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Ugly Sweater | Week 3 · Rewind

Rock Point Church

70 min

Pastor Bill Bush · Dec 17, 2018 · 4 min read · 70 min listen

The big idea

Christmas—and the whole gospel—is for us, but it is not about us; it's about joining Jesus' mission.

In this message

The big idea
Point 1 of 7Christmas is for us, but it's not about us.
Point 2 of 7God's love is for us but not about us — it flows from who God is, not from our merit.

Point 3 of 7John the Baptist's disciples got upset that people were leaving them to follow Jesus, revealing how easily ministry turns from serving to competing.
Point 4 of 7John's answer gives three truths: God is in control, I am not God, and I must get out of the way.
Point 5 of 7Serving the mission produces joy, not burden, because it means introducing the bride to the Bridegroom.
Point 6 of 7Eternal life begins where I stop and Jesus starts.
Point 7 of 7Even John the Baptist doubted, but Jesus' answer shows the mission holds even in the dark places.
Take it into your week
Transcript

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Scripture in this message

John 1
John 2
John 3
John 3:22
John 3:23
John 3:26

Rewind AI drafted the Big Idea and some point headings shown here from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Pastor Bill Bush · Dec 17, 2018 · 70 min watch · 2 min read

Ugly Sweater | Week 3

In this message

Big Idea
Key points
Application

Scripture in this message

John 1
John 2
John 3
John 3:22
John 3:23
John 3:26

Big Idea Key points Application

Big Idea

Christmas—and the whole gospel—is for us, but it is not about us; it's about joining Jesus' mission.

Christmas and the good news of Jesus really are gifts for us, but the moment we make them about us we miss the point and end up frustrated, treating Jesus like Santa Claus. The joy God intends comes when we accept that He is in control, we are not God, and we get out of the way so He becomes greater in our lives.

Key points

1
1Christmas is for us, but it's not about us.
Pastor Bill tells the story of a friend, JP, who as a teenager expected a car for Christmas but instead found a riding lawn mower in the garage — a huge letdown until he realized it freed up hours he used to spend push-mowing, which he then turned into a lucrative lawn business that eventually bought him a car. He uses this to show that God's gifts are for us, but meant to serve His mission, not our own agenda.
2
2God's love is for us but not about us — it flows from who God is, not from our merit.
He explains that if God's love depended on our being lovable, that would be unbearable pressure since God is perfect and we are not. Instead, God loves because God loves and does not change, which means we can relax instead of performing for Him.
3
3John the Baptist's disciples got upset that people were leaving them to follow Jesus, revealing how easily ministry turns from serving to competing.
Working through John 3:22-26, Pastor Bill shows how a dispute over ceremonial cleansing exposed jealousy among John's followers when Jesus' disciples started baptizing more people than they were. He applies this to how churches and individuals can shift from pointing people to Jesus to protecting their own turf.
4
4John's answer gives three truths: God is in control, I am not God, and I must get out of the way.
From John 3:27-30, Pastor Bill unpacks John's reply to his anxious disciples — that no one receives anything unless God gives it, that John is not the Messiah, and that Jesus must become greater while John becomes less. He connects the loss of control we feel to worry, fear, and depression, especially heightened at Christmas.
5
5Serving the mission produces joy, not burden, because it means introducing the bride to the Bridegroom.
He walks through John 3:29, explaining the Jewish best-man custom of bringing the bride to the groom and standing guard, and applies it directly: John found joy standing beside Jesus as He receives the people who become His bride, the church. Pastor Bill ties this to Rock Point's own groundbreaking and the call to sacrifice seats and space so others can meet Jesus.
6
6Eternal life begins where I stop and Jesus starts.
Referencing John 3:36, he warns that refusing to obey the Son leaves a person with only themselves, which is not enough and which ends. He frames the whole passage as showing that embracing Jesus' love, not just information about Jesus, is what produces real transformation.
7
7Even John the Baptist doubted, but Jesus' answer shows the mission holds even in the dark places.
Turning to Luke 7, Pastor Bill tells how an imprisoned, isolated John sent disciples to ask Jesus if He was really the Messiah, and Jesus answered by pointing to healings fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy rather than a comforting promise of rescue. He notes Jesus then said even the least in the kingdom is greater than John, because believers now have the Holy Spirit's power that John did not.

