December 1, 2025 • 30 mins
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (01:06):
Hi, my name is Evangeline Gugisberg and I'm in
sixth grade and go to VenetianMiddle School.
I will be reading Philippines 2,5 through 8.
In your relationships with oneanother, have the same mindset
as Christ Jesus, who being invery nature God did not consider
equality with God something tobe used to his own advantage.
(01:29):
Rather, he made himself nothingby taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in humanlikeness and being found in
appearance as a man, he humbledhimself by becoming obedient to
death, even death on a cross.
This is the word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01 (01:47):
That was just one of many uh verses we're gonna go
through today.
Uh, like Meg just mentioned alittle bit earlier, we're into
our Christmas season.
It's only three Sundays fromtoday that we're having
Christmas Eve services.
So, for those of you who aren'tplanners, this is your warning.
For those of you who areplanners, we're ready for you.
Uh, our tickets are live.
Um, and the reason we dotickets, if you're new with us,
(02:09):
uh, is because we want to makesure you actually have a seat in
the room because I know you gotdressed up, you got everybody
together, you made it happen.
We don't want you to all show upat the same time and be like,
where are we gonna go?
And then you're angry at me.
So we do tickets, but they'refree tickets.
And when you take them, you takethem from everybody else's
ability to get them.
So here's kind of the caveat tothis.
And we do this every year.
(02:30):
Get whatever you need.
And I want you to plan likeyou're in, this is one of the
best opportunities to inviteyour friends, your family, your
neighbor, your coworker.
Um, our service is all aimedtowards that, and that you can
be proud of this and you knowwhat kind of message you're
gonna get that I'm not hidinganything from you.
Um, and then um, if you're notgonna use those tickets, return
(02:51):
them because then somebody elsewon't have the ability.
So, what we don't want is abunch of empty tickets, seats,
because you're like, I'mbringing 20 people.
And I'm like, Yes, that'sawesome.
And then you brought two, andthen you got all these empty
seats next to you.
So uh, if you know which serviceyou want, we're doing five this
year.
Our Sunday morning services onthe 21st are exactly the same as
the other three services.
(03:12):
So you don't need to go toSunday morning and the other
ones.
Some of you are like, praiseGod.
Did you hear what he just said?
Um, you just get to pick the onethat works for you.
So it's nine and eleven on theSunday.
Then we're gonna do a Tuesdaynight, and then we're doing two
on Christmas Eve.
And for those of you who havefriends who maybe have not
gotten to experience umChristmas at Northgate, which I
(03:33):
don't think you experiencedChristmas until you did it here.
Um, we're offering somethingkind of fun and different this
year.
And so you can just know this asa tool and a resource.
At the nine o'clock service onthe 21st, we're gonna have ASL
translation.
At the 11 o'clock, we're gonnahave Spanish translation.
And at the Tuesday night, seveno'clock one, we're gonna have
Tagalic translation.
(03:54):
So we wanted to kind of get ridof any kind of borders or walls
to let someone or someone youmay know that that would be a
hindrance for them to beexperienced Northgate, uh,
Christmas at Northgate.
Got it?
All right.
Uh the little tap things, youguys can get tickets there.
You can go online out in thelobby.
But we're hopping in, Christmas.
I'm gonna go through a bunch ofscripture today.
(04:15):
Uh, this is a series called LoveCame Down.
This is the what Christmas isall about.
And we tend to live in a worldthat is obsessed with hype, like
how many followers, how manyviews, who's trending this week?
And we chase up, we level up, weglow up, we status up.
And yet, every time someonefinally makes it, we realize
(04:36):
that fame rarely equals death.
How many of you have ever metsomebody important and it
surprised you um by them beingnormal?
I I once bumped into awell-known athlete, Kirk
Cousins, in an airport.
Um, and I was ready for the coldnod, like the no photos vibe.
Uh, but he looked me straight inthe eye and said, Hey man, how's
(04:57):
your day?
And that small human momentstuck with me.
It's refreshing when someonewith influence acts like a
person instead of a brand.
Uh A.W.
Tozer said, What comes into ourmind when we think about God is
the most important thing aboutus.
(05:20):
Because how you and I pictureGod determines how you approach
life.
If you think God is distant,you'll hide.
If you think he's angry, you'llflinch.
If you think he is uninterested,you'll give up trying.
But if you discover that he isnear, kind, and fully present,
(05:42):
everything changes.
And that's why Jesus came.
He didn't just come to erasesin, he came to reveal God.
And in fact, in the Gospel ofJohn, John 1:1 says, In the
beginning was the word, and theword was with God, and the word
was God.
(06:03):
Then in 14, he drops themiracle.
He says, The word became fleshand made his dwelling among us.
In fact, I love how the messagetranslation puts it, he moved
into the neighborhood.
That's literally the heart ofChristmas.
That God didn't like shoutinstructions from heaven, he
showed up on our street.
Uh Philippians 2, 6, 8 says thatthough he was in the very nature
(06:28):
God, this is what our scripturereader read today, he did not
consider equality with Godsomething to be used to his own
advantage.
Rather, he made himself nothing,taking on the very nature of a
servant, being made in humanlikeness.
The infinite became an infant.
(06:48):
The creator of gravity learnedto walk, the one who holds atoms
together let soldiers put nailsthrough his hands.
And he didn't come flexingpower, he came expressing love.
To put it another way, Jesusdidn't show up to flex, he
showed up to be with us.
And if you look at every otherreligion that's out there, it's
(07:10):
about people actually climbingup to reach God.
