SERMON NOTES

Christmas has come and gone. The wrapping paper is in the bin, the leftovers are in the fridge, and the reality of the season begins to settle in. The decorations may still be up, but the adrenaline has faded. The carols have quietened, and the questions often become louder. This is the Sunday after Christmas.

Christmas is beautiful—but it is also revealing. It reveals what we expected, what we hoped for, what did not happen, and what we are still carrying into the new year. While Christmas Day celebrates the birth of Jesus, the days after Christmas often reveal what we truly believe about Him.

It is easy to praise God when angels are singing. It is harder to trust Him when life returns to normal. Yet this is where revelation deepens. This moment invites us not to rush past Christmas, but to behold what Christmas is actually revealing. Not only a baby in a manger. Not only a silent night. But a Saviour who exposes, confronts, and transforms.

Jesus Reveals the Heart

Luke 2:34–35 (ESV): “And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.’”

Simeon’s prophecy makes something clear: Jesus did not only come to save—He came to reveal. Not just behaviour, but hearts. Behaviour can be managed, but trust is exposed. The days after Christmas reveal where trust truly lives.

What We’ve Been Trusting In

Simeon explains that Jesus reveals the thoughts of the heart. This means Jesus exposes what we lean on when pressure comes. We often say God is our provider—until the account balance changes. We declare trust in the Lord—until the diagnosis comes. We believe Jesus is enough—until the plan falls apart. Jesus does not only look at what we do; He looks at what we depend on.

Proverbs 3:5 reminds us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and to lean not on our own understanding. Trust is revealed not in comfort, but in crisis. Pressure does not create new beliefs; it exposes old ones.

Often, we do not stop believing in God—we simply stop relying on Him. We know His promises, yet urgency pushes us to override His Word. Faith remains, but trust gets transferred.

Jeremiah 17:7–8 describes the one who trusts in the Lord as a tree planted by water, rooted deeply, unafraid of heat, and fruitful even in drought. When peace disappears as circumstances shift, it reveals shallow roots. Being exposed under pressure is not the end—it is an invitation to reset. God’s call is not to panic or change direction, but to slow down, remember what He has already said, and return to trust.

What Needs to Fall So We Can Rise

Luke 2:34 (ESV): “This child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel.”

Notice the order: falling comes before rising. In God’s Kingdom, nothing rises until something releases its grip. Some things fall not because they are sinful, but because they have expired—old mindsets, old coping mechanisms, and outdated versions of strength. Certain seasons end not through effort, but through encounter.

Hebrews 12:26–27 speaks of God shaking what can be shaken so that what cannot be shaken may remain. If it can be shaken, it was never meant to be a foundation.

Like a farmer shaking an olive tree to release ripe fruit, God’s shaking is not meant to destroy the tree but to reveal what is ready. The shaking is not judgment—it is timing. Some things fall because they are dead. Some fall because they are done. Others fall because they are ready. When God shakes a season, He is not dismantling a life—He is aligning it. Falling is not failure when God is the one doing the shaking.

Who Jesus Really Is

Luke 2:34 (NIV): “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against.”

Jesus does not fit neatly into expectations. He confronts our ideas of strength, disrupts our definitions of success, and challenges our comfort. Yet He also reveals God in a way humanity had never seen.

John 1:18 (NLT) tells us that no one has ever seen God, but Jesus has revealed Him. Jesus does not merely speak about God—He shows us God. Not distant, not harsh, not unreachable, but Emmanuel—God with us.

The clearer we see Jesus, the clearer we see ourselves. The manger reveals this truth: God would rather be close than impressive.

When we behold Him, striving gives way to surrender, and identity replaces insecurity.

2 Corinthians 3:18 reminds us that as we behold the Lord, we are transformed into His image from glory to glory. We do not become what we achieve—we become what we behold.

The Invitation of the Sunday After Christmas

Do not rush past the revealing. Allow Jesus to show what you have been trusting in, what needs to fall, and who He truly is. What Jesus reveals, He always redeems. What He redeems, He reshapes. The shaking was not to destroy. The revealing was not to shame. The waiting was not to weaken. It was to prepare.

So behold—not only the baby in the manger, but the Saviour at work in your life. Behold the revealing