Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hey, guys, this is naive. And you've reached the Mosaic Church Podcast. So excited that you're part of our listening community, and I'd love for you to be even more connected. So check out our website. There's more content there and there's more opportunities for you. Get connected in our ministries and events as well. Also, love for you to share this content if this has blessed you. I know that God wants to use you to bless other people with it, so share this podcast if you will. Lastly, would you consider supporting this ministry? This is made possible by other people's generosity, and I'd love for you to pay it forward. Join us to reclaim the message and the movement of Jesus together. So would you consider giving to this ministry? I know that God is able to do immeasurably more through us when we come together. Thank you so much. God bless you and enjoy.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas. So excited to have you guys with us today. Like Pastor Naim mentioned, I do love Christmas very much, so it's very special for me to be here. I know some of you are here with your families, and so welcome. We're glad that you're here. And I know there are also many of you who are here with us because you have decided that we are your chosen family at Mosaic. And I want you to know, too, that we don't take that lightly whatsoever. So we're so excited that you guys are here. I am very honored to be here. I am also a little bit nervous, if I can admit that to you, because Christmas is so special that it tends to make me a little bit emotional. And I made it through the first service with only almost crying, like four times. So I think so far we're doing really well. We're doing really well. But the thing of it is, with Christmas Eve, it's so special to me because it's only at this exact moment in the Christmas story. It's so different than any other time throughout the Christmas story or even the rest of the year. It's only tonight, on Christmas Eve, that we get to sit on the edge of the hope that is to come while we await the next thing that we know is going to happen after that. It's in this moment alone that reminds me that the Christmas story actually can rewrite our stories, that no matter where you are in life, no matter where you are in your story, the Christmas story can rewrite your story.
Before we get to that, though, I do know that we have our kids in the room with us tonight. Where are the kids at make some noise, kiddos. They were like. We were threatened to be so quiet when we sat in that room. See, the kids have a different story that they're telling tonight. Right, kiddos? Who is coming tonight on Christmas Eve?
Yeah, you can say Santa. They're like, do we have to say baby Jesus? Santa. Santa's coming tonight. Is anybody excited for maybe a visit from Santa? Yes. So here. Wow.
Kids of all ages. See, kids of all ages are excited about Santa. The thing about Santa is it reminds me that there are different versions of stories that we tell. And Santa, I think, is the perfect example. The story that you tell about Santa, the version of Santa that you have, actually reveals what it is that you believe about him. It says what you believe him to be. So there are a few things that I think we can all agree on with Santa. We can agree that he's magic. Yes. Sometimes he makes a chimney appear where there is no chimney, and then it magically just goes away. Some families say that Santa has a magic key that opens any door so he can come in and leave the presence and exit out quietly. We have definitely all agreed and decided that Santa has a high metabolism.
Because every single one of you who is awaiting the arrival of Santa tonight is going to leave out Christmas cookies for him. Which actually got me thinking this week, who is it that does all the work at Christmas? The women in pulling Santa's sleigh? Actually, it's the reindeer, isn't it? The reindeer? And what do we leave the reindeer? Vegetables. Vegetables. I think we need to talk to Santa and get him a better PR team because this does not feel like appreciation. I think we can also agree that Santa is like the model head of, like, CEO of a startup company. Okay? He's global. He's in every continent. He has recognizable brand marketing like no other. And I would say he has a workforce that rivals any Fortune 500 company right now. And over the last month, trust me, I know there are elves that have been sitting on your shelves in your homes, helping Santa and watching to see what's happening. And see, this is where certain families twist and have a different story of Santa. There's a different tradition here because I know that there's not an elf that comes to every home.
For some people, Santa's just a fun guy, and he helps to get them in the Christmas spirit. He just helps us to remember that it's jolly and it's fun and it's something to look forward to. But for other people, Santa becomes something a little bit different. Santa watches you all the time to check your behavior and see how you're doing so that he can categorize you as a person based off of the behaviors that you choose to make. Then he will decide what kind of present you are worthy of getting, what kind of present you deserve, based on the choices that you make and the behaviors that you choose. Do you see how I'm saying that? The story we tell about Santa helps us to believe and helps us to understand who it is that we believe him to be. And I think the same is true when it comes to God. The stories that we tell ourselves about God reveal who it is actually that we believe God to be and who we believe God to be in our lives.
