But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God. [NRSV]

The Gifts of Christmas

How unusual it would be to have a grand birthday party where no one brought gifts to the honored guest, rather the one having the celebration had gifts for each of the guests.

The Good News is that Jesus is born bringing Gifts to each of us.

For months we have prepared to share the gift of Jesus Christ:  Thankfully we have a season and not just one day to begin sharing the gift of Christ, that is our faith and our hope and salvation

The Prize Closet

I have a dear friend who is the best and most attentive giver and sender of cards. She would carry in her purse no less than a dozen cards for just the right occasion to express love, loss, prayers, compassion or cheer where ever she sent. She was once having surgery and handed her husband her purse i the pre-op waiting room and she told him to give a card to one of the people in the waiting room while she was having her surgery.  She was prepared to give the gift.

My grandmother had a special gift drawer where magical gifts materialized when someone needed a last minute gift for a forgotten occasion or a guest revealed it was their birthday or an unexpected guest showed up when others were opening Christmas presents. Tommye would disappear to the secret drawer and retrieve a small treasure for the surprise occasion.

Some folks may have a top shelf, others might have a closet or other special collection of gifts for every occasion.  All good things can be taken too far, but it is a great tradition and practice of anticipating the sharing of gifts.

The danger of gifts is that we see and value only the object in place of the relationship expressed in the gift.

The Angel Tree

We have some very generous folks who gave great gifts to young boys who are forgotten by so many but were given not just one, or two, or three but fives gifts: Nice gifts. I affirm that your generosity was shown in the assortment of games, toys, clothes, teddy bears and various gifts that were requested. The director shared the boy’s appreciation of the gifts and that love and thoughtfulness that strangers would be so generous. He reminded them that we may not have met, but were are not strangers because we share the same love and trust in Jesus Christ.  (That is the gift given and received!)

Church and Money

We try not to be a church that talks about money too much. But we do need to talk about the spirit of faithful generosity that shares 60 prayer quilts in the last 52 weeks.

We see the generous gifts that have helped retire hundreds of thousands of dollars of building debt in record time.

We see the sack lunches, the pottery – mud for Culebra to share hope and rebuilding of lives,

We have given one another generous gifts that we enjoy and remember that gifts are given and share not out of duty or requirement but given as expressions and extension of love, faith, and hope.

The Galatian Gifts

The Gift of Freedom

The Gift of Family

The Gift of Inheritance

Freedom: Christ comes and gifts us the gift of freedom from slavery to the law. We are not measured by rules instead of by love and grace.

Family: We are not only set free from rules we could never fully keep, to being adopted as family. We are made to be equal to the household/family. We are not junior worker-bees, we are brothers and sisters in the royalty. (We have different jobs, skills, gifts and talents entrust, but we aril equally valued and needed.

Inheritance: Not only are we free from forced faith and made equal partners, we share in the work and have shares in the company.

What does the gift look like?

What we do as the church is living out God’s business in a family owned business as equal partners with equal value and voice.

• God is revealing to the whole world, one person at a time, God’s love, power, mercy, and grace
• and has invested all his business in us
• to do God’s work
• with each other as co-owners and co-workers.
• Paul reminds the church at Galatia and us:
• We are gifted to freely share our faith
• We are gifted with a family to support and be supported
• WE are gifted with a life that is eternal, fulfilling, hopeful and directed by love.

So who do we share our gift of Christ with?

• Someone who is locked in rules, fear, and spiritual blindness
• Someone who my have all the civil right but no joy nor hope
• Someone who complains, judges, hates and cowers
• Someone who knows so much that don’t need Christ
• Someone who is more interested in fairness than grace
• Someone who is alone and finds no only to be family
• Someone who’s family is so dysfunctional they don’t know what family can be
• Someone who wants to look of a perfect family without the sweat equity of honor, respect and trust.
• Someone who hope is in stuff rather than spirit.

        (You can buy me a boat and a truck to pull it…)

Buy Me a Boat

Chris Janson

I ain’t rich, but I damn sure wanna be

Working like a dog all day, ain’t working for me

I wish I had a rich uncle that’d kick the bucket

And that I was sitting on a pile like Warren Buffett

I know everybody says

Money can’t buy happiness

But it could buy me a boat, it could buy me a truck to pull it

It could buy me a Yeti 110 iced down with some silver bullets

Yeah, and I know what they say

Money can’t buy everything

Well, maybe so,

But it could buy me a boat

They call me redneck, white trash and blue collar

But I could change all that if I had a couple million dollars

I keep hearing that money is the root of all evil

And you can’t fit a camel through the eye of a needle

I’m sure that’s probably true,

But it still sounds pretty cool

‘Cause it could buy me a boat, it could buy me a truck to pull it

It could buy me a Yeti 110 iced down with some silver bullets

Yeah, and I know what they say,

Money can’t buy everything

Well, maybe so,

But it could buy me a boat

To float down on the water with a beer

I hear the Powerball Lotto is a-sitting’ on a hundred mill

Well, that would buy me a brand new rod and reel

And it could buy me a boat, it could buy me a truck to pull it

It could buy me a Yeti 110 iced down with some silver bullets

Yeah, and I know what they say,

Money can’t buy everything

Well, maybe so,

But it could buy me a boat

Yeah, and I know what they say,

Money can’t buy everything

Well, maybe so,

But it could buy me a boat

It could buy me a boat

Songwriters: Chris Dubois / Chris Janson

Buy Me a Boat lyrics © Spirit Music Group, Ole Media Management Lp

  It’s not both/and,

Here is the Heart of Paul’s word for us, the church

it is that we are the Gift the World is freed by, claimed by and saved through

The Christmas Gift: Jesus Gives us the gifts so we will

1. Know God loves us
2. Know we are of great value to God
3. Know that God’s work is our work and witness.

verse 7) So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God