This is the fourth and final week of Advent 2020. Can you feel it? Christmas is right around the corner. It’s probably going to look different for many of us than we are used to. But that’s ok. Because Christmas isn’t ultimately about getting what we want. It’s a celebration of the love God showed for us by coming down to be with us, to be one of us. As the song says, “Fullness of God in helpless babe.”

Throughout the centuries mankind has been trying to get to be where God is through various forms of religious rituals, practices, and beliefs. There are those who say, “All paths lead to God.” But the incarnation, the Christmas story, shows us that we have sorely missed the point. God doesn’t demand that we find a path that leads us to him. He has already come to be with us! That’s what Immanuel means – God with us.

There is much more that I want to say on this, but I will leave it at this. John tells us, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9). The story of Christmas is the story of God’s ultimate love for you, for me, for all of mankind.

This is one of my all time favorite Christmas songs. It’s called “I Celebrate the Day,” by Relient K.

This week’s message from the Lawrence County Youth Network is brought to you by Nick Mullis. In this video we will see how Love is on display all throughout the Bible. Nick reminds us that love is about showing up. When God showed up in the baby born in a stable, it was an act of ultimate love.

Think It Through

  • When was a time that you experienced God’s love in your life?
  • If someone were to ask you what the Christmas story was about, what would you tell them?
  • Do any of our Christmas traditions reflect the love of God in Christ?
  • The Bible lists all sorts of ways we can show love to others. What are some of those ways, and how can we put these things into practice?
  • The love of God is unconditional. What do you think that means? How could that change the way we view our relationship with God?

Free Downloads

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A Deeper Conversation

Check back soon for the LCYN Podcast in which Nick, Jason, and I discuss God’s love through Christ more in depth. And this one does get really deep.