So I wanna know, what are the stories that you have been told about God? What are the stories that you've believed about God? Maybe, like Santa, you were told that God is up there, not at the North Pole, but in heaven. He is up there, and he is actually watching you and watching your behavior. And if this is the story, you know, of God, you might think that he's a little bit judgy. And the only reason he created people and put them on this earth was so we could try and strive to please him and to make him happy, which does seem to be an impossible task.
If this is the version of God that you have been told, it's quite possible that you never feel good enough because you feel like he's just always watching you in order to catch you trying to do something wrong, which, of course, you inevitably will.
Maybe you know a story of Santa that is transactional or, I'm sorry, of God. You know, a story of God that's transactional, like Santa is transactional, and he only gives you the things that you want if you qualify.
This story of God says that he will put you on his nice list.
If the checks and balances are in place, if you do enough good things, if you believe, if you went to church enough times, you memorized a couple Bible verses, you hit those quiet times, at least enough to balance the scales over the times that you were, you know, naughty sin, put you on the naughty list. If this is the version of God that you believe, then it's possible that you feel like you will never be good enough, that you will never be able to make his nice list. And while you do have appreciation, maybe for the things in your life that you have, you also believe that God is withholding things from you as punishment or a consequence. That the things that you've been praying for, the job the relationship, the health diagnosis, the finances, somewhere deep down inside of you. If this is the version of God that you know, you probably believe that he has not answered those prayers on purpose, as an action of your consequences of your own actions.
Maybe, you know, a version of God that is like Santa only happens at Christmas. He's more of a symbol. Maybe he's not magic. Maybe there's some kind of superpower or something about you're not really sure exactly, and so you don't press on it, but you only start to think about him after Thanksgiving when he starts showing up in Everybody's yards, like 15ft tall. If this is the version of God that you know, there may even be a part of you that wants to believe in this, that wants to believe in this God. But there's a voice within you that says this. It's childish to put your hope in a thing that you cannot see, to put your hope in something that you cannot prove. And so you tend not to think about him too much.
See, the beauty of the Christmas story is that it's not actually about Santa. It's not even about the traditions that we put in place, but it's the story of who God is and who you are and who God is in your story.
Now, you probably know the most familiar, I would say probably, Christmas story in the Bible. And here at Mosaic, we have been walking through the first couple chapters of Luke, all throughout the month of December. So we've talked about Mary and Joseph and how an angel appeared to them and told them they were going to have this baby. So they migrated to another country on a donkey, where then they had a baby in a manger. Angels appeared to the shepherds, and the shepherds also came to see this baby. That maybe, though they didn't quite know why or how they did believe, was somehow special.
But this story of the coming Messiah started so much further back. Before Jesus was born. This story of the coming Messiah was passed down for generations.
This is a story that people told their children and their grandchildren, because the stories of this God told them who God was, and it told them what kind of God was worthy of their worship. And it told them what kind of God they were choosing to give their life to as they followed him.
And so Mary and Joseph would have known this story. They would have known the story of the coming Messiah because the prophet Isaiah long before had said, for a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
See, Jesus birth changed their story because it put them in this story. It put them in the story that they had been telling for their whole entire lives. Only now the difference was this. God in this story was no longer detached. He was no longer only accessible by certain people.
Instead, he was a child. He was a baby that had been given to them to show the world exactly who. Who God is.
Jesus. This child that would grow to be so many things to so many people.
