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It's Live in the Bream with the host of Fox News Sunday, Shannon Bream. Merry Christmas, everyone. Christmas is my all-time favorite holiday for a number of reasons, from the miraculous story of Jesus' birth to the beautiful music and, of course, the abundance of joy that the holiday brings. In the spirit of the holiday, I would like to share with all of you my conversation from my Live in the Bream, the Spirit of Christmas special.
Pastor Lucado beautifully articulates the hope of Christmas, the significance of the holiday, and the miraculous gift that God bestowed on the world with the birth of Jesus Christ. May this conversation and prayer bless you as it has blessed me. I wish you all a blissful and blessed Christmas.
Well, I call him the most encouraging person I know because it is true. And he did a lot to get us through some really tough times, COVID and beyond, just with his encouraging words, his truth, even his kind voice. Pastor Max Lucado, great to have you with us to talk now about Christmas at a time when people again need hope. Pastor, how are you?
I'm fine. I'm fine. Thank you, Shannon. You're right. You know, it feels like we're being whiplashed around by so many global events. We have barely come out of COVID and now we're reeling from not just the war in Ukraine, but we're dealing now with this conflict in Gaza and Israel. It's just enough to knock a person off balance.
It is, and yet this time of year for people of faith, of different faiths, of no faith, it seems to be a time when we slow down a bit. We're a little bit more grateful. We feel some sense of hope in the world. Guide us through that and how we can embrace that part of the Christmas message to tell us that there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.
I love Christmas. I really do. I love the shopping. I love the sleigh bells. I love the jingle bells. I love everything about Christmas. I think what I love most is that on December 24th, for nearly 40 years now as a pastor, I've had the privilege of standing in front of congregations, some small, some large, and say, you know, we made it.
hopefully the meals are prepared and the packages are wrapped and the gifts are purchased we've all made it we're here we traveled we're at a christmas eve service and uh now let's all take a deep breath and be reminded that the real hope of christmas has nothing to do with shopping or wrapping but
But that the real hope of Christmas is that God loves us so much that He became one of us. That He entered our world. And He entered our world not as an emperor or a dictator or an oligarch. But that He came as a baby. And He came not to some palace or to some villa. But He came to a stable, a barn.
and was wrapped in rags, and He shows us how much He cares for us. Shannon, I think that's what I look forward to more than anything else, is just reminding people that the real message of Christmas is that God can make sense out of the mess of our world. He's done so before, and He does so still.
Yeah, and in our individual lives where we've made mistakes, we've gone down wrong paths, we've made bad decisions, He can work through all of that. We see that all through the characters of the Bible, Old and New Testaments, and we see it in our own lives. I'm sure as a pastor you've seen it again and again, that it's a message of redemption. I know you say, like I like to say too, that God didn't come here and you have to remember this enormous sacrifice He made.
As you said, to come walk among us, to become one of us, to experience every pain, every heartbreak, everything that we go through, humans and more. He did that to redeem and to save us.
But he came not to condemn us, but to redeem us. And that means wherever you find yourself during the season, whatever you've messed up, whatever broken relationships there are, whatever's happened, he can work through all of that and bring good about through it. That's where the hope comes from. That's it. And in fact, when you look even at the story of the genealogy in the Bible, you know, in the chapter,
chapter of Matthew, I can recall reading those lists of the ancestors of Jesus, wondering, "What in the world? Why list all these characters in the Bible?" Well, Shannon, you've written on the characters of the Bible, and you know they are anything but perfect. And I think one of the reasons for the genealogy is to show us that, yes,
There was adultery in the lineage of Jesus. There was murder. There was bloodshed. There was atrocity. But through it all, what God promised in the beginning was fulfilled in Bethlehem, that he can work through our mess. He can work in spite of our mess. And we all need that reminder every year of our life, but especially this one.
So true. And I love that you touched on the fact that He came and He didn't have to. Most of us as human beings would say, "Oh, I don't want to leave my perch in heaven where I am almighty and there's no suffering." It is all joy and it is all glory to come here and not only to know that you would have to take on the difficulties of being a human being.
But to know that something most of us would never experience, the death that Christ walked to, that he said, you know, your will be done. I know what my father has sent me to do. And this whole idea of someone perfect dying for the rest of us who were so deeply flawed and in need of help.
Um, they think about the passage in the new Testament that says, you know, rarely would someone die for a good man, but what he came to do was to die for those of us who were flawed and sinful and have made all kinds of mistakes and messes in our lives. But he came here knowing that was his assignment. And so the Christmas story coupled with the Easter story is really the greatest source of hope for those of us who believe.
