Healing Power During the Holiday - Lesson OPEN | Pastor Jeno Orchard CR

Healing Power During the Holidays

Merry Christmas, Forever Family

(Luke 2:7-14)

1)     Tonight let us consider that the first Christmas began in a place that none of us would have chosen

2)     Christmas tells something very powerful about recovery in five ways:

a)     First, God Meets Us Right Where We Are. (Luke 2:7)

i)      Jesus wasn’t born in a palace. He was born in the mess. And He still comes into our mess today.

ii)     Step 1 – “We admitted we were powerless…” Before Jesus can heal us, we must admit we need Him.

iii)    Whether you’re battling hurts, habits, or hang-ups…whether this is a season feels joyful or painfully heavy…God is not waiting for you to clean up first.  He comes to you.

iv)   Just like Jesus came to a manger, He comes into our brokenness.

b)     Second, Light Shines in Darkness.

i)      Whatever darkness you’re fighting – addiction, fear, shame, loneliness, anger – His light is stronger. (1 John 1:5-7)

ii)     Step 2 – “We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”

iii)    Christmas celebrates that the Light has come – the restoring, rescuing power of Jesus.

c)     Third, Jesus Came to Bring Peace, Not Pressure.

i)      Progress, not perfection.  Peace, not performance.

ii)     In Recovery, we learn that peace is not the absence of problems. It’s the presence of Christ in the middle of them. (Luke 2:8-14)

iii)    Step 3 – “We made a decision to turn our lives and wills over to God.”

iv)   Christmas invites us to trust the Prince of Peace with our life and will.

d)     Fourth, You’re Not Alone.

i)      The shepherds, the wise men, Mary and Joseph – God surrounded the story of Jesus with people.  And…He still does that today.

ii)     Celebrate Recovery is part of the miracle of Christmas: God giving us community, fellowship, accountability, and your forever family who will walk with us, not judge us. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

iii)    Step 4 – “We take a fearless moral inventory.”

 

iv)    Step 5 – “We admit our wrongs to God and another person.”

v)     Step 6 – “We become ready for God to remove our character defects.”

vi)    These steps are impossible alone – and God never meant for us to do them alone.

vii)  Christmas reminds us: God gives us a community for healing.

e)     Fifth, Christmas Is About New Beginnings.

i)      The birth of Jesus marked a new beginning for the world – and it can mark a new beginning for us too. (Titus 3:5-6; Isaiah 43:19; 2 Corinthians 5:17)

ii)     Steps 7-12

(1     Step 7 – “Humbly ask God to remove our shortcomings.”

(2     Step 8-9 – “Make amends where possible.”

(3     Step 10 – “Continue to take personal inventory.”

(4     Step 11 – “Seek God daily though Bible study, prayer, and meditation.”

(5     Step 12 – “Carry the message to other that still suffer.”

iii)    Recovery moves in the rhytm of one day at a time, and every dawn reminds us that new beginnings are the signature of God’s grace.   He is always writing new chapters, even when we can only see the page we’re on.

iv)   Christmas reminds us that God is still writing new chapters.