He would grow to become a wonderful counselor, a counselor who doesn't look away from suffering. A counselor who listens to you because what matters to you, matters to Him. And so he is with you. And what's important to you is important to him, both in your celebration, in your joy, as well as your lament and your grief and your sorrow. He's a wonderful counselor who wants to help you face conflicts, maybe even conflicts in relationships that you're going to be walking into over the next couple of days. And he will be with you because restoration of relationships, when it's possible, is so important to Him. He will bring order to your dysfunction and help you find healing for wounds that have been in there for far longer than you want to admit. Jesus is our wonderful counselor, which means that your story does not have to end in grief or suffering.
This baby will also be the reflection of a mighty God who is bigger and more powerful and so much more complex than our human brains will ever be able to fully understand.
He will be a mighty God whose strength is available right at any moment within us, so that when we feel out of control and we feel like everything is spinning around, he holds all things together in a way that our humanity will never be able to do.
He is our wonderful counselor so our story doesn't have to end in chaos.
Jesus is also our everlasting Father, Jesus. This baby would grow up and live as a child and a teenager and a young adult and an adult. And he would have all of the experiences that we have. He would live through so many things so that in our lives, when something bad happens, we can go to him and share it all with him. And he actually has lived experience and wisdom that he can pass down and share with us. Because he walked this earth as a human, he lived through oppressive political turmoil. He lived through loss and suffering and illness. He faced relationships that ended in betrayal and disappointment. He knew what it meant to have a broken heart. And so he is there to support you the way you need a father to be.
And because he is the everlasting father. The difference is that there is nothing you can ever do that will ever change the way he feels about you. There is nothing that you can ever do that will make him not show up for you the way a father should.
And so, because Jesus will become this everlasting father, your story does not have to end alone in isolation.
This baby will also grow to be the Prince of Peace.
And for some of us, it's already hard to find peace, even in this holiday season where we're trying to, like, close our eyes and live in a bubble of lights and glitter and Christmas carols and hot chocolate, when in reality, already the overwhelm of 2025 is coming in and we're already thinking about all of the unknowns and all of the unanswered questions, like, how are you going to provide for your family? Where is the money going to come from? Is this person even going to be with us at Christmas next year? And overwhelm can be so hard and so loud that it tries to steal your peace. Even in this Christmas season.
Some of you are facing another year where you can now look in the mirror and go, well, there goes another year with another goal. Unachieved, you still didn't do the thing. And instead it's actually just leading you toward hopelessness, not wanting to make another resolution for next year, because accomplishing anything feels hopeless and it feels impossible.
Maybe you're facing another year without an answer to the prayer that you started praying last Christmas, or even the Christmas before that.
The Prince of Peace can bring calm to our chaos. He helps us breathe and pause and be present in the moment.
Not because he uses his Christmas magic to just make everything the way that it should be, but because his presence is the only thing that can bring us true peace. So that your story doesn't have to end in anxiety.
The world was dark when Jesus was born. It was heavy. And a lot of people had already decided that they were going to look for something else. A lot of people said, thought that God had been silent and maybe the story had ended and there was never going to be a conclusion. So they'd started looking for other things. Cause they were like, I just don't know if this Messiah that has been promised is actually going to come.
But the birth of Jesus reminds us that hope only lives in the waiting.
Hope only lives in the waiting in these moments where we have the promise that is yet to be fulfilled, and we are waiting for its arrival. It was the promise of hope in Isaiah's prophecy that was quoted when the angel appeared to Joseph and said in Matthew, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son. And they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. God with us. I'm going to invite Alexa and the worship band to come out, and they're going to help us to just really sit in this moment. And so maybe what you need to do for the next couple moments is just take a couple deep breaths, maybe close your eyes and listen to the words of this song so that we can feel the weight of the anticipation of the hope of the promise yet fulfilled.
[00:18:55] Speaker C: O come, O come, Be man you will and ransom captive Israel that's mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God of peace oh come down this spring Come and choose by the light Disperse the gl of night and death's dark shadows were to find.
Rejoice, rejoice. Voice Im shall come to the sa all people in one heart and mind Bid envy, strife and quarrel seas fill the whole world with heaven's peace.
Rejoice, rejoice, Amen.
You shall come, come to me Holy shall come to the way shall come to the.
[00:22:43] Speaker B: Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel. The people cried. Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel.
