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Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201912S
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00:21 >> We have so many different ways to celebrate Christmas. 00:24 And today we are going to explore some of those 00:26 traditions, but I think almost all of us 00:29 have the tradition of giving gifts at this time of the year. 00:33 There is something about a gift that makes us really excited. Perhaps it's the shining 00:39 wrapping paper or it's the reaction of the receiver, which could either be excited 00:46 as they open up the gift wrap, or it could be disappointment. >> Yeah, and I know both of 00:52 those and those experiences. Today we have students from Fountainview Academy. 00:57 They're joining us at Fountainview Academy. And we're going to start with 01:00 Josh. And, Josh, you're here from New Zealand, and where you 01:04 celebrate Christmas -- Are you on the South Island or the North Island? 01:07 >> Yeah I'm in South Island. >> Okay, so you do see some snow. 01:09 >> A little bit, yeah. >> But it's usually warm at -- >> Our Christmas is hot. 01:12 >> Okay, yeah. So, you had an experience where you received a gift. 01:17 You want to tell us about it? >> Sure. So, this happened 01:20 pretty recently, actually, when our senior class went on a mission trip to Thailand. 01:24 And it's this beautiful country. The food was amazing, and it was it was a really cool experience. 01:30 >> I love Thai food. >> I know. It was great. So, what happened is 01:34 we were serving the people there, doing medical missionary work, and working with our 01:38 hands. And it had been a long day, and it was our last night 01:41 in Thailand. And my hands were like blistered all up, 01:44 and they were painful. So I was ready to hit the sack and go take a good night's rest. 01:50 And so I was getting snuggled up in my bed, and all of a sudden my friend 01:53 comes and tells me that there's a girl waiting outside for me, and I'm a little spooked out 01:57 because it's kind of weird to have a girl looking for you at the middle of the night. 02:01 So I quietly walk out, and I look outside, and I look up and I can't see anyone. 02:07 And then I look down, and there's this little girl there, and she has this really cute 02:11 bouquet of flowers and this moose -- this moose here. >> Aww! That's so cute. 02:16 >> But she quickly hands me this moose and gives me a flower. And then she runs off into 02:22 the night, and it was really cool. And I was just standing there 02:25 still, and I was looking at it. I was like, "She's an orphan. She doesn't have any parents 02:31 Like, her clothes, she doesn't even have that either. And this moose 02:36 was like literally all she had. And she gave it to me, a stranger she had only known 02:41 for a couple days. >> Yeah. >> And that had a big impact on 02:44 me because I realized that you don't need a lot -- you don't need to have a lot of 02:48 wealth to give. You just need a little bit. And that little bit 02:51 makes the difference. >> And I was a little stressed, going through schoolwork 02:55 that senior year had brought upon me, and I realized that 03:00 if I started giving my time and little that I had to others, it gave me purpose and meaning. 03:05 And at Christmas, we like to get, get, get, and get new presents, 03:11 new toys, new cars -- everything. But the real spirit 03:15 of Christmas is about giving. >> Mm-hmm! >> Yeah. Very good. 03:18 I mean, here you went to this country to sacrifice, to be a missionary. 03:23 And here you found the people that you were serving, a little orphan girl, gives you a 03:28 present. That's beautiful. >> I went to serve, and 03:30 I was the one who got served. That's really all about what Christmas is about. 03:34 Yeah. >> And that gift was probably very special 03:37 to her and meaningful to her, and yet she gave it away. She was prepared to part with it 03:42 and give it to you. >> Yeah, something happens when we give, that we actually feel 03:47 like it blesses us and we feel better about it. Have any of you 03:51 had that experience? >> I had an experience when I was about seven or eight. 