We Need a Little Christmas | Week 4 | Pat McCalla

The big idea

The birth of Jesus and the death of Jesus are intrinsically linked—you cannot understand the depth of Christmas until you understand why Jesus had to die.

We were born crying out "that's not fair," but the good news of Christmas is that God did not give us what was fair—He gave us grace. Because God is just, He could not simply overlook our sin, so He sent Jesus to become the once-for-all sacrifice, ransom, revelation, victory, and reconciliation we needed.

Point 1 of 7

Pastor Pat opens with the image of a crown of thorns next to a Christmas scene, explaining that though it seems to mix holidays, the birth of Jesus only makes sense in light of why He had to die. He uses an imaginative time-machine journey to Nazareth and Bethlehem to walk through the nativity story before turning to the deeper question of why the baby in the manger had to die.

Point 2 of 7

He walks through and dismisses three false explanations: that Jesus died by accident, that He died merely as a martyr, and that He died to appease an angry God. He points to Jesus' repeated predictions of His own death and Acts 2's language of God's foreknowledge and plan, and offers the line that Jesus does not save us from God but reveals God as Savior.

Point 3 of 7

Working through Romans 3, Pastor Pat shows that Paul first proves we are sinners, not mere mistakers, and that a just God cannot ignore sin. He unpacks Romans 3:25's word 'the sacrifice' (propitiation, a covering), connecting it to the Old Testament mercy seat and Day of Atonement, where the covering for sin had to be renewed every year—but Jesus' sacrifice covers sin permanently.

Point 4 of 7

He explains that we were hostages to sin, death, and hell, and that Jesus' death bought us back, citing Mark 10:45 and John 8's promise that those the Son sets free are free indeed.

Point 5 of 7

Using Romans 5:8, he shows that the cross reveals God's love, mercy, and grace by demonstrating that Christ died for us while we were still sinners and enemies of God.

Point 6 of 7

Drawing on Colossians 2:15, Pastor Pat reminds the church that they have a real enemy bent on stealing, killing, and destroying, and that the cross publicly disarmed and shamed spiritual rulers and authorities, giving believers victory over hell, death, and addiction.

Point 7 of 7

He traces the Bible's story from humanity being made in God's image for relationship, to that relationship being broken, to 2 Corinthians 5:18's declaration that God took the initiative through Christ to reconcile us back to Himself.

Take it into your week

Pastor Pat's charge is to let the cross change how you see Christmas, not just how you feel gratitude at Easter.