Sermon OTM (Mt. 5:13-16)

Back in the days, when I was the pastor of a sizeable church,We would celebrate Christmas with big productions. One year, when the stage was crowded with props and children, the music still ringing in our ears, I went to the microphone with my Bible in hand. As I began to speak, a girl six or seven years old, who had been sitting on a step right in front of me, stood up. She turned around, and with hands on her hips looked up at me and said, “Boring!”- Christmas is a challenge – we run through the same story every year• but here's a twist:◦ we’ve heard (plenty of times ) that Jesus is God’s Christmas gift to world◦ but coming to Christmas through the Sermon, we hear something new• Jesus announces that he is not God’s only Christmas gift◦ we are also God’s gift to the world–we’re not the big one;◦ we're more like stocking stuffers – but still, we’re salt and light