03:54 It's Christmastime. And I was really into American Girl dolls at the time. 03:59 Like, they were just my thing, and I had one, and it was Christmastime, and it 04:04 was my last present. And I quickly unwrapped it, and it was another 04:08 American Girl doll. It was Kit. And I was so excited. 04:11 I was like, "Mom, look what I got! Can you believe it? 04:14 I got another American Girl!" She was like, "Yeah, that's awesome." 04:17 >> And she probably knew it was Kit because she got it for you. 04:20 >> Of course she bought it for me, but I was just so excited, and I was like, "Can't believe 04:24 it." And because it was Christmas and it was super busy, 04:28 the whole family was there, I never actually took her out of the box. 04:31 I just left her in there, and I was just starting at her because she was so beautiful, and 04:36 we were eating dinner later that day, and my mom is a midwife, and she was telling us 04:41 how she had to go visit someone who had their baby recently. And this family had a girl 04:46 that was about about my age. And every time a mom would go to the house this girl be 04:50 sitting on their couch reading an American Girl magazine. And this family 04:55 was like a family of five. And they lived in a two-room house. 04:58 So all the kids lived in one, and the parents and the baby lived in the other. 05:01 >> Yeah, a bit stretched for space. >> So, yeah, they didn't have 05:04 very much. I mean, to feed five kids, that's just a lot. 05:08 And so they couldn't afford to get her an American Girl doll. And for some reason, the idea 05:12 popped into my mind that I should give my American Girl doll to her. 05:15 >> Wow. >> And so I ran upstairs, and I got Kit, and I 05:19 wrapped her up again. And it was kind of weird to be wrapping up the present 05:23 that I had just unwrapped. And I took it downstairs, and I was like, "Mom, I want to go 05:28 with you, and I want to give her my American Girl doll." And my mom was kind of shocked 05:32 that her little 8-year-old daughter was giving away her Christmas gift 05:36 she just got. And so we drove to her house. It was snowing like crazy, and 05:40 we went there, and we were talking, and right before we left, I went up to the little 05:44 girl, and I was like, "I have a gift for you." And so I gave her the gift, 05:47 and then we left, and I never saw her open it, but I can only imagine 05:52 how happy she was that I was able to give something to her that I was given, too. 05:57 But it was kind of like a double reward for me to get it and also give it. 06:01 >> Wow. That's very beautiful. >> Yeah, it was a great 06:03 experience. >> Thanks for sharing that, Adrienne. 06:06 >> Yeah, no problem. >> So, what would have happened if she maybe was disappointed 06:10 by the gift? Do you think... I don't know. 06:13 >> I feel like -- Okay, for me, I had an experience where that happened. 06:16 I was about 10 years old, and it was at our Secret Santa party, and everybody 06:21 was really excited for the party because every year we get gifts and we give gifts, and it's a 06:26 really exciting time. And I remember sitting in a classroom, and the teacher 06:29 was coming around, and she had all the names in this little box, and 06:32 everybody's reaching in and drawing names, and I was so excited for my turn. 06:35 And I reached in, and I got a paper, and I got somebody 06:39 that I didn't get along with very well. [ Laughter ] 06:43 We should give her an alias and a different name, say her name is Mildred. 06:47 And -- >> Mildred? >> I don't know. Maybe. 06:49 [ Laughter ] And so I realized that I was going to have 06:53 to really change my attitude, how I looked at Mildred, because often we would argue a lot. 06:58 Or she would pick on me, things that elementary kids really do to each other 07:01 just to irritate each other. And it was really hard for me to have to, I guess, 07:08 kind of be a bigger person and take the initiative and do something good 07:11 for somebody who had never really done anything for me. And so I went with my mom, and 07:15 we went to Toys"R"Us, and she said, "What does Mildred like?" 07:19 And the first thing that popped into my head was "Polly Pocket dolls." 