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piano music) - Good morning.

Welcome to Breen Community Church. I wanna begin, before we get into the announcements, read the text for this morning. And as we remember the birth of Christ, why we're gathered here together, in Matthew chapter two, it says, "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, "in the days of Herod the king, "magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying, "where is he who has been born the king of the Jews?

"For we saw his star in the east "and have come to worship him. "When Herod the king heard this, "he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. "Gathering together all the chief priests "and the scribes of the people, "he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

"They said to him in Bethlehem of Judea, "for this is what has been written by the prophet. "And you Bethlehem and of Judah "are by no means least among the leaders of Judah, "for out of you shall come forth a ruler "who will shepherd my people Israel." Again, as we celebrate Christmas this morning, we wanna give praise to our heavenly father who has been generous to us as sinners.

And again, that everything that we do this morning would ultimately bring honor and glory to God. I have a few announcements before we get started. First of all, if you are visiting us because a friend or family member has invited you, and after the second service, if you have questions or you just wanna have somebody to pray for you, or just there's some free resources that we have that explains about the Christian faith and about Christmas.

And so as you go out, there's a cafe across this courtyard, and there's gonna be a table set up there, and there's gonna be some people who are there who's gonna be able to welcome you and answer any kind of questions that you have. And I do believe that they have some books that it might be helpful for you if you have any questions.

So if you go visit that table, our pastor Mark will be there stationed, and he'll welcome you and again, direct you if you're able to visit that afterwards, okay? And again, our New Year service that's coming up this next Sunday, or our Saturday night, we have a ping pong tournament at five, 5.30, and then at 11 o'clock, we have a New Year's Eve service, and then at 12 o'clock, we'll be done.

And then the next day, obviously next Sunday, is New Year's Day. And so there is lunch provided. So if you haven't signed up, please sign up so that we'll have an accurate number of people who will be able to stick around. And I understand because it's New Year, some of you guys may end up going home or doing something else, but if you're able to come, please sign up for that.

Okay, all the announcements I'll wait. If I can ask our choir to come up, and as they are coming, you're not gonna be able to see me, but let me make the announcement. Yeah, just come up. Yeah, you guys can start coming up. If you are giving for the Lottie Moon missions offering, make sure that on your electronic giving that you make that very clear, okay?

So that we can separate that, and then whatever comes in for the missions offering, we'll be sending it over to IMB for them to use, okay? So they're gonna be presenting two songs for us this morning, and I heard them this morning, and I was so blessed by this choir, but I don't wanna ruin it for you.

I don't wanna hype it up and say, hey, it didn't live up to the hype. But if anything's gonna live up to this hype, I think it's gonna be this, okay? So let me pray for us for the offering. We'll give you, as they are presenting, we'll give you a minute to give your offering, and again, make sure that you are distinguishing between the regular offering and the missions offering.

So let me pray for us. Gracious Father, we thank you so much for loving us, caring for us, sending your only begotten Son to die for our sins, that we may become the righteousness of God. We pray, Father God, that this offering that we give may be a reflection of our thanksgiving to you, may it be multiplied for your use, for your kingdom, 30, 60, 100 fold.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. ♪♪ ♪ Come, oh come, come, oh come ♪ ♪ Come, oh come, come, oh come ♪♪ ♪ Oh come, oh come Emmanuel ♪ ♪ And some captive Israel ♪ ♪ Then mourns in lonely exile here ♪ ♪ Until the Son of God appears ♪ ♪ Oh come, oh come, oh come now ♪ ♪ Dayspring, come and cheer ♪ ♪ Our spirits by thine advent here ♪ ♪ Disperse the gloomy clouds of night ♪ ♪ And death's dark shadows put to flight ♪ ♪ Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel ♪ ♪ Shall come to thee, oh Israel ♪ ♪ Oh come, come, oh come ♪♪ ♪ What child is this who laid to rest ♪ ♪ On Mary's lap is sleeping ♪ ♪ Whom angels greet with anthems sweet ♪ ♪ While shepherd watch are keeping ♪ ♪ While wise men search and wait ♪ ♪ A state where ox and lamb are free ♪ ♪ The crescent's year for sinners here ♪ ♪ The silent world greeting ♪ ♪ The spear shall pierce him through ♪ ♪ The cross be born for me, for you ♪ ♪ How hale the Word made flesh ♪ ♪ The babe, the Son of Mary ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Weed and infest, cold and lurk ♪ ♪ Come pheasant, flee to Odin ♪ ♪ The King of kings salvation bring ♪ ♪ The loving heart to Odin ♪ ♪ Raise, raise a song on high ♪ ♪ The virgin sing, her lullaby ♪ ♪ Joy, joy, look right into ♪ ♪ The babe, the Son of Mary ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Come, let us adore Him ♪ ♪ Come, let us adore Him ♪ ♪ Blessed is Christ the King ♪ ♪ Whom shepherds guard and angels sing ♪ ♪ Haste, haste to bring Him laud ♪ ♪ The babe, the Son of Mary ♪ (applause) (applause) (applause) (no audio) (no audio) >> Let us rise as we sing these praises.

Gloria in excelsis Deo, which in Latin means "glory in the highest to God." (no audio) ♪♪ >> Angels we have heard. ♪ Angels we have heard on high ♪ ♪ Sweetly singing o'er the plains ♪ ♪ And the mountains in reply ♪ ♪ Echoing their joyous strains ♪ ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Shepherds, why this jubilee?

♪ ♪ Why your joyous strains prolong? ♪ ♪ What the gladsome tidings be ♪ ♪ Which inspire your heavenly song? ♪ ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ >> Come to Bethlehem. ♪ Come to Bethlehem and see ♪ ♪ Him whose birth the angels sing ♪ ♪ Come adore on bended knee ♪ ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ ♪ Gloria in excelsis Deo ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> Sing, "O come." ♪ O come, all ye faithful ♪ ♪ Joyful and triumphant ♪ ♪ O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem ♪ ♪ Come and behold Him ♪ ♪ Born the King of angels ♪ ♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪ ♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪ ♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪ ♪ Christ the Lord ♪ ♪♪ >> Sing choirs.

