Christmas in July
Operation Christmas Child
Matthew 2:1-7 1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.
They saw the star because they were diligently looking for it. I don’t think it was a big bright shiny star up in the sky for everybody, or a lot of people would have gone there. Even King Herod would have sent his people there to kill Jesus.
I recently saw a thing about an ancient script in China that said the astronomers saw a star different than they had ever seen before, and they went in search of it to the Middle East to Bethlehem, and they came through Jerusalem. This is outside the word of God; it’s recorded in Chinese records. In the time frame, according to their writing was around the time Jesus was born.
Matthew 2:8-12 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” 9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. (Not what you see in the nativity scene; He’s not a baby; He is a little child) 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. (Watch how they showed their worship by giving) And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
What we’re asking you to do tonight is exactly what they did: bring some gifts. Make a sacrifice. Dig deep and help out, but look at the gifts that they brought.
Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh. That’s cool; bring gold, we’ll take it
These three gifts were given to a child.
Yet each one pointed to His future.
👑 Gold revealed a King.
🔥 Frankincense revealed a Priest.
⚰️ Myrrh revealed a Sacrifice.
His mission was being revealed.
The wise men Magi brought gifts.
God revealed His Son.
Why did the wise men Magi bring Jesus these three gifts?
Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.
Because they revealed who He is!
Gold, a gift fit for royalty; gold points to Jesus as King
Frankincense used in worship and priestly Service
Frankincense points to Jesus as a High Priest.
Myrrh use this perfume, medicine, and burial spice
Points to Jesus, suffering, death, and sacrifice.
Before Jesus preached a sermon,
Before he healed the sick or performed a single miracle,
Before he went to the cross,
These guests declared Jesus as the King who reigns, the Priest who intercedes, and the Lamb who saves.
It’s about bringing gifts; it’s about making a sacrifice; it’s about giving. That’s what we are asking y’all to do tonight, for us to do tonight: dig deep and help this ministry.
And great will be your reward!
It’s not about who gets the credit as long as God gets the Glory.
Dr. Charles Stanley says give:
“Remember this, the Bible says: We seem to forget this. Jesus says give, and it should be given to you! What if I bend over and pick up something so you don’t have to? I’ve given my energy. If I show you how to do something that I think is gonna help you save your job, I’ve given my understanding and my knowledge. If I see someone who falls and I pick them up, I’ve given them my love and my help, my energy, whatever skill I have to help them. That was one of the thousands of ways to serve God; what he’s looking for are servant people who are willing to see themselves and have a mentality not to say I follow some schedule event and I only do what the schedule says, but I’m looking for ways to pour out my life to someone else who desperately needs the Lord Jesus Christ.”
I’ve seen how on Thursdays here in this church, when the people are down here working and putting together the stuff to get ready to put in these boxes, they’re giving of their time. We’re asking you to help out by giving of money and resources to help send these boxes
The Bible says over 170 times to Receive, but it says over 860 times to Give.
That’s 5 times more.
Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
If you give a certain amount of money, that amount and more will be coming back to you? No!
You give to help the expenses of this Ministry. Look at the return – The Gospel is sent. And the Word of God is shared throughout the world.
As John F Kennedy said, “ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.” Why don’t we turn it around and say the same thing here?
Don’t ask what the church can do for you, but what can you do for the Church
God supplied the need for the resources to make up to 400 boxes.
Now He’s going to supply the money to send those boxes, and how’s he going to do that?
It’s not going to rain down like manna from heaven. It’s going to come out of your pockets, and it’s gonna come out of my pockets.
Well, I don’t have it to give, give it anyway, because I promise you, you will not, at any time ever, outgive God!
As a return, souls will be saved, lives will be changed, and great is your reward.
You’ll have a part of that.
You may not know about it until you get to the other side, until we get into glory. But when we get there, you may have Somebody come up and say Hey when I was a little kid, I got this box of stuff from a little Church in Powder Springs, GA and they may just well come up to you and say, “thank you,” and “Without you I never would have known the love of Jesus.” So, it’s up to you. And it’s not about the amount; it’s about what God can do with what you have. Give what you can, even if it hurts.
When we were building this Church, there wasn’t a whole lot of money here, but God used what little we had, and when we moved in here, they burned the note on the property, and we paid for this place as we went, and God got the glory.
Luke 21:1-4 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So, He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
That’s what I’m saying: you may have to sacrifice to give, but I’m asking you to do that very thing because these kids are worth it and their soul is worth it!
Understand this: if you give to get, you got.
But if you give because of Love you get. Get it?
Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Remember “You can’t take it with you when you go, but you can send it on ahead.”
“You can give without love, but you can’t “Love,” without giving.”
John 3:16-18 (NKJV) 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
He Gave, and you Got. Ponder on the cost of that Gift.
John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
A young boy, on an errand for his mother, had just bought a dozen eggs. With the last bit of money they had. Walking out of the store, he tripped and dropped the sack. All the eggs broke, and the sidewalk was a mess. The boy tried not to cry. A few people gathered to see if he was OK and to tell him how sorry they were. In the midst of the words of pity, one man handed the boy a quarter. Then he turned to the group and said, “I care 25 cents’ worth. How much do the rest of you care?”
Do you care enough to miss a cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks that’s way overpriced anyway? Come by the house; I’ll make you a cup of coffee, and it won’t cost you 6 bucks; put the six bucks in the bucket.
James points out that words don’t mean much if we can do more.
James 2:15-17 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
This ministry definitely needs your prayers, but it also needs your help financially. We enjoyed the meal tonight. You enjoyed the singing. I hope you got something out of this, but I hope more than that, that you put something into this ministry. And if you understand, please still do pray, and when you can, send a few dollars to us. Love you all. Thank you
PRAY
Calvary Baptist Church July 26, 2026 PM Operation Christmas Child Fundraiser.
If you want to contribute to the Operation Christmas Child fundraiser, send payments to:
Calvary Baptist Church
3988 Powder Springs Rd
Powder Springs, GA 30127
Please note on the check that proceeds go to Operation Christmas Child.