07:23 And they're like these literally pocket-sized, tiny dolls that you can take with 07:27 you, and Mildred would always bring them to school, and they're just like little 07:30 plastic little toys. And I didn't really understand the big obsession with the 07:33 Polly Pocket dolls, and she would always bring them to school, and she never let me 07:36 play with them. So I didn't really like Polly Pocket dolls 07:40 because of that. And so we got there, and there's this whole 07:43 shelf of Polly Pockets. There's so many of, like, the same thing 07:46 They just look a little bit different. And so I was like, 07:49 "Which one do I get her?" And out of the corner of my eye, I saw this one beautiful doll, 07:53 and she had like long blonde hair, and you could do her hair, you could play, you could dress 07:57 her up with all these different outfits, and I was like, "Okay, I don't really like 08:01 Polly Pocket dolls, but I would play with that. And so I remember, to get a good 08:04 gift, you probably want to get somebody something that you yourself would want. 08:08 And this is something that I wanted so badly, so I took it to my mom, 08:11 and I said, "This is what I want." And my mom was like, "Are you 08:14 sure?" And so I was like, "Yeah, I'm very sure. 08:17 Like, most people love this." And so we bought it, you know, and I wrapped it up, 08:21 and I was waiting and waiting and waiting for the day where I could go to school 08:24 and give her. And so the day finally rolled around, and we started having 08:27 the party, and we started with this really nice breakfast. We had like orange juice, 08:31 tater tot casserole, pancakes. Like, it was amazing. Was like, "This is going to be 08:35 the best day of my life." Oh, I'm hungry now. It was so good. 08:38 The orange juice was so good. And so we... >> Did it have pulp? 08:41 >> It did. It was with the pulp. It was cold. It was refrigerated with the 08:44 pulp. >> Oh, I love the pulp! >> It was so beautiful, so 08:47 good. I'll get you some. And, so, we started the party 08:49 after we had the amazing breakfast, and I was just really excited and everybody's in a 08:53 good mood -- you're full, you had good food, and now we're ready 08:56 to give gifts and receive gifts. And so everybody came, and we sat around this giant Christmas 09:00 tree, and all the presents were just like overflowing, up to like half of the tree. 09:04 It was just covered with presents. And so I remember looking 09:08 at the sea of presents, and I saw mine right away. I was like, "That's the one 09:11 I'm going to give to -- I'm so excited to give it. She's going to love it." 09:14 I was just so happy. I was like jittering my seat. And so it came time 09:18 for me to get up and give the present to Mildred. And I remember I went over there 09:21 and it was like ceremonial for me. I'm, like, walking slowly. 09:24 Just I was so -- I was reveling in the moment. And I placed it in her hands, 09:29 and she looks at it, and she's like, "Oh, you got me a present?" 09:32 Because we kind of had this little -- we weren't very good friends. 09:35 She was like, "You got me a --" And I was like, "Yeah, I did!" I was really excited. 09:38 I was like, "Open it. Look at it." And so she's 09:40 tearing apart the paper, and it felt like an eternity. She finally got it out, 09:44 and she looked at it. And I was like, "It's great, right? 09:46 And she looks at it, and she goes, "I hate it!" And she throws it on the floor, 09:50 and she burst into tears. She was crying, and she ran to the bathroom. 09:54 And I just looked at that beautiful doll sitting on the floor, 09:58 and my heart was on the floor, too, and I was devastated. 10:01 And I remember just kind of going and sitting down, and I was like, "Why would she react 10:04 like that?" She had told me how many times she loved Polly Pocket dolls, 10:07 and I thought I was doing the right thing. So I was hurt in my heart 10:10 because I couldn't understand why she rejected a gift that she claimed to love so much. 10:14 And then, oh, the worst part came when the teachers told the kids, "If you got a present 10:17 you really don't like or the person didn't know you very well and they got you something 10:21 that you can't use, we'll give you a $10 gift card." You can go to Toys"R"Us 10:25 and exchange your gift, and they give the gift card in exchange. And that, oh, was the cherry 10:31 on top, because