But the gospel is about Godclimbing down to reach people,
love coming down.
And he didn't wait for us to getit together, he came right into
the chaos.
No throne, no PR team, juststraw, breath, and a promise.
(07:31):
Uh Hebrews 4:15 says that we donot have a high priest who is
unable to empathize with ourweakness, but one who has been
tempted in every way just as weare.
And yet he did not sin.
What that means is he he getsit.
(07:52):
He gets you, he gets me.
That's the incarnation, not Godin a costume here.
It's God in our condition.
He didn't pretend to be human,he became human, fully God,
fully man, heaven's perfectionand human skin.
And the deal is then that we getto understand that when you
pray, you're not talking to aGod you can't relate, who can't
(08:16):
relate to you.
You're talking to one who'sactually felt, felt hunger, felt
heartbreak, betrayal, fatigue.
Uh the one who's walked the sameroads and still said, Follow me.
That's the God who came down.
And that's the God who's worthworshiping.
(08:36):
I think it's fun.
Let's talk about where he camefrom, like his family tree.
If you've ever felt like yourfamily is complicated, buckle
up, right?
Uh, you ever notice uh everyfamily has like that one person?
Come on, we just didThanksgiving.
Let's go.
You got an uncle who argues atthe TV or the cousin who shows
up late with like a new businessopportunity, and you're like,
(08:58):
what?
A sibling who suddenly likeremembers ancient grievances on
Thanksgiving?
You're like, Can we just doturkey?
Like, and if you can't think ofwho that is in your family, it
might be you.
Now, speaking from where youcome from, has anyone ever
fallen down the ancestry.comrabbit hole, right?
(09:21):
Where you swab your cheek, yousend it off, and two weeks later
you find out you're 8% Vikingand 92% other, and you're like,
whoa, I never knew.
People are obsessed with theirroots, right?
I had a buddy who found outthrough 23 and me uh that he had
a half brother living two statesaway, and then met for the first
time at age 61.
(09:41):
Another friend discovered thatshe had an identical twin sister
that she had never met.
And when they finally saw eachother, they had the same haircut
and were wearing almost the sameoutfit.
Like you can't make this stuffup.
Family's messy, it always hasbeen.
And apparently, God wasn'tafraid of messy families because
when Jesus entered humanhistory, he chose a genealogical
(10:06):
circus.
Uh, the Gospel of Matthew uh inchapter one lists the family
line.
It reads like the credits of areality TV show.
First, you have Abraham, he's afaith giant, yes, but also lied
twice about his wife.
You have Isaac, favored one sonand alienated another.
You have Jacob, who lied,cheated, and conned his way into
(10:28):
a blessing.
Then you have Judah who sold hisbrother out of jealousy.
You have David who abused hispower, slept with another man's
wife, and orchestrated thecover-up.
You have Solomon, wise on paper,wild in practice, 700 wives
later, still restless.
Every generation haddysfunction, and Matthew doesn't
(10:50):
hide it.
He could have like curated thisresume and he could have said,
like, let's just highlight thegood branches, right?
But the Holy Spirit said, No,let's show the whole tree.
And here's the beauty out of thegreat mess came the great
Messiah.
And it's not just history, thatfriends is hope.
(11:11):
Because if God can weavesalvation through that mess, he
can work through yours.
And here's somethingrevolutionary for the first
century.
Matthew included women.
Nobody did that.
But God wanted the full storytold.
Let's walk through just a few ofthem.
First, you have Tamar, betrayedby her father-in-law, forgotten,
(11:34):
left without a future.
She takes a desperate step tosurvive.
And somehow God still threadsredemption through her line.
Then you have Rahab, traffickedas a child, labeled prostitute.
But when spies came to Jericho,she believed in the God she had
only heard rumors about.
(11:54):
And Hebrews 11 actually listsher as a hero of faith.
Then you have Ruth, a widow, animmigrant, poor and grieving.
And she chooses loyalty to hermother-in-law and ends up in the
lineage of David.
And some of you maybe heard ofBathsheba, objectified by a
(12:16):
king, victim of power andsilence, yet God still names her
in the line that leads to Jesus.
And then, of course, we haveMary, a teenage girl from a back
road town facing whispers,rumors, you know, the side eyes
carrying the hope of the world.
(12:38):
And I'm just going to tell you,their stories scream grace,
where God exalts the forgotten,heals the used, includes the
excluded, and redeems thewrecked.
In fact, it's the kind of peopleJesus came from, are the kind of
(12:58):
people Jesus came for.
And that's not just poetic,that's prophetic.
God had told Abraham, he said inGenesis, through your offspring,
all nations on earth will beblessed.
And then he promised David.
He said, Hey, your throne isgoing to be established forever.
And between those two promiseslies centuries of failure that
(13:22):
God keeps his word in the midstof.
That, my friends, is covenantlove.
And then in the New Testament,Galatians chapter 3 says, if you
belong to Christ, Paul's tellingus this, then you are Abraham's
offspring, heirs according tothe promise.
And what that means is hisfamily tree just extended to
(13:43):
include you and I.
This means that every person whoever thought, my story is too
messed up.
Welcome to the club.
Grace doesn't skip brokenbranches, it grows right through
them.
And Matthew himself knew thatfirsthand.
Why?
Well, Matthew was a taxcollector.
He basically was a traitor ofhis people working for Rome, and
(14:05):
he was despised by everyone.
And then Jesus walks by and saystwo words.
He says, Hey, follow me.
No conditions, no backgroundcheck, just an invitation.