♪ Sing choirs of angels ♪ ♪ Sing in exultation ♪ ♪ O sing, all ye citizens ♪ ♪ Of heav'n above ♪ ♪ Glory to God ♪ ♪ Glory in the highest ♪ ♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪ ♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪ ♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪ ♪ Christ the Lord ♪ ♪♪ >> Yeah, Lord.

♪ Yeah, Lord, we greet Thee ♪ ♪ Born this happy morning ♪ ♪ Jesus, to Thee be all glory ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Word of the Father ♪ ♪ Now in flesh appearing ♪ ♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪ ♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪ ♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪ ♪ Christ the Lord ♪ ♪♪ >> Let us sing, we'll praise your name.

♪ We'll praise your name forever ♪ ♪ We'll praise your name forever ♪ ♪ We'll praise your name forever ♪ ♪ Christ the Lord ♪ >> Sing, we'll praise. ♪ We'll praise your name forever ♪ ♪ We'll praise your name forever ♪ ♪ We'll praise your name forever ♪ ♪ Christ the Lord ♪ >> Amen, you may be seated.

>> Amen. >> Amen. >> For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9, 6-7. >> There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this. >> The shepherds came to see the baby stood by his mother's side. He'll lay the Savior inside a manger, oh, what a glorious night. Oh, what a glorious night. I hear the angels singing, hallelujah, let the earth receive her King.

I know the Lord has come, sing it out, Jesus Christ is born. Jesus Christ is born. The shepherds wondered, they couldn't hide, so everyone inside. All were amazed when they learned how God came down on this glorious night. God came down on this glorious night. I hear the angels singing, hallelujah, let the earth receive her King.

I know the Lord has come, sing it out, Jesus Christ is born. Jesus Christ is born. Glorious, glorious, what a glorious night. Glorious, glorious, what a glorious night. I hear the angels singing, hallelujah, let the earth receive her King. I know the Lord has come, sing it out, Jesus Christ is born.

I hear the angels singing, hallelujah, let the earth receive her King. I know the Lord has come, sing it out, Jesus Christ is born. Jesus Christ is born. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All is calm now, all is quiet, stars shining in the sky. The Lord at Bethlehem, the King is sleeping.

Oh, what a glorious night. Oh, what a glorious night. >> All right, let's give another hand for our children. And for the teachers who labor all year to take care of our children and share the gospel with them. Let's give a hand for all the teachers that labor every Sunday.

>> You know, I woke up this morning and you know how Facebook has that memory thing that pops up and it says like this happened this year at this day? Well, this morning it popped up our very first children's presentation that happened in 2004. And so it was about 18 years ago.

And so we had four children in our elementary department, which was Jeremy, Zachary, Jonathan, and Faith. So basically it was our family. Yeah, just watching that. And Faith was two and a half years old and she's one of the teachers that brought the kids up. So, man, time is going by fast.

Yeah. This morning I wanted to give a topical sermon on the topic of the beauty of Christ. And so I'm going to be jumping around in the text and so that we can highlight something that I really want to make sure that our church doesn't miss what this day ultimately is about.

So let me pray for us and then we'll jump right in. Gracious Father, we thank you so much for your continued grace and love that you pour upon us and our church, our families. Help us, Lord God, to never take for granted all the good gifts that you've given.

Lord, we know that every good and perfect gift comes from you. And so we pray, Father God, that our praise, our worship may ultimately be a response to the glory and the love and the mercy that you've shown all of us. May it be a time of blessing. We ask that you would open our ears that we may hear from you.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So as you know, today is Christmas and the countdown has begun. And basically the countdown is how long is it acceptable to keep our Christmas trees up in our homes before it becomes tacky. Right. So we have a Christmas tree here and then some of you guys have neighborhoods where they have, you know, elaborate lightings and you'll take your children there to look at it.

But at what point. Right. Another week. Right. Some of you guys probably will take it down today. Maybe tomorrow. Those of you who aren't patient. Right. Maybe some of you guys wait till after New Year's. Some of you guys will wait till mid-January. Some of you guys are going to have that there for the next two, three months.

Right. You're just not going to get to it. But at what point does it get tacky? Right. At some point it does get tacky. Right. If you're driving around a neighborhood and you may have neighbors who have the Christmas lights on till mid-May. Right. And you're going to drive around and say, "Oh, they still haven't taken it down." Well, why was something so beautiful that you're willing to drive to different cities to go look at and then around May or maybe earlier, May earlier than that, why does it become tacky?

Right. It does become tacky, but why does it become tacky? It becomes tacky because the further we are removed from the meaning of those decorations, it loses its purpose. So instead of something that seemed beautiful is going to look very tacky once the meaning of it is removed. In the same way, as we celebrate Christmas, the further we are removed from the meaning of Christmas, it's just a dead tree.

It's just tacky lights. And so we try to find meaning by saying, "Oh, it's about being generous. It's about giving. It's about the family coming together." But if we're not celebrating Christ at the midst of this, it really is just tacky. Right. Because it has no meaning behind it.

It's just decoration, something that we go through. So we want to make sure that as we celebrate Christmas, that what makes Christmas memorable and beautiful is at the center of what we do. The Bible describes Jesus in Isaiah 53, 2-3. "For he grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of the parched ground.

He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And like one from whom men hide their face, he was despised and we did not esteem him." I think we all probably have read this message, heard this message, maybe even seen it, exposit it.

But why did the Holy Spirit go out of his way to point out that Jesus was not good looking? What was the purpose of this? Yeah, he's not good looking. There's nothing about him attractive that physically was attractive about him that people would look upon and be attracted and go to him because of his physical appearance.

