42,333 --> 00:21:45,917 That Jesus will send the Holy Spirit, 414 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,500 the third member of the Trinity, the same power that allowed him 415 00:21:49,583 --> 00:21:53,542 to live a sinless life and to live in victory over temptation, 416 00:21:53,625 --> 00:21:57,167 he will send through the new birth the Holy Spirit 417 00:21:57,208 --> 00:21:58,750 to live in you. 418 00:21:58,833 --> 00:22:00,667 Now there's a new power. 419 00:22:00,750 --> 00:22:03,125 You don't have to do what you used to do. 420 00:22:03,167 --> 00:22:04,792 You can act differently. 421 00:22:04,833 --> 00:22:06,500 And it's not by your power. 422 00:22:06,542 --> 00:22:08,708 What we're not talking about here is more self-discipline, 423 00:22:08,792 --> 00:22:11,292 more self-condemnation, more self-motivation; 424 00:22:11,333 --> 00:22:14,917 we're talking about the life of Jesus in you, 425 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:16,833 and all of a sudden, 426 00:22:16,875 --> 00:22:19,333 you're a different person, and you're able to live 427 00:22:19,375 --> 00:22:22,000 a different and new life. 428 00:22:22,083 --> 00:22:24,125 Number five: This includes a new mind. 429 00:22:24,167 --> 00:22:27,667 You start to think differently. 430 00:22:27,708 --> 00:22:31,542 Things you used to be ashamed of, you're now proud of. 431 00:22:31,625 --> 00:22:34,542 Things that you used to be proud of, you're now ashamed of. 432 00:22:34,625 --> 00:22:37,542 The way you used to see God and the world and yourself 433 00:22:37,625 --> 00:22:40,542 has changed and all of a sudden you see God as good, 434 00:22:40,625 --> 00:22:43,625 and yourself as sinful, and the world is in need of him. 435 00:22:43,667 --> 00:22:45,667 Your mind changes. 436 00:22:45,708 --> 00:22:48,750 How you view your identity, your relationships, your finances, 437 00:22:48,833 --> 00:22:52,542 your work, your family, your spouse, your kids, 438 00:22:52,625 --> 00:22:55,833 your whole mindset changes. 439 00:22:55,917 --> 00:22:58,417 How many of you have experienced this? 440 00:22:58,500 --> 00:23:02,625 The longer you live the new life in Christ--someone who's been 441 00:23:02,667 --> 00:23:06,208 born again, you're thinking through the renewing of your 442 00:23:06,292 --> 00:23:10,500 mind and the Word of God, it just keeps changing. 443 00:23:10,583 --> 00:23:13,208 Number six: You get a new community. 444 00:23:13,292 --> 00:23:15,917 The church then becomes a family. 445 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,417 God is the Father, Jesus is the saving big brother. 446 00:23:19,500 --> 00:23:22,833 That means that the church becomes a new family. 447 00:23:22,917 --> 00:23:25,542 That ladies are like sisters, and men are like brothers, 448 00:23:25,625 --> 00:23:28,958 and leaders are like big brothers and big sisters. 449 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:31,667 In this whole series, He Made Us Family, 450 00:23:31,708 --> 00:23:35,000 it's really about that, and some people, quite frankly, 451 00:23:35,083 --> 00:23:37,500 during the holidays it becomes very difficult because they 452 00:23:37,583 --> 00:23:40,667 don't have a good, godly family, a supportive, loving, 453 00:23:40,708 --> 00:23:43,667 nurturing, caring, committed family. 454 00:23:43,708 --> 00:23:46,167 Well, church is family too, 455 00:23:46,208 --> 00:23:50,625 and some do have a supportive, loving family. 456 00:23:50,667 --> 00:23:53,125 And they're doubly blessed with their family of birth, 457 00:23:53,167 --> 00:23:55,333 and their family of new birth. 458 00:23:55,375 --> 00:23:59,458 And one of the great joys, every Christmas, of mine is that God 459 00:23:59,500 --> 00:24:03,000 has saved my whole family, my two sisters, my two brothers, 460 00:24:03,083 --> 00:24:05,875 my mom, and my dad. 461 00:24:05,958 --> 00:24:11,125 And so my family of birth has been born again. 462 00:24:11,167 --> 00:24:14,000 And when we get together they're my family of birth 463 00:24:14,042 --> 00:24:16,333 and new birth. 