As we start our message series, "Ghosts of Christmas Past," I want to encourage you to use this Christmas season to invite unchurched people to church. Christmas is often considered the time when unchurched individuals are most likely to accept an invitation to attend church. To make it easy and eliminate excuses, we offer to pick people up and have worship services at 8:30 AM and 10:30 AM on Sundays, as well as 7 PM on Wednesday nights.

Now, if you are anything like me, you are still enjoying the memories of Thanksgiving and reminiscing about all that delicious food. However, as those memories begin to fade, our thoughts often turn to our physical health, considering our weight and fitness goals. But beyond those concerns, I want to draw your attention to something even more significant: our spiritual health.

That is so important, because our bodies may pass away, but the heart of who we are endures beyond this life. And so, it is your soul, encompassing your mind, your will, and emotions desperately need to be transformed through a deep spiritual connection that Jesus Christ alone can provide. Understanding that truth is crucial, receiving it personally is critical, but also sharing your beliefs with others in the hope that they too will come to believe is of utmost importance.

In other words, Jesus Christ is not only a real historical person, but he was and is in fact, the Son of God. And if you truly believe in the promise of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ you should feel an immense sense of obligation to share that belief with others. Because to keep the good news to yourself would imply a level of indifference, callousness, or even hatred toward others. Therefore, our motivation for sharing the gospel and inviting people to church is rooted in one word: “love”.

You see, I stand here before you today because I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, demonstrating his love, and on the third day he rose again. That is good news, but even better news is the promise of the Bible that says,

“If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

That is why I want to encourage you to share the gospel and invite someone to come with you to church this Christmas season. Not just Christmas weekend, but next weekend, and every weekend thereafter.

Now, this week is particularly special, because this is the first week of our message series “Ghosts of Christmas Past” and I have some amazing news to share with you. And so, you are here at just the right time because today we are going to delve into a topic that many of us struggle with to varying degrees. We’re going to be talking about freedom from shame, healing from shame, a weight that many of us carry, because we often internalize the shame of the past.

Today, as we explore God’s word which speaks directly to our hearts offering healing and freedom from shame it is with the backdrop of Charles Dickens timeless novel, “A Christmas Carol.” Now, the ghost of Christmas past is a pivotal character in this story which centers around Ebenezer Scrooge a coldhearted and miserly old man who is visited by the ghost of Christmas past, present, and yet to come. Each of these ghosts comes with their own unique purpose and lessons guiding Scrooge on a transformative journey illuminating moments of joy, sorrow, and missed opportunities.

Through these supernatural encounters the spirit’s endeavor to melt Scrooge’s icy heart and inspire him to embrace the true spirit of Christmas. But it is the ghost of Christmas past that has a profound significance transporting Ebenezer Scrooge through the core doors of his own history, revealing scenes, appointment memories, and pivotal moments that have hardened Scrooge’s personality over time. Through this journey, the spirit guides Scrooge to a deeper understanding of how his past choices and experiences have shaped the man he has become and setting the stage for his transformation.

What is so interesting, or maybe I should say so problematic about this time of year, is that Christmas and the holiday season often intensify the struggle with shame from the past even more so than other times of the year. And so, today we want to identify it, we want to bind it in the mighty name of Jesus, because shame is a soul crushing identity warping emotion that has the power to deeply impact our sense of self and our well-being.

Now, I imagine that most of you, if you think back to your childhood, can recall some of the first moments when you did something and felt the sting of shame. I vividly remember when I was about 5 years old at my buddy’s house down the street when I ran through his kitchen and charged out the back door full speed ahead. All was well until I crossed the threshold and crashed headlong into the sliding glass door, which was closed, stopping me in my tracks. The sound of the collision brought everyone running, leaving me hurt, embarrassed, and full of shame.