But why make that comparison? Why even mention that? Clearly there's a purpose for that because the point that the Holy Spirit was trying to make was that the beauty of Christ was not external. The beauty of Christ was internal. It was something about who he is, his nature, and what he has done.

Because our natural tendency is to look for beauty on the outside. But he says what makes Christ beautiful is who he is and what he has done. Webster's Dictionary of Beauty, and this is again, this is not necessarily Christian, but just a general understanding of this term. In the Webster's Dictionary, beauty is described like this, "The quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses of pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit." So to sum it up, basically it means eyes, that beauty is in the what?

Eyes of the beholder. If we were to try to scientifically explain beauty, you could say, "Well, beauty is about color, it's about shape, it's about perfection." You can give all those things, but you can look upon that and say, "Well, I'm not sure if that's beautiful." You look at a painting or you look at scenery and what's beautiful to one person isn't beautiful to the next person.

So definition of beauty is what it does to you. How you behold it, and it says how you are changed, how you are impacted by this beauty. So that's the very definition of beauty. There is nothing more impactful, that is life-changing, than the beauty of Christ. I remember years ago, I was invited to a pastor's training, and this was probably about 26, 27 years ago, before this church started.

The Southern Baptist was gathering some young pastors who were going to plant churches, or possibly plant churches, and they were doing about a week-long training. So there was about 35, 40 of us in the room, and they had PhDs and people with doctorates who studied this, and they would come and give their presentations.

So every day we had a different person come and give their presentation. We were about three or four days into it, and we were only about two days before we were finished. One of the presenters came in, and he was probably in his mid-30s. I was probably in my late or early 30s at that time.

He came in, and as he was presenting, he stopped, and he was surprised, and he pointed out a particular gentleman. He was in his probably mid- to late-60s, and he said, "Pastor so-and-so, what are you doing here?" So we were all kind of taken aback, because he's surprised, and they're having a conversation in the middle of the class.

Then he said, "You guys don't know who this man is." Then he introduced him to us. He's a Chinese-American pastor who is very well-known in the Chinese community up in Canada. He said he planted about 17 churches, and he has ministry all over the world. So he says, "What are you doing here?

You should be the one teaching us. Why are you here sitting and learning from me?" The pastor just said, "You know, it doesn't matter. I can always learn." That was it, and then he just sat there, and then sat with us, and we would get into small groups, discussions, and the young pastor would teach us something, and then we would sit down and have conversations.

The whole time, we just couldn't get it out of our head. "What is he doing here?" Now, so many years have passed. Several decades have passed. I can't tell you a single thing that I learned from that, and it's mainly because of my bad memory. But I can't remember.

But that act of humility of that pastor to this day has impacted me. When I think of a godly man, an image of a person who is humble, I always think about that man. That despite being in his 60s, sitting with a bunch of people his children's age, despite having 40-plus years of ministry experience, despite planting all those churches all around the world, he sat there and was willing to listen and willing to learn anything that he can grasp.

As impactful as that was to me as a young pastor, it doesn't compare to what we are celebrating today about the humble beginnings of Christ. That a man who was in every way God, the Bible says, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. He emptied himself.

Emptied himself and became nothing. He walked among us, humiliated, humbled. And at the end of his life, they didn't celebrate him. They crucified him. And in humiliation and in pain, he dies and he resurrects. And all of this in order that you and I can become worshipers of God.

If there's anything that impacts us that will change us forever, it is what we are celebrating today. About Christ, his incarnation, his life, his death, his resurrection. In fact, his glory, his beauty has been so impactful, the whole human history, in every part of human life. Whether it's here or whether in the Middle East, wherever it is.

Whether you are a believer or unbeliever, if there's any one person that completely changed the history of the world, whether you are a believer or not, whether you worship him or not, they will acknowledge that it was the presence of Christ. Now this morning, I want to take some time and give a topical sermon this morning about why beholding this beauty is so important to us.

If beholding his beauty and being impacted by the beauty of Christ and the story of the gospel isn't at the center of what you do, everything you do will turn ugly. And I am not exaggerating. It will turn ugly. Every good work, every effort, everything that you do, every church plan, every mission effort, eventually turns ugly if at the core of it, at the foundation, isn't beholding his beauty.

There's four things that I want to point out this morning. First of all, beholding his beauty is what ultimately saves us. In Romans chapter 3, 23, it says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Now what does glory even mean? The way we speak, glory basically means to magnify something.

Or the way we use it, "Oh, he's glorifying that, he's glorifying this." We use it in a negative way, right? He's hyping it up. But when we are referring to glorifying something or the glory of God, we're talking about his beauty, his excellence that is in display. And the Bible says, "All have sinned and because of this sin we have fallen away from the beauty of Christ, the beauty of God." And as a result of that, because we do not see the beauty of God, that we end up trying to find beauty in every other place.

So we're impacted by idols, impacted by things that are worthless. And so 2 Corinthians 4, 4 says, "In whose case the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, the beauty of Christ, who is the image of God." That's how the Bible distinguishes between a Christian and a non-Christian.

A believer is somebody whose eyes have been opened to the beauty of Christ. An unbelieving person is somebody who just sees a story. In John 17, 1 it says, "Jesus spoke these things and lifting up his eyes to heaven he said, 'Brother, the hour has come. Glorify your son that the son may glorify you.'" He's referring to the cross.

Now you and I know how ugly this cross is. This was a place of humiliation. It was a place of suffering. It was a place of pain. And it was all done publicly, just as a deterrent to anybody. You speak against Rome, you do anything against Rome, this is what's going to happen to you.

And Jesus, about to go to the cross, says, "It is time for me to go to the cross to declare your beauty, and for you to declare my beauty." How could you have possibly used those words as he's going to the cross? You could say, "You know what? It's time to show the ugliness of man.

