SERMON NOTES

White Christmas?!?!?

All I want for Christmas

White Christmas

Psalm 37:1-6

1. Intro

   1. All I Want for Christmas series:

      1. Ask God

      2. Choose Joy: Grief is not an enemy of Joy, but of happiness. Choose Joy!

      3. Today: White Christmas

   2. The idealistic view of a Christmas morning, is a fresh blanket of snow covering everything

      1. Not realistic in certain parts of the country

      2. I have experienced winter precipitation on our near Christmas only twice.

      3. But that doesn’t keep me from wishing!

   3. There is the battle between the “Ideal” and the “Real”

   4. Today I use the word “Dream” to inspire much of my thoughts,

      1. This usage is based upon positive things I HOPE in.

      2. But there are lots of dream types I will avoid today: scary dreams, weird dreams

      3. To “dream of a white Christmas” is to dream of the perfect, idealistic scenario…but that wouldn’t be perfect for everyone.

      4. So the word DREAM eventually led me to the word DELIGHT, and to the WORD OF GOD. 

2. Text

   1. Verses 1-2: Trust God, He will handle your challenges

   2. Verse 3: 

      1. Trust in the Lord and do GOOD

      2. Dwell in the land

      3. Befriend faithfulness

   3. Verse 4: Delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desire of your heart

      1. To delight in something is to really really enjoy it

      2. Many times what we DELIGHT in and what we DREAM about are similar things

      3. Let the LORD guide your HEART, and your heart will change to match HIS

      4. He is in the process of shaping us into HIS image

   4. Verse 5: Commit your way to the LORD

   5. Verse 6: He will bring forth your righteousness

3. Points

   1. I’m dreaming of a…

      1. Lets begin this application section by talking about your LOVE LIFE

         1. What you LOVE will become your FOCUS, and can take your eyes off Jesus.

         2. What you love appropriately will become your DELIGHT, and will be matched by God’s will.

         3. Your heart desires things, and the closer your are to God, the more you delight in HIS WORK

         4. Elizabeth Elliot: “If God doesn’t want me to have it, then I don’t want it!”

      2. Dreams come true: Something so amazing, it became true, how amazing!

      3. To dream of a white Christmas is to dream about something that sounds like the ideal situation, dream of the best

      4. What are your dreams for your family?

      5. What are your dreams for your church?

      6. Why do we need to dream?

         1. Wishing for the ideal grows our expectation

         2. Wishing for the ideal increases our vision

      7. God will use your dreams to increase your Faith

   2. In Your Dreams!

      1. Don’t focus on the impossible, but on Christ

      2. There will be plenty of negativity out there, but it does not have to dampen your dreams

      3. Young man in a class that said his dream car was a 2016 Honda Civic…

         1. If he had said a Lamborghini, I might have responded…in your dreams

         2. But he wanted a Honda Civic…great car, but is it a dream car?

         3. Apparently!

      4. There will always be folks out there to rain on your parade, but keep dreaming

   3. Dream Big 

      1. Don’t settle for someone else’s dream

      2. What is God placing in your heart?

      3. Acts 2:17: And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;

         1. In the last days…thats where we have been since the ascension of Christ

         2. Spirit has been poured

         3. Prophesy…Speak the truth about God, from God

         4. Visions…young folks will have a big vision!

         5. Older folks…dream big dreams 

      4. Dream BIG Dreams and develop GREAT VISION regarding your ministry

      5. Dream BIG Dreams and develop GREAT VISION regarding your LIFE

      6. Dream BIG Dreams and develop GREAT VISION regarding your family

      7. And then, put yourself in a position to be BLESSED by God

         1. Surrender

         2. Self sacrifice

         3. Prayer

4. Close

Psalm 37

1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!

2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[b]

4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.