And that one encounter rewroteMatthew's life.
And maybe that's why he startsthis gospel with a family list
that no one expected because hewanted you and I to see the
(14:28):
grace that found him can findyou.
From Abraham to Bathsheba toBethlehem, God keeps weaving
redemption.
Every name is a receipt thatsays God kept his promise.
And what that means is that hecan redeem your story too.
That awkward family text thread,that broken relationships, the
(14:52):
years you think he wasted.
Because God's not afraid of whatyou call too far gone.
He builds salvation stories outof the wreckage.
And God is inviting you home.
You ever get lost driving andrefuse to admit it?
(15:13):
Like you're like, I know whereI'm going.
And Suri's like, you've beenrerouting for 30 minutes.
My wife, Michelle, once got lostlike that.
She's the sweetest person on theplanet, but she is directionally
challenged.
She knew I was going to say thattoday.
She was like, it's true.
Just don't tell everyone.
It just happened.
She called one time and said,Hey, I'm headed home.
And like 45 minutes later, like,no, Michelle.
(15:33):
So I called back.
I'm like, where are you?
And she's like, I don't know.
And that's the thing about beinglost, right?
You don't always feel like lostright away.
You just realize landmarks don'tlook familiar anymore.
And you just keep driving,hoping they'll start to make
sense again.
That, my friends, is humanity.
We've all been driving on fumesthinking we can navigate life
(15:54):
without the map maker.
And the Bible says in Isaiah 53,6, we all, like sheep, have gone
astray.
Each one of us have turned toour own way.
Essentially, we've wondered.
Like the GPS keeps saying,reroute, reroute.
And that's why Jesus came.
Not to scold the lost, but tofind them.
(16:17):
Luke 19 says, For the Son of Mancame to seek and save the lost.
Think about this, not just save,but seek.
I love this because he goeslooking.
And every religion in historyand humanity is reaching up to
find God.
And Christianity is God reachingdown, seeking to find humanity.
In the book of Romans, chapter5, it says, You see, at just the
(16:41):
right time, when we're stillpowerless, Christ died for the
ungodly.
God demonstrates his own lovefor us in this, that while we
were still sinners, Christ diedfor us.
We don't have to wait for us tofix ourselves.
(17:01):
He came while we were stillscrolling through wrong
priorities, still nursinggrudges, still pretending that
we're fine.
Jesus didn't come to make badpeople better, he came to make
lost people family.
And that's why grace wrecksreligious people.
Why?
Because religion says, get youract together, and then you can
(17:25):
come.
Grace says, come as you are, andI'll handle the transformation.
Welcome to Northgate.
That is so important to us.
You don't have to wait until yougot it together to show up here.
You get to come as you are andhe'll start to handle the
transformation in you.
Ephesians uh chapter 2, verse 8reminds us it's for us, for by
(17:47):
his grace, you have been savedthrough faith.
And this is not from yourselves,it is the gift of God, not by
works, so that no one else canboast.
If um salvation was aboutperformance, then heaven would
be full of braggers.
Instead, it's full of gratefulpeople who know they did not
(18:08):
earn a thing.
And the Bible doesn't say thatwe're tolerated by God.
It says that we are adopted byGod.
Romans says, the spirit youreceived brought about your
adoption.
I'll tell you what that wordmeans in just a second, to
sonship.
And by him we cry, Abba Father,and the Spirit Himself testifies
(18:29):
that we are God's children.
So that Greek word right there,adoption, is weothesia.
Weothesia means full legalstatus, that there's no
probationary period, there's nolike prove you belong, that when
you come to Christ, you don'tstart like an internship, you
immediately join the family.
If you pick adoption in theancient world, it's like a
(18:50):
wealthy Roman man couldillegally adopt an adult and
give him everything name,inheritance, future, instantly.
And that's what God does withyou and I.
So when you feel like you're onthe spiritual trial, remember
you've already been signed,sealed, and brought home.
That's why Paul also wrote inEphesians chapter one, he
(19:14):
predestined us for adoption tosonship through Jesus Christ in
accordance with his pleasure andwill, not reluctantly, not out
of obligation, out of pleasure.
And I think some of you justneed to hear that word today.
God actually likes you.
(19:46):
Now, what a year we have had.
He'd have dinner with theatheist who's angry at church.
He'd ride in an Uber driven by aguy who says, I used to believe.
(20:08):
He'd sit with the influencerwho's crushing it online but
can't sleep at night.
And he'd post stories frompeople everyone scrolls past.
Because that's who he is.
The down-to-earth God who movestowards the mess.
And maybe that's why John callshim the true light that gives
(20:29):
light to everyone.
Light doesn't avoid darkness, itinvades it.
And light doesn't just exposeit, it guides it.
And the same God who said, Letthere be light, now says, Let
there be you redeemed, restored,and repurposed.
(20:52):
Let me just give you a few quickcontrasts of this.
Where religion says, versusGrace says, religion says, do
more.
Grace says, it's done.
Religion says, earn your spot.
Grace says, you already haveone.
(21:13):
Religion says, hide your flaws,and Grace says, bring them into
the light.
Religion says, God will love meif Grace says, God loved me
first.
And religion says, climb up, andGrace says, He came down.
(21:34):
God isn't into leniency, he'sinto liberation.
It it doesn't excuse sin.
It replaces shame with sonship,daughtership.
But we can easily still feel abit lost in all of this.
Lostness today doesn't alwayslook like super dramatic.
(21:56):
It looks like a packed calendarand an empty soul.
It looks like scrollingendlessly and feeling nothing.
