D9tST_zvSPs

0:45I don't find out I can't. Hey, everybody. Hey, ooh, Chris. You know, Christmas cookies. Not as young as you used to be, huh? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hello. It's good to see you again. How you doing, Roger? Oh, yes, yes. It's so good to be here. We were just filming our winter nature danger documentary, and we heard this noise coming from right here. It sounded like an African warbler, like that. So we had to investigate in case there was danger. But it was just your singing.

1:30So, we're all good. Yes, yes, yes. Well, now that we're here, we would love to sing a song with you. All right, Rick, we can sing with them. Right, yes, right, yes, all right. Well, we're ready to go. All right, well, let's sing. Uh, how about let's sing a little town of Bethlehem? That's a good one. That's a good one to start. All right, all right, here we go. Y'all ready? We got the words: Oh, little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee light above thy deep and dreamless sleep. The silent stars go by, yet in thy dark streets shine the everlasting light.

2:30The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. For Christ is born of Mary and gathered all around while mortals sleep the angels. Keep their watch of wondering love. O morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth and praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth. How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given. So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his death. No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in.

4:16Oh, holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray, cast out our sins. And enter in, be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell. Oh, come to us, abide with us. How Lord am you well? Good job. Rocky, that was beautiful. Well done, everyone. Except I'm just a little confused about some of the words in that song. What does it mean that Christ is born in us today? Oh, born in us today. Well, that's referring to the way that when you follow Christ, when you become a Christian, you are born again, and God makes you in the likeness.

5:25Born again. Born again. Born again. Well, let me tell you, I'm an expert on everything about animals and nature, and I've never seen an animal be born again. Well, there is a lot of confusion on that topic, and it is sort of a hard concept to understand. And you're not the first man in history to be confused by that. In fact, there's a record of Jesus helping someone in the Bible. But I think that there's someone who's supposed to be here. You know, we're at the interpreter's house, and he had to step out, but somebody else is supposed to be here. Do you remember? Remember Evangelist? Oh, yes.

6:01You met Evangelist earlier this year when he's coming. And I don't know what he must have gotten stopped, you know, talking to somebody on the road, but he should be here any moment. And I know he has some good stories that could help us maybe all understand a little bit more about what it means to be born again. Oh, Crocky, that would be amazing. Right, Rick? Yeah, once he's out there. Oh, there he is. He's coming in.

6:26There he is. Howdy. Howdy. Howdy. I found a couple of extra musicians out there standing out there as well. Oh, we can make room for him. There we go. Come on in. Well, Sheriff is camping watching. Four sight and flocks by tonight. Howdy. Howdy. Hi. And welcome to the interpreter's house. I'm not the interpreter. In fact, no one's really bold enough to really try to be the interpreter because why? We never see the Holy Spirit in Scripture. He is somebody that we see the effects of what the Holy Spirit does. We really don't see Him. And I, as you remember, am Evangelist.

7:13I hope you'll always see me as somebody who bears good news, whether I'm in a cape that my niece made for me or whether I am not. I am a bearer of good news, and I am happy tonight to be able to have you in. Into this wonderful interpreter's house, talking about the most important things about Christmas, and that is the whole idea of salvation and celebrating who this Christ really is. And I heard there was a question. So, how yes, Mr. Bear of good news. I was just talking to Mr. Music Man over there, and he was talking about being born again. And I'm just, I don't know what that means. Why does someone need to be born again?

8:01Well, why don't you sit down? I tell you what, I have a story that instead of just telling you outright, let me read to you a story, and maybe that that will answer the question even before I finish. So, here we are. A story, but that's a very important question for all of us to understand: is why does a person need to be born again? Ready? Here it comes: The parable of the Christmas cat. And it answers the very important question: why does a person need to be born again?

8:44Really, it says being born from above. Only those who are born from heaven get to go to heaven. And this story about the Christmas cat tells the story why, and it is based upon John chapter. 3 verses 1 through 11 and Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus. So let me just read to you the story. Listen up. It goes quickly. It happened on a Christmas day long ago in a time of kings and queens, princes and princesses, ladies and lords, and true nobility. There was a time of true nobility, you know. In one prosperous kingdom, there lived an old wise sage.