It's time to expose the filthiness of the sin of man." You would think that that's what Jesus would say, but that's not what he said. He said, "I'm going to the cross to declare your beauty, and for you to show mine." What did he mean by that? The cross is a place where God's perfect justice and his perfect grace and mercy is united perfectly.

If you live in a society where there isn't justice, what happens? That is not a beautiful society. I think there was somewhat of a mini experiment in the last year or two, trying to defund the police. A lot of people were angry, and they wanted to defund the police.

If we took the justice out, somehow we're going to have more peace, and we're going to have a better life. And as soon as they defunded the cops, what did they do? All kinds of chaos broke out. People went in and did whatever they wanted, and there's no arrest, there's no penalty.

That's a society where justice is not practiced. That's an ugly place to be. Then, if you go to a society where it's just grace, that's an ugly place to be. People do whatever they want, no consequence. In order for something to be beautiful, there has to be a balance between justice and mercy.

The Bible says that because of our sins, and because God is a holy God of justice, that there will be penalty. There will be justice for every sin, every careless word that we commit. Now, if God only practiced justice, you and I would all be done for. If He only practiced justice, He would find out every single thought, every lustful thought, every slander that you spoke in darkness.

God knows, and He heard, and you will pay the penalty for that if God only practiced justice. If God was simply merciful and He didn't practice justice, we just kind of let you do whatever you want. And our freedom to sin and do whatever we want would create an awful place where we just do whatever we want.

Practice whatever we want. Let our children go and do whatever they want. In order for something to be beautiful, there has to be a perfect union of God's justice and His mercy and His grace. And He says that was the cross, where He made something so ugly a place that became so beautiful.

Now, throughout 2,000 years of history, people want to beautify their church building by hanging a cross. Symbol of humiliation, symbol of pain. The story of the gospel is the most beautiful story that anyone can ever tell. The story of the gospel and what we celebrate this morning is about the Father who gives what is most precious to Him.

His only begotten Son, that sinners like you and I can be justified in our sins because Jesus takes upon Himself the wrath of God. I can't imagine, like I think every single father and mother in this room, if you ask them what is the most precious thing that they own, they're not going to point to their Tesla, they're not going to point to their house or their bank account.

Every single one of you, what was most precious to you was up here this morning. That's why you got front row seats. You guys never sit up here, but you sat up here today. Because what's most precious to you and grandparents and uncles and aunts and friends, you came because what's most precious to you was displayed this morning.

So when the gospel tells us that God sent His only begotten Son, you know we get caught up, "Is He begotten? Is He made?" No, the term begotten basically means what was most precious to God, He sent. That's the story of Christmas. Not only is this story about the Father, but about the Son who completely submits Himself, even knowing the pain and suffering that is coming as He is wrestling at Gethsemane, "Lord, if there's another way, but not my will, but Your will be done." A Son who in every way, in every way was equal to God, did not consider equality, but got something to be grasped, but He emptied Himself and became nothing.

He humbled Himself. He submitted Himself to the Father's will. Especially in a culture where everything that we do is to elevate ourselves. Everything that we do, since the moment that we're born, we compare. When did your child start speaking? My child started speaking at one and a half, about two.

How tall are you? What school do they go to? What is their GPA? What job do they have? What house do they have? What car do they drive? And so living in a culture where everything that we do is trying to magnify ourselves just a little bit. We play sports, we play games, everything that we do.

And then to have the Son of God, who created all things, and all things are sustained by Him and for Him, to empty Himself, to be born in a manger, and live a humiliating life, and to be crucified naked on a cross for all to see. There is nothing more beautiful than the love of the Father, and the love of the Son, who submitted Himself, so that you and I can be here, to worship and have hope in eternal salvation in Christ.

Not only God the Father, God the Son, but God the Holy Spirit. Everything that we do, we want to be recognized. Even when we serve, we get upset when people don't recognize that we serve. Even when we're trying to be humble, and nobody recognizes our humility, it bothers us.

Even at our best, when we're trying to be humble, we want people to at least recognize it. The Holy Spirit takes the work of the Father, the Son, and He's coordinating, empowering, and executing. And yet, He does such a great job being in the background, that we sometimes even forget He's part of the Trinity.

The beauty of the humility of the Holy Spirit, who has caused us to be together, to be regenerated, to know God, to invite us. And yet, He's done such a great job, we have to constantly remind ourselves that He's there. The beauty of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit working so sacrificially to save sinners like you and I.

What story, what love story, what K-pop drama did you watch that outshines the Gospel story? Nothing. Nothing comes even close. It is being exposed to that glory that has changed us, that has impacted us, and we are never the same. In 2 Corinthians 3.18 it says, "But we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory." Our transformation is happening as we behold His glory, just as from the Lord the Spirit.

1 John 3.2, "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is." I know you've read that passage so many times, but look what it says.

"When He comes, we will become like Him." Why? Look at that passage. "Because we will see Him as He is." Beholding His glory, His beauty, is what's going to lead to our glorification. When we see Him as He is, right now the Bible says that we see in part like a child in a mirror.

And so the reflection of His glory is what's causing our sanctification. So when we get to heaven and we are completely open and there's no barrier, no flesh that's getting in the way, and we are able to see His beauty perfectly, it says we will become perfect like Him.

How did that happen? Because we beheld His glory. Past, present, and future. So we are saved when we behold His beauty. Number two, beholding His beauty is what leads to worship. You and I know worship is not something that you did. You come in and check off. "Christmas morning, I put in my hour and a half, and every Sunday I worship." You know.

You sang, you gave, you served, but that's not worship. Worship is something that happens to you. It's not something that you just simply do. I'll give you a perfect example of worship. How many of you guys watched soccer? And if you've watched at the end of the soccer game, all the Argentinian fans were worshiping.