464 00:24:16,375 --> 00:24:19,583 What holds us together is not just that we're blood relatives, 465 00:24:19,667 --> 00:24:23,333 but the blood of Jesus Christ in our place for our sins. 466 00:24:23,375 --> 00:24:26,042 You get a new community. 467 00:24:26,125 --> 00:24:28,833 For those of you that have godly family, you're doubly blessed; 468 00:24:28,917 --> 00:24:31,000 you get to be part of the church. 469 00:24:31,083 --> 00:24:33,458 For those of you who don't have godly family, 470 00:24:33,500 --> 00:24:35,833 you're not abandoned; you still have the church family. 471 00:24:35,917 --> 00:24:37,333 It's your new community. 472 00:24:37,417 --> 00:24:39,958 And number seven: You get new desires. 473 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:43,542 And if you're not a Christian you may be shocked by this, 474 00:24:43,625 --> 00:24:45,458 but what happens when you're born again 475 00:24:45,500 --> 00:24:47,833 is you get new desires. 476 00:24:47,917 --> 00:24:51,042 You want to do things you never wanted to do and you don't 477 00:24:51,125 --> 00:24:54,125 want to do things that you always used to want to do. 478 00:24:54,167 --> 00:24:58,042 I was born again at the age of 19 in college, 479 00:24:58,125 --> 00:25:01,083 and suddenly my desires, my appetites, 480 00:25:01,167 --> 00:25:03,708 my longings started changing. 481 00:25:03,792 --> 00:25:08,875 I can still remember on a weekend in college, 482 00:25:08,958 --> 00:25:10,875 my friends were going out to do stuff, 483 00:25:10,958 --> 00:25:13,875 I don't remember what it was, and they said, "Are you going?" 484 00:25:13,958 --> 00:25:15,417 I said, "No." They said, "Why?" 485 00:25:15,500 --> 00:25:17,917 I said, "I'm going to read the Bible all day." 486 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:21,917 I never had that thought in my whole life. 487 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,458 They said, "What?" 488 00:25:24,500 --> 00:25:27,250 I remember one guy, he said something to the effect of, 489 00:25:27,333 --> 00:25:29,958 "You don't have to." 490 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,000 And I said something to the effect of, 491 00:25:32,083 --> 00:25:35,250 "I know, but I want to." 492 00:25:35,333 --> 00:25:39,000 See, Peter uses an analogy elsewhere. 493 00:25:39,083 --> 00:25:42,000 He said, "When babies are born they crave milk. 494 00:25:42,083 --> 00:25:44,042 They're hungry. They want to eat." 495 00:25:44,125 --> 00:25:47,208 When you're born again spiritually you're hungry 496 00:25:47,292 --> 00:25:49,333 for the Word of God. 497 00:25:49,417 --> 00:25:51,833 It's the nourishment that sustains your soul. 498 00:25:51,917 --> 00:25:54,250 All of a sudden, you start to get new desires. 499 00:25:54,333 --> 00:25:56,250 It's like, "I want to read the Bible. 500 00:25:56,333 --> 00:25:59,458 "I want to learn how to pray. I want to serve other people. 501 00:25:59,500 --> 00:26:01,292 "I want to get to know Christians. 502 00:26:01,333 --> 00:26:03,792 "I want to look at my possessions and my time. 503 00:26:03,833 --> 00:26:07,000 "And I want to look at my life and figure out how to 504 00:26:07,042 --> 00:26:10,417 "steward that, to manage that in a way that is most effective 505 00:26:10,500 --> 00:26:13,500 for God's glory and others' good and my joy." 506 00:26:13,583 --> 00:26:16,083 New desires. 507 00:26:16,167 --> 00:26:18,875 Let me ask you, those of you who've been born again, 508 00:26:18,958 --> 00:26:21,125 what new desires has God given you? 509 00:26:21,167 --> 00:26:23,667 You don't want to do what you used to do, 510 00:26:23,708 --> 00:26:26,750 you want to be more like Jesus, not because you have to 511 00:26:26,833 --> 00:26:29,917 but because you want to. 512 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,167 Paul has a great line in the New Testament. 513 00:26:33,208 --> 00:26:36,333 He says that sin fights to keep us from doing 514 00:26:36,417 --> 00:26:39,458 "what we want to do." 515 00:26:39,500 --> 00:26:42,000 Oh, those are new desires. 