Christmas is a reminder that you, like Jesus, are a gift.

Steve Brown:
Christmas is a reminder that you, like Jesus, are a gift. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
This is Key Life, we’re here to let you know that because of what Jesus has done, God will never be angry at you again. Jerry Parries has been teaching us all this week. Jerry serves as pastor at Christian Family Worship Center House of Grace, and he’s the author of The Making of a Blended Family.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. Hey Jerry.

Jerry Parries: Hey sir, how are you?

Steve Brown:
I’m doing good, and so much better because you’re here.

Jerry Parries: Oh, that’s kind, sir.

Steve Brown:
If you’re just joining us, Jerry is one of the, as you know, one of the voices of Key Life. We’ve been on this Christmas week sitting around and talking about and looking at the Scripture that gives us an idea of what Christmas is all about.

Jerry Parries: Yeah.

Steve Brown:
You know, it’s easy to forget. I mean, there’s so much to do, so many people to remember, so many places we have to go, so much money we have to spend, so much. I mean, Christmas is the most hectic time of the year. And I think… I think that Satan has a part in that. If he can keep us busy, we won’t think about what it really is about.

Jerry Parries: That’s true.

Steve Brown:
And so, what we’re doing is just stopping and saying, okay, what is this all about? And today we’re going to talk about the gift that we are to the world.

Jerry Parries: Yes. Yes. I tell you, Steve, this has just been an incredible program because we have to remind people that the purpose of Christmas is about Christ. And it is really not about the gifts and all the other things that we hustle and bustle about, that it is about Christ and the gift that God has given each and every one of us, is to be a gift to somebody else and we are a gift to somebody else and that’s what we have to remember that Christmas is all about, is that if you just show up, you are the gift. You are a gift to me dr. Steve Brown, every time I’m in your presence, I

Steve Brown:
Back at you.

Jerry Parries: I feel great. The Scripture says in Ephesians even more so, I want to encourage pastors today, that the Bible says that you are a gift to the body of Christ. And sometimes pastors, you know, during this season are giving and we give programs, we give toys to kids, we give all of these different things, and sometimes, I’ve been a pastor, you’ve been a pastor. Sometimes it seems like that you are forgotten. And I just want to say to our pastors who ministers during this time of the year that you are a gift to the body. You are a gift to the people of God. And I don’t want you to forget that. Ephesians four and seven says.

But to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore, he says, “When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.”

And then I jumped down to 11 and says.

And he himself gave some apostles and prophets and evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the working of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

And I want to say to our pastors and say to people who do this every year, year after year that you are a gift to the members of your church. And I don’t want you to forget that God sees it, God loves you. And I want you to continue to move, knowing that you are blessing God’s people every single Sunday.

Steve Brown:
You know, there’s probably not a harder job at Christmas than that of being a pastor. You know, people in the church, they’re people that for whom Christmas is not a happy time. They’ve lost a loved one during the year, there’s nobody to wind the clocks, the footfalls they have listened to are no longer there, the darkness is really dark. In fact, there are probably people who are dealing with depression, probably deal with that more at Christmas than at any other time. And that is the pastor’s responsibility.

Jerry Parries: Yeah. Pastors have a hard job. I’m telling you, it is, as you said Steve, pastoring and ministering to God’s people, it can be one of the most stressful moments, you know.

Steve Brown:
It really can.

Jerry Parries: It really can be. And so I want to just encourage our pastors to know that sometimes you don’t see the gift that you are to a person. But I want you to know that you are a gift that God has given to the body and to your people and be encouraged, be encouraged. God sees you, God sees you working hard. And I want you to know that that gift, God’s going to pour back into you.

Steve Brown:
He really is.

Jerry Parries: Yeah, you’re going to get it.

Steve Brown:
You know, and then moving out from our leaders, our pastors, you said something earlier that I thought was really good. You got to just show up, you know, in Galatians 2:20 it says.

That we’re crucified with Christ.

Now, that’s not a commandment, like you’ve got to be crucified. You are.

Jerry Parries: Yes.

Steve Brown:
And that it’s not you who live, but Paul says.

Christ liveth in me.

And so, you smell like Jesus and you can’t help it.

Jerry Parries: Oh man.

Steve Brown:
You really can’t. You know, people are always saying, I hope I get better. You’re going to get better, quit worrying about it.

Jerry Parries: Yes.

Steve Brown:
Because that’s what the Holy Spirit does. But you are, you smell like Jesus. And so, what you’ve got to do is just show up, go around places, show up to people who are hurting and afraid and poor and lonely and have sinned and just be there. And because you smell like Jesus, it’ll make a difference. My mentor called that vacuum evangelism. He heard me say one time that Pascal had said.