God, would you please do something?
It is too hard. It is too heavy. There is too much down here for us to hold. There is too much hurt. It is so dark and heavy in this world without your presence.
Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel. God, would you come and be with us? Would you come and do something?
And so he answered. God answered by coming down to dwell among us in this little baby. He answered the way no God ever has before and would never, ever be able to do again. He entered the world in the birth of Jesus. The Christmas story is a reminder of God's story that started so long ago. It's God stepping in to tell us that we can rejoice in every season because Jesus Emmanuel is with us.
It is. It is God saying that it is okay for you to laugh in a season of mourning, that it is okay to smile and find moving moments of joy in a season of loss and true heaviness. That it is okay to hold both the easy and the hard, the good things and the bad things, Because God is a complex God who can handle all of it, that we don't have to, so we can rejoice in all seasons that Jesus Emmanuel is with us.
The Christmas story changed Mary and Joseph because when they held that baby, they were the first ones to hold on to the presence of God.
When they looked down at the face of their child, they got to look at the face of God. Can you imagine what that moment must have been like and how that would have changed them?
It changed their story and it can change yours too.
What are the stories about God that you have been believing? Who is it that you believe God to be or that you believe yourself to be in Him?
Would you let him rewrite your story and give you a different version? Would you let God rewrite what is going to happen next?
Because Jesus, Emmanuel changes a story and what it says to me is that you don't have to stop sinning and behave and get it together in order to be accepted. God is with you.
What Emmanuel says to me is that you don't have to prove your righteousness business with good deeds and do enough of the right things to get on God's good list. You don't have to carry out the right traditions or check the boxes. God is already with you.
What it says to me is that you don't have to have him all figured out. You don't have to know what faith really is or what it's supposed to feel like. You don't have to know what a relationship with Jesus is. Even looks like God is with you.
God does not require you to believe in him before he decides to show up at your house for a visit.
God is already with you. When he came to the world in Jesus, Emmanuel, the question of whether or not God would ever be with us went away forever.
And so if you're facing a lot of unknowns, if things feel dark and heavy and you have more questions than you have answers, I want to go back to that scripture from John that Ben read earlier during worship that says the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
In just a minute, we are going to light candles and do our traditional singing of Silent Night, which is what we love to do here year after year at Mosaic. And even as you're singing, I would love for you to just take a moment and look around, be present and just notice what happens to the darkness in the room when we add in the presence of light. I want you to see enough that you can capture this moment that it will stay with you not just today and not just tomorrow, but hopefully into all of next year.
Look around and see what happens when we bring this hope, the light of Jesus, the hope of this baby together, so that we can push back the darkness in the world and the darkness in our own lives and the darkness for each other.
Because it is the story of this light and this hope that reminds us exactly who God is.
That Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us and that he is with you, even if you've never fully believed in him before, even if you don't even really know what it means to believe in a God that you cannot see no matter where you are. Emmanuel, God with us reminds us that he can change your story.
If you would stand, I would love to pray this over you right now.
God, we thank you for who you are. God, we thank you for all of the people in history. God, in all of the stories that have been involved and made the choices to get us to the place that we are today.
God, I thank you that somehow we are all connected even to that very first Christmas night.
God, we thank you for your presence. And Lord, I pray that we would experience you with us in a way like we never have before.
God, whether we walk out today choosing for the very first time to maybe lean in to what it means to tap into your power, to tap into a relationship with you, to experience what it would look like to live in your grace and your truth and your forgiveness and your love, not because it will make them a perfect person, but because God, it will just let them be filled with your peace and your love and all that you are.
God, even for those of us that have been walking with you for years, Lord, I pray that we would experience you in a new way. God, every time we see a baby Jesus in a nativity scene or every time we see light that's lighting up the darkness within us, we thank you that you are Emmanuel, God with us, that there's nothing we can do to change that.
It's in Jesus holy name we pray. Amen.
Amen. Thanks for listening to this message from Mosaic church in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more audio and video content, visit us at MosaicChurch TV.
