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We are incurably curious about the spiritual realm. Although our imaginations tend to overrun truth don’t ever doubt the presence of angels, for they are about us and above us. And, who knows, maybe even within one or two of us.

Our culture is fascinated with the supernatural, and a lot of what we see and hear points back to God! Lee Strobel conquers some pretty interesting topics when it comes to our faith…things like miracles, mystical dreams, angels, and even ghosts! You’ll hear some solid evidence of God’s presence in the supernatural, and through this conversation, you will be encouraged to grow closer to Him.

John 3:16 is quite possibly the most well known verse in the entire Bible. It's seen on bumper stickers, T-shirts…even at football games. But our familiarity with this passage can make us numb to the truth it offers. In this message, hear Chuck Swindoll explain God's amazing love.

From the Series: The Greatest Words

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One of the amusing sides of Christmas is people shopping in departments they never otherwise shop in - generally clueless. Let me give you an example that I can relate to - men shopping in the ladies clothing department. Oh, we're a mess. Now, if you need a good laugh; you're feeling a little down, you ought to go to the ladies garment department somewhere; especially the more personal the item is, the funnier it is to watch men shopping. They're slightly embarrassed, generally incompetent at what they're doing, and it's very important if you're going to go shopping for a woman during the Christmas season that you get the woman's size: your wife, your mother, your sister, your girlfriend, or whatever. And you trust that the tags are right, of course, on the size. You know that a small had better be a small, because you don't know anything. A large had better be a large. Now, you want to know how to sow some confusion and have some fun? (Don't anybody do this, please.) Imagine if someone snuck into that store late one night and just changed the tags around. Well, people would make a lot of wrong choices, all because the sizes were wrong. Now, that doesn't happen to clothes, but it does happen to people, and it takes the Christmas Story to straighten out small and large.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How Christmas Rightsizes the World."

Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Luke 1:52-53. Mary is pregnant; she's carrying the baby Jesus, and we get a little idea of the insight God has given her as she prays this prayer, what is often called The Magnificat. She says, "God has brought down rulers from their thrones, but He has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, but He has sent the rich away empty."

You know, Mary has the right sizes on the right people. She has the smalls on the small, and the bigs on the big. You see, the world would call these the big people - those people who are called rulers and rich. But she says, "the rulers have been brought down. The rich have been sent away empty." God's heroes - the people the world calls small. They're identified as the humble, who He lifts up, and the hungry, who He fills up.

You see, what is a big deal to men is a little deal to God - big deal like money, gifts, title, fame. That's a little deal to God. Conversely, what's a little deal to men: "You don't have much money. You don't have much influence. Not many people know you. You're average." See, that's a big deal to God. You hear people say all the time, "Well, I'm just a... I'm just a student. I'm just a mother. I'm just a secretary. I'm just a helper. I'm just a Sunday school teacher. I'm just a laborer. It's just a small church. It's just a little class. I'm just a choir member." With God, there are no "just a's," not in God's value system.

Bethlehem, we're told, was "little among the villages, but out of you (little village) will come the Prince," Mary, the peasant but the Mother of God's Son. Shepherds, the outcasts of their society, the first evangelists. I wonder if you have the two qualifications for God's heroes: humble, which means you are totally depending on the Lord, and hungry, restless to know and serve Him more. God likes to make folks like that big for Him - the humble and the hungry.

Remember to give attention to the people others ignore. They're the big people to God - children, the poor, the powerless. Oh, by the way, don't ever call yourself "just a..." again. God does His biggest things through the smallest instruments. Call big what God calls big. Make sure you've got the right size.

Read: John 1:14-17; 3:16-17

Caleb and Vanessa sat in the back seat of the car on the way home from Christmas shopping. They didn’t dare say a word. Mom’s face said it all. They were in big trouble. They had saved up money to buy gifts, but when they got to the store, they pushed and fought over every toy. After a couple warnings, Mom marched them out of the store empty-handed.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” Caleb ventured. “I don’t know what happened.”

“Are we in big trouble?” Vanessa asked.