Mildred came running, she grabbed her present, gave it to the teacher, 10:35 the teacher gave her the gift card, and I was -- I was -- yeah, I was not -- I was 10:40 not happy. I told the teacher, I was like, "Can I have the gift back?" 10:43 She's like, "You gave it to Mildred. It's hers to do with what she 10:46 pleases." And in that moment, I was so hurt because I just couldn't 10:51 understand that mentality. But looking back on that experience, 10:54 although it was still painful, it was a lesson that I'll never forget you know because of that, 11:00 and that is that, you know, it was really just a Polly Pocket doll. 11:05 It was only $10. It wasn't that big of a deal. She'd probably forget 11:08 about it when actually Christmas came and she got a whole bunch of other presents. 11:12 So really it wasn't that big of a deal, but for me it was. And to think about it, 11:17 I realize that I've also rejected a gift, something that can't be bought 11:21 with even gold or silver, but a gift that really could only have been bought 11:24 by the innocent blood of the Son of God. And He took the shame 11:28 that I should've borne on my shoulders. He left His courts of glory 11:32 above to come and take on the garb of fallen humanity for my sake? 11:36 And when He emerged from the grave victorious, after all the suffering 11:38 that my sins put Him through, He extended the gift that cost Him everything, and 11:43 when I choose not to love Him, when I choose to treat others in a way that He never would have, 11:48 I'm rejecting His gift of salvation -- I'm saying, "You did this for me, 11:52 but I don't really want it. I choose to go my own way. I not only reject the gift but 11:56 the Savior who gave it to me." And so when I look at myself in that light, I kind 12:01 of think Mildred, what she did to me, wasn't so bad because I've done the same thing 12:04 to my Savior who gave His life for me. So with all that in mind, 12:08 when I think about Christmas, I don't really think about it as a time of just remembering 12:12 what the Savior did and not just remembering His sacrifice, but living 12:15 as though it changed your life. And, for me, it's living my life 12:20 and giving my all to Him. And He'll never reject that. >> Yeah. That's beautiful. 12:25 >> I wonder what she bought with the gift card. >> I never knew. 12:28 [ Laughter ] >> Maybe she bought a Polly Pocket? 12:30 >> I'll ask her. We're better now. We get along now. 12:33 >> That's good. That's good. Thank you for sharing that. You know, when you give 12:37 something to someone else, you're becoming vulnerable, you know, and here you're giving it 12:42 to someone who's kind of an "enemy." >> Yeah. 12:45 >> And putting that in the spiritual context of Jesus giving His life for us, 12:51 He was making Himself vulnerable. We could say, 12:54 "Oh, I hate the gift. I don't want it." Right? We're going to continue 12:57 our discussion, but right now we're going to go to a break, and we'll be right back. 13:04 >> ♪ La la la la la ♪ La la la la la la 13:09 >> ♪ We three kings of orient are ♪ 13:14 ♪ Bearing gifts, we traverse afar ♪ 13:18 ♪ Field and fountain, moor and mountain ♪ 13:22 ♪ Following yonder star ♪ Oh, star of wonder, star of 13:30 night ♪ ♪ Star with royal beauty 13:34 bright ♪ ♪ Westward leading, still 13:38 proceeding ♪ ♪ Guide us to thy perfect 13:43 light ♪ ♪ La la la la 13:47 ♪ Born a King on Bethlehem's plain ♪ 13:51 ♪ Gold I bring to crown him again ♪ 13:55 ♪ King for ever, ceasing never ♪ 13:59 ♪ Over us all to reign ♪ Oh, oh, star of wonder, star 14:08 of night ♪ ♪ Star with royal beauty 14:13 bright ♪ ♪ Westward leading, still 14:17 proceeding ♪ ♪ Guide us to thy perfect 14:23 light ♪ ♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah 14:27 ♪ Glorious now, behold Him arise ♪ 14:31 ♪ King and God and sacrifice ♪ Alleluia, alleluia 14:38 ♪ Sounds through the earth and skies ♪ 14:42 ♪ Oh, oh, star of wonder, star of night ♪ 14:51 ♪ Star with royal beauty bright ♪ 14:57 ♪ Westward leading, still proceeding ♪ 15:06 ♪ Guide us to thy perfect light ♪♪ 15:22 >> Canada. 15:23 All across this vast and diverse nation, people 15:26 are searching for meaning, acceptance, and hope. 15:29 But in an increasingly secular nation, where nearly 15:32 one in four Canadians have no religious affiliation, 15:36 many people simply don't know how to find happiness and peace 15:39 for their lives. 