Now they weren't worshiping our God, right? They saw what was happening on the field, and when their team won, everybody who was a fan of the Argentinians broke out and worshipped. It wasn't coordinated. There wasn't a worship leader up in the front saying when they win, everybody's going to say ole.

You know what I mean? They didn't have a list of things that they're supposed to do. We're going to get organized, so when I do this, everybody get up. When I go like this, everybody sit down. They didn't have a guitar or whatever music that they played. They didn't have any of that.

It just happened because they saw something on the field that impacted them. And all of a sudden, the rich and poor internationally, they weren't all Argentinians. There was a lot of people in this room that were rooting for Argentina. You didn't speak their language. You just admire their players.

Maybe Messi. You're a big Messi fan. You don't know who Messi is. Messi's a player. I'm not describing something. So if that was the case, it caused joy. It caused elation. It caused celebration. Worship is not simply what you do. Worship is beholding, adoring, and declaring the beauty of Christ.

Worship is beholding, adoring, and declaring the beauty of Christ. So at the center of worship is beholding His glory. So if you are not beholding His glory, you can come here and do worship to check off and do the things that you're supposed to do. But if your heart is not filled because you have not seen His beauty, it's just checking off the list.

Worship is something happens when we behold His glory. In Psalm 63, 1-4, it says, "O God, You are my God. I shall seek You earnestly. My soul thirsts for You. My flesh yearns for You in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary to see Your power and Your glory.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You." Why does He praise Him? Because Your lovingkindness. Because Christmas, because His life, His death, His resurrection, His hope is better than life. And that's why I will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live.

I will lift up my hands in Your name. Jesus Himself says in John chapter 4, that more than anything else, He's looking for people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Not simply people who are doing the right things or not doing the wrong things. He says, no, what He's looking for more than anything else are people who beheld His glory and have become worshipers in spirit and in truth.

In Psalm 27, 4, "One thing I have, I have asked from the Lord that I shall seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple." Why are people gathering at the temple?

So that we can organize, so we can feed the poor, so that we can make something of the church. He said, no, the primary reason why we gather together is for the purpose of worship. It's worship. So you can do all the righteous deeds that you do. You can abstain from all the wrong things, and yet your heart is not worshiping God.

You missed the whole point. And the point of worship is beholding His beauty. Beholding His beauty. Not just recognizing it, but beholding it. Third, beholding His beauty is what changes us. When you behold His glory, it impacts us, changes us. How does somebody who is bitter, angry, how do you get somebody who was molested as a child to just say, "Hey, overcome.

Meditate. Go to a counselor. Memorize these scriptures." How do you get somebody who has been so hurt and damaged, and just tell them, "Hey, life is hard. Suck it up. Keep going." What a horrible thing to say. What has the power to get somebody who has experienced such ugliness, maybe perpetrated on them, or maybe they did it to somebody else.

How do you get somebody to change from that, to become worshipers? Paul says in Galatians 6.14, "But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." I don't know any other passage that I've memorized and meditated, more than the passage in Galatians 2.20, "I have been crucified with Christ.

No longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." The reason I memorize that is every time I'm tempted to act on my flesh and retaliate, I memorize, "I have been crucified. You're dead. You're dead. You're dead. You're dead." And it works for a little bit, but my flesh creeps right back in.

So I'm struggling with my heart and my head. "Peter, you're dead. Stop acting like you're alive. You're dead. You're dead. You're dead. You're dead." But to be honest, it's a losing battle. Because my flesh keeps fighting back. My flesh keeps reminding me, "No, you're still alive. You're still alive." So what does Paul mean here?

Is he a special Christian? Does he know something? Paul said, "The world was crucified to him at the cross." I want to read you a poem that I think ultimately captures this. From Ora Rowan, she says, "What has stripped the seeming beauty from the idols of the earth? Not a sense of right or duty, but the sight of peerless worth.

Not the crushing of those idols with this bitter void and smart, but the beaming of his beauty, the unveiling of his heart." When we see his beauty as beyond comparison, it causes other things to look like rubbish. You know, years ago, some of you guys may remember, and I don't even know what sermon I was giving, but I said something to the effect that I love sushi.

It's like, "Oh, I enjoy sushi." I don't even know why I said it, but I said it. After that, some of you guys were very generous and has a lot more money than I do. Like we would go out to eat and you were always like, "Oh, as Peter said, he wants sushi, so you take me out." And then some of you guys really spoiled me.

You took me to some sushi place that I would never imagine going because it's just way above my pay grade. But I was taken to a few sushi places. And one place in particular, I'm not going to say it, is the best sushi I've ever had in my life.

And I said, "Oh, my gosh." I thought Sizzler and Good Steakhouse was a big difference. Man, that's just regular sushi and this sushi was just not the same. I didn't even feel like I was eating the same sushi. We had it at Omakase. Okay, anyway, I'm not going to get too deep into it.

But I was changed. All other sushi was ruined. I was in Japan and I ate sushi. And they said, "Oh, this is known for their sushi." And so I would go there and I would eat it. And they said, "What do you think?" I'd say, "Oh, it was good." But nothing like that.

Sushi from that day on was ruined for me. It was ruined. Because every other sushi I eat, I always compare to that. So it no longer tastes good. I'm not saying I hate it. But I don't find that satisfaction in sushi anymore. Unless it's that place. I think you know exactly what I'm getting at.

Fighting temptation and trying to transform isn't simply about discipline. It isn't simply about hard work and accountability. It's about beholding his beauty to a deeper and deeper level. Where the world gets ruined. The world gets ruined. It's just not the same. I can't enjoy the things of this world like I did before.

