Christmas is not about mincemeat pies and roast turkey. It is not about sleigh bells and Santa Claus. It is possible to have a perfectly happy Christmas without any of these.

Christmas is not even about shepherds and wise men, a guiding star and a manger. These lovely ingredients in the biblical account of the first Christmas are but the wrapping paper in which God sent His amazing gift. Most people would surely agree that it would be silly to make more fuss over wrapping paper than it would over a valuable gift.

Christmas is about God's gift. It is about Jesus. Without Jesus Christ it is possible to have a mid-winter excess of eating and drinking, but you cannot have CHRISTmas.

God's amazing gift to us was not a politician - the world has plenty of these, some good, some bad and most indifferent. Neither did God send into the world an educationalist or philosopher to help us think clearly. We also have plenty of these. God sent a Saviour because men and women desperately needed one, and there was no saviour in the world.

The fact that God sent a Saviour is spelled out clearly in the song of the angels on the first Christmas day:

Today in the town of David

a Saviour has been born to you;

He is Christ the Lord.

This fact tells us three things:

We all give gifts to loved ones at Christmas, and most of us have the usual trouble in buying them. What shall I give him? What does he need? Will he like it? He's got one of those! That would be nice, but it is too expensive!

God had no trouble like that when He gave us His Christmas gift. He knew exactly what we needed, what we did not have and what we could never have unless He gave it to us. It was very expensive but He was willing to pay the cost.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

God gave us a Saviour because we are all sinners, and we need saving from the guilt and consequence of our sin, which is death and hell.

Contrary to popular belief, we cannot deal with our own sin. We can do nothing to make ourselves acceptable to the Holy God. Morally it is possible to turn over a new leaf and change our behavior, but spiritually that is not possible because God says that all men and women are spiritually dead. So if we are to be saved it must be done for us because we cannot do it ourselves. That is why God sent Jesus to be our Saviour.

Jesus is the only Saviour because He is God's one and only answer to our sin. There is no one else that God sent to be a Saviour and there is no one else who could save us. Jesus is God's unique gift because of who He is. He is the Son of God. He is Emmanuel, which means God with us. He is God become man. Jesus is God's unique gift because of what He did. He took the responsibility of our sin and guilt. He bore the punishment those sins deserved, and on the cross He faced the judgment of God instead of us. He was the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world.

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The sad and tragic thing is that even though we all need the Gift and even though God freely gives the Gift, most people will not receive it. In fact, they firmly reject it. They don't mind the wrappings of the Christmas story, but they don't want the Saviour. But the wrappings don't meet our need. They cannot deal with our sin.

Christmas is:

Have we received God's amazing gift of Jesus to be our Saviour?

How can you receive the Gift?

l See that you desperately need a Saviour because your sin is real and, unless it is dealt with, that sin will take you to hell.

l Believe that Jesus alone can save you.

l Receive the Gift by repenting of your sin, confessing it to God and trusting in Jesus alone for forgiveness and pardon.

The wrappings of Christmas are lovely, but the Gift is even lovelier. It is a Gift that never needs replacing, never wears out and never becomes out-dated. It is a most precious Gift that cost God an enormous price. The Gift is Jesus. You need Jesus to deal with your sin and to make you acceptable to God.