Application

Pastor Bill's charge is to put the ugly sweater on and start mowing — surrendering control instead of competing with Jesus for it.

Stop making it about you
Notice where you've turned church, giving, or serving into something about your own comfort or preferences, and hand that control back to God this week.
Find joy in serving, not burden
Approach giving, serving, and inviting friends as introducing people to Jesus rather than as an obligation you resent.
Get uncomfortable for the mission
Consider moving to a different service time or giving up your preferred seat so newcomers have room, since the mission matters more than personal convenience.
Bring your doubts to Jesus
Like John the Baptist did from prison, take your questions and fears straight to Jesus instead of drawing conclusions alone in isolation.
Choose daily to get out of the way
Recommit often, even every ten minutes if needed, to let Jesus become greater and yourself become less rather than treating surrender as a one-time decision.

Take it into your week

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“we started the first week with this concept out of John one that Christmas is a mission, it's not a moment”
From the transcript
“pastor Daniel spoke on in John chapter two about how Christmas is a is a mission, not a moment, and that mission is to be the light of the world”
From the transcript
“if we do not embrace what we're gonna talk about today out of John chapter three, you will be a frustrated follower of Jesus your whole life”
From the transcript
“You get in verse 22. It says, then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and they went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with their baptizing people”
From the transcript
“verse 23 says, at this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there, and people kept coming to him for baptism”
From the transcript
“so John's disciples came to him and said, Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, I get I love this. The one you identified as the Messiah”
From the transcript
“Verse 27, John replied, no one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven”
From the transcript
“verse 30 says, he must become greater and greater and I must become less and less”
From the transcript
“Look what it says in verse 29. He goes, first he had just said, I'm not the Messiah. I'm just here to prepare the way for him. And then he says, it is the bridegroom who marries the bride”
From the transcript
“at the end, in verse 36, it says, and anyone who believes in God's Son, here's the for us, has eternal life. Anyone who doesn't obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God's angry judgment”
From the transcript
“it says in chapter seven, real quick, he says he sent a couple of his disciples to find Jesus”
From the transcript
“John's two disciples in verse 20 found Jesus and said to him, John the Baptist sent us to ask, are you the Messiah we've been expecting or should we keep looking for someone else”
From the transcript
“Verse 28, I tell you here he just doubted. He just had to answer this guy's doubts. And yet Jesus' grace and love, he says, I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John”

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

Sign in to track your progress through this devotional.

Day 1

John the Baptist was at the height of his influence — crowds were coming, people were listening, and his movement was alive. Then Jesus arrived, and the crowds began shifting. His disciples came to him with what sounds like a warning: 'Rabbi, the one you were talking about is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.' It's the kind of moment that can quietly unhinge a person. And John's response is remarkable for what it doesn't include — there is no defensiveness, no spin, no subtle self-promotion. He simply says, 'No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.' That's not resignation. That's freedom. Pastor Bill named this as the first liberating truth: God is in control. Every good thing — your gifts, your opportunities, your relationships, even your faith — came to you. You didn't manufacture it. When we forget that, we start managing instead of trusting, and the result is the exhaustion and anxiety Bill described. Today is a good day to trace something good in your life back to its real source. Not your effort, not your timing — but a gift, given from above. That reorientation doesn't shrink your life. It actually makes it steadier.

For reflection

What is one good thing in your life right now that you have been treating as something you earned, when it is actually something you received?

Pray

Pray for the ability to hold your gifts with open hands, acknowledging where they truly come from.