It just doesn't bring the same pleasure. I mean, I enjoy it here and there. But it doesn't have the same pull anymore. Because when I compare it to the beauty of Christ and the glory of Christ, everything has become rubbish. That's exactly what Paul says in Philippians 3. Apostle Paul was a rich man.

He was an educated man. He was a powerful man. He was a famous man. Everything that you would want in the world, Paul had. And he had the reputation even to be the righteous. He was a Pharisee among Pharisees. According to the law, he was perfect in every way.

He had money. He had prestige. He had education. Everything that you and I in this world would be tempted by, Paul had. But he said all of that. Not only did he will himself and cause himself to not want that. He said, "No, it became rubbish." Not because of mind control.

Not because of simply learning. It's in comparison to what he saw in Christ. In comparison, it became rubbish. The reason why we fail in our sanctification is because we are trying so hard with our own might. And your inner temptation never changes. Your inner bitterness, your inner anger, it never changes.

Nothing inside ever really changes. Other than what you do externally. So you can keep it up for a while until something happens. And then it cracks. True sanctification happens in comparison to Christ. We don't do it because we're better people. We're more disciplined people. We're doing it because we find the greatest life, greatest joy in Christ.

So the focus of our sanctification is beholding in a greater degree of what Christmas means. I mean, we all go through different stages of how we celebrate Christmas. When you're young, you all remember how awesome Christmas was because it was all about you. Your parents giving you a gift.

You don't have any money. You have to think about nothing else other than what you're going to get. And then after a while, you go into teenage years and college, you're bah humbug. You start to gain money. Your parents aren't going to get you the nicest thing that you want.

What you want is a car. So your parents can't get you what you want, so you become bah humbug. So Christmas doesn't become-- And then you get married and have children, and you start over. Oh, Christmas becomes fun because now I have kids who like it. And then they grow older, and they become teenagers, and they say bah humbug because now they're bah humbug.

And you go through this cycle because we're trying to bring meaning to Christmas that is fleeting. And the older I get, the more impactful this day is to me, not because of my children, not because of what I get, but because of what I have in Christ. I am reminded every year that Jesus did this for me.

He emptied himself, became nothing for me. And the more I understand who he is, the more I understand who I am as a sinner undeserving. God knows all the sins that I know. God knows all the sins that you see in me, and God knows even beyond the things that I'm not even aware of.

And yet he did this for me. So every year is a greater and deeper impact as I understand more and more of what he did for me. When the Bible says, "Be holy as I am holy," that's not motivation unless you want to be like him. Unless you beheld his beauty, "Be holy for I am holy," it's like, okay.

It doesn't sound like, "Be holy because there's a prize for you. Be holy because your children are going to be obedient. Be holy because you may become -- be more recognized." It says, "Be holy because I am holy." Somebody who has not beheld his glory and his beauty doesn't understand the motivation of what that means.

The world spends billions of dollars to get celebrities to stand next to a product that has nothing to do with them. So you have a basketball player pushing a drink, or maybe Louis Vuitton, or -- that's about all I know. Louis Vuitton, Gucci, okay. Why does having a celebrity standing next to that causes that bag to sell?

Why are they paying millions of dollars to wear a watch, to wear a shoe? Because they know that these people are idolized by millions of people. And people who idolize them tend to copy everything that they do. So if they ride a certain car, they drink a certain drink.

And we don't do it consciously. We say, "Oh, no, I'm not that dumb." Sure we are. All of us. That's why they spend billions of dollars pushing products that some idol that is worshipped in our culture, just by standing up, but just by holding it, it sells a lot more.

Because our natural tendency is that God created us to worship. So whoever we worship, we want to copy. So sanctification happens when we behold his glory and we desire to be like the person that we worship. And that's why he says, he's talking, he's assuming that you're already worshippers of God.

That's why he says, "Be holy for your heavenly father that you worship, that you adore, that the one that you find life in is holy. So therefore you be holy." But without beholding his glory, it's not a motivation. If you're not a fan of Messi, right? Who else is there?

Some celebrity. If you're not a fan of them, them holding a Gucci bag isn't going to do anything for you. But if somebody that you really admire and adore and you gain a lot of joy from watching whatever it is that they do, all of a sudden, subconsciously, they make the product look better.

Sanctification happens when we fall in love with Christ and we want to be like him. Anything that is motivated other than that eventually leads to something ugly. Fourth and finally, beholding his beauty is what causes evangelism. Beholding his beauty is what causes evangelism. Let me give you a perfect example, and I think you'll all agree.

I know who are obsessed with Disneyland in this room. I already know, right? How do you know? I just know. Because some of you have told me. Some of you guys have passes. And many of you post it up on Facebook and Instagram. So I stalk you so I know.

And I know who you are. I know who's dating, who just started dating. We're not talking about like 15-year anniversary. I'm talking about people who just are there in their honeymoon state. They just fell in love. They just had their DTR this morning. DTR is determining the relationship. They officially made it.

And they come into the room. You'd be surprised what I see from up here. You'd be surprised. Before I even hear the news, I say, "Something's going on over there." I could tell. I could tell the way they're smiling. I could tell when something is funny. They turn to each other to find acknowledgement.

All of a sudden, they're there wherever the other person is. They start to dress like they never dressed before. Guys start doing their hair differently. And the girl finds everything funny he says. So you could tell when somebody is in love. You can't hide it when you love something.

I know who are Lakers fans in here. I know who are Dodgers fans. I'm not a Dodgers fan. So I've never been to a game with you, but I know who you are. You are very proud to wear Dodgers gear. And I know if they won or lost by your face expression.

We have Pastor Peter Chung and Pastor Nate are Dodgers fans. So I know. I don't follow baseball. I don't know who's on the team. But I know exactly what's going on because they--I'm trying to use the right word. They're not quiet about it. I'm in the office, and I hear them.

