“Giving Up on Perfect”
Rev. Brandon Blacksten
John 1:1-5, 14

Last Week: At Christmas, our hope is in

.

No matter how hard we try, things never seem to align

.

When we set our hearts on perfection, we are bound to be

.

When we

on perfect, we can invite Jesus to meet us right where we are.

The First Christmas

Our depictions of the first Christmas are often

.

Giving birth in the first century was a

experience. (Luke 2:7)

Mary was away from her

, giving birth in a stable.

Jesus was a human baby. Babies

.

The first Christmas was far from

, yet that was the way God chose to come into the world.

Into Our Darkness

Jesus didn’t come into an idealized world, but into the

of our lives. (John 1:14)

He knows our

. Because he lived them.

Jesus was a

in Egypt, fleeing a murderous tyrant.

You don’t have to put on a show of having everything

. Because that’s not the world Jesus was born into. (Isaiah 9:2)

Jesus meets us and heals us in our darkness, our sin, and our

. (John 1:5)

When we open our messy, imperfect lives to him, he

his light into them.

Action Steps

1. Reveal Answer
   that your Christmas will be imperfect.

“Perfectionism is a self-destructive and addictive belief system that fuels this primary thought: If I look perfect and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize the painful feelings of shame, judgment, and blame.” – Brené Brown.

1. Acknowledge

   Reveal Answer
   and grieve them.

2. Look for Jesus’

   Reveal Answer
   shining in the darkness.

3. Reveal Answer
   to the Christmas Eve offering to be part of Jesus healing our broken world.