516 00:26:42,083 --> 00:26:45,125 He's saying that Satan and sin are always trying to get us 517 00:26:45,167 --> 00:26:47,500 to not do what we really want to do. 518 00:26:47,583 --> 00:26:50,708 Let me say this, if you are not a Christian your deepest desire 519 00:26:50,792 --> 00:26:52,833 is for sin. 520 00:26:52,917 --> 00:26:55,500 If you are a Christian and you've been born again in 521 00:26:55,583 --> 00:26:59,125 Jesus Christ, your deepest desire is for the will of God. 522 00:26:59,167 --> 00:27:01,208 So for those of you who are Christians, 523 00:27:01,292 --> 00:27:04,083 let me give you a secret, live a very passionate, devoted, 524 00:27:04,167 --> 00:27:07,667 committed life and don't settle for lesser desires, 525 00:27:07,750 --> 00:27:09,875 they tend to be sinful. 526 00:27:09,958 --> 00:27:14,500 Strive for the deeper desires, the deepest desire of your heart 527 00:27:14,542 --> 00:27:18,792 because if you're born again, your deepest, 528 00:27:18,833 --> 00:27:22,167 strongest desires are God's desires placed in you 529 00:27:22,208 --> 00:27:25,917 through Jesus. 530 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,667 In closing, this is the season of gift-giving 531 00:27:29,708 --> 00:27:31,042 and gift exchanges. 532 00:27:31,125 --> 00:27:33,542 You probably had one at work, or with your family, 533 00:27:33,625 --> 00:27:35,125 or Community Group, or friends, 534 00:27:35,167 --> 00:27:38,917 or you will in the next few days. 535 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,250 Christianity is about a gift exchange. 536 00:27:42,333 --> 00:27:44,750 Martin Luther, the great Protestant Reformer 537 00:27:44,833 --> 00:27:47,667 and Bible teacher, he called it, "the great exchange." 538 00:27:47,708 --> 00:27:49,833 Here's the great gift exchange. 539 00:27:49,917 --> 00:27:51,833 Here's what I want you to give Jesus, 540 00:27:51,917 --> 00:27:54,500 I want you to give Jesus something for Christmas. 541 00:27:54,583 --> 00:27:57,667 Probably not what you were thinking you would give him; 542 00:27:57,708 --> 00:28:00,500 give him your sin. 543 00:28:00,583 --> 00:28:03,125 He doesn't need anything. 544 00:28:03,167 --> 00:28:06,833 He's Creator God, right now ruling and reigning over all. 545 00:28:06,875 --> 00:28:09,875 Here's what he wants for Christmas: what Jesus wants 546 00:28:09,958 --> 00:28:13,625 for Christmas is your sin. 547 00:28:13,667 --> 00:28:18,208 That's why, again, Peter says, "Blessed be the God and Father 548 00:28:18,292 --> 00:28:19,833 "of our Lord Jesus Christ! 549 00:28:19,875 --> 00:28:21,667 According to his great mercy." 550 00:28:21,708 --> 00:28:24,458 Peter's saying, "This is unbelievable." 551 00:28:24,500 --> 00:28:27,333 In mercy, God wants our sin. 552 00:28:27,375 --> 00:28:30,042 Now, none of you would ask for that for Christmas, right? 553 00:28:30,125 --> 00:28:32,042 None of us on our Christmas list said, 554 00:28:32,125 --> 00:28:35,833 "I would like sin and I would like to be sinned against. 555 00:28:35,917 --> 00:28:38,458 That's what I would like." 556 00:28:38,500 --> 00:28:41,750 That's what Jesus put on his Christmas list. 557 00:28:41,833 --> 00:28:45,333 "Give me your sin." 558 00:28:45,375 --> 00:28:51,167 And then he's got a gift for you: born again, born again. 559 00:28:52,500 --> 00:28:56,458 He wants to give you himself as your new Lord. 560 00:28:56,500 --> 00:28:59,458 He wants you to be a new person with a new identity 561 00:28:59,500 --> 00:29:01,917 living by a new power with a new mind 562 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:03,625 as part of our church family, 563 00:29:03,667 --> 00:29:05,708 a new community, with new desires. 564 00:29:05,792 --> 00:29:07,625 This is the great exchange. 565 00:29:07,667 --> 00:29:12,625 Jesus invites you to give him your sin and to receive from him 566 00:29:12,667 --> 00:29:17,083 his resurrection life in you so that you can be born again. 567 00:29:17,167 --> 00:29:21,958 And so, what we're doing today is we're celebrating Jesus 568 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:26,333 and we're inviting you, not just to appreciate him, 569 00:29:26,375 --> 00:29:29,125 but to experience him. 570 00:29:29,167 --> 00:29:32,167 What this means, as well, is that we will today do 571 00:29:32,208 --> 00:29:34,042 two things that are important. 