It looks like saying, No, I'mgood, while quietly breaking
down.
And we are a generation drowningin information and at the same
(22:17):
time starving for meaning.
I mean, it's wild if you thinkabout it.
We have more connection thanever and less community, if
you're really honest withyourself.
We've got more data about Godthan any generation in history
and less intimacy with him.
And that's why Christmas stillmatters.
(22:38):
It's the reminder that when wecouldn't climb our way to
heaven, heaven climbed its wayto us.
Imagine with me for a moment animage of a long wooden table
where there's laughter, there'swarmth, there's music, there's a
smell of something good in theoven.
And around that table set peoplethat you would never expect tax
(23:00):
collectors, outsiders,recovering addicts, former
skeptics.
You.
God's table always has room forone mare chair.
Jesus says, Um my father'shouse, it has many rooms.
(23:21):
I'm actually going to go thereand prepare a place for you.
Well, you know what that means?
It means there's space for youwith your name on it.
And that you don't have to standoutside looking through the
window anymore.
And maybe today is the day youactually walk through the door
and you realize the father's notwaiting, you know, with crossed
arms.
(23:41):
He's running towards you.
Just like the picture in Luke15, it's the prodigal son that
comes home.
He's like rehearsing hisapology, but the father
interrupts him with a hug.
He doesn't even let him finishhis speech.
He just says, Get the robe, getthe ring, fire up the grill.
My kid has come home.
And the gospel is that exactlyin one picture.
(24:05):
God is not interested in yourresume, he's after your return.
And John, it says, To all whobelieved in him, accepted him,
he gave the right to becomechildren of God.
And that means that you don'thave to wonder if you're
invited.
You already are.
(24:25):
And if you've ever thought,yeah, but come on, you don't
know about my past.
I'm just gonna tell you rightnow, he does, and he still
can't.
And if you ever said, like, ah,I don't like I don't really
think I fit the church mold, uh,good news.
Neither did he.
And if you've ever whispered,ah, I think I'm too far too
(24:46):
gone, you're exactly the kind ofperson that he specializes in
bringing home.
So today, if you feel that tug,I'm gonna tell you right now,
that is not emotion, that is aninvitation.
Uh Romans chapter 8 says, For Iam convinced that neither death
(25:06):
nor life, neither angels nordemons, nor anything else in all
creation will be able toseparate us from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus ourLord.
That means nothing.
Not your mistakes, not yourdoubts, not even your own
resistance.
(25:27):
You can keep running, but here'sthe deal He'll keep pursuing
because love always comes down.
Now we just wrapped upThanksgiving, and now we're
entering into the holidayseason.
And so there's something I wantyou to remember.
Grace runs deeper than yourfamily drama.
Some of you just need to take apicture of that, put it on your
(25:51):
screen, savor.
It's deeper than regret, it'sdeeper than an argument last
year, deeper than that ache thatstill stings when you hear their
name.
Grace doesn't erase history, itredeems it.
Because every family hassomething.
(26:21):
That nobody talks about, buteverybody feels.
Maybe it's resentment that'scalcified into silence.
Maybe it's an addiction that'snever been healed, just hidden.
Maybe it's a story you tell as ajoke, but it still hurts every
time you tell it.
Here's the good news.
Grace goes there.
(26:43):
It goes right there.
In Psalms 103, it says, fromeverlasting to everlasting, the
Lord's love is with those whofear him.
That means grace doesn't justrun out when the conversation
does.
It's everlasting.
You can't out sin it, you can'toutshame it, you can't outfamily
drama it.
Jesus' family line literally wasfilled with betrayal, with
(27:05):
abuse, with scandal, and yetthat's the very family through
whom salvation came.
Which means your family story isnot too broken for God to
redeem.
It's just raw material for himto begin to work with.
And grace doesn't deny that ithappened, it just redefines
(27:25):
what's possible next.
And grace doesn't pretend thatpain isn't real, it just
promises that pain isn't final.
And maybe the most radical thingthat Grace does is it invites
you and I to stop repeating thestory you were handed.
(27:46):
You start writing the one God'sbeen waiting to tell through
you.
Romans 5 says, where sinincreased, grace increased all
the more.
In other words, every place thatyou see a fracture, God sees
foundation.
Every place that you feelcursed, God sees a chance for
(28:08):
blessing.
Every place that you've said itit just runs in my family, God
says it ran in mine too.
Grace runs deeper than yourfamily drama.
Because grace runs all the wayto the cross, and then back
through every branch of yourstory.
(28:38):
No angels on standby, no royalparade, just a teenage girl with
a borrowed stable, no palace, nopress release, just livestock
and straw.
The infinite became an infant.
The author wrote himself intohis own story.
(28:59):
Love put on skin, and heaventook a deep breath of earth,
where he cried real tears, bledreal blood, walked dusty roads,
healed broken people.
He touched the untouchable,forgave the unforgivable, and
(29:20):
called the forgotten by name.
He's a king with no ego, acelebrity with no entourage, the
God who doesn't wait forapplause.
His strength for the weak,refuge for the anxious, and rest
for the weary, and hope for thehopeless.
(29:41):
He is not the God who shouts ata distance, he is the God who
whispers, I am with you.
And as we celebrate this season,this baby in a manger, remember
the truth that changeseverything.
Love did not stay in heaven.
Love came down.
Love came down to your guilt.
(30:02):
Love came down to your grind.
And love came down to yourgrief.
Would you stand as we respond inworship?
SPEAKER_00 (30:16):
Alright, this morning we're going to worship
before we leave here.
