Please be seated.
But don't panic.
This is a conclusion, not a sermon, okay?
The coming of God's Son into this world
is the greatest search and rescue mission of all time.
You're familiar with what that is.
We've read stories of how the military
or a law enforcement agency
or other first responders have gone out
to search for lost people,
maybe lost in the mountains
or in the rubble from an earthquake
or even at sea.
Their mission is to search for and rescue
the person or the people who are lost.
Their purpose is to seek and save lives.
That's why Jesus said He came into the world.
He came to carry out, truly,
a search and rescue mission
that He describes in Luke 19, verse 10 like this.
For the Son of Man came to seek
and to save the lost.
Jesus uses that word lost
to describe someone who is spiritually separated from God.
He's really talking about someone who is spiritually dead.
And a great example of that's how He's using the word
is found in His story of the prodigal son.
In that story, the father,
whose son rebelled and went away,
but finally came back,
the father describes the son's condition like this.
For this my son was dead and is alive again.
He was lost and is found.
And that gave them reason to celebrate.
The Bible says that all of us are separated from God by our sin.
That's what it means to say that a person is lost.
It means that we're without hope
because we cannot save ourselves.
We cannot rescue ourselves from this spiritually dead condition.
If Jesus had not been born,
if there was no Christmas,
we would all stand condemned
because as the Bible says,
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God
and the penalty or the wages of sin is death.
But the good news this morning
that we have heard about
through the songs, through the music,
through the narration
is that Jesus did come.
He came to seek and to save the lost.
If you're not a Christian
and you'll admit to God
that you are lost,
separated from Him,
and you want to be rescued
by Jesus Christ,
then the way to respond is like this.
Turn from your sin.
Change your mind about living life your way
instead of God's way.
Grieve over the fact that you have dishonored God.
Repent of your sins, what I'm saying.
And then put your faith in Jesus
that when He died on the cross,
He died as your substitute.
Think in terms of when He died on the cross,
God placed your sin on Him.
And He suffered the pain,
the punishment
of being separated from God.
That's why He cried out,
My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?
Because God had turned away from Him
as He bore our sin.
Put your faith in Jesus
as your Savior.
Call upon Him to save you.
Surrender your life
to Him as your Lord,
as your ultimate leader.
The Scripture says
that whoever will call upon the name of the Lord
will be saved.
Now, if you are a Christian,
and I know that most in this room are,
thank God for demonstrating His grace
and His love
by sending Jesus into this world
on this seek and saving mission.
What we all need to do as Christians this morning
as we leave here
is to join with our Lord,
join with Him on this search and rescue mission
by sharing the good news
of why Jesus came
and how anyone who will
can know Him as Savior and Lord.
Would you pray with me?
Father,
Father, help us in this room
as your people
to understand
that it is our responsibility
to share this good news
and be a part of
your
search
and rescue
mission.
And Father,
if there is anyone in this room
who is not a Christian,
work in their mind,
their heart right now
to cause them to see
their need,
their lost condition.
so work in them
to cause them
to put their faith
and trust in Jesus,
to call upon Him
for salvation.
Help that man
or woman
or young person
to know
that a service
that celebrates
the coming of Jesus
into this world
to seek and save
the lost.
This is the best service
for them
to be saved in.
So work right now
to call that person
to trust Jesus
and we come
to you, Father,
in Jesus' name.
Amen.