9:32He was known for his great wisdom, and the kingdom prospered due to his wise counsel. Kings treasured his advice. And one of his main proverbs was that true nobility comes from birth. True nobility comes from birth. And every year, the king held a grand Christmas Day celebration in his castle. Everyone in the kingdom was invited, from prince to pauper, and, of course, the old wise sage. It was always a spectacular celebration. Decorations, food, music, and conversation. One year, a young prince criticized the old sage's proverb, said he was outdated and wrong. True nobility is not a matter of one's birth. True nobility is a bird's birth. Is a matter of one's education. It is a skill that can be learned. And so the young prince challenged the sage to a public debate. Can you believe it? Well, the kingdom, or the king, was somewhat amused by his son's impertinent challenge, but he knew he had to learn his lesson. The king set the date for a public debate. The following year, on Christmas Day, each side was to present his case to a watching world. Each was given a year to study, research, and to prepare. The issue needed to be settled. Was nobility a function of one's training, or was it something much deeper? You need to know the answer to that question, too. The young prince wasted no time. He thought to himself that if he could train his cat to be a gentleman, then he would easily win the debate without saying anything. For if a cat could be trained, then certainly any human being could be trained. So the prince hired a team of the best teachers and tailors in the land to teach his cat how to walk, talk, and dress, and act like a true gentleman. Well, guess what? The training was a huge success.

12:01The cat learned to walk on his two hind legs, to wait tables in the most noble fashion, and to converse intelligently on any subject in every language spoken in the land. That was one smart cat. News spread about the young prince's cat. Everybody was amazed. Surely the prince was right. Nobility was a function of one's training, not one's birth. Well, the next Christmas Day celebration came, and with it the eagerly anticipated public debate. Well, you can imagine. The king took his seat in the royal court, and suddenly the prince's cat appeared. Oh, he was dressed in the finest tuxedo, perfectly suited for a Christmas celebration, and he approached the king in the most dignified manner. He graciously bowed with the tray table in hand. He poured a glass of wine, unfermented, of course, and he conversed with the king on a number of important issues. The king was amazed. Perhaps his son was right. Nobility is a matter of training, not one's birth. Everyone in the room was sure the young prince had won the debate. They even felt Pity for the old sage. And the king glanced at the sage and gestured as if to ask, Do you concede? Can't really beat this argument. Well, you know what the sage did? He slowly reached his hand into his coat pocket and pulled out a little box. And he opened it, and three little mice came running out of the box. Well, the cat lost all composure. What do cats like to do? Chase mice.

14:03So the cat lost all composure, dropped his tray, and ran after the mice. And the noise and the chaos and the carnage absolutely horrified the crowd. Well, 15 minutes later, guess what? The cat reappeared, purring in the most satisfied manner. His tux was shredded, his hat was gone, and it was evident to all the cat was still a cat. You see, all the new clothes and training did not change the nature of the cat. You see, like Nicodemus, he had been raised to be religious. He dressed the part, he played the part, he talked the talk.

14:51But like the Christmas cat, his fundamental nature had not changed. And you know, that's the way it is with a lot of us. That even if we are not born from above, even our religion will become a statement of our darkness. This is where dark religions come from. This is where Christless religions come from. Judas, he witnessed the power of Christ. Not only did he witness the power of Christ, he saw with his own eyes the perfections of Christ in his own private life. And yet his evil heart was never changed. Friends, likewise, I think there's a lot of people. We can grow up thinking that because we go to church, that we're a Christian, or because we do the right thing, or we think we do the right thing. No, true nobility is something of a much deeper thing. You must be born again. And I hope in this room that we will come to a point to where we know we need to be born again and truly experience the miracle of Christmas. That's the miracle. He was, God became born among humanity so that we could be born of God.

16:27You see, a relationship with God. God is not about simply reforming one's behavior, but involves a change deep within a person's heart. Does that answer your question? It does. I think I'm starting to understand that the cat was still a cat because he needed a new nature. But Mr. Evangelist, I'm still not sure how this happens. How can the cat actually be born again? Well, that's very important. Of course, that's just an analogy. We're talking about people. How can people be born again?

17:05And so I have a story about that too. Oh, yes, please. One of the second most important questions you need to understand is the question you just asked. How is a person born again? Now that we've seen why a person needs to be born again, you need a new nature. You need to be born from above. But how does that happen? And where does that happen? Well, in John 3, verses 12 through 15, Jesus answers that question because that really is Nicodemus' question. How can this be? Well, that's the story of the Christmas flower. Now, let me ask you guys a question. What do you think the most beautiful flower in the world is? Well, I can tell you there's all kinds of flowers. Of suggestions. What is the most beautiful flower in the world? Well, there's a lot of experts that have offered their opinion. Have you ever heard of the South African ghasanya? Well, some people think that's the most beautiful flower in the world. And then there is something else that'll come up: the plumeria. The plumeria, some think is the most beautiful flower in the world. What about you? What do you think? Then, of course, there is the magnolia. Perhaps there's nothing more beautiful than a magnolia tree in bloom. Absolute beautiful picture of grace and beauty. Then there's the iris.