Hi, my name is Evangeline Gugisberg and I'm in
sixth grade and go to VenetianMiddle School.
I will be reading Philippines 2,5 through 8.
In your relationships with oneanother, have the same mindset
as Christ Jesus, who being invery nature God did not consider
equality with God something tobe used to his own advantage.
(01:29):
Rather, he made himself nothingby taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in humanlikeness and being found in
appearance as a man, he humbledhimself by becoming obedient to
death, even death on a cross.
This is the word of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01 (01:47):
That was just one of many uh verses we're gonna go
through today.
Uh, like Meg just mentioned alittle bit earlier, we're into
our Christmas season.
It's only three Sundays fromtoday that we're having
Christmas Eve services.
So, for those of you who aren'tplanners, this is your warning.
For those of you who areplanners, we're ready for you.
Uh, our tickets are live.
Um, and the reason we dotickets, if you're new with us,
(02:09):
uh, is because we want to makesure you actually have a seat in
the room because I know you gotdressed up, you got everybody
together, you made it happen.
We don't want you to all show upat the same time and be like,
where are we gonna go?
And then you're angry at me.
So we do tickets, but they'refree tickets.
And when you take them, you takethem from everybody else's
ability to get them.
So here's kind of the caveat tothis.
And we do this every year.
(02:30):
Get whatever you need.
And I want you to plan likeyou're in, this is one of the
best opportunities to inviteyour friends, your family, your
neighbor, your coworker.
Um, our service is all aimedtowards that, and that you can
be proud of this and you knowwhat kind of message you're
gonna get that I'm not hidinganything from you.
Um, and then um, if you're notgonna use those tickets, return
(02:51):
them because then somebody elsewon't have the ability.
So, what we don't want is abunch of empty tickets, seats,
because you're like, I'mbringing 20 people.
And I'm like, Yes, that'sawesome.
And then you brought two, andthen you got all these empty
seats next to you.
So uh, if you know which serviceyou want, we're doing five this
year.
Our Sunday morning services onthe 21st are exactly the same as
the other three services.
(03:12):
So you don't need to go toSunday morning and the other
ones.
Some of you are like, praiseGod.
Did you hear what he just said?
Um, you just get to pick the onethat works for you.
So it's nine and eleven on theSunday.
Then we're gonna do a Tuesdaynight, and then we're doing two
on Christmas Eve.
And for those of you who havefriends who maybe have not
gotten to experience umChristmas at Northgate, which I
(03:33):
don't think you experiencedChristmas until you did it here.
Um, we're offering somethingkind of fun and different this
year.
And so you can just know this asa tool and a resource.
At the nine o'clock service onthe 21st, we're gonna have ASL
translation.
At the 11 o'clock, we're gonnahave Spanish translation.
And at the Tuesday night, seveno'clock one, we're gonna have
Tagalic translation.
(03:54):
So we wanted to kind of get ridof any kind of borders or walls
to let someone or someone youmay know that that would be a
hindrance for them to beexperienced Northgate, uh,
Christmas at Northgate.
Got it?
All right.
Uh the little tap things, youguys can get tickets there.
You can go online out in thelobby.
But we're hopping in, Christmas.
I'm gonna go through a bunch ofscripture today.
(04:15):
Uh, this is a series called LoveCame Down.
This is the what Christmas isall about.
And we tend to live in a worldthat is obsessed with hype, like
how many followers, how manyviews, who's trending this week?
And we chase up, we level up, weglow up, we status up.
And yet, every time someonefinally makes it, we realize
(04:36):
that fame rarely equals death.
How many of you have ever metsomebody important and it
surprised you um by them beingnormal?
I I once bumped into awell-known athlete, Kirk
Cousins, in an airport.
Um, and I was ready for the coldnod, like the no photos vibe.
Uh, but he looked me straight inthe eye and said, Hey man, how's
(04:57):
your day?
And that small human momentstuck with me.
It's refreshing when someonewith influence acts like a
person instead of a brand.
Uh A.W.
Tozer said, What comes into ourmind when we think about God is
the most important thing aboutus.
(05:20):
Because how you and I pictureGod determines how you approach
life.
If you think God is distant,you'll hide.
If you think he's angry, you'llflinch.
If you think he is uninterested,you'll give up trying.
But if you discover that he isnear, kind, and fully present,
(05:42):
everything changes.
And that's why Jesus came.
He didn't just come to erasesin, he came to reveal God.
And in fact, in the Gospel ofJohn, John 1:1 says, In the
beginning was the word, and theword was with God, and the word
was God.
(06:03):
Then in 14, he drops themiracle.
He says, The word became fleshand made his dwelling among us.
In fact, I love how the messagetranslation puts it, he moved
into the neighborhood.
That's literally the heart ofChristmas.
That God didn't like shoutinstructions from heaven, he
showed up on our street.
Uh Philippians 2, 6, 8 says thatthough he was in the very nature
(06:28):
God, this is what our scripturereader read today, he did not
consider equality with Godsomething to be used to his own
advantage.
Rather, he made himself nothing,taking on the very nature of a
servant, being made in humanlikeness.
The infinite became an infant.
(06:48):
The creator of gravity learnedto walk, the one who holds atoms
together let soldiers put nailsthrough his hands.
And he didn't come flexingpower, he came expressing love.
To put it another way, Jesusdidn't show up to flex, he
showed up to be with us.
And if you look at every otherreligion that's out there, it's
(07:10):
about people actually climbingup to reach God.