Yes, yes. And it reminds us that there's so much more to our existence than this short time on earth. But that God went to that effort. He became a human being. He led the perfect life. He was sinless, but he died a sinner's death. And then he rose from the dead so that we could spend forever with him.
You know, the first advent just really whets our appetite for the second advent.
The first coming of Christ is all about salvation, but the return of Christ will all be about coronation. When we crown Christ as king, you know, the problem with the world, Shannon, is we have a kingless world. You know, I want to be in charge. Somebody else wants to be in charge. The president wants to be in charge. Everybody wants to be in charge. And as a result, nobody is in charge.
Isn't it gonna be great when we finally enjoy a kingdom with a king that we all recognize, that we all acknowledge? The Bible says every knee will bow before Him. Every knee in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. Every being will bow before Christ.
And that will simplify this world. The reason there's so much chaos is because everybody wants to be in charge. But heaven will be heaven because we'll acknowledge that the one who came first in Bethlehem, in the cradle, is now on the throne with the crown. And we'll gladly worship him. We'll have more Live in the Bream in a moment.
From the Fox News Podcast Network. I'm Ben Domenech, Fox News contributor and editor of the Transom.com daily newsletter. And I'm inviting you to join a conversation every week. It's the Ben Domenech Podcast. Subscribe and listen now by going to FoxNewsPodcast.com. You talk about Christmas Eve service. I always love that, especially when there's a lighting of candles.
and singing of Silent Night and other beautiful hymns, many times acapella. I love that. Do you have a favorite Christmas tradition, maybe that your family or that you've done with your children over the years?
Yeah, well we love going to Christmas Eve services. We really do. And of course their daddy was the preacher and so they had to go. No choice. No choice. You know the fire marshal won't let us light candles anymore. So we use these battery operated ones. I wish we could go back. Okay, I'll take that. That'll work. So we just all turn them on at the same time.
and turn them off. My wife has done a great job, Shannon, with making Christmas very special. She prepares enchiladas. You know, we live in South Texas. Mexican food.
and she will have enchiladas waiting for us. And then Christmas morning is when we open the gifts. It's really a happy, happy time. Now we have grandchildren, which makes it even more fun. So we're getting a second dose of kids at Christmas. I love it. The Breams are coming over for the enchiladas. We just invited ourselves right here. Please, please, please.
What about you? What Christmas traditions do you enjoy? You know, I'm a Christmas baby almost. I was born on the 23rd. So my parents gave me the middle name Noel. And I love the first Noel. You know, does that song feel so personal? I always love when we sing that. But Max, I got a confession to make that I started my Christmas decorations in October this year because I felt like I needed the joy.
And so I started all the traditions early this year, you know, but I'm grateful for that. And just the hope and the joy that it does bring, you know, the global conflict is not enough. We have the personal issues, you know, just say I prayed with a dear friend whose dad is in Columbia and he's dying and she cannot be at his bedside. She can't get there fast enough.
And, you know, we have our personal challenges. And so Christmas can be hard for people who are going through hard times. I get that. But let's reach through the tears, the challenges and hang on to the hope that Christmas brings. And that is that God loves and that he came for us and he's coming back again.
Amen. Sometimes I wish it was today, Pastor. But if it's not, and we get this podcast out for the world to listen to, would you mind closing us with a Christmas prayer? I'll be honored. I'm honored. Gracious Heavenly Father, do not let one person within the earshot of our voices today escape your love. Let every person sense the abiding presence of a loving God.
Let Your mercy wrap itself around this warring planet, people who are squaring off against one another and shedding blood. We pray for peace. And then those who are heartbroken for whatever reason, because they're not with someone whom they love, or they're dealing with health or financial issues, we pray for them. God, You're the God of great interventions and interruptions. You intervened in our world. You interrupted in our sin.
You're coming back. We look toward your return. And we ask, Heavenly Father, just have mercy. Just have mercy upon us. Have mercy upon us. We need more of you. We do. Grant that this Christmas can be a Christmas full of hope and life. Through Jesus we pray. Amen. Amen. Pastor Max Licato, thank you so much. God bless you and Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to you, Shannon.
Listen ad-free with the Fox News Podcast Plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. And Amazon Prime members can listen to this show ad-free on the Amazon Music app. Hi, everybody. It's Brian Kilmeade. I want you to join me weekdays at 9 a.m. East as we break down the biggest stories of the day with some of the biggest newsmakers and, of course, what you think. Listen live or get the podcast now at BrianKilmeadeShow.com.