I hear Pastor Nate, Pastor Peter Chung. So I know exactly what's going on. Who won, who lost, who's coming in because they find such joy sharing that information. And they commiserate together when things aren't going right. My point is you can't hide what you love. This has nothing to do with your training.

This has nothing to do you being an introvert or extrovert. If you love something, you end up telling people. That's why when Jesus healed people, remember what Jesus said in the beginning of his ministry? Don't tell anybody. He didn't say, "Hey, organize. Organize, get it together. Sit down, we're going to have a seminar on how to reach people." No, all he did was show them who he was.

And then he had to contain them. When Jesus showed who he was at the transfiguration, remember what Jesus said? He said, "This information is so important. I want you to jot this down, and I want you to make a record, and I want you to remember everything that I said.

And then when it's time, I want you to organize, get the people, train them, make sure they memorize this and go out. And then we're going to do this. We're going to contextualize how to get this message to them." None of that happened. All Jesus said, "Don't tell anybody.

Don't tell anybody," because he knew that this event was going to change them. And then they imagine--can you imagine how eagerly they wanted to tell somebody? And they couldn't. And as soon as the muzzle was off, they went running. And as soon as they were capable, Jesus had to say, "Don't go yet, because in your flesh, I know what you're going to do.

You're going to muck this up. The Holy Spirit's going to come. He's going to empower you, and you will be my witnesses. You cannot contain what you love. You tell somebody who ate, who drank the best boba in their life, tell them not to tell anybody. See how long they keep it to themselves.

Ask somebody who watched the best movie, and they came out elated, felt like they've experienced something that they can share. Fellowship happens. Koinonia, unity. Tell them. Don't tell anybody. See how long they can keep their mouth shut before it pops out. Every witness in the New Testament couldn't wait to tell people, even as they were being persecuted, beaten, and some of them to death.

As they were running from Jerusalem, and as they were going back, everywhere Paul went, there was already a bunch of Christians who were organized. The gospel has already spread in the midst of fear for their life. They couldn't contain what they saw and experienced in Christ. The reason why we are so weak in evangelism is not necessarily because of lack of training.

It's because it's been a while since we've been impacted by the beauty of Christ. It's been a while since we've beheld His glory. So it's become duty. It's become an obligation that this is what good Christians do. This is what righteous people do. There's a reason why the Bible never uses the word evangelism.

We use the term evangelism. The Bible uses the word witness, to be a witness. You can't evangelize if you have not witnessed. God called us to tell people what we've seen. To behold His beauty. To adore His beauty. To declare His beauty is the reason why you and I are here.

When we behold His beauty, everything else becomes beautiful. The church is such an ugly place without the light of Christ. You get a room full of people who are by nature selfish. I'm talking about you. And I'm talking about me. My natural nature is not to be generous. My natural nature is not to be humble.

If I have a good seat on the bus, I'm the first one to run. That's not my natural inclination. When you have a bunch of people who are living to try to one up with each other, and you gather five of them, ten of them, a thousand of them, there's a thousand people competing and fighting and comparing and collecting.

No wonder there's such ugliness and so much bad experiences in the church. I was one of them. I grew up, I remember this morning, no exaggeration, I walked in to see our choir practicing. Oh, man, I've never been brought to tears because of a choir. The reason why it brought me to tears, one, it was so beautiful.

The singing was beautiful. The practice was beautiful. And I know the story behind a lot of people who are up here, the heartache, the difficulties, the struggle, the loneliness. To see people who are flawed singing for God and coming out so beautiful. First thing that I thought was, I wish my dad was here to listen to this.

Because it was so beautiful. I already told you how much I hated the church before I became a Christian. It was all my memories of my mom sacrificing. And then my dad doing what he had to do to take care of us and take care of the church. And then coming back from church, we would sit in the back and hearing my parents bickering about something that happened.

And somebody said this and somebody said this. And that's all I remember about church and how much I hated the church. Church was an ugly place to me. I told myself before I knew Christ, when I'm old enough, I'm gone. I don't want to hurt my parents. So if I leave before I'm 18, people are going to say, "Why is your son gone?" So I can't do that to them.

So when I turn 18 and I'm off to school, I'm gone. So all I remember was the ugliness. Then when I became a Christian, even after I became a Christian, I don't want to be a part of the church. I want to be going to the missions and I want to even die in North Korea preaching the gospel.

The church, I'm not going to bring my family into this. I'm not going to repeat this not only to me, my wife and my children. I'm not going to bring my wife and children into this. But that which is so ugly became so beautiful to me. Not because of your perfection.

Not because of our organization. But because a bunch of flawed people like you and I are able to reflect the beauty of Christ. He allows us to reflect His beauty with all our failures, all our flaws, all our hurt, all our pain. And He gathers us together. Even despite that, He allows His glory to shine off of us.

And hearing the choir reminded me of that beauty. With the eyes of the flesh, all things are ugly. We are living in an ugly world. But with the eyes of faith, through the lens of Christ, all of a sudden, that which is ugly becomes so beautiful. When we try to be somebody in the church without the beauty of Christ, everything ugly in the world is dragged into here.

And we are no different. When the beauty of Christ shines, what other place, what compares to the surpassing knowledge of knowing Jesus Christ, everything has become rubbish to me. I want you to know this beauty. I don't want you to just work. I don't want you to just be disciplined.

I want you to be changed and impacted and challenged by the beauty of Christ. I can tell you that I've been a Christian for 39 years. Next year it will be going into my 40. There's nothing that I've seen, nobody that I've met, nothing that I've experienced, nothing that I've eaten, nowhere I have gone that compares even close to the beauty of Christ.

He is so beautiful. He is so beautiful. The uglier the world becomes, more beautiful he becomes. He is so beautiful. People used to ask me, "If you were to give your last sermon, what would it be?" I used to tell people my last sermon would be about the Church of Ephesus.