But the gospel is about Godclimbing down to reach people,
love coming down.
And he didn't wait for us to getit together, he came right into
the chaos.
No throne, no PR team, juststraw, breath, and a promise.
(07:31):
Uh Hebrews 4:15 says that we donot have a high priest who is
unable to empathize with ourweakness, but one who has been
tempted in every way just as weare.
And yet he did not sin.
What that means is he he getsit.
(07:52):
He gets you, he gets me.
That's the incarnation, not Godin a costume here.
It's God in our condition.
He didn't pretend to be human,he became human, fully God,
fully man, heaven's perfectionand human skin.
And the deal is then that we getto understand that when you
pray, you're not talking to aGod you can't relate, who can't
(08:16):
relate to you.
You're talking to one who'sactually felt, felt hunger, felt
heartbreak, betrayal, fatigue.
Uh the one who's walked the sameroads and still said, Follow me.
That's the God who came down.
And that's the God who's worthworshiping.
(08:36):
I think it's fun.
Let's talk about where he camefrom, like his family tree.
If you've ever felt like yourfamily is complicated, buckle
up, right?
Uh, you ever notice uh everyfamily has like that one person?
Come on, we just didThanksgiving.
Let's go.
You got an uncle who argues atthe TV or the cousin who shows
up late with like a new businessopportunity, and you're like,
(08:58):
what?
A sibling who suddenly likeremembers ancient grievances on
Thanksgiving?
You're like, Can we just doturkey?
Like, and if you can't think ofwho that is in your family, it
might be you.
Now, speaking from where youcome from, has anyone ever
fallen down the ancestry.comrabbit hole, right?
(09:21):
Where you swab your cheek, yousend it off, and two weeks later
you find out you're 8% Vikingand 92% other, and you're like,
whoa, I never knew.
People are obsessed with theirroots, right?
I had a buddy who found outthrough 23 and me uh that he had
a half brother living two statesaway, and then met for the first
time at age 61.
(09:41):
Another friend discovered thatshe had an identical twin sister
that she had never met.
And when they finally saw eachother, they had the same haircut
and were wearing almost the sameoutfit.
Like you can't make this stuffup.
Family's messy, it always hasbeen.
And apparently, God wasn'tafraid of messy families because
when Jesus entered humanhistory, he chose a genealogical
(10:06):
circus.
Uh, the Gospel of Matthew uh inchapter one lists the family
line.
It reads like the credits of areality TV show.
First, you have Abraham, he's afaith giant, yes, but also lied
twice about his wife.
You have Isaac, favored one sonand alienated another.
You have Jacob, who lied,cheated, and conned his way into
(10:28):
a blessing.
Then you have Judah who sold hisbrother out of jealousy.
You have David who abused hispower, slept with another man's
wife, and orchestrated thecover-up.
You have Solomon, wise on paper,wild in practice, 700 wives
later, still restless.
Every generation haddysfunction, and Matthew doesn't
(10:50):
hide it.
He could have like curated thisresume and he could have said,
like, let's just highlight thegood branches, right?
But the Holy Spirit said, No,let's show the whole tree.
And here's the beauty out of thegreat mess came the great
Messiah.
And it's not just history, thatfriends is hope.
(11:11):
Because if God can weavesalvation through that mess, he
can work through yours.
And here's somethingrevolutionary for the first
century.
Matthew included women.
Nobody did that.
But God wanted the full storytold.
Let's walk through just a few ofthem.
First, you have Tamar, betrayedby her father-in-law, forgotten,
(11:34):
left without a future.
She takes a desperate step tosurvive.
And somehow God still threadsredemption through her line.
Then you have Rahab, traffickedas a child, labeled prostitute.
But when spies came to Jericho,she believed in the God she had
only heard rumors about.
(11:54):
And Hebrews 11 actually listsher as a hero of faith.
Then you have Ruth, a widow, animmigrant, poor and grieving.
And she chooses loyalty to hermother-in-law and ends up in the
lineage of David.
And some of you maybe heard ofBathsheba, objectified by a
(12:16):
king, victim of power andsilence, yet God still names her
in the line that leads to Jesus.
And then, of course, we haveMary, a teenage girl from a back
road town facing whispers,rumors, you know, the side eyes
carrying the hope of the world.
(12:38):
And I'm just going to tell you,their stories scream grace,
where God exalts the forgotten,heals the used, includes the
excluded, and redeems thewrecked.
In fact, it's the kind of peopleJesus came from, are the kind of
(12:58):
people Jesus came for.
And that's not just poetic,that's prophetic.
God had told Abraham, he said inGenesis, through your offspring,
all nations on earth will beblessed.
And then he promised David.
He said, Hey, your throne isgoing to be established forever.
And between those two promiseslies centuries of failure that
(13:22):
God keeps his word in the midstof.
That, my friends, is covenantlove.
And then in the New Testament,Galatians chapter 3 says, if you
belong to Christ, Paul's tellingus this, then you are Abraham's
offspring, heirs according tothe promise.
And what that means is hisfamily tree just extended to
(13:43):
include you and I.
This means that every person whoever thought, my story is too
messed up.
Welcome to the club.
Grace doesn't skip brokenbranches, it grows right through
them.
And Matthew himself knew thatfirsthand.
Why?
Well, Matthew was a taxcollector.
He basically was a traitor ofhis people working for Rome, and
(14:05):
he was despised by everyone.
And then Jesus walks by and saystwo words.
He says, Hey, follow me.
No conditions, no backgroundcheck, just an invitation.
And that one encounter rewroteMatthew's life.
