Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO The secret of Christmas Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA December 26, 2004 Christmas is a magical time of year! For weeks there is excitement in the air! There are special plays to see, musicals to hear, lights everywhere and all the delicious food! Stingy people become more generous, grumpy people more pleasant! Most of us smile more! Then, abruptly it seems, its over. Somewhere around New Years we start dismantling Christmas. The tree goes to recycling, decorations are packed away. Most folks are done with Christmas until next year. But for those who know the secret of Christmas it's not over but just beginning! I was listening to Christmas music last week, and a song caught my attention. It's titled, The Secret of Christmas. Here are the lyrics*: It's not the glow you feel when snow appears. It's not the Christmas cards you've sent for years; Not the joyful sound when sleigh bells ring, Or the merry songs children sing. That little gift you send on Christmas Day Will not bring back the friend you've turned away. So may I suggest the Secret of Christmas Is not the things you do at Christmastime, But the Christmas things you do all year through. Last week I mentioned that when the Spirit of Christmas really grabs us we rediscover what Christmas is: 1) The beginning of Christianity. 2) A second chance for humanity. 3) The hope for peace. 4) God has offered to us the only way to live a life that is full abundant and free. Christmas was God revealing Himself to us on a level we could grasp; revealing to us what humanity is supposed to be like when it has the breath of God to give it life. Christmas is not only an event to celebrate; it is a way of life. It is about those Christmas things we can do all year through: Giving. Paul quotes Jesus as saying, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Jesus also said, "Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it." Grabbing and snatching after life will only result in our losing it. To find life we have give our life away -- to Jesus and his kingdom. We must show the world the love, understanding, compassion, friendship, and grace that was embodied in the person of Jesus the Christ. Humility. In Matthew 23, Jesus said: "And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." As we look carefully at the life of Jesus we find that His humility was in His self-forgetfulness. It wasn't that He thought less of Himself than was factually true, but rather He didn't think of Himself at all when it came to obeying the will and purpose of God. Although He was the creator of the universe he was willing to become the servant of all. We'll never know the secret of Christmas until we learn to walk in true humility. Surrender. There are two sides to surrender. One is obedience. At the root of surrender is accepting the the truth of 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: "You are not your own; you were bought at a price." The other is trust. You will never voluntarily obey Jesus unless you trust Him. Sacrifice. Doing Christmas things all year through will cost us something. It will at least cost us our time. Often it will cost money. It might cost us the world's favor. That will become all the more true if the cultural prejudice against Christian faith continues to increase. Paul says that our true spiritual worship is presenting our bodies as living sacrifices to God for use in the work of His kingdom, regardless of the cost. Let's not pack up Christmas with the decorations. Let's commit ourselves anew to live Christmas. Let's continually celebrate Christmas by realizing the secret of Christmas isn't in the things we do at Christmastime, but in the Christmas things we do all year through. *Words and music by Sammy Cahn/Jimmy Van Heusen. Here the song as sung by Julie Andrews here. Supporting texts: Acts 20:35 | Luke 17:33 | Matthew 23:12 | James 4:10 | Philippians 2:5-11 | John 14:23 | Luke 6:46 | 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 | John 14:1 | Luke 9:23 | Romans 12:1 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here (24:00). (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 041226a: The Secret of Christmas. © 2004 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us