Merry Christmas. Susan said I should have said yee ha, but um man, it is uh great to be together on Christmas Eve. We've been looking forward to this night for a long time. Got a couple quick things to share. Uh the first you noticed already when you came in, and that's we've got the safe uh candles going this year. And uh the big advantage to that, well, there's really two no uh wax burns on the kids, and you definitely will not set the person uh directly in front of you on fire. And so that's always a plus. Uh reminder that uh next Sunday we're not getting together. Uh we're a volunteer church, I volunteer, the whole worship team, pretty much anyone that that uh you saw helping out tonight is uh just pitching in. And so we always take the last Sunday of the year um off so we can all sleep in and rest up, and then we will get off to a uh great start in 2013 on January 6th. If it's your first time here, um we're really glad that you're here. Thanks for coming tonight. Hope you can tell, you can just relax and be yourself. Uh if you'd like to know more about uh what we're up to and why, there's a little booklet uh in the lobby as you leave. Um and it has a picture of Jesus on the front and it says life-changing love, and that probably sums it up as good as uh as good as anything. Well, we all know the story of Jesus coming to earth as a uh baby, and it says so much about our father, how he just doesn't stay in the box that we want to put him in sometimes. He does his own thing in his his own way. A lot of times it's uh unexpected, a lot of times it's through unexpected people. Certainly no one would have guessed that uh Joseph and Mary were going to help bring God into the world. They were definitely surprised at their unexpected child. The shepherds were surprised uh with angels and with a light show and with music. The wise men were surprised as God gave them a sudden uh irrepressible desire to seek and to find God. I read that story in Matthew and in Luke. John tells the same story, the same Christmas story, but in a different way. And it's from John that we get one of my favorite Christmas traditions of all, and that's Christmas lights. I mean, to me, Christmas lights are one of the coolest things ever. I mean, they make almost anything interesting or beautiful. I was thinking, you know, you set up a tree in the middle of your house, it's kind of a dorky thing to do, uh, but you cover it with lights, and it's beautiful. Our neighborhood looks completely different, just uh amazing, lit up with lights. Susan and I had a Christmas date last uh Tuesday night, and I planned it, which is a Christmas miracle all in itself, but we're going to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens because I heard they just have an amazing LED light display. And so we got near there about 7:30, but traffic was stopped both ways. It was completely backed up on Piedmont, half a mile each way, and we couldn't even get in. Um so we changed our plans. We still had a great night, but you know, what could possibly sell out the botanical gardens on a Tuesday night? And uh the answer is lights. You know, if it wasn't for Christmas lights, Clark Griswold would not be the national institution that he is. Now, part of the reason I get excited about Christmas lights is when I was growing up as a kid, we didn't have lights on our house. Um and they I don't mean they hadn't been invented yet. I'm not that old, but we just didn't have them out. And and the reason we grew up celebrating Santa and and Rudolph and Frosty, uh, but we didn't celebrate Jesus as as part of a as part of Christmas. And so not having lights in our house for my folks was a bit of a statement um to that effect. And so I'd heard about Jesus and God my whole life, but when I really met Jesus for the first time, I was 32 years old, and my whole life started changing, uh, and it still is. But with that, Christmas easily became my favorite time of year. You know, all of it, just thinking about loved ones. I like the music, uh, family, thinking of different ways to help people out at Christmas time, especially thinking a lot about Jesus. And then right below that list uh is Christmas lights. And so I'll ever be grateful to John. John was Jesus' closest friend on earth. Uh the way he described the birth of Jesus is where we first had the tradition of Christmas candles and then now Christmas lights. And this is what John wrote about the birth of Jesus. He said, In the beginning the word already existed. The word was with God, and the word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light. He was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He came into the very world he created, but the world didn't recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to but to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. The reborn, not with the physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. And so the word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son. So in a few minutes, we're going to sing Silent Night, we're going to all turn on our lights. And it's one of the great Christmas traditions because it's a reflection of what Jesus did. Coming into a dark world, bringing life and light, and then spreading that light and life through others. And then before long, everything changes. And Jesus lighting up the world is just not poetry from the Bible, it's exactly what happened. Jesus was born into a very dark world. The Roman Empire ruled most of the world. They had overran and occupied Israel. Herod ruled Rome. Herod was crazy. He murdered anybody that even hinted at opposition to him. He ended up killing his whole family. The average life expectancy when Jesus was born was 28 years. So a baby born the same time as Jesus could expect to live only to 28 years old. And that life expectancy had been the same for the thousand years prior. Women were very oppressed. Slavery was prevalent. Wars were almost a constant way of life. Diseases like leprosy were common and not curable. Then the light came into the world. Everything was about to start changing for the better. Jesus