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If you would like to enhance 17:20 your relationship with God we have an offer for you today that will help you to understand 17:25 the Bible better. >> Friends, our offer for you today is the "Discover" 17:30 Bible study guides. >> In these lessons, you will find the key to help you 17:34 to understand the Bible, God's Holy Word, much better. 17:38 >> Here is the information that you need in order to receive 17:41 these free Bible study guides. >> To request today's offer, 17:46 just log on to www.ItIsWrittenCanada.ca. 17:51 If you prefer, you may call toll-free at 17:54 1-888-CALL-IIW. That's 1-888-CALL-IIW. 18:00 And thank you for your prayer requests and your generous 18:03 financial support. 18:06 >> So, because I grew up here in Canada, I'm used to a white Christmas 18:12 and it's cold. I remember it -- Actually, I grew up in an orphanage in 18:16 Saskatchewan. And in this place, they had every year what they call the 18:21 CHABC Christmas party, and that was a local radio station. 18:25 And so they would come in, and they would have a guy who was very jolly 18:29 with rosy red cheeks, and he would dress up in a legit Santa Claus outfit. 18:36 I mean, it wasn't one of those cheap ones. Like, he had leather boots. 18:39 He had a leather belt. I mean, it looked real authentic, right? 18:43 And he came to the window, and he would "Ho, ho, ho!" And he had the bells and all of 18:49 that. And he would give us gifts. >> Did he have white hair? 18:52 >> He had white hair. He had a beard. But as I grew older, 18:56 I knew which guy it was, and he didn't look like Santa at all. 18:59 But when he put the outfit, he was like perfect Santa Claus, right? 19:02 >> And so for me that is Christmas and some of you come from -- 19:05 >> I don't think I've seen one of those. >> You've never seen one of 19:08 those? >> I don't think I've seen -- >> You've never seen a 19:11 Santa Claus? >> Like, on TV or stuff, but I don't think I've seen him 19:13 just sitting around just with his little bells. >> With his little bells? 19:16 >> No. >> What? Dude, they're everywhere. 19:19 There's so many of them. They all look the same. >> So, Jasmine, you come 19:23 from Australia. >> Yeah. >> So do you have that over 19:26 there? >> Well, yeah, we definitely have that kind of aspect with 19:29 Santa and that, and we like to get into Christmas in a similar way to that of North America. 19:33 But originally, I guess, our traditions are a bit different. 19:37 In Australia, for me, Christmas has always been the heat of summer. 19:41 Like, for me, Christmas is going to the beach, having a barbecue, spending time with friends. 19:47 >> What?! That's so cool. >> Exactly. So, for us, when we're getting 19:50 into the spirit of giving and getting ready for Christmas with family -- and food 19:54 is a big thing for us, as well. We love eating with friends, and food is very special to us 20:01 when it comes to Christmas. So, yeah, I have a story that's kind of similar to yours. 20:06 We like to have Christmas parties just like that. And, for me, this story happened 20:10 when I was probably about five or six years old, and I remember Christmas 20:15 was just starting to get into the swing of things when my dad used 20:18 to go out weekly and feed the homeless. And I remember always 20:23 wishing that I could go with him, and I used to beg him and be like, "Dad you should take 20:27 me. It would be so much fun to go out 20:29 and help these people with you." But each time he kind of told me that 20:32 it was a little bit dangerous and I was a bit too young and that maybe one day 20:36 my chance would come. So, anyway, as Christmas was starting to get closer 20:41 and closer, one time my dad came home from one of his outings, 20:44 and he told us, "Guess what, Jasmine. The company 20:47 that puts on these dinners for the homeless, they're having a Christmas party. 20:51 And you can come and mom can come and your sisters can come, and it'll be a big family thing 20:56 that we can go out and help people." And I was so excited. 