18:46Then some say, no, it's the lily. And then there is the rose. For many, they think that the rose is the most beautiful flower in the world. Well, I don't know. I'm sure you all have your opinion. I'm sure you have your opinion. But let me tell you about the beauty of a flower that supersedes all of these. You see, there is a legendary flower called the Christmas flower. And its glory exceeds them all. You see, according to the legend, the Christmas flower was so beautiful that it was actually contagious. What does contagious mean?

19:33You're afraid of getting that, aren't you? Yeah, could you imagine? That's what contagious is, catching something. But could you imagine a flower so beautiful that it actually gives its beauty away? Such is the glory of the Christmas flower. It is a flower that actually could give its beauty. The other flowers could just put their beauty on display and make you marvel, but the Christmas flower could actually make the beholder beautiful. Few ever saw the Christmas flower, for it only bloomed in less traveled areas once every few years and only for a few hours. It was a rare event in a remote place. Many who might have happened by the flower in bloom quickly passed it by, paying little attention. Some marveled at its beauty only for a moment and then moved on. Very few actually stopped their journey to gaze upon its deep beauty. But for those who did, something truly amazing happened. As observers gazed upon the flower, their countenance began to change. Their complexion became as bright and beautiful as the flower itself. Every external blemish was completely restored to health. As observers breathed in the flower's fragrance, every internal flaw of body and soul was completely renewed. Strength and wholeness replaced weakness and disease. An inner disposition of peace, innocence, kindness, and joy would take hold even in the most troubled souls. The glory of the Christmas flower was such that anyone who stopped to gaze upon it was forever changed, and so was the flower.

21:40You see, the flower did more than impart its beauty, it also received the ugliness of the observer. An incredible transaction took place. At the same time, the flower was giving away its beauty, it received the blights of its observer. With each passing moment, the perfections of the flower gave way to the imperfections of the observer. Having given its beauty away and having received all the ugliness of its observer, the loveliest of flowers became the most horrid. The once beautiful petals blackened and shriveled. The delicate fragrance faded, and the flower fell to the ground.

22:31And it was in this manner that the flower took away the ugliness of the beholder and imparted its beauty to the beholder. Such was the glory of the Christmas flower. You see, the glory of Jesus Christ is his ability and willingness to remove sin and impart his righteousness for all who behold him. But it's not the Christ in the manger, it's the Christ on the cross. There, it is there we behold the flowering beauty of perfected humanity.

23:20And those who take in by faith what happened there will be born again. When you take in and really understand who it is that is upon the cross, when you really understand that your heavenly Father loves you to the degree to send his most precious Son, then you behold the loving kindness of your heavenly Father. And when you behold His Son upon the cross, you also behold Jesus' love for his Father's love. And you know what His Father's love is, people.

23:59And when you behold, That and when you take in that your Creator really does love you to that much to that degree, something within you will die and something will be born again. Life will spring up when you behold the goodness of your Creator poured out to such a degree when the highest in heaven pours Himself out upon the cross and loves us to that degree, and you stop your journey in life and you look deeply upon the cross and behold, therein is where a person is born again by taking in through faith what happened. So, in order to go to heaven, you must obtain the beauty of one who has never sinned and never will.

25:03And by beholding what he did upon the cross, that is where you obtain the beauty of such a one. Does that answer your question? Yes, yes, it does, it does. Why don't you sing a couple of songs? Please just sort of refreshing my desire to sing. Well, good. Please. I'm sure you have some songs to do so. For our living Christmas flower who came, helps us to understand why it was such a big deal that he came and why we celebrate it even to this day, 2,000 years later.

25:56Come thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free from our fears and sins, release us. Let us find our rest in thee, Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth, thou art dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart, born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a king. To reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom free by thine awesome fertile spirit, rule in all our hearts alone. By thine awesome vision, merit raise us to thy glorious throne.