said so himself. One day he walks into a synagogue and he grabs a scroll. It's from the book of Isaiah. And he reads, He says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come. The light had come into the world. And so the average life expectancy, which had been 28 forever, before too long it was 30, and then it was 35. And then people could expect to live to age 40 and then 50. And today, worldwide, the average life expectancy is well over 70 years. In the United States, it's well over 80 years. Today, December 24th, 2012, over a thousand people are celebrating, not just Christmas Eve, but they're celebrating their 100th birthday. And it's said that uh within 25 years, there'll be over six million people alive in the world, age 100 or older. And so, in spite of what we hear, things are not getting worse and worse and worse. Many things are actually getting better because the light came into the world. And of course, there's still darkness, obviously. You know, we've all been uh affected by it, we've all seen it. I'd say last uh a week ago, Friday in Newtown, I mean, that tragedy uh seems about as dark as it can get, you know, and and it shook me. I'm still shook by it, and I'm sure it's unsettling to all of us. And when things like that happen, you know, we feel like the darkness is is winning, it's overcoming, but it's not. It absolutely is not. Do you know when the all-time lowest murder rate was in the history of the United States? It's December 24th, 2012. Today. Today we have the all-time lowest murder rate ever in the history of the United States. It's less than half of what it was only 30 years ago. On Thanksgiving Day, about a month ago, headline in the Washington Post, it said, surprise, abortion rates just hit an all-time low. And the abortion rate has been dropping every year for the last 35 years, and it dropped 5% just the last year. Diseases are being cured, poverty is being addressed. In our country, slavery has been eliminated, pressure of women has been eased, there's so much less racism, so many less other problems. Child abuse rates continue to drop in the United States every year. You know, just 75 years ago, there were so many children abandoned in our country that orphans' homes and orphanages were built all across the country. Today, parents stand in line and pay thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars for the opportunity to give a child a home. You know, the angel said to the shepherds, peace on earth and goodwill towards men. Today, December 24th, 2012, we are living in the most peaceful time in the history of the world. A smaller percentage of the population is at war today than there ever has been in the entire history of the world. Jesus came and he showed us we're loved, and he showed us how to love. And there is less and less and less darkness. And of course, there's going to be problems, and there's always going to be opportunities. But Christmas is such a great time just to take a giant step back and be thankful. Thankful that Jesus didn't just come to the world to save us, although he did, but he came to bring light and life and love into the world. John knew that. He said, the light has come into the world, and the darkness can never extinguish it. So it's true of the world as a whole, it's true of our worlds individually. You know, I mentioned I was 32, I was 19 years ago when I really met Jesus for the first time. Our marriage was bad, it was actually very bad, our financial situation horrible. I didn't think right about most things, I didn't think right about God. I thought he was angry and that he was hard to please, and he cared most about the rules. And I didn't know that men had made up most of those rules. And what God cares about is people and relationships. But I was in a desperate situation, so in my own words, I just kind of said, Jesus, if you're real, I need you. And uh that day light came into my world. And every year I've had less and less darkness. My whole life's changed in a bunch of different ways. And in three specific, it changed eternally. You know, from that moment on. I don't fear death. I don't even worry about as much about death with loved ones and that type of thing, because I know that we're going to be together uh forever. Um internally, Jesus continues to change me from the inside out. The way I think about things, the way I look about things, even the things I do think about, continues to change. And externally, my whole world is changed. And it's 100% because Jesus brought light into my marriage, into my family, into my business. John said about Jesus. He said, the one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. And this is the Christmas story. Jesus coming as a child because God wants to adopt us all as his very own children. God showing the truth. He's not mad at us, he's not giving up on us. He's for you, he loves you. He wants to call us his children. And so the perfect metaphor for Christmas really is light. You know, what can change New York City into a beautiful place? What can create huge lines, you know, from Callaway Gardens to Life College to the botanical gardens? What can make everyday neighborhoods and towns seem almost magical and exude joy? It's light. So Jesus was born 2,000 years ago in a very small town in the Middle East, and he came for a lot of reasons. He came to show us what love looks like, he came to show us what our Father really is like and to reconnect us with him. And he came to bring light to a world that needed saved. And so, if you'll stand with me, we're gonna sing silent night together, and then we're gonna spend some time worshiping Jesus with other songs. You know, if you want to turn your lights on, feel free to leave them on or uh um turn them off, whatever you want. Let's pray. Jesus, I just praise you. Thank you for being such a great friend and a great savior. Thank you for coming into a very dark world. Thank you for bringing your light and your love and your life and making the world get better and better and better. Thank you, Jesus, for sharing your light and your life with us. We love you. Amen.