20:59 I was like, "Finally, I get my chance. I love working with food. 21:03 I love giving and helping people." And so I was like, "Yes, I can 21:07 go out, and I can feed people, and I can help people." So, anyway, the time was getting 21:12 closer to this Christmas party, and it had been hot. It was December. 21:17 It was the middle of summer -- or the beginning of summer. And we'd been going 21:20 to the beach and swimming a lot. And, anyway, we were ready for this party. 21:25 And so as we all get in the car and we're driving into Sydney, we noticed these big black 21:31 storm clouds starting to form. And we were just like, "Well, we'll see what happens." 21:36 And so, anyway, by the time we get to the party, it's windy and there's storm 21:41 clouds everywhere and all of the setups are starting to shake, and there's so many people, 21:47 but there's chaos everywhere and it was still like a lot of people there, and we 21:51 had the Santa Claus all dressed up, just like your Christmas party. 21:54 And so, pretty soon, I completely forgot about why I wanted to come to this party. 22:00 I was so scared by all of the wind and the chaos that I was huddling with 22:04 my parents and I found a blanket and I was just trying to stay away from everything 22:07 as much as possible. And I remember just as I was like sitting there, 22:12 I kind of noticed this little girl that was looking at me, and 22:16 I open my blanket a little bit to see what she was doing, and I realized that she came 22:22 from a background far worse off than me. And she came up to me 22:27 holding a tray of fairy bread. Now, fairy bread is basically every Australian's child, like, 22:37 dessert dream. It's like the definition of happiness. 22:41 Basically, what it is, is plain white bread that is then buttered and then covered 22:46 with rainbow sprinkles. Now, it might sound a little bit simple, but, to us, 22:51 it was definitely the epitome of happiness. Any party that you went 22:55 to, fairy bread was a guarantee. And so we love the stuff. We couldn't get enough of it. 23:01 And so, anyway, as I was sitting there in this blanket, this little girl came up to me 23:04 with this simple tray of fairy bread, and she extended it out to me and offered me a piece. 23:10 And I was absolutely shocked in that moment. I was only five years old, 23:14 but the idea that I had come to this party to help girls just like her 23:20 and instead the reverse had happened and I was the one sitting comfortably and she was 23:25 the one that extended what she had to offer to me. And so after we left that party, 23:31 because it kind of all came to a close much quicker due to the storm, I remember 23:35 just riding home with my family and thinking, "It doesn't matter where you come from. 23:41 Christmas is about giving, and you don't have to be in the right position to be able 23:46 to give. Anyone can give. And so that's just the lesson 23:49 that I've been able to take with me, with many Christmases to come, 23:52 that it doesn't matter how big or how small or what you have. You can always give. 23:58 >> Awesome. >> Well, I can kind of relate to Jasmine with her happiness -- 24:02 the fairy braid, right? -- and also growing up in a country where it's hot, 24:07 because I was born and raised in South Africa, and we celebrate Christmases 24:11 when it is hot, by the pool, and having watermelon. So what about you, Ronald? 24:17 You're from Panama. >> Well, actually, Panama and Chile, so a bit of both, 24:22 moving around and stuff. Every single country that I've been to, it's kind of more 24:27 of a kind of cool atmosphere when it's hits December. It's not necessarily snow, 24:33 but it's not boiling hot either, most of the time. And it's always different 24:37 experiences in different places that I was in. When we were smaller, 24:41 we'd always try to go back to Panama or Chile and celebrate Christmases there. 