I also remember another time when I was around 8 years old, and I remember vividly getting caught stealing candy from the local store. A friend and I had gone to the store after church, but I didn’t have any money and the temptation of a candy bar was too much for me to resist. Quickly I slipped the candy bar into my pocket, but as I tried to casually leave the store the cashier called out to me. Instantly, my face was flushed with guilt as he gently but firmly confronted me about the consequences of shoplifting.

Again, I will never forget that moment and even though he didn’t call the police or my parents it left an indelible mark on my conscience. I felt the deep shame of having been caught and the guilt of having stolen something. Those emotions weighed heavily upon me, I internalized them, but it was a haunting memory searing itself into my very soul. The incident didn’t just embarrass me, but it was a vivid reminder of the moral lesson I learned that day.

However, my point in telling you both of those stories is that it is crucial to understand the distinct difference between guilt and shame. You see, guilt is the feeling that I did something bad, but on the other hand, shame is the belief that I am bad. This distinction is important because it highlights how we often connect our actions with our identity. In other words, we connect what we did with who we are.

Some of you may be carrying hidden burdens, hiding behind a mask, a hidden identity, struggling with secret addictions, lies, or actions that you regret. These struggles can lead you to believe, you are a horrible person, or even a very bad person. The shame of the past might cause you to fear judgment, making you think, “if they knew my past I couldn’t serve at church, they wouldn’t even let me greet people at the door.”

This shame can lead to internalizing beliefs that you are unwanted, you are flawed, you are dirty or defective. You see, shame is a powerful emotion that distorts our self-perception making it hard to see our true worth beyond the deep dark shadow of shame. It’s for that reason that Christmas can become overwhelming as many struggle with unhealthy ways of coping with a warped sense of identity caused by shame.

Today my prayer is for the Holy Spirit to work powerfully in this place, bringing healing and freeing many from the burden of shame. In fact, God gave a message through the prophet Isaiah to Israel that I believe is his message for many of you today. He said,

"Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood" (Isaiah 54:4, NIV).

In other words, you can be completely free from the shame of your past because of the transformative power of God’s forgiveness. In first John the Bible offers an amazing promise:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

That means that when you confess that you have done wrong and asked for his forgiveness God not only forgives but he cleanses us from all unrighteousness and makes us whole.

That is good news if you are a follower of Jesus, because if you are in Christ, you have become a new creation. The old is gone and God has separated your sins from you as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). In other words, he doesn’t hold them against you, he won’t bring them up again, and you are free because the Bible says,

"There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

This truth allows us to live in freedom, unburdened by the shame of our past, and fully embracing God’s love and grace.

And so, my question to you today is, “If our God is truly that good and his forgiveness without limits, why do we so often continue to live in shame?”

Some of you have been a Jesus follower for a long time and while you understand his forgiveness intellectually, you struggle to fully embrace it in your heart. And that is why overcoming shame can be incredibly challenging because it becomes intertwined with our identity. It has a way of rooting itself deeply within us, making it hard to separate our actions from our identity and so even though we know we are forgiven we might still wrestle with feelings of unworthiness and self-condemnation.

I believe that understanding the struggle is the first step towards overcoming so that we are able to let go of shame and fully embrace the freedom offered to us in Christ Jesus. And so, to explain how this works so that we are able to release the burdens of shame and live in the joy and freedom that comes from knowing that we are accepted in Christ, I want to illustrate this with a story from the Old Testament. God’s people, Israel, were in bondage as slaves in Egypt and the Bible tells us in Exodus chapter twelve,

"The length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD's divisions left Egypt" (Exodus 12:40-41, NIV).

Now, imagine being a nation of slaves after 430 years. You are a slave, your parents were slaves, your grandparents were slaves, your great-grandparents were slaves. And so week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, your identity becomes: “I’m just a slave. I’m not important. I’m replaceable. Or even disposable.”

If you know the story, God raised up Moses, and Moses went before Pharaoh and said,

"Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness" (Exodus 5:1, NIV).

