Changed Lives - Luke 2:25-38

You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout, I’m telling you why. Santa Claus is coming to town. Little did you know, that beyond being just an adorable children’s Christmas song, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” is an extremely accurate, wildly creepy metaphor for God’s impending judgment. He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness sake. If you want more detail, go read Psalm 139 for inspiration. Growing up, one of my favorite comic strips was Calvin and Hobbes. Do you guys remember those? Little boy with his stuffed tiger getting into trouble. His antics would always get him into trouble all throughout the year, and then as Christmas approached, he became aware that he wasn’t going to get presents because he was naughty. And so reading this comic strip,  we would get to watch as his self-control was tested because he wanted to be good – so he could get presents, but the temptation to throw snowballs at the little girl who lived next door was so strong. He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice, he’s going to find out who’s naughty and nice – Santa Claus is coming to town. Now tradition holds that if you are a good little girl or boy you get presents from Santa on Christmas. But if you’re naughty, then you get what? Lump of coal – which actually, is sort of an interesting parallel to the whole burning lake of fire bit, but we won’t go there. And so the question arises – is the naughty/nice list graded on a curve? What’s the standard Santa is using to judge Naughty and Nice? Is it make one mistake and you’re out? Is it pass/fail? Is it weighted? Is it “compared to my neighbor”? Just gotta do more good than bad? Can you make up for being naughty? What’s Santa’s forgiveness policy? And if I’m naughty from Christmas to New Years does that count for 2026 - or is it like a free space on the bingo card? How does this whole fat guy in the red suit judging the children of the world thing really work? These are the questions. Now, obviously I’m joking around – but seriously, think about it - how do these stories end? Every single one, from Calvin and Hobbes to the Grinch stole Christmas. How much coal is really delivered on Christmas in these movies? And if we don’t REALLY believe in Santa’s judgment about something as silly as presents – what do we actually believe about God?

Or let me ask you this - have you ever looked back on your life and thought, “who was that person I used to be?” You know this past summer, I had the strangest experience. Our church was getting ready for Byron Days, and we were put in charge of the Kid’s Zone - and so I got to go around to all the daycares and childhood development centers to see if they wanted to be involved in Kid’s Zone. And I walk into one of these places - and I picked the worst time to go, it was like pick up time for parents. And so I’m standing in line, waiting to speak with a manager about Byron Days - and a good buddy of mine walks in behind me. His name is Eric, we lived on the same floor on the campus of Calvin College 17 years ago. And I literally had not seen him then. And it was so good to see him, but it was such a strange sensation where I was filled with this bizarre desire to like reintroduce myself. It’s like, “okay, you know my name. And we hung out a lot - but I’m not that guy anymore.” Have you ever thought about that? If you had the chance to meet someone from your past - would they even recognize the person you have become? I think about my past, and I think most of my conversations would start with, “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry - I promise I’m not like that anymore.” For me and Eric it was like, “we need to have coffee and catch up - I don’t even know who you are anymore - we need a reintroduction hang out.” And I think some of us look back into the past and we think about how far we have come. How much we have grown, how much better we are doing today. And some of us have the opposite reaction. We look back and we wish we were still there. So much has happened, so many things we’ve said that we wish we could put back into our mouths, so many things we’ve done that we wish we could take back. Some of us marvel how far we have come, and others marvel how far we have slid down the mountain. 

But I think the trickiest thing about a naughty/nice list is that we have to sit there and pretend like we are one or the other. When I’m willing to bet that most of you are BOTH! You look back on your year - and you HAVE grown, you HAVE done things to be proud of - you had a lot of wins this year. But at the same time, you messed up a bunch too. Shouldn’t have said that. Didn’t handle that so well. REALLY messed up that one time. One of my favorite quotes ever comes from this Russian novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and he says, “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, not between classes, nor between political parties either - but right through every human heart.”