27:43All right, here's another good one. All right. That all work. Okay. Mark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King. Peace on earth and mercy, my God and sinners reconcile. Joyful, all ye nations rise. Join the triumph of the skies with the jelly ghost. Proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem. Hark, the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King, Christ, my highest and adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord. Late in time, behold Him come, offspring of the Virgin's womb. Veiled in flesh, the Godhead sea, hail incarnate deity, pleased as men with men to dwell. Jesus, our man, knew well. Hark, the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King.

29:27Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace, Hail, the Son of righteousness, life and life to all he brings, rising with healing in his wings. Mile he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth. The herald angels sing glory to the newborn king. Heart heart, the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king. Krocky, that was amazing. Wow. Thank you, Mr. Evangelist, for explaining these to me. It sounds like being born again is something that everyone should do. I mean, the flower and the beauty. I mean, why doesn't everyone choose to be born again?

30:35Well, that's another good question. And I bet you I have a story just for you. Krocky, another story. Another story if you're ready for one. And this is the story of the Christmas cloak. Very important. Because it's one question that gets asked probably as much as any, and one you need to have an answer for. The Christmas cloak. And the question: why do people go to hell? It's a question that children ask. And sometimes it's a very uncomfortable question. A lot of people don't like to talk about hell. But you know, the Bible speaks more about hell than it does about heaven.

31:22It's very important to understand. Or Jesus spoke more about hell than he did about heaven. And so it's very important that you understand. Why do people go to hell? Because it's basically another way of asking the same question you just asked. Why isn't everyone born again? Well, that's a very important question. Would you like to hear the answer? Yes, please. Okay, well, and this is based on John 3:16. And let me just go ahead and read this to you. John 3:16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

32:10He who believes in him is not condemned. He who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment: that the light has come into the world, and men love the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil. Let me read to you a story about the Christmas cloak. It'll take you on another journey. This one, far north of the Arctic Circle. Centuries ago, there existed a fishing village far north of the Arctic Circle. It was a thriving place in the warmer months, but almost completely deserted in the dead of winter.

32:55Those who remained had grown accustomed to surviving the cold, at least during the winter. Normal winters. Every 25 years or so, a severe winter would set in, such that even the fittest could not survive. People called it the frigis. Can you say that? Phrygis. The frigis. It's actually the frigis heims. But the people just called it the frigis. The infrequency of the harsh winters made them difficult to predict and therefore impossible for the villagers to survive. Only one kind of animal could survive the frigis without migrating, and that was the snow sheep of the mountain.

33:42You see, their skin was far thicker and their hair far heavier than the others. These two features provided the creature with the necessary warmth to survive even the harshest winter. They weren't all that pretty to look at, quite plain, actually, but they were the hardiest creatures in the region. And the sheep thrived due to the loving care of the shepherd who lived high on the mountain near the village. He was a wise, old, and kind man who cared for the sheep and cared for people.

34:21He was a skilled survivalist who had weathered many harsh winters, and he knew how to help others do the same. Same. One year, as summer turned into fall and fall into winter, the shepherd of the mountain was able to discern that another frigis was coming. The shepherd knew the villagers who stayed that year would not be able to survive without his intervention. Even though his love for the mountain herd was great, his compassion for the villagers was equally as great. To provide adequate covering for the villagers, the mountain shepherd made cloaks out of the skin of the sheep and offered them to every villager.

35:06He went from house to house and person to person, offering to give the cloak to anyone who would receive it. He did not charge for it. His only stipulation was that each person had to discard the coat they currently possessed. He had two very good reasons for such a requirement. First, he knew if they kept their old coats, they would not be wearing the new covering when they desperately needed it. Second, the life of the mountain sheep was far too precious to be cast aside.

35:43There were those who believed the shepherd. They looked upon their own insufficient coat and gladly took it off and with great thankfulness put on the Christmas cloak. Surprisingly, there were many villagers who refused the costume. Gift. Some took offense at the shepherd for suggesting that their own coats were inadequate. There were those who did not like the look of the Christmas coat. It violated their sense of fashion. Others refused it of sentimental attachments to their old coats.

36:19It violated their sense of tradition. Others refused it because they did not believe such a storm that harsh could possibly come. It violated their sense of rationality. Well, whatever the reason for rejecting the words of the shepherd and the cloak he offered, they all had two things in common. They disbelieved the words of the shepherd and believed that their old coat was sufficient for whatever winter may come. Well, you can imagine what happened. The harsh winter came. Those who were willing to exchange their coverings for the Christmas cloak survived the severe winter, and they lived the rest of their lives in thankfulness and admiration for the shepherd and his precious snowsheep.

