Date: 12/24/2022

Greeting in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to Him be the Glory, and to the Holy Ghost. As we celebrate Christmas today let us consider not only the fact of Jesus Christ’s coming but much more. Let us consider the meaning of His coming. And not only the meaning of His coming to earth, but the meaning of His having come to dwell within each one of us as we yield ourselves to His love. Luke 1:35 tells us, “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore, also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”(KJV)

Saints, we have been given the gift of this holy Child of which the angel spoke to Mary that she would conceive. We have been given a gift much greater than anything which can wrapped in ribbons, stuffed in boxes, or loaded into stockings. We have been given the gift of God’s unmerited unearned grace. Today we are a child of God not because of anything that we have done or failed to do. Our position in Christ is based on God’s grace alone and it is only through faith in Him alone that we can experience that grace in our lives.

The question I pose to you today is this, What will you do with that gift? Will you cast it aside, assuming it to be of little value as though it were only an empty opened unwrapped box, or will you treasure its true value and meaning? Roman 8:26 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered”. Will you allow the gift of love that you have been given in Christ to transform you? Will you allow that love to saturate everything which you do? Will you see the baby Jesus for who He is, or will you dismiss Him as a simple baby?

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Saints, the true celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ ought not to happen only at Christmas time. Jesus’ birth, earthly life, death, and resurrection are only the very beginning of the story of redemption and new life. The most pure and true celebration of the coming of Christ is a life lived yielded to His very purpose in our lives and through our lives. It was later in his life, when Jesus was baptized by John, that the Holy Spirit fell upon Him for the power to complete the mission for which He was born. Just as Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit for His miraculous ministry, this Christmas the Father longs to empower us for our own lives and ministries. We participate in the incarnational miracle of Christmas by learning how the Holy Spirit can infill and empower us. “ But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you”. (John 14:26)

Do not trade the Holy Spirit dwelling deep inside of you every day of your life for the temporal and fleeting happiness of the world’s version of Christmas Spirit. Come kneel at the holy alter of God’s grace; come kneel beside the babe in a manger who is both God and King. Remember “…with God all things are possible”. (Matthew 19:25) “Merry Christmas from my family to yours”.

In His Service,

Bishop Dr. Calvin Worthem

General Chief Overseer – Jewell Dominion