572 00:29:34,125 --> 00:29:37,417 We'll have baby dedications, where we celebrate the birth 573 00:29:37,500 --> 00:29:41,167 of a child, and we'll have baptisms, 574 00:29:41,208 --> 00:29:44,917 where we celebrate the fact that people have been born again 575 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,208 in Jesus Christ. 576 00:29:47,292 --> 00:29:49,833 And in baptism people are showing that they have been 577 00:29:49,875 --> 00:29:52,958 born again, that Jesus lived without sin, 578 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,542 and died, and was buried, and rose, 579 00:29:56,625 --> 00:29:59,667 and that when Christ died, they died, 580 00:29:59,708 --> 00:30:01,500 and when Christ rose, they rose. 581 00:30:01,583 --> 00:30:04,458 And just like water cleanses us from dirt and filth, 582 00:30:04,500 --> 00:30:08,833 so Jesus cleanses us from sin and death. 583 00:30:08,917 --> 00:30:14,708 And so we're going to invite you to give Jesus your sin, 584 00:30:14,792 --> 00:30:19,333 and be born again and be baptized as a demonstration 585 00:30:19,417 --> 00:30:21,667 of the mercy of God the Father. 586 00:30:21,750 --> 00:30:23,167 And some of you would say, 587 00:30:23,250 --> 00:30:25,167 "I did not come prepared to be baptized." 588 00:30:25,250 --> 00:30:28,333 God did not tell you in advance because he knew you would not 589 00:30:28,417 --> 00:30:31,583 show up, so he waited 'til right now to spring it on you. 590 00:30:31,667 --> 00:30:34,333 If you've never given your life to Jesus we want you 591 00:30:34,417 --> 00:30:36,042 to do so now. 592 00:30:36,125 --> 00:30:38,500 And if you have never been baptized as a Christian 593 00:30:38,542 --> 00:30:41,792 in obedience to Jesus we want you to do so now. 594 00:30:41,833 --> 00:30:44,750 And so we will have shirts and shorts. 595 00:30:44,833 --> 00:30:48,167 You can change, we got it all set up, as well as towels 596 00:30:48,208 --> 00:30:50,042 because we want to baptize you. 597 00:30:50,125 --> 00:30:54,458 And there could not be a better time to give your sin to Jesus, 598 00:30:54,500 --> 00:30:57,833 to receive the gift of being born again from Jesus, 599 00:30:57,917 --> 00:31:03,833 and to demonstrate it publicly through baptism, than during 600 00:31:03,875 --> 00:31:07,542 the Christmas season, where Jesus gives the gift 601 00:31:07,625 --> 00:31:11,750 that is greatest of all and we receive it with great gladness: 602 00:31:11,833 --> 00:31:14,042 the gift of being born again. 603 00:31:14,125 --> 00:31:16,833 Father God, I thank you for this Christmas season. 604 00:31:16,917 --> 00:31:20,625 I thank you that you sent your only Son 605 00:31:20,667 --> 00:31:25,333 to come into human history as the Lord Jesus Christ. 606 00:31:25,375 --> 00:31:28,333 Jesus, we celebrate your birth in the womb 607 00:31:28,417 --> 00:31:31,667 and through the womb of Mary. 608 00:31:31,708 --> 00:31:34,458 We celebrate the fact that you died and rose that we 609 00:31:34,500 --> 00:31:37,333 might be born again. 610 00:31:37,417 --> 00:31:41,167 For those of us who've been born again spiritually, 611 00:31:41,208 --> 00:31:46,042 this is a great day for us because we get to celebrate 612 00:31:46,125 --> 00:31:48,667 and enjoy you, Lord Jesus. 613 00:31:48,708 --> 00:31:51,458 And for those that are here, Lord God, maybe family, friends, 614 00:31:51,500 --> 00:31:55,750 coworkers, neighbors, I pray that right now, Holy Spirit, 615 00:31:55,833 --> 00:31:58,500 you would cause them, through the Word of God, 616 00:31:58,583 --> 00:32:02,000 to be born again, in Jesus' name, amen. 617 00:32:03,667 --> 00:32:06,500 Each year, over 10 million Mars Hill church sermons 618 00:32:06,583 --> 00:32:09,667 are downloaded worldwide for free. 619 00:32:09,750 --> 00:32:12,000 This ministry is generously supported 620 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,750 by Mars Hill church members and listeners like you. 621 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:18,333 If you'd like to support our efforts to preach Jesus to the world, 622 00:32:18,375 --> 00:32:21,333 please consider making a tax-deductible donation 623 00:32:21,375 --> 00:32:24,167 by visiting marshill.com/give.