Mom took a deep breath. “We’ll see when we get home. I’ll talk to your dad.”

When they walked through the front door, Dad saw their glum faces. “Uh-oh. What’s going on?”

Mom looked at Caleb and Vanessa. “I want you both to go sit on the couch in the living room. We’ll be there in a minute.”

They slowly walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch. Soon their parents came in.

Dad looked stern. “I’m very disappointed to hear about your behavior today, but after talking it over, Mom and I decided we want you to open an early Christmas present.”

Caleb and Vanessa looked startled as Mom handed them a small wrapped box. “Is this for real?” Caleb asked.

Mom nodded, and they both tore off the wrapping paper. Caleb pulled out a glass ornament of baby Jesus. Vanessa squealed. “It’s beautiful!”

Caleb smiled but still looked a bit suspicious. “What’s the catch?”

“Do you think you deserved an early Christmas present today?” Dad asked.

Caleb frowned. “No, Dad. We deserve something else. We deserve to be punished.”

Mom smiled. “That’s exactly why we wanted to give this to you.”

Dad nodded. “We are all full of sin—we all act ugly and do bad things. Because of that sin, we all deserve punishment from God. But instead of punishing us, He sent us the most wonderful, undeserved gift. He sent us a baby to be our Savior.”

“I get it!” Vanessa said. “Our little undeserved ornament will remind us that God sent Jesus to save us from sin.”

Caleb smiled. “I understand too. Jesus was a gift we didn’t deserve.”

–Bethany Den Boer

How about you? Do you get lots of gifts at Christmas? Do you feel like you deserve your presents and get angry when you don’t get what you want? We receive gifts at Christmas not because we earned them, but because those who give them to us love us. These gifts remind us God gave us Jesus to be our Savior not because we deserved such a wonderful gift, but because He loves us.

Today's Key Verse: But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8 (NLT)

Today's Key Thought: Jesus is the greatest gift

Take comfort in knowing that the place God prepared for you is an everlasting home in His presence.

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My neighbor Sam returned home one night without his car. “It was stolen,” he told his wife; then added: “I’m going to sleep, I’ll sort it out tomorrow.” His wife was flabbergasted. She couldn’t understand how Sam could be so calm, but he explained: “What else can I do? Panicking won’t make any difference.”

My ever-sensible neighbor could see there was no point worrying. He trusted that the authorities would be able to find his missing car later—which they did.

Did the apostle Peter feel likewise after being thrown into prison (Acts 12:4)? He was likely to face execution, yet the usually impulsive disciple “was sleeping between two soldiers” (v. 6). The angel had to “[strike] Peter on the side” to wake him up (v. 7)—suggesting that he was completely calm and at peace. Was it because he knew his life was in God’s hands? Verses 9 and 11 suggest that it wouldn’t have mattered whether he was rescued or not; perhaps he recalled the assurance of salvation and glory that Jesus had given him (Matthew 19:28), as well as Christ’s call to simply “follow me” and not worry about what would happen to him (John 21:22).

No matter what we’re facing today, we can trust that God holds our future—both on earth and in heaven—in His mighty hands. Perhaps then we can more easily sleep in peace.

Segment 1

• “Thus Sayeth the Lord” is the Christian’s true weapon in cultural and spiritual battles.

• AI porn is on the rise, possibly replacing real people in 20 years, challenging Christian arguments based on human dignity.

• Only God’s Word offers unchanging authority.

Segment 2

• AI-fueled depravity is coming fast, with the power to generate any sinful fantasy imaginable.

• Christians must return to quoting Scripture, not merely offering moral objections.

• God’s Word is the power, not our persuasiveness. “Thus Sayeth the Lord” still turns worlds upside down.

Segment 3

• Tim Challies reflects on losing his son Nick, facing the tension of tragedy and God’s control.

• In suffering, we must separate what God does from how He uses it.

• God is good, able, and faithful—and that truth holds us.

Segment 4

• Tragedy often brings anger and doubt about God’s love.

• If you don’t know God’s character, you’ll misinterpret His providence.

• God isn’t distant—He desires deep relationship, even in our pain.

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