Now tonight is Christmas Eve - and it’s also the finale of our series called “When Heaven Breaks Through” - all month we have been watching as God breaks through into our world in powerful ways We have seen incredible miracles - a virgin birth, a star moving inexplicably in the sky, angels appearing to shepherds, and ancient prophecies coming to life - but tonight, as we celebrate Jesus Christ being born all those years ago, we are going to take a look at the greatest miracle of the Christmas story - the miracle of changed lives. And what we’re going to see - I’m just going to give it to you at the top: It’s not going to be about good deeds or bad deeds or which pile is bigger in your life - and by the end of tonight, I just want to prepare you - I have a very important invitation for you.

Scriptures

Now if you want to grab your bible or look it up on your phone, we are going to be in Luke chapter 2. But tonight we’re not going to read about shepherds or mangers or wise men. I want to get us started tonight with the story of Simeon, which comes right after the birth. Verse 21, [read v.21-24]. So after Jesus was born, they take him to Jerusalem to follow the Jewish customs - and while they’re in Jerusalem, we meet two important characters. Verse 25, [read v.25-32]. Now just imagine this moment for a second. They’re chilling in the temple and this devout and righteous man recognizes Jesus for who he is. He comes over, and he holds the baby in his arms. And it’s this amazing moment when he’s just completely overcome and just starts praising God, and he says, “I can die happy now. God, I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people.” But think about what he just said - “I have seen your salvation” What? Wait, what did he actually see? A baby. Let’s be honest - it was probably a crying baby. And it’s not like Baby Jesus came with a copy of God’s plan. Like a little notebook titled, “God’s salvation plan” - from personal experience I can tell you, babies don’t come with instruction manuals. So what on earth does Simeon mean? I have seen your salvation. You mean the baby with the snot booger? But one of the things we have learned as we have walked through the miracles of Christmas is that the METHOD is often a part of the message. And he COULD have parted the clouds and showed up with his heavenly armies and brought the Jewish people military triumph over those pesky Romans soldiers - so, what is God playing at by having his salvation come in the form of a baby? God’s salvation plan pooped in a diaper. God’s salvation plan spit up on people. Like, the question “how many people did God’s salvation plan throw up on?” is a real question with a real answer. What is he playing at here? And here it is - sometimes true life change doesn’t come in epic and catatrophically impressive ways. Sometimes true life change can be found in small, simple ways, in ordinary, everyday places.  

But isn’t that how it goes in our lives too? So often we want God to show up in our lives in these huge, epic ways. God I want a miracle to cure me of cancer tomorrow. God I want to be free from my addictions at the snap of a finger. God I don’t want to be tempted by pornography anymore. God I don’t want to have so much pride in my heart. God I don’t want to be anxious or stressed or overwhelmed anymore. God I just want to have my relationships and my marriage and my kids and my work to all be drama free and healthy starting tonight. But sometimes salvation, true life change, comes in baby steps. Literally. When we invite God to set up shop in our hearts, and we dedicate our lives to Jesus - sometimes the transformation is not an overnight sensation. Sometimes it’s just a spark that catches and starts a small process of moving forward. 

That’s the way it’s been for this church! I’ve spent a lot of time this week reflecting on this past year and all the things we’ve accomplished. This Church has had a CRAZY year - but through all of it, God has worked in small, incremental ways. I remember at the beginning of the year, we had experienced this budget deficit. And we were a part of the Gather 25 event - which was people in every time zone on the planet, all worshipping God for 25 hours. And we partnered with some other churches and we gathered to worship and it was such a beautiful time. [picture 1]. But we used that time as time of prayer and fasting, and at the time, the budget was the big concern for us. We needed to fund one of our programs called “Hand 2 Hand” and we just did not have enough money to purchase the groceries that we needed. And I was praying for a something to happen. God, we need a big financial gift. God, if you wanted to go ahead and have someone in this church win that crazy huge lottery. God please provide some huge financial thing to help us out. And that didn’t happen. But what DID happen is I got a phone call from some of our partners saying, “Hey, random question: i’ve got this pallet of food left over from one of our projects - could you make use of, like, 300 cans of Chicken and a bunch of other random grocery items?” God didn’t show up in some huge way like I was hoping - but in small unexpected ways, baby steps of God, those kids got fed. And then the next month - on Easter Sunday - we wanted to dedicate a new baptism tub. We had no sign ups, and I thought - hey, that’s okay. We still want to dedicate the tub. I didn’t even turn the heater on - we just filled it up, like, symbolically, which, now I feel bad about, because one of our high school students heard the gospel message and decided to dedicate his life to Jesus [picture 2], and Alex was baptized that morning, in the cold, cold, baptism tub. Small, unexpected moments, the baby steps of God.