37:06On the other hand, those who were unwilling to take off their old coat and put on the Christmas cloak perished in the fridges. Well, that's the story. As you can see, just as no villager could survive the frigis without proper covering, so no sinner can survive God's judgment without being clothed in perfect. Righteousness. They were all condemned to die. But just as the mountain shepherd loved the villagers, God loves all of humanity. And John 3:16 tells us that the motivation behind God's efforts to save people was love.

37:47And so, what motivated God to give His Son at Christmastime? Love. Love for fallen people. Because no one, everybody is condemned. And everybody needs His righteousness because nobody can stand the scrutiny of an omniscient and absolutely holy God. What was God's answer to the condemned status of the world? God sent His Son so that the world would be saved through Him. Who is not condemned? Well, those are the ones who are believing in Jesus are no longer condemned with the rest of the world.

38:32So why will people go to hell? Because they love darkness more than light, as their evil deeds prove. There's nothing lacking in God's love, but the unwillingness and the confidence that people have in their own righteousness, in their own coat. But God says you need His righteousness. And the reason why some people and Will not go to heaven is because they think their righteousness is sufficient. But Jesus didn't come into the world to condemn the world. He came into the world to save the world.

39:17Does that answer your question? Yes. Wow. Being born again sounds like it's really, really cool. Rick, what do you think? Right, Jack. Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm glad you came here, Mr. Evangelist, because I thought I was the expert on animals and nature, but I've just been learning so, so much. But I've just got one more question. One more question. Yeah, yeah. So when somebody is born again, what happens to them? I don't see this in nature. I don't know. What happens when someone is born again?

39:55Well, the Bible teaches us that a lot of things happen at the same time when a person is born again. Do you remember Christian? Yes. Christian, yes, this small one from VBS. That's right, that's right. And what happened when he came to the cross? Several things happened, at least three things happening. Several things happened to him the moment he came to the cross. Tell me one of them. Oh, I think I can remember this. He had that thing on his back. Does anyone remember what Christian had on his back?

40:25A burden, burden, that's right. A burden. Yes, and his burden. What happened to it? It fell off. It fell off. He was released of his burden. What else happened? Oh, at the cross there, he received something. He put on something. Does anyone remember what Christian put on? New clothes. New clothes, yes. He was like the cloak. Yes, just like he put on some new righteousness. Righteous. Yes. Yes. There was something else he received there. What else happened?

40:55He got something. He got something written on some paper. What was that called? A scroll. He got a scroll, yes. Several things happened at that moment when Christian came to the cross and realized what his Creator had done for him. Several things happened. So that takes us to another story, the last one. And I think we have enough time to at least read through it quickly. It's called the Christmas Cup. And this story answers the question: what happens when a person is saved? And it's based upon John 4 and the woman at the well. Remember Jesus' conversation with the woman at the well? I'll read you a couple little verses.

41:52In John 4:10, Jesus said to the woman, If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, Give me a drink. You would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. And then he goes on to verse 14 and says, Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst, ever, but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. Let me read to you this story about the cup.

42:24In the middle centuries, in the northern village of the continent, there was a village with a very special district called Christmas Square. Known for its unique buildings and its many specialty shops, people came from all over to enjoy the decorations, the food, the celebrations, music, and to shop for Christmas treasures. It always felt like Christmas in the square, but especially during Christmas time. Everyone always seemed happy in Christmas Square, except for a small few. Among such few was the little candle girl. Separated from her parents at birth, the only home she could remember was the lonely orphanage at the end of an old cobbled street a few blocks away from Christmas Square. Although the people who ran the orphanage were generally good to her, it was a poor and lonely existence. She felt as if no one really cared and that her life really didn't matter. Perhaps that might be some of you. She deeply desired to belong somewhere and often dreamed of being adopted into a loving home. But as the years went by, her hope faded. As with the other orphans, the girl had chores to do, duties to perform, and to do her part to help the home meet its financial obligations. And for her, that meant selling candles in Christmas Square. Year after year, the little candle girl would rise early and eat a meagre breakfast, do her chores, restock her bag with a new supply of candles, and walk to Christmas Square. She would spend her days and evenings in all kinds of weather selling candles to the local merchants and townspeople. She would return late, turn in her earnings, go to bed, only to start the routine over the next morning. There was, however, one bright spot in her life. The last stop on her candlestick route, the shop at Christmas Square, was the most prominent and popular store in the square. It was always filled with all kinds of the choicest merchandise. The owner was a big-hearted man. He was kind, generous, and he exerted a great influence upon the whole region. Christmas Square was a special place because of his wisdom, Benevolent leadership. Well, the shop owner was always loving and kind to the candlegirl. His favor toward her displayed itself in many ways. He frequently bought all of her unsold candles. He routinely set out food and refreshment for her. He provided shelter from inclement weather and always greeted her with his welcoming smile. All of these things and many more he did throughout the year. However, the shop owner did something even more extravagant for the candle girl once a year. Every Christmas Eve, after the candlegirl had completed her route, the shop owner invited her into his shop and let her choose any item she wished as his Christmas gift to her. Well, you can imagine. It was the only gift she received all year. You can imagine the thrill of Christmas Eve for the girl. She looked forward to the day like no other day on the calendar. Throughout the year, she enjoyed looking through the shop window and imagining which items she would choose when the magical moment arrived. Well, one Christmas Eve, something unexpected happened that forever changed the relationship between the shop owner and the candle girl. As in previous years, the girl came to shop with great excitement. She knew exactly which. Gift she was going to choose, for she had set her eye upon the little golden necklace displayed in the window. On this occasion, however, the shop owner did something very different.