That we all have a vacuum in our heart and nothing fits except Jesus.

And he said, if you are a gift and you smell like Jesus, when you show up to somebody who’s not a Christian, the vacuum in that heart will bring in the reality of Jesus into their lives.And you don’t even have to do anything except show up.

Jerry Parries: Man, let me tell you something that showing up means a whole lot. I remember one Christmas, Steve, that I did not have any money. And I just, again, I got caught up in it, you know. And I didn’t have the money to do gifts and everything. And the Lord gave me, what you just said about showing up. I took a sheet of paper, you know, folded it up in about eight small pieces of paper, put a staple on the corner. And on each paper I wrote today, I’ll wash the dishes for you. The next one was today, I’ll do the laundry, you know. The next one, you know, so I made myself available. I became the gift to the person that I was trying to give a gift to, and that’s what we want to be reminded that you don’t have, if you don’t have money to go shopping, you yourself is the gift. Maybe put a gift today, I’m going to cook you your favorite dinner, you know, become the gift to somebody. Today, I’m going to come over and, to an elderly person and I’m going to clean your home. You know, this is a coupon that whenever you need that, just send it to me and I’ll be there for you.

Steve Brown:
Oh, that is so good. That makes Christmas, in fact, it might be better if you did that than bought a gift, even if you have the money.

Jerry Parries: Yeah.

Steve Brown:
You know, because it’s the giving of yourself. You know, that goes back to what we talked about on Monday. The gift is him.

Jerry Parries: That’s correct.

Steve Brown:
I mean, he gives gifts, but the main gift is that he showed. And the main gift that you give is that you show, too, at Christmas.

Jerry Parries: Yeah, you got, you have to be present. You have to be there and you have to be there for people. You know, no matter what gift you give, will fade away, but love never goes away. The love that you show. I remember when I was a kid, I don’t remember every Christmas, but I remember one Christmas, Steve, my mom and dad was buying a house and they told us, that they were not going to be able to do any Christmas gifts for us, could not do it. I remember this Christmas and I went, I just thought for some odd reason, I’m going to get a Christmas gift anyway, you know, and during the day of Christmas, I actually went shopping with my sister who had a little money and she bought my dad some cologne. I’ll never forget. And I helped her wrap that cologne and I put it under the tree and everything. So, when Christmas came, I got up that morning, I ran downstairs and I looked through all the gifts and I had no gifts. And I was sitting on the stairs. I probably was about six years old, seven years old, and I was crying. And my dad heard me crying and I came downstairs and I told my dad, I said, I didn’t have any Christmas gifts this year and I was crying. And he said, you sure? And he says, let me see. He said, he goes under the tree and he comes back with the gift. And he said, you missed it. Here’s your gift right here. And I opened up to gift and it was the cologne, my sister gave him. He put my name on it. And it was the best gift. I knew it was his gift, but the gift he gave me that day that I never forgot was the gift of him, the gift of love. And that’s the gift that will never be forgotten is when you give of yourself, that’s the gift that will never be forgotten.

Steve Brown:
That is so good. And such a great Christmas thought. You know, when you think that Jesus was the gift and he was a gift to us so we could be a gift to others.

Jerry Parries: Yes.

Steve Brown:
And that’s what Christmas is all about.

Jerry Parries: And that’s what’s important. So, don’t get caught up in that you can’t buy this. You don’t have money for this. If you show up and give them you, that’s the best gift you can give.

Steve Brown:
Now, we’re not laying a guilt trip on you. Sometimes as Jerry said, that’s just showing up. If you belong to Jesus, you can’t help it, you smell like Jesus. And because he has come to you, reach out to others and just care and then see what he does. Hey, you think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Be the gift, man, that is so powerful. Thank you Steve Brown and Jerry Parries. And great news, we still have one more day with Steve and Jerry tomorrow, one more day of exploring the purpose of Christmas. Sure hope you will join us for that. Well, if you’re familiar with our talk radio show, Steve Brown Etc. you might know that every year we have a special Christmas episode with just us, no guests. We’re now calling it It’s a Wonderful Key Life. Well, we share stories, we have some laughs and discuss our favorite episodes from the previous year. So, if you’re hitting the road this month or I don’t know, just running around town, I really think you’ll enjoy hearing this full show. So, get it on CD for free right now by calling us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that CD. If you’d like to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the U.S. and Canada. Again, just ask for your free copy of the Christmas episode of Steve Brown Etc. Finally, if you value the work of Key Life, would you support that work through your giving? You can charge a gift on your credit card, you can include a gift in your envelope. Or simply pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life, one word, two words. It doesn’t matter, just text that to 28950 then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.