You have all the things done right, but you forsaken your first love. If you don't remember and repent and redo the things that at first I would take away your lampstand, I used to say that that would be the sermon because our church is lukewarm and we need to wake up and we need to take the love of Christ and holding it seriously.

I said that's the sermon I would give. In the last few years, God's been transforming my heart. I'll tell you if I was to give my last sermon, I would give my last sermon declaring the beauty of Christ. Because if you taste and see who he is, you will be changed.

You will be changed. I want my last image to you is to reflect that beauty that I have seen. I pray that as we celebrate Christmas, that we would bring ourselves back to what makes this day so beautiful. Christ and Christ alone. Let's pray. As our worship team comes, I want to invite some of you who have been invited by your friends and family and guests.

If you've never known this Christ and you've just heard of him and you're here because you're curious, the barrier between us and God is our own sins. If you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive you of all your unrighteousness. Only God and what Christ has done on the cross in the perfect union of his justice and his mercy can save us from our own sins.

And he says to come. He invites us to come. Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden. Take my yoke, my work upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. Maybe you've come here this morning because you're restless.

And you've been searching. And you've dabbled in this and dabbled in that. But you haven't found the rest to that unrest is coming from your own sins. The only way that that sin can be atoned for is by the blood of Christ. If you humbly come before the Lord and say, Lord, forgive me, I'm a sinner.

I've been in rebellion. Forgive me. Wash away my sins. He says he will tear away the curtain, the barrier between us and God that we too may see his beauty. I ask you to be here, just humbly, honestly pray that prayer. I remember when I prayed that prayer, all I said was, God, if you're real, I want to know you.

If you're real, open my eyes. It does not be theologically deep. You don't need to be articulate. Just be honest before God. But I'm lost. I want to know you. I want to see your glory. Open my eyes. I invite you to take some time to pray honestly before the Lord.

Then again, if you have questions and you need help, I ask you to go to the table outside and they'll give you assistance and give you material that will help you. Those of you who've been sitting here, working hard, trying to make sense of things, trying to grow in your faith, and yet you feel so distant from God.

You're doing everything right, except your affection for God has dried up. It's been a while since you've been impacted by his beauty. Take some time to pray and ask the Lord that beyond being busy and working hard, that God would open our eyes that we may see this beauty again.

And to love Christ with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. So again, let's take some time to pray as our worship team leads us. (Prayer is sung) (Piano music) (Piano music) (Piano music) (Piano music) (Piano music) (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) (gentle piano music continues) - Let's all stand up for the closing praise.

(gentle piano music) ♪ There is no song we could sing ♪ ♪ To honor the weight of your glory ♪ ♪ There are no words we could speak ♪ ♪ To capture the depth of your beauty ♪ ♪ Jesus, there's no one like you ♪ ♪ Jesus, we love you, ever adore you ♪ ♪ There's no one like you ♪ ♪ Jesus, we love you, ever adore you ♪ ♪ There is no sin there beyond ♪ ♪ The infinite stretch of your mercy ♪ ♪ How can we thank you ♪ ♪ For how you have left us completely ♪ ♪ Jesus, there's no one like you ♪ ♪ Jesus, we love you, ever adore you ♪ ♪ There's no one like you ♪ ♪ Jesus, we love you, ever adore you ♪ ♪ There's no one like you ♪ ♪ Jesus, we love you, ever adore you ♪ ♪ There's no one like you ♪ ♪ Jesus, we love you, ever adore you ♪ ♪ All we have, all we need ♪ ♪ All we want is you ♪ ♪ All we have, all we need ♪ ♪ All we want is you ♪ ♪ All we have, all we need ♪ ♪ All we want is you ♪ ♪ All we have, all we need ♪ ♪ All we want is you ♪ ♪ Jesus, there's no one like you ♪ ♪ Jesus, we love you, ever adore you ♪ ♪ There's no one like you ♪ ♪ Jesus, we love you, ever adore you ♪ ♪ There's no one like you ♪ ♪ Jesus, we love you, ever adore you ♪ ♪ There's no one like you ♪ ♪ Jesus, we love you, ever adore you ♪ (gentle music) - Let's pray.

Psalm 36, seven through nine. How precious is your loving kindness, O God, and the children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of your house, and you give them to drink of the river of your delight. For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light.

Lord, we pray that you would open our eyes, Lord God, that we may see your light. And in your light, Lord God, that we may see all things. I pray, Father, wherever you send us this week, that we may be the aroma of Christ, that we would truly worship you, not just on Sunday, wherever you send us, in spirit and in truth.

Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and eternal deep, deep love of God our Father, rest, restore, strengthen the church for the sake of your name, amen. ♪ God sent his son ♪ ♪ They called him Jesus ♪ ♪ He came to love ♪ ♪ Heal and forgive ♪ ♪ He lived and died ♪ ♪ To buy my party ♪ ♪ An empty grave is there to prove ♪ ♪ My Savior lives ♪ ♪ Because he lives ♪ ♪ I can face tomorrow ♪ ♪ Because he lives ♪ ♪ All fear is gone ♪ ♪ Because I know ♪ ♪ He holds a future ♪ ♪ And life is worth the living ♪ ♪ Just because he lives ♪ - All right, as we go our own way, again, I wanna remind you, if you are visiting us and you have some questions to go to that table, there's one thing that I wanted to announce.

Our pastor, missionary, Alex Han and Jen Han will be headed back to Taiwan this Tuesday. So please continue to keep them in your prayers. There's a lot of luggage, a lot of logistics that are going on. So if you see Pastor Alex and Jen and their family, just wish them well and continue to keep them in your prayers, okay?

All right, thank you, have a great Christmas. ♪ The fire starts ♪ ♪ And reaches to the lowest hell ♪ ♪ The guilty bear ♪ ♪ Bound down with care ♪ ♪ God gave his love ♪ ♪ To the way ♪