46:44As usual, he welcomed her into his shop, but instead of letting her choose a gift, he set before her a nicely wrapped gift and said, This year, instead of giving you a gift of your choosing, I want you to have a gift of my choosing. Well, the girl's heart sank. She was so looking forward to taking home the golden necklace. Upon opening the gift, she found a simple little pewter cup. And although she half-heartedly smiled and politely said, Thank you, she could hardly hide her disappointment. Merry Christmas, said the shop owner. And with that, he left her to take care of other business. Little did the girl know that the cup was the most valuable treasure in all of Christmas Square. As the girl left the shop, her disappointment turned into frustration, her frustration into anger, and she began to feel hostile feelings toward the shop owner that she had never experienced before. She stood outside the window, her eyes shifting glances between the cup in her hand and the Necklace in the window. After a few moments, the girl did something that no one would have ever expected. She shouted, I hate you, and threw the cup at the store window, quickly re-entered the shop, grabbed the necklace, and ran into the night. In her sinful haste, she rejected the cup and despised the cup giver without really considering his gift. And so it was. She repaid all the goodness of the shop owner with an evil deed. Well, fortunately for her, standing by was a policeman who witnessed the whole event. The policeman also pursued her, caught her, and brought her to the station where she would have to stand before the judge and be tried according to the law, which demanded that thieves pay for what they stole or be banished from the continent forever. And even though it was Christmas Eve, justice had to be administered. And so the policeman summoned the judge. The trembling candle girl was led into the courtroom with her head bowed low. As she looked upward to the bench, she realized something. The judge of Christmas Square was the kind shop owner.

49:20A rush of guilt and shame came over her like a flood. Never was she more acutely aware of her poverty and loneliness. Her sin grieved her on many levels. She was ashamed of her selfish actions. The thought of being banished from the continent forever terrified her. But it was the pain of the broken relationship with the kind shop owner that moved her with tears to cry out, I am so sorry for what I have done. I have repaid your abundant kindness with evil. I am so sorry for despising you and the gift you gave me. Well, the judge knew that the girl had no ability to pay what the law demanded. He also knew that the law had to be satisfied because he loved both the law and he loved the girl. So he stood up, stepped down from the bench, pulled out the discarded cup which he had retrieved, and he gave it to her again.

50:26And he said, Receive this cup as my gift to you. It is an everlasting supply of everything you need. At that moment, the girl realized the overwhelming goodness of the shop owner. His willingness to forgive her demonstrated his love. This time the girl gladly received the cup, for she had come to trust the cup giver. She knew in her heart that he was kind and would only give her good things, so she studied the cup carefully. And as she gazed into the cup, she saw many treasures which she had not seen before in her selfish haste. There was a gold coin with the word ransom written on it. It was more than enough to pay the penalty required by the law. There was a golden necklace, far more beautiful than the previous one she had seen in the window. It had a heart of pure gold attached, engraved with the word blessed upon it. She looked in it again, and behold, there was a ring with the word daughter inscribed upon it. It was the signet ring worn only by the shop owner and the members of his family. And so, by receiving the cup, she was adopted into the shop owner's family. And upon being adopted, she was essentially given everything in the store. You see, it was the shop owner's desire all along to give her everything. And now her attitude to everything in the store and to him was very different, having received the cup. She had been shown kindness and now wanted to show kindness to others. She became a conduit of her father's goodness to others. The cup not only satisfied her deepest longings, its abundance caused her to overflow with the cup giver's grace to others.