And maybe that's why he startsthis gospel with a family list
that no one expected because hewanted you and I to see the
(14:28):
grace that found him can findyou.
From Abraham to Bathsheba toBethlehem, God keeps weaving
redemption.
Every name is a receipt thatsays God kept his promise.
And what that means is that hecan redeem your story too.
That awkward family text thread,that broken relationships, the
(14:52):
years you think he wasted.
Because God's not afraid of whatyou call too far gone.
He builds salvation stories outof the wreckage.
And God is inviting you home.
You ever get lost driving andrefuse to admit it?
(15:13):
Like you're like, I know whereI'm going.
And Suri's like, you've beenrerouting for 30 minutes.
My wife, Michelle, once got lostlike that.
She's the sweetest person on theplanet, but she is directionally
challenged.
She knew I was going to say thattoday.
She was like, it's true.
Just don't tell everyone.
It just happened.
She called one time and said,Hey, I'm headed home.
And like 45 minutes later, like,no, Michelle.
(15:33):
So I called back.
I'm like, where are you?
And she's like, I don't know.
And that's the thing about beinglost, right?
You don't always feel like lostright away.
You just realize landmarks don'tlook familiar anymore.
And you just keep driving,hoping they'll start to make
sense again.
That, my friends, is humanity.
We've all been driving on fumesthinking we can navigate life
(15:54):
without the map maker.
And the Bible says in Isaiah 53,6, we all, like sheep, have gone
astray.
Each one of us have turned toour own way.
Essentially, we've wondered.
Like the GPS keeps saying,reroute, reroute.
And that's why Jesus came.
Not to scold the lost, but tofind them.
(16:17):
Luke 19 says, For the Son of Mancame to seek and save the lost.
Think about this, not just save,but seek.
I love this because he goeslooking.
And every religion in historyand humanity is reaching up to
find God.
And Christianity is God reachingdown, seeking to find humanity.
In the book of Romans, chapter5, it says, You see, at just the
(16:41):
right time, when we're stillpowerless, Christ died for the
ungodly.
God demonstrates his own lovefor us in this, that while we
were still sinners, Christ diedfor us.
We don't have to wait for us tofix ourselves.
(17:01):
He came while we were stillscrolling through wrong
priorities, still nursinggrudges, still pretending that
we're fine.
Jesus didn't come to make badpeople better, he came to make
lost people family.
And that's why grace wrecksreligious people.
Why?
Because religion says, get youract together, and then you can
(17:25):
come.
Grace says, come as you are, andI'll handle the transformation.
Welcome to Northgate.
That is so important to us.
You don't have to wait until yougot it together to show up here.
You get to come as you are andhe'll start to handle the
transformation in you.
Ephesians uh chapter 2, verse 8reminds us it's for us, for by
(17:47):
his grace, you have been savedthrough faith.
And this is not from yourselves,it is the gift of God, not by
works, so that no one else canboast.
If um salvation was aboutperformance, then heaven would
be full of braggers.
Instead, it's full of gratefulpeople who know they did not
(18:08):
earn a thing.
And the Bible doesn't say thatwe're tolerated by God.
It says that we are adopted byGod.
Romans says, the spirit youreceived brought about your
adoption.
I'll tell you what that wordmeans in just a second, to
sonship.
And by him we cry, Abba Father,and the Spirit Himself testifies
(18:29):
that we are God's children.
So that Greek word right there,adoption, is weothesia.
Weothesia means full legalstatus, that there's no
probationary period, there's nolike prove you belong, that when
you come to Christ, you don'tstart like an internship, you
immediately join the family.
If you pick adoption in theancient world, it's like a
(18:50):
wealthy Roman man couldillegally adopt an adult and
give him everything name,inheritance, future, instantly.
And that's what God does withyou and I.
So when you feel like you're onthe spiritual trial, remember
you've already been signed,sealed, and brought home.
That's why Paul also wrote inEphesians chapter one, he
(19:14):
predestined us for adoption tosonship through Jesus Christ in
accordance with his pleasure andwill, not reluctantly, not out
of obligation, out of pleasure.
And I think some of you justneed to hear that word today.
God actually likes you.
(19:46):
Now, what a year we have had.
He'd have dinner with theatheist who's angry at church.
He'd ride in an Uber driven by aguy who says, I used to believe.
(20:08):
He'd sit with the influencerwho's crushing it online but
can't sleep at night.
And he'd post stories frompeople everyone scrolls past.
Because that's who he is.
The down-to-earth God who movestowards the mess.
And maybe that's why John callshim the true light that gives
(20:29):
light to everyone.
Light doesn't avoid darkness, itinvades it.
And light doesn't just exposeit, it guides it.
And the same God who said, Letthere be light, now says, Let
there be you redeemed, restored,and repurposed.
(20:52):
Let me just give you a few quickcontrasts of this.
Where religion says, versusGrace says, religion says, do
more.
Grace says, it's done.
Religion says, earn your spot.
Grace says, you already haveone.
(21:13):
Religion says, hide your flaws,and Grace says, bring them into
the light.
Religion says, God will love meif Grace says, God loved me
first.
And religion says, climb up, andGrace says, He came down.
(21:34):
God isn't into leniency, he'sinto liberation.
It it doesn't excuse sin.
It replaces shame with sonship,daughtership.
But we can easily still feel abit lost in all of this.
Lostness today doesn't alwayslook like super dramatic.
(21:56):
It looks like a packed calendarand an empty soul.
It looks like scrollingendlessly and feeling nothing.