Then we got to summertime, and this church took over the Kid’s Zone area of the Byron Days celebration. It was our first year doing it, and we loved it - we were invited to lead that again next year. But the most popular event that day had to be the suction cup archery competition. [picture 3] And the star volunteer of that day was Matt Cramer. There were loads of helpers, and I’m so grateful for all of them - but Matt stayed like an extra hour, or hour and half past the end of his shift, just scooping up suction cup arrows and delivering them back to the kids. And you might think volunteering to help kids play with suction cup arrows isn’t a big gospel win - but we handed out a lot of invitations to the community worship service that was the next day, and we’ve sort of become known now as the church that does all the kid’s stuff. And I can’t get through the summer without talking about NTS Camp. Last year was our very first year, and we sent 4 kids. And they had such an awesome time, that this year we sent 9. And you might think, well - nine, that’s not that many kids. Some churches send like 50-60 kids. But nine of the students of this church experienced Jesus at that camp, and one of them gave his life to Jesus. [picture 4] We’re not baptizing 5,000 people in a day, we’re not experiencing revival that you put in the history books - but in small ways, like Simeon holding the baby child, Center is experiencing the baby steps of God.

And speaking of babies - we had two child dedications this year too [pictures 5 and 6]. And I’ll never forget that phone call with Meghan and Jamie, when little Jack was born. She called me from the hospital and told me there were some complications, and asked me to pray. I answered the phone while I was driving, and so I just immediately pulled the car over and prayed over Jack in my car on speakerphone. A couple of months ago, Jenn Rubick (who runs our Hand 2 Hand program with Lynn Smith) came to me with this idea for putting out a christmas tree with grocery items to take care of. Like little ornaments with what you’re supposed to bring. And I remember I told her, “let’s get that up 4-5 weeks before we need them, so people have lots of time to figure out what they want to give.” Tags were 100% gone in 2 weeks. We had to take the tree down, because it was empty and looked funny all by itself with no ornaments. [picture 7].  And if you let me work up a head of steam, I will keep you here all night tell you stories about this amazing church family - but I think you get it. I don’t need to mention Fastfoodgiving [picture 8], the Kid’s Singing [picture 9], the Elf Movie Night [picture 10], or Cookies and Carols [picture 11] for you to see that in small, seemingly insignificant ways, God has been moving in our midst. 

So back to Simeon, he’s standing there holding the baby Jesus, and in verse 33 it says, [read v.33-35]. Woah, what was that? Bit of a tone shift for the ol’ Simeon, eh? God I can die now, I’m so happy - by the way… this kid, gonna cause some problems. Well, I suppose he blessed them first - which is nice. He prays over Mary and Joseph and their baby, but then - and nobody talks about this, but it’s probably the most important thing in the whole chapter. [Read v.34b]. He will cause many to fall, but will be a joy to others. [pause]. I don’t know about you guys - but when I read stuff like this in the bible my first thought is always, “I want more information!” What do you mean he’s going to cause many to fall - who? How? And how do I avoid that? And he’s going to be a joy to others - and I don’t know about you guys, but I would like to sign up for the joy side, right? I’m hearing Simeon talk and all I can think about is Santa and “how do I get on the nice list?” - and all the questions come flooding back - is it pass/fail? Is it just gotta do more good than bad? Can I do some extra good deeds to make up for the bad deeds? But he’s not done! Verse 35, the last thing Simeon says to Mary is this, [read v.35]. And I was sitting there thinking about this verse, you know - puzzling ‘til my puzzler was sore. The deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. Think about the deepest thoughts of your heart. Not the happy face you put on for the Christmas gathering. Not the pile of good deeds you hide behind to make yourself feel like a good person. But the deepest thoughts. The ones we hide because we’re pretty sure if people knew who we were underneath it all - they wouldn’t love us anymore. And a sword will pierce your very soul.

