What will you give?
Jonatán Toledo(Audio: Spanish)
SUMMARY:
The speaker reflects on the meaning of gifts at Christmas and the story of the Three Wise Men giving gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus. They explore the symbolism behind each gift and how it relates to Jesus' life, death, and divinity. The speaker then shifts to the idea of service and how Jesus' incarnation as a servant is a model for us to follow. They define the terms serving and servant and emphasize the voluntary nature of serving. The speaker concludes that the best gift we can give to Jesus is our service and sacrifice, just as he gave himself as a sacrifice for us.
The speaker reflects on the concept of being a servant, inspired by the example set by Jesus in washing the disciples' feet. They note that Jesus voluntarily took on the attributes of a servant, even going so far as to be born in a manger and enduring a life of service. The speaker also discusses the idea of surrendering one's rights in service to others, and contrasts the concept of conditional service with service out of love. They conclude by asking what price they are willing to pay in service to God.
The speaker discusses the importance of serving others out of love, as Jesus did. They reference 1 Corinthians 13, which describes love as patient, kind, and selfless, and urge listeners to substitute the word "service" for "love" in the passage. The speaker emphasizes the need for sacrificial service, humility, and preparation, and encourages listeners to find a community to serve with. They also acknowledge the importance of financial support for the church, but emphasize the value of offering time and talent as well. The speaker thanks those who already serve and encourages others to identify an area to serve in. They conclude by stating that serving God is serving others, and that the church should continue to be a serving community.
The speaker is discussing the different areas where people can serve in the church, such as cleaning, decorations, and working with children. They emphasize the importance of serving like Jesus did, and how even our small sacrifices are valued by God. The speaker invites the audience to listen to a song and reflect on their commitment to serving God.I want to share with you a word that has been on my heart for a while now. How many of you like gifts? Let me see, everyone likes presents. And we like gifts when they are gifts that are useful to us, because if they give you something that is useless, then there is no joke.
I want to talk about gifts because Christmas time generally people think it's a time for gifts. Everyone first thinks, what am I going to buy? And thinking about this, about the gifts and all that, I started to think, I said, at Christmas there are always gifts for everyone and one always goes to the stores and buys gifts for dad, mom, siblings, cousins, children I know people who buy gifts for dogs and cats too. Do you know people like that? Yeah? They are part of the family so you have to buy a gift for everyone.