52:31Truly, the cup was the greatest treasure in all of the world. So, when you receive the cup, Christ, when you receive God's Son, you also receive all that Christ is. And a lot of things happen at the same time. When one receives Christ, there is we can spend a lot of time talking about this. That's why I wrote all this stuff down, and everybody can take a book home with them. And I will hand one out, at least one for every family here. But just several things to comment here. What were some of the treasures inside the cup? Well, there was the coin. It paid the penalty of sin, which removed God's offense against humanity, and it provided for her justification before the law. Then there was the necklace with the heart of pure gold. It represents the new heart, the regenerated heart, the heart that desires and delights in the ways of God. You'll never walk in the ways of God unless he gives you a heart to do so.

53:45And then there was the ring. It symbolizes adoption, along with all the biblical blessings that are described by being in Christ. You see, the whole reason for salvation, the ultimate end of it, is Is adoption. It begins in the mind of God and it ends with us being adopted into His family. That's the story of the Christmas cup. And so, Roger, time's getting away, and I'm not going to ask you for more questions because you might have some. But I want you to leave here, being able to experience the joy of Christmas. Why do we celebrate the incarnation of our Lord? Well, the Christmas cat tells us the story of the miracle of Christmas.

54:38The flower tells us the story or tells us about the glory of Christmas. The cloak tells us about the gift of Christmas. And the cup tells us about the blessing of Christmas. And once you have experienced the miracle, the glory, the gift, and the blessing of Christmas, you can sing for joy and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Can we sing, please? Let's do it. That would be a good thing, because all this takes us to one place, and that is to worship Him.

55:24Sing, O come, O come, all ye faith. Joyful and triumphant. Oh, come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold him, born the king of angels. Oh, come, let us adore him. Oh, come, let us adore him. Oh, come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord, God of God, light of life eternal. Lo he upholds not the virgin's womb. Begotten, not created. Oh, come, let us adore him. Oh, come, let us adore him. Oh, come, let us.

57:00Adore Him Christ the Lord sing choirs of angels sing in exaltation Oh sing all ye citizens of heaven above Glory to God all glory in the highest Oh come let us adore Him Oh come let us adore Him Oh come let us adore Him high the Lord let's stand together and sing the last verse Yay Lord we greet thee born this happy morning Jesus to thee be all glory given Word of the Father now Now, in flesh appearing, oh, come, let us adore him. Oh, come, let us adore him. Oh, come, let us adore him.

58:50Christ, Crocky, thank you so much for your explanations, for the music. This is also wonderful. We've got to get back to Australia and tell our mates this good news. Let's go. Goodbye. We have one thing. One thing? We have a little something for you. We're going to be giving these books, but we have, we know this will be our last time to see you. And so, why don't you stick your hand in this bag? Is there a snake in there?

59:27Just have to find out. Dangerous. Just be careful. It's the hair. Wow. It's beautiful. Thank you so much. Oh, it's the best Christmas ever. Remember the summer you spent with us and the hair? Yes, the hair. Oh, it's the most beautiful hair I've ever seen. Thank you. Thank you. I'll always remember you guys. Thank you so much. Goodbye. Everyone, good boy. So, what we'd like to do is before we release, if you guys would like to send the kids up to grab a book, we're not done just yet, so if y'all want to sit for a minute, you can send up your kiddos and we'll get you all the books. So, I'll help you.

1:00:35We can make sure that everybody. All right. And is anybody, I know there's some, would you guys like to take some home? There's plenty. We can take and pass it around. How about that? To pass it around and make sure you have at least one for family. There's plenty, so go ahead and take one. While they're doing that, I just want to remind you that, yes, I put on a little evangelist outfit, but the reason we wanted to have this night is because, well, I'm your pastor, and one of the things that I want to make sure that everyone who goes through this church for any kind of time understands the gospel.

1:02:02You see, we can easily grow, live in our little church world here, and somehow think that, I know we've got a lot of homeschoolers here, and sometimes we get to thinking that, well, because I'm homeschooled and I'm not in step with the culture, that somehow I can equate that to being saved. But I hope you learned from the cat that just because you go to church doesn't mean your heart's been changed. You really need to be born again. And you're born again as you look to the cross and what God did there. And it's there that you will be transformed. And you never get tired of looking at the cross because that becomes that fountain, that cup of overwhelming favor and grace that you'll keep coming back to throughout your life. You'll keep coming back to that simple truth that God loves me. And he loves me to this degree. And you'll never outgrow that truth.