24:46 And when it was there, we'd have, like, a parade. The city would shut down, 24:51 the road would get blocked, and then there'd be a little, like, car show 24:54 with different music and stuff and then fireworks. But the older we got, the harder 24:59 it was to kind of get back to basically the countries that we were from, 25:04 and we'd start celebrating Christmas more on our own. And when we were little, 25:07 they still tried to keep that Christmas atmosphere of the big plastic tree when you 25:11 rearrange the branches and the lights and stuff. [ Laughter ] 25:15 But the older we got, almost the smaller the Christmas trees got, and soon there was an age 25:19 where every single one would have a small Christmas tree in this room. 25:23 And then, afterwards, it would be like sticky-note Christmas trees or, if not, 25:27 just a paper cutout Christmas tree. And then soon, we kind of just 25:30 threw the Christmas tree idea out, and now we just have lights everywhere. 25:33 And the older we got, the smaller the gifts got, but the more time we'd spend 25:37 with each other, the more we would less hang out with friends, 25:39 then where we just kind of stay home and just kind of relish the gift of time 25:43 that we had together. And what we would do is now be kind of pull out a 25:47 mattress. We watch a movie. We have lights everywhere. 25:51 We have like a small little dinner, and it's not something fancy, but it's not something, 25:56 like, horrible either. It's this nice really simple dinner, and we'd just enjoy the 26:01 time that we have together. I think two years ago -- We've been missionaries in Thailand, 26:05 and what happened was that, on Christmas Day, we wouldn't be together. 26:10 My sister and my mom would stay in Thailand, and me and my dad would go to Chile. 26:15 And what happened was that we decided that, instead of just spending Christmas apart, we'd 26:20 just move it to December 15th and just celebrate Christmas together. 26:24 So we put this Christmas album that we always listen to and just kind of have some nuts 26:29 and then just decorate the house and just spend Christmas on that day. 26:33 And it felt like Christmas because for me Christmas was never the day 26:37 but it was the time and the moment that we have together. 26:39 We create Christmas. Christmas isn't the day itself, that, all of a sudden, trees 26:43 pop out of nowhere and lights pop out of nowhere. We make it that way, 26:47 and we did it on the 15th, and when December 25th hit, we didn't really feel 26:51 this really big Christmas, because we already celebrated it before. 26:55 And last year we did the same thing, but here in Canada. We spent a white Christmas. 27:00 We hadn't had one in a very long time, because even in Chile, where we lived, 27:04 the most that we'd get is just a little bit of frost, not even snow. 27:08 And it was like this big white Christmas, and we're just jumping around in 27:11 the snow because we're not used to it. And it was like there was 27:15 an actual Christmas tree. It was just really different, and we just enjoyed it, 27:18 because for us, the gift is family and the gift is time, 27:22 the time that you can give. And that's something that you can keep on giving. 27:27 >> Mm-hmm. >> Thank you so much for sharing with us, 27:30 Ronald and Josh and Adrienne and Cheyenne and Jasmine. Thank you so much. 27:35 Really, Christmas is all about what we find here in the Scriptures, that Jesus 27:39 came into this world. 27:41 I just want to read this to you. In Isaiah 9:6, 27:44 it says, "For unto us a child is born. 27:47 Unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon 27:50 His shoulders, and His name shall be called 27:53 Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God, 27:56 the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." 27:59 So this is talking about Jesus, and Jesus came to this world. 28:03 He was from everlasting God. The fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Him bodily, 28:09 as the apostle Paul says. And He came to this world, and He was possessed of one purpose, 28:15 and that was He lived to bless others, and that is what Christmas is all about. 28:19 It's about giving, what you have shared with us, and we know in our hearts 28:24 that, when we share gifts, that we are blessed ourselves in the act of blessing others. 28:30 And so we've come to the end of our program today, and I just want to remind you 28:34 to remember the words of Jesus that, "It is written: 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by 28:39 every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 28:47 ♪♪ |
Revised 2020-05-20