It looks like saying, No, I'mgood, while quietly breaking
down.
And we are a generation drowningin information and at the same
(22:17):
time starving for meaning.
I mean, it's wild if you thinkabout it.
We have more connection thanever and less community, if
you're really honest withyourself.
We've got more data about Godthan any generation in history
and less intimacy with him.
And that's why Christmas stillmatters.
(22:38):
It's the reminder that when wecouldn't climb our way to
heaven, heaven climbed its wayto us.
Imagine with me for a moment animage of a long wooden table
where there's laughter, there'swarmth, there's music, there's a
smell of something good in theoven.
And around that table set peoplethat you would never expect tax
(23:00):
collectors, outsiders,recovering addicts, former
skeptics.
You.
God's table always has room forone mare chair.
Jesus says, Um my father'shouse, it has many rooms.
(23:21):
I'm actually going to go thereand prepare a place for you.
Well, you know what that means?
It means there's space for youwith your name on it.
And that you don't have to standoutside looking through the
window anymore.
And maybe today is the day youactually walk through the door
and you realize the father's notwaiting, you know, with crossed
arms.
(23:41):
He's running towards you.
Just like the picture in Luke15, it's the prodigal son that
comes home.
He's like rehearsing hisapology, but the father
interrupts him with a hug.
He doesn't even let him finishhis speech.
He just says, Get the robe, getthe ring, fire up the grill.
My kid has come home.
And the gospel is that exactlyin one picture.
(24:05):
God is not interested in yourresume, he's after your return.
And John, it says, To all whobelieved in him, accepted him,
he gave the right to becomechildren of God.
And that means that you don'thave to wonder if you're
invited.
You already are.
(24:25):
And if you've ever thought,yeah, but come on, you don't
know about my past.
I'm just gonna tell you rightnow, he does, and he still
can't.
And if you ever said, like, ah,I don't like I don't really
think I fit the church mold, uh,good news.
Neither did he.
And if you've ever whispered,ah, I think I'm too far too
(24:46):
gone, you're exactly the kind ofperson that he specializes in
bringing home.
So today, if you feel that tug,I'm gonna tell you right now,
that is not emotion, that is aninvitation.
Uh Romans chapter 8 says, For Iam convinced that neither death
(25:06):
nor life, neither angels nordemons, nor anything else in all
creation will be able toseparate us from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus ourLord.
That means nothing.
Not your mistakes, not yourdoubts, not even your own
resistance.
(25:27):
You can keep running, but here'sthe deal He'll keep pursuing
because love always comes down.
Now we just wrapped upThanksgiving, and now we're
entering into the holidayseason.
And so there's something I wantyou to remember.
Grace runs deeper than yourfamily drama.
Some of you just need to take apicture of that, put it on your
(25:51):
screen, savor.
It's deeper than regret, it'sdeeper than an argument last
year, deeper than that ache thatstill stings when you hear their
name.
Grace doesn't erase history, itredeems it.
Because every family hassomething.
(26:21):
That nobody talks about, buteverybody feels.
Maybe it's resentment that'scalcified into silence.
Maybe it's an addiction that'snever been healed, just hidden.
Maybe it's a story you tell as ajoke, but it still hurts every
time you tell it.
Here's the good news.
Grace goes there.
(26:43):
It goes right there.
In Psalms 103, it says, fromeverlasting to everlasting, the
Lord's love is with those whofear him.
That means grace doesn't justrun out when the conversation
does.
It's everlasting.
You can't out sin it, you can'toutshame it, you can't outfamily
drama it.
Jesus' family line literally wasfilled with betrayal, with
(27:05):
abuse, with scandal, and yetthat's the very family through
whom salvation came.
Which means your family story isnot too broken for God to
redeem.
It's just raw material for himto begin to work with.
And grace doesn't deny that ithappened, it just redefines
(27:25):
what's possible next.
And grace doesn't pretend thatpain isn't real, it just
promises that pain isn't final.
And maybe the most radical thingthat Grace does is it invites
you and I to stop repeating thestory you were handed.
(27:46):
You start writing the one God'sbeen waiting to tell through
you.
Romans 5 says, where sinincreased, grace increased all
the more.
In other words, every place thatyou see a fracture, God sees
foundation.
Every place that you feelcursed, God sees a chance for
(28:08):
blessing.
Every place that you've said itit just runs in my family, God
says it ran in mine too.
Grace runs deeper than yourfamily drama.
Because grace runs all the wayto the cross, and then back
through every branch of yourstory.
(28:38):
No angels on standby, no royalparade, just a teenage girl with
a borrowed stable, no palace, nopress release, just livestock
and straw.
The infinite became an infant.
The author wrote himself intohis own story.
(28:59):
Love put on skin, and heaventook a deep breath of earth,
where he cried real tears, bledreal blood, walked dusty roads,
healed broken people.
He touched the untouchable,forgave the unforgivable, and
(29:20):
called the forgotten by name.
He's a king with no ego, acelebrity with no entourage, the
God who doesn't wait forapplause.
His strength for the weak,refuge for the anxious, and rest
for the weary, and hope for thehopeless.
(29:41):
He is not the God who shouts ata distance, he is the God who
whispers, I am with you.
And as we celebrate this season,this baby in a manger, remember
the truth that changeseverything.
Love did not stay in heaven.
Love came down.
Love came down to your guilt.
(30:02):
Love came down to your grind.
And love came down to yourgrief.
Would you stand as we respond inworship?
SPEAKER_00 (30:16):
Alright, this morning we're going to worship
before we leave here.
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