It was the word soul that unlocked this passage for me. I started thinking about Mary holding her baby, that little boy. And I’m wondering - what could possibly pierce her soul, and I thought about my kids, and suddenly it was so obvious. Do you know what would pierce my soul? Losing a child. It is against the very fabric of the universe - no parent should ever have to bury their child. The death of a child is evidence of brokenness in our world. And then I think about who this child is. Who he would grow up to be. He is destined to cause many to fall, but he will be a joy to others - the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. He’s talking about the cross. Where Jesus went for the sins of the world. Where God paid the ultimate sacrifice, that would pierce his soul, to overcome brokenness and death forever.

Theology

John Piper put it like this, (incarnation is the fancy word for when God came to the earth in human form, in Jesus) and Piper says, “The incarnation is the preparation of nerve endings for the nails. That is what the incarnation is. The incarnation is the preparation of a brow for thorns to press through. He needed to have a broad back so that there was a place for the whip. He needed to have feet so that there was a place for spikes. He needed to have a side so that there was a place for the sword to go in. He needed cheeks, fleshy cheeks, so that Judas would have a place to kiss and there would be a place for the spit to run down that the soldiers put on him. He needed a brain and a spinal column with no vinegar and no gall so that the exquisiteness of the pain could be fully felt- for you and me” If you’re not familiar - that is the end of the story. This baby came, in this beautiful moment bringing incredible joy. But that baby is going to grow up. And he is going to reveal the heart of every single one of us, and because of the brokenness that is found in our hearts, and because of the love that is found in his heart, he sacrificed himself for us. Our brokenness leads us to death, and we are on this path towards death, towards the consequences of our own actions - and Jesus steps in front of that. He says, “No, I will bear your punishment - so that you can have a new life with God.” 

Simeon knew that the world’s greatest problem is separation from God. In churchy language we call that sin. Because of what we have done, our relationship with God is broken. And without that connection to God we will always be empty. Incomplete. Searching for the missing piece. And there’s no amount of good deeds that can make up for the broken relationship. There’s no earning it back with good behavior. I had a friend this past week who compared our life to a balloon, and sin to the needle. You don’t patch up a balloon. You can’t patch up your own life. Jesus needs to give you a new one. Simeon knew that the world’s greatest problem is separation from God, and the reason he was freaking out with happiness is because he was literally holding God. That separation has been overcome. Jesus is the way to reconcile broken humans with a perfect God. And that same Jesus is here tonight. It’s not about having a pile of good deeds vs a pile of bad deeds and which pile is bigger - it’s about surrender. 

John 3:16 - maybe the most famous verse in the entire bible puts it like this. [read John 3:16]. When we surrender, and give our life to Jesus - he forgives our sins, he saves us, he washes us clean and gives us a brand new life. Believing in Jesus can save your life. And maybe that feels like a small thing - what - I just pray a prayer? I just make a decision in my heart to follow Jesus, is that all? Is that really all it takes? But if that’s what you’re thinking, I want you to remember - sometimes salvation comes in baby steps. It’s all about surrender.

