Mosaic Lead Pastor Erwin McManus delivers a message that helps us see the season of Christmas with a new sense of clarity. Out of Isaiah chapter 9, he shares that God did not send Jesus to satisfy his own ego and his needs. Every intention God had for sending his son Jesus to die on a cross was a gift for us!
Pastor Erwin shares that in the holiday season, many of us receive gifts that we either don’t like or didn’t know that we needed. And Jesus is the latter - the gift humanity desperately needed, but just didn’t know it yet.
Later in Isaiah chapter 9, it refers to the promised messiah as an, “everlasting father.” Pastor Erwin points out that many of us struggle to identify with God as a father because our culture can place a low value on fathers due to collective bad experiences. But Pastor Erwin encourages us that until we run to God as our father for our sense of identity, we will continue to run back to dysfunctional ‘fixes.’
Thought we long for quick fixes in our lives, Pastor Erwin shares that God is not interested in short-term solutions that lead to long-term dysfunction. The everlasting father is looking at our lives from an eternal perspective. What may seem like a tragedy in the moment to us is simply a small part of a greater story God is working together.
If you have been looking for a way to activate God’s gift of Jesus in your life in a tangible way during this Christmas season, this message is for you!