The Center of Your Nativity

The Center of Your Nativity
12/21/25
Pastor Mark England

The first ever scene was by St. Francis of Assisi in 1223. The Nativity was a depiction of the birth of Jesus.

How is this scene set up in your ?
This scene represents of your life.

All our lives are around something…

Jesus can be in my life and still not be at the of it.
Having Jesus as a part of our life is not the same as allowing Him to lead it. When He is not at the center, everything else slowly moves out of alignment.

If things aren’t working right…
Maybe my life’s not .
Maybe it’s just not right.

When the is the center of your life…


The place you give your best , , and .

Psalm 127:2 (CSB) In vain you get up early and stay up late, working hard to have enough food— yes, he gives sleep to the one he loves.

Work is a good ; it’s just a terrible .
Work provides purpose and provision, but when it becomes central, it creates pressure, steals rest, and turns identity into performance instead of belonging.

When the are in the center of your life…

1 Timothy 6:17 (CSB) Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.

, but keeps you .
Wealth offers the illusion of security, yet it is uncertain and never fully satisfies. When money is central, contentment is always just out of reach.

When and are at the center…

This sounds and seems , but it’s .

Family is a , but it was never meant to be my .
When relationships take the place only Jesus can hold, expectations grow unrealistic, and pressure replaces trust. Only God can carry the weight of being our source.

Psalm 127:1 (CSB) Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain.

When we place the at the center of our life…

Pleasure makes life , but it was never meant to .
Hobbies, entertainment, and recreation are meant to serve us, not rule us. When pleasure becomes central, it leaves us empty instead of refreshed.

Luke 12:19-21 (CSB) Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’ ²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’ ²¹ “That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

In all the Nativity scenarios…
Jesus was still in the .
He just wasn’t in the .

Put Jesus at the of it all.

Colossians 1:15-17 (CSB) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.

If your life is … then let put it back together.
How?

1. Jesus to take His in my life.

Romans 10:9 (CSB) 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.

Whatever I won’t will quietly move into the center of my life.

2. Jesus in of my life.

Proverbs 3:6 (CSB) In all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.

My life until I make .
When Jesus is first, everything else finds its proper place. Life may not be perfect, but it will be ordered — and what’s set up right begins to work right.