1:03:06And that will become a well of life. And so I encourage all of you: if you do not know for sure you are a Christian, what do you do? Simply ask Him, as honest as you can be in your heart, say, God, forgive me for my sin. I welcome your Son in. Please come in. And I can tell you for sure that He will not cast you out. In fact, let me read to you. There's a little booklet. Do we have one? Well, we're still waiting for. Here. Let me just read to how I summarize this whole book here once I get my glasses on.

1:04:05I wrote a poem. All of these stories that I read to you are written here. They're actually nearly a whole theological seminary course hammered down here into just and now, dear friend, I want to leave you with these words. I have labored in word and pen to explain. Explain to you the truths herein. Now, nothing remains for you to do but to receive Christ and be made new. No magic formula exists for receiving him. Simply open the door and let him in.

1:04:44Say in your heart, as true as you can be, forgive my sin, Lord Jesus, and abide with me. And rest assured that Christ is not a liar. He truly came to save you from the fire. That he will receive you is beyond all doubt, for it is he who said, The one who comes to me, I will never cast out. Let me pray, and then I'm going to turn it back over to you. Heavenly Father, we just thank you for the evening. We thank you for the truth that we have in your word. And, Father, as we celebrate your incarnation, Father, let these truths sink deep within our hearts so that we would respond in worship to you. In Christ's name, amen.

1:05:29Okay, well, nice to see you, John. Hey, guys. It's been a while. Yeah. Hey, what an evening. Yeah. This was so much fun. Thank you guys so much for coming out and joining us on this Christmas at the Interpreter's House. A lot of people put a lot of great effort into this, and I know it shows the musicians. Pastor Thomas, thank you all so much. So, is that it? I think we have one more major announcement.

1:05:57Oh, yeah, we do. I'm so excited for that. This. Yeah. Yeah. Should we tell them what it is? Yeah. So we have decided to kind of rebrand what we're going to be doing in the summer for many, many years to come. So we're really excited to tell you: drum roll. Should we do that? Drum roll, please. Like drum roll. I'll just let Langston make sure he gets a drum roll. Yeah. Okay, yeah. That works. We are now called Pilgrim Days. So we're not going to call VBS VBS anymore. It's now Pilgrim Days. Yay. You're going to get excited.

1:06:33That's right. So VBS is now Pilgrim Days. Angie, would you mind explaining why we chose to call it Pilgrim Days? Why we rebranded? Yes. Okay. So the heart of what we do in the summers is not to make it just another VBS that kids can sign up and go for. It goes so much deeper than that. We have just such an amazing pastor that is a good shepherd to us. And allowing doing Pilgrim Days helps us to kind of take it wherever we want, basically. So we may have Pilgrim Days that are, I don't know, set in just Celestial City, or we just have a lot more freedom and flexibility to kind of really explore Pilgrim's Progress. And John Bunyan, and I mean, We could spend many, many summers, wouldn't you think?

1:07:34That's right. The main thing for y'all is the dates are up there. They are announced. That is for y'all. Take a picture, put it in your calendars. June 13th through 16th is going to be Pilgrim Days for 2023. And you can invite your friends. Say, hey, come to Pilgrim Days. We would love to have them as well. So we can't do that. Yeah. We're going to be kicking off here in January. We're already going to start inviting our team leaders in. So be thinking about it, praying about it. We'd love to have you join our team to do Pilgrim Days with us in the summer. So announcements for fellowship. There's lots of cookies over there. There's lots of hot chocolate. And you might have noticed something outside.

1:08:15A big, tall, giant. It is not the Hill of Difficulty, although. Not the Hill of Difficulty. It is the Hill of Fun, awesomeness. So, yeah, a text. Yes, this is affectionately called the Texas Sled Hill, and it is fun and it is awesome. So when we dismiss, feel free to enjoy yourselves, go down the sledding hill. If I can just say a couple of things for the inflatable: one, please take your shoes off if you're going on inflatable. Second is, please only one person down the slide at a time. There's two slides on either side. And you can go down both sides, like one person, one person, but don't double up and go down together. Those are some announcements from the inflatable people. We want to respect their stuff.

1:08:58And again, please feel free to take a look at the tip. Take another book if you know someone at home or a family member that would enjoy reading it. So, thank you all for coming so much. This was really fun. Merry Christmas.