Day 2

There's a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from running a life you were never designed to run. Pastor Bill described it as 'cafeteria-style faith' — picking the parts of following Jesus that feel manageable and quietly setting yourself up as the final authority on the rest. John the Baptist knew this temptation existed and named it plainly: 'I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for Him.' That clarity sounds simple, but it's actually one of the hardest things a person can say out loud — because it means releasing the seat at the head of the table. The sermon's second liberating truth is this: you are not God. That's not an insult; it's a relief. When you stop auditioning for a role you were never meant to fill, you can finally rest in the one you were. You were made to point, to prepare, to love, to serve — and those things are genuinely meaningful. But they only feel that way when Jesus is the center and you are not. Today, notice the places where you have been quietly taking charge — of your relationships, your plans, your spiritual life — and consider what it would look like to step back and let Him lead.

For reflection

Where in your life have you been trying to play a role that belongs to Jesus — and what has that cost you?

Pray

Pray for honest self-awareness about the areas where you have been acting as your own authority.

Day 3

'He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.' Six words in each direction — and together they form what Pastor Bill called one of the most liberating sentences in Scripture. But let's be honest: it doesn't always feel liberating at first. Decreasing runs against the grain of nearly everything in us. We are wired to protect our reputation, defend our place, and make sure people know what we contribute. So when Bill says this is a daily choice, he means it — because the pull in the other direction doesn't go away. What makes the choice bearable, and eventually joyful, is understanding what you are decreasing toward. You are not shrinking into nothing. You are making room — room for the One who is actually sufficient, actually in control, actually worth centering a life around. The image Bill used at the end of the sermon is worth sitting with: stop wanting the car and learn to want the lawn mower. The mission God built you for isn't a consolation prize. It's the only investment that outlasts everything else. Decreasing is how you get on it. Today, ask yourself what — or who — is occupying the center of your attention and energy, and whether you are ready to make a small, deliberate move toward less.

For reflection

What would it look like in a very practical way — in your schedule, your conversations, or your decisions today — to choose less for yourself so Jesus has more room?

Pray

Pray for a willing heart that chooses decrease not out of duty but out of genuine trust in Jesus.

Day 4

Pastor Bill made a point here that deserves its own day: John the Baptist was joyful. Not resigned, not quietly bitter, not performing contentment for the crowd. He described himself as a friend of the bridegroom — someone standing close enough to witness the moment everything comes together, and that was enough. Bill used this to push back on the idea that a life of serving Jesus is a diminished life. The joy John describes is real and full, and it comes precisely because he is not trying to be the groom. He knows his role. He loves his role. He is complete in it. That kind of joy is available to anyone who stops competing with Jesus for the center of the story. It shows up in serving — when you help someone and aren't tracking whether you got credit. It shows up in generosity — when you give and the giving itself feels like the point. It shows up when you introduce someone to Jesus and you get to watch something happen in them that you could never have manufactured. This is the joy Bill was describing. It is not the joy of getting what you wanted. It is the deeper joy of being in the right place, doing the right thing, for the right Person.

For reflection

Think of a moment when you served or gave without needing recognition — what did that feel like, and what does it tell you about where real joy comes from?

Pray

Pray for the kind of joy that comes from being near Jesus and pointing others toward Him — not the kind that depends on being noticed.

Day 5

This verse stops a lot of people cold, and it should. John the Baptist — the one who leapt in the womb at the sound of Mary's voice, the one who saw the Spirit descend like a dove, the one who said 'Behold, the Lamb of God' — is now sitting in a prison cell sending a question to Jesus: 'Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?' Pastor Bill used this moment to say something honest and important: even John doubted, and he doubted in isolation. Imprisonment is its own kind of aloneness. And the sermon's observation is worth holding: lies grow loudest when we're alone. Doubt is not a character flaw. It is a human reality, and Scripture doesn't hide it. What matters is what you do with it. John sent his question to Jesus — he didn't stuff it down or walk away from faith entirely. He brought his doubt to the source. And if you are in a season where the questions feel heavier than the answers, that is exactly the right move. Bring it to Jesus. And bring it into community, because you were not meant to fight that battle alone. If you have drifted from people who know you, that's worth paying attention to today.

For reflection

Is there a doubt or fear you have been carrying alone — and who is one person you could bring it to this week?

Pray

Pray for the courage to bring your honest questions to Jesus and to let safe people into the places where you have been struggling alone.

