Bobby Bosler: You know, Christmas is in the air here in West Virginia. We got absolutely dumped on this past weekend with about seven or eight inches of snow. I’m sure that’s probably nothing compared to some of you who are listening, especially in certain parts of the country.

But since that time, and an interesting Sunday, I’m learning new things all the time. It was a Sunday where most of the folks literally could not come.

One of the things I’m getting used to here in West Virginia is snow. And I don’t mean the white stuff that falls down out of the sky when it precipitates in certain temperatures. I’m talking about the unique cultural phenomenon that is snow in the mountains.

For the last twenty-plus years—really twenty-two, I guess—I have spent most of my year, other than traveling and gallivanting around the country, in Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, snow’s not that big of a deal, to be honest with you. You can get where you need to go, get to the store, and get out of your driveway.

One time I was out in the snow with my wife, and I think I may have had a kid or two at that point. My dad called me, and I was on the phone driving down the street. There was a blizzard happening, and my dad said, “Bob, there’s a blizzard going on there, isn’t there?”

I said, “Yeah.” He said, “Why are you out? You should be at home.”

I said, “Dad, if we stayed home whenever there was snow, we would never go anywhere. This is Wisconsin.”

In Wisconsin, there really aren’t hills, or at least not mountains. All you have to deal with is the matter of traction. But here in West Virginia, it ain’t nothing but mountains.

In fact, to get out of the square where I live, where the church is here, you’ve got a pretty significant hill to get up and out of going right into a major busy street. You kind of have to go and keep going and pray you don’t get hit by anybody.

That being said, this past weekend was interesting. Again, I had to send out a message to our church and say, “Listen, we’re going to have services here, but if you can’t get out of your driveway, just stay home and watch the livestream.” So it was a good time.

It is Christmas, and I’ve been very excited about holding some of our own Christmas events here at Fellowship Baptist Church. We’ve got a banquet coming up on Friday night, which by the time you hear this will have already been completed. We’ve been inviting people to come, and I’m really excited about the different Christmas events that we have going on.

They’re definitely not to the scale of other things that I’ve been a part of in the past, but my desire here is for our church to minister. That’s kind of the point of Christmas for a variety of reasons. I’ve been thinking about this verse over the last little bit.

At first glance, this doesn’t sound like a Christmas verse, and yet when you put it in its context, it’s probably one of the greatest Christmas verses you’ll ever hear.

Mark 10:45: Jesus says to His disciples, “For even the Son of Man came.” Before I read the rest of the verse—and you probably know the rest of the verse—I just want to remind you: Jesus came. That is what we’re celebrating right now.

Jesus, who was the King of kings and the Lord of lords; Jesus, the One who had created heaven and earth and all that is in them; Jesus, the One who will rule and reign over all creation, who is the head of the church, who is the Lord of all—He came. He came and He was born.

Born in a manger, born in either a cave or a cattle stall, depending on how nostalgic you want to be about all of that. Jesus came and was born as a baby. He was recognized as the coming King by the wise men.

They gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They worshiped Him. The shepherds who were watching their flocks by night saw the angels come and sing words of praise and adoration for this baby who was born as the King of the Jews.

They came and bowed down and worshiped Him.

Listen, friends, Jesus deserved to be worshiped, and He deserves to be worshiped. He has the title. He has the role.

He has every reason to demand that we get down on our knees, that we stop what we’re doing, and that we surrender completely and entirely to Him. He has the right to all of that, young people.

And yet this verse tells us why He came: “For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” If I could title this podcast episode—and I don’t know if I’ll use this as the actual title—here’s what I’m burdened about: young people, as I sit down with this microphone in front of my face, I’m burdened about this. Don’t have a selfish Christmas.

Honestly, I feel like if I have a Christmas episode, if that’s where I’m at in the lineup, that’s what I talk about just about every year when I talk about Christmas. Jesus is the gift. There’s no doubt about it.

That’s something that we can celebrate here this Christmas. But if you ask the question why Jesus came and what He expects us to do in light of His coming, that’s this: Jesus didn’t come to be served.

You may be talking about college students who have busted their hump all semester long serving—maybe at school, maybe in their church. Maybe they were off at college, laboring real hard to get good grades, win people to Christ, and train. And then they come home.

They’re off school.

Teenagers, here’s the temptation to shift into “It’s all about me, me, me” mode. Can I tell you something, young people? That’s not why Jesus came, and it’s not why you ought to be in your home.

You came home and the first thing you did was get back into your old patterns of selfish thinking and selfish behavior.

Maybe some of you grew up, and when you were at home, it was all about a party. You were just there to do your thing, to have fun. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have fun.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t do some self-care, maybe sleep in a little bit here and there. But why are you home? Why are you off school?

I’ll tell you why you’re not: you’re not off school to be ministered unto. You’re not off school to take a break and live your own life, to be selfish and entertainment-oriented. Young people, you are home to serve.

Christmas is about remembering Jesus, who came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life.

Listen, young people, maybe you ought to give your break for the service of the King. Maybe you ought to give your break for the service of your siblings. Maybe you ought to give your life this break for the service of your parents.

Maybe you ought to give your life this break for the service of ministering to your neighbors, to your community, and to and with your church.

Don’t you dare, young people, go home and live for yourself. Don’t spend this Christmas break selfishly pursuing your own pleasures. “For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto.”

We can come home with an entitlement mentality: “It’s all about me, Mom and Dad. I’ve given my time. It’s time for you to serve me.

Hey, siblings, I’ve been gone. It’s time for you to do what I want to do.”

I say this kindly, but don’t be a jerk this Christmas. Minister. Serve.

Give yourself to laboring with those around you. Can I say this even as a pastor now, from a very different perspective than I’ve ever had before? It’s wonderful to see college students come home.

They are sorely missed. If you’re a college student and you’ve been off at Bible college and you go home, folks are waiting for you to get there. They’re excited that you’re home.

The greatest way you can disappoint your family and your church is to come home and just be all about yourself. I’m thankful for a group of young people that is not that way here at Fellowship Baptist Church. I’ve been thrilled, honestly, as a solo pastor.

There’s a lot of things I’m learning, and one of the things I’m learning is I cannot do this thing all by myself. I need help.

To have some college students come home willing to literally hit the ground running and help us with this Christmas banquet has been a blessing. One is helping me organize the schedule, and others are helping us with some special music in this Christmas banquet. It’s wonderful to see young people come home and serve.

But I’m sure with any of us, it’s easy to shift into that wrong mentality. Again, Jesus had a right to be served. He has the right to be served, but He didn’t take it.

He came to serve. You may think you’re entitled to a break. You might think you’re entitled to a little bit of self-serving time.

Maybe you are, but don’t take it.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” If you surrender to Christ, you’ll give yourself to His cause and His purposes, and you’ll give your life in a way that will benefit many, many people all around you. This is total surrender, total dependence to reach the world with the gospel.