Now I’ve told this story like a hundred times, but we’ve had a lot of new faces - and I’ve been hearing more and more stories of people who join us online before they ever come to hang out. Like, have you heard this? I’ve met multiple new people who have said, “we’ve been attending for roughly 2 months” and I’m sitting there like, I’ve never seen your face before - and this, uh, is NOT a large room. [laugh]. But this story comes from February. You remember I said that the budget was really tight. And we were struggling to figure it out, and I was praying big prayers. And I was fasting and praying, and then one Thursday afternoon, I was sitting out in the lobby. And I was praying, “God, you’ve got to do something in this church. I need your help. I can’t do this. I need your help to save this church.” And I had this moment - and it wasn’t a big thing! There was no crazy voice or angel popping out of heaven. It was just this… realization in my heart. God said to me, “You keep asking me, God, to help you, JJ, save the church. You’ve got it backwards. You are trying to sit in the savior’s seat.” And that’s the truth - I was! I was arrogant, and figured I could fix all the church’s problems just by being the best, most clever pastor there ever was. But God saw through that, and he showed me that my efforts were never going to be enough. And that day I fell out of my chair, literally, and I wept and I repented. And then I got up in front of the church on a Sunday and I put a chair on the stage and I told the whole church, “I’ve been trying to sit in God’s seat. But I can’t be a savior. Only God can do this.” And from that moment God has been so faithful - moving in small, ordinary ways.

So what about you? Are you trying to sit in the savior’s seat? Are you trying to get onto the nice list through your own actions? Or are you still trying to fill the void inside all by yourself? What I want you to realize today is that God can do more with your surrender than you can do with every ounce of your power. And if you are ready to take that step - to accept the love and forgiveness Jesus is offering, to believe in him, to give your life to him. I have an invitation for you tonight. If you are ready to give your life to Jesus - I’m going to put some words on this screen. And you can read it out loud if you want, or you can pray silently along with me. I’m going to say it out loud. 

God, thank you for sending Jesus into this world. I know that I am a sinner. I can’t fix myself. And I confess that in my life I have fallen short. I can’t be the savior of my own life. Today, I receive Jesus as my lord and savior. As the one who came to carry my sin. Jesus, I know that you died for me, and I am ready to accept your forgiveness and be free from my sin. I turn away from brokenness and towards you, Jesus. I trust you alone. You who died and rose again so that I can have new life - and so I give you my heart tonight. In your powerful name, Amen.

Now in just a moment we are going to get into our last song. This is one of my favorite Christmas traditions - we’d like to end with silent night in candlelight, but before we do that if you have made a decision to follow Jesus Christ with your life today, we just want to celebrate with you. Hopefully there was a card on your seat when you came in, if you would like to fill that out - give us a way to contact you, we’d love to walk with you on this journey of following Jesus. Or maybe you’re here tonight in a place of recommitment. You’ve already given your life to Jesus - but you keep trying to take control of your life back away from God - and tonight you just need to surrender all over again. Let Jesus be the savior, like I needed to. We want to celebrate that too. So fill out those cards, and I want to invite you to come up here and put those cards in this bucket. And we have a little gift for you, it says “heaven broke through” and with it is a field guide, a devotional to give you practical guidance on what following Jesus looks like. But when you come forward, I want you to bring your card - but also bring your candle. 

You see, this candle here is known as the Christ Candle. It’s sort of an old tradition, but it represents the light of Jesus breaking through. If you have given your life to Jesus, maybe it’s a really significant moment for you - which is it, but maybe it just feels like a little thing. Remember, sometimes salvation comes in baby steps. So during the last song, as soon as we start singing - I want you to take your candle and come up here and light it from the Christ candle, and then take that back to your seat, and light your neighbors candle. It’s a small thing - one candle lighting another candle. (And a little logistical clarification - the lit candle stays vertical, the unlit candle touches the flame). It’s a small thing, but eventually - the light will spread and fill this whole space. Just like when heaven breaks through for you. Let’s pray.