Day 6

Pastor Bill came back to this verse near the close of the sermon, and it lands with real weight. 'Anyone who believes in God's Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn't obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God's angry judgment.' The word 'remains' is the thing to notice — it suggests a person is not so much being sent somewhere new as they are staying exactly where they already are. Bill's framing was direct: refusing to embrace Jesus doesn't leave a person in neutral territory. It leaves them with only themselves, and he said plainly, that is never enough. Not because people aren't valuable — Scripture insists they are — but because we were made for something more than self-sufficiency. Eternal life, in John's gospel, isn't just a future destination; it's a present reality that begins where self-centeredness ends and Jesus starts. This verse is an invitation as much as it is a warning. The good news is that the door is open. The same Jesus that John the Baptist pointed to in the Jordan River is the One being pointed to right now. And the life He offers — the one that begins when He becomes greater — is available today.

For reflection

In your honest assessment, does your faith feel like it is moving toward Jesus — or has it quietly plateaued around your own comfort and preferences?

Pray

Pray for a fresh surrender to Jesus — not as a transaction but as a genuine turning of your heart toward the life He actually offers.

Day 7

Coming back to the whole passage after a week of sitting inside it, something emerges that is easy to miss at the surface: John the Baptist's contentment was not passive. He was active, he was present, he was invested — he was just invested in the right thing. Bill closed the sermon with a practical image: stop wanting the car and learn to want the lawn mower. Hop on. Start mowing. The mission God built you for isn't glamorous by the world's measure, but it is the only investment that lasts into eternity. Your time, your talent, your treasure, your testimony — all of it has the potential to point people toward Jesus. That is the whole point. Not because you are unimportant, but because the most important thing you can do with your one life is make Jesus known. This week, you have sat with three liberating truths: God is in control, you are not God, and you can choose daily to decrease so Jesus increases. None of those truths are burdens to carry. They are weights to set down. The joy John the Baptist described in verse 29 — that full, settled, unshakeable joy — is available to anyone who stops trying to be the groom and learns to love being the friend who gets to watch. That life is worth choosing again today.

For reflection

Looking back over this week, which of the three truths — God is in control, you are not God, or choose to decrease — do you most need to keep returning to, and why?

Pray

Pray for the grace to live this week with open hands, a willing heart, and a life pointed toward Jesus — and ask Him to show you one specific way to do that today.

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

John the Baptist was at the height of his influence — crowds were following him, his reputation was growing — and then Jesus showed up and the crowds started leaving. What John did next is the heart of this message.

Discussion questions

1
In John 3:27, John the Baptist says, 'A person can receive only what God gives them from heaven.' What do you think he means by that, and why does Pastor Bill see it as the foundation for everything else John says in this passage?
2
John 3:28 has John saying plainly, 'I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.' Pastor Bill connects the frustration many people feel in their faith to quietly forgetting that same distinction. What do you think that kind of drift looks like in everyday life?
3
In John 3:29, John describes himself as the friend of the groom — someone whose joy is complete simply because the groom has arrived. What does that image say about where genuine joy actually comes from, according to this passage?
4
Pastor Bill points out that even John the Baptist — someone Jesus called the greatest born of a woman — doubted and sent messengers asking, 'Are you really the one?' when he was alone in prison (Luke 7:20). What does that tell us about why community matters for people trying to stay anchored to what they believe?
5
Pastor Bill challenged us with the image of the lawn mower: stop wanting the flashy car, learn to want the tool you were actually built for, and get to work on the mission that lasts into eternity. What would it look like, practically, for a group of people to adopt that kind of posture together?
6
John 3:30 — 'He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less' — is one of the most quoted lines in this passage. Why do you think Pastor Bill frames that as a daily choice rather than a one-time decision, and how might treating it that way change how we approach an ordinary week?

Pray together

Ask God to show us where we've made faith about ourselves, and for the courage and joy to get out of the way so Jesus becomes greater

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Ugly Sweater

Week 3 · 3 messages

Where these passages are preached

John 1 John 2 John 3 Luke 7

Explore related topics

Community and Faith God's Control Jesus Greater, Self Less Purpose Beyond Self Surrender and Trust

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