The people Jesus loved were messy. The way that Jesus loved people seemed inconsistent, unfair, and confusing. On the one hand, he could teach that God’s righteous moral standards for our lives are even higher than we imagined they were. On the other hand, he ate with the tax collectors and talked with the adulterers. As his church today, we still struggle to understand his extraordinary love – but it all boils down to two key ingredients.

The people Jesus loved were messy. The way that Jesus loved people seemed inconsistent,

unfair, and confusing. On the one hand, he could teach that God’s righteous moral standards for

our lives are even higher than we imagined they were. On the other hand, he ate with the tax

collectors and talked with the adulterers. As his church today, we still struggle to understand his

extraordinary love – but it all boils down to two key ingredients.

Everyone in our generation has associations with the word “church”. The problem is that our

associations bear little resemblance to what Jesus designed and launched in the first century. He

didn’t design an institution that exists to perpetuate itself. He created an assembly of people

who are part of a movement that exists to declare God’s praises and is characterized by love.

Hopefully, you’ve learned quite a bit from your future self in this series. But your future self has

one problem. It’s still you. The same you that has created all of the problems in your life up till

now. The good news is that there’s someone else who is ready to offer advice. He’s not just

from the future, he’s the beginning and the end. We’ll wrap up the series by considering our

question from a different angle. Considering that Jesus has the words of eternal life, what

would the future you tell you to do?

Many times, instead of eliminating the obstacles that keep us from moving forward in life, we try to compensate for them and keep going. We end up dragging our baggage and sin from one stage of life to the next. But God wants us to get rid of everything that hinders us and slows us down from becoming the future person that he has in mind. Don’t compensate for what you must eliminate. In light of your past, what would the future you tell you to do? 

One of the things that makes it so hard to listen to the future you is that the past you is speaking too loudly. Maybe the past you is condemning you with accusations of failure, guilt, or shame. The Apostle Paul was no stranger to this reality. In fact, his past self was even worse than your past self. But he learned how to tune out to his past self and listen to his future self, the future self that was resting in heaven with Jesus. In this message, we’ll discover how focusing on our future allows us to move past your past. In light of your future hope, what would the future you tell you to do?

If you could go back in time five or ten years to deliver your past self a message, you know exactly what you would say. Change this habit; Prioritize that goal; Pay attention to your cholesterol; Dump him; etc. You could save your past self so much worry, heartache, and money if you could share some of your current wisdom with your younger self. But what wisdom would help your present reality? What if you could get a message from your future self? What if your future self showed up to deliver you a message today? What would the future you tell you to do? 

Jesus identified a very specific reason for the season. It was a search and rescue mission. Not only have we been rescued by Jesus, but we’ve been recruited to join in the mission. Who are you inviting to Christmas in Lake Country?  

The reasons for Christmas isn’t just about Joy to the World and Peace on Earth. One of the reasons for Christmas is destruction. Jesus came to destroy the work of evil in our world and our lives. 

The reason for Christmas begins with us. We were dead in our sins. We didn’t just need some advice or some teaching. We needed resurrection. Jesus was born to give us a second birth.