Now, it took more than one request, but God granted Moses favor, and Pharaoh eventually released God’s people. And after over four centuries they were freed from slavery, but in spite of their outward freedom, many of them remained inwardly enslaved to the shame of their past identity.

In other words, even though they had been freed from slavery and were physically out of Egypt, they were still in bondage because spiritually Egypt was not out of them. Even though they had been liberated in their bodies, walking as free people, the chains of their past still bound their hearts keeping them captive to the memories and scars of their enslavement. And so, even though they were no longer under the yoke of their oppressors, the shadow of their former chains lingered, reminding them that true freedom is not only a physical condition, but it is a spiritual condition involving the transformation of both the heart and the mind.

This is the struggle that many of us face today because intellectually we know that Jesus has forgiven our sins, he has made us new, we have an inheritance in heaven, but in our hearts our identity is not yet grounded in Christ. In other words, we remain polluted by the shame of the past and it holds us hostage keeping us from living the life God truly wants for us. This is the key point that needs to be understood or addressed in our lives because some of you are continuing to believe that you are something that God says you are not.

You see, this kind of thinking based on the shame of the past warps our identity. However, the gospel reassures us,

“To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12, NIV).

And so, to overcome shame we must redirect our attention from our shortcomings to who Christ is, because when we are born again and filled with the Holy Spirit his identity and character becomes ours. That’s why we can say with confidence like the apostle Paul,

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20, NIV).

In other words, as believers we have died in baptism, the old is gone, the new has come, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Therefore, when you feel inadequate it is simply a natural acknowledgment of your need for support and guidance. And so, we must acknowledge that we were never meant to navigate our way through life alone, but God has said,

"My power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV).

When you come up short because you have been relying upon your own ability you need to shift your focus from who you are not, to who Jesus is, because he is the solution to our inadequacies.

You see, when we shift our focus away from ourselves, away from our own faults and weaknesses, and fix our gaze upon Jesus, then we begin to experience true inner healing. Because it is only through his love, grace, and strength working within us that we find restoration and his perfect peace.

Let me illustrate this with the story of the Israelites again, they had been set free, they were no longer physically slaves, but in their minds and hearts they remained enslaved to the shame of the past. And so, after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, many years after their deliverance, God spoke to Joshua saying,

"Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you" (Joshua 5:9, NIV).

I want to emphasize the word “Today.” God didn’t say tomorrow, not after years of counseling, but in that very moment God declared that the shame of their past was rolled away.

Some of you may have felt the weight of shame, but because of the goodness and grace of our God, in this very moment God has rolled away the reproach of your past. I hope you can feel this and embrace it, because by God’s power the shame is no longer on you, it’s been removed, it’s rolled away, and it’s no longer there.

If you will receive this word, you are not what others say you are, you are not even who you think you are, but you are who Christ says you are. And he says,

"To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12, NIV).

And so, if you have received him, and believed on him, your identity is transformed because he gave you the right to become a child of God.

In other words, you have been redeemed, you are forgiven, you are set free, liberated from Egypt, and Egypt is no longer part of you. You are free from the shame of Egypt, free from the shame of your past, because the Bible says,

"There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1, NIV).

For some of you today, the devil has tried to label you as shameful, guilty, weak and worthless, but instead of believing his lies focus on who Jesus Christ is and what he said. Because you may feel inadequate, the enemy of your soul has tried to convince you that you will never succeed, that you are unlovable, that you will never make a difference, but I want to encourage you this morning that Christ in you is more than enough.

Let the shame be rolled away, believe what God has said,

"Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated" (Isaiah 54:4, NIV).

You see, because of God’s grace in Christ you no longer need to live in shame. His unwavering love and grace protect us from humiliation, offering us a foundation of dignity and strength, because we are the children of God. Therefore, we can face each of life’s challenges with confidence knowing that our identity and worth is secure in him.

Graphics, notes, and commentary from LifeChurch, Ministry Pass, PC Study Bible, Preaching Library, and Sermon Central. Scripture from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.