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The big idea

The home your heart is longing for isn't found on a map, but in a man — Jesus — and coming home to God means discovering you are chosen, led, and forgiven.

Every Christmas we feel a deep longing for home, but Pastor Daniel shows that longing was never meant to be satisfied by family or place — it points to God. Through Mary and Joseph's story in Matthew 1, he shows that coming home to God means realizing you're chosen, you're led rather than left alone, and you're forgiven rather than condemned.

A story from life

A chaotic family Christmas travel story involving early flights, delays, gate changes, and a two-hour shuttle to Tahoe, used to set up the theme of the longing to go home for the holidays.

Point 1 of 4

The longing we feel for home at Christmas reveals we were built for a different world, not created by Christmas itself.

Pastor Daniel shares his own chaotic holiday travel story to Tahoe with sleep-deprived toddlers and cites the American Psychology Association's finding that 88 percent of people feel a deep longing for home during the holidays. He argues this longing exists because we were made for God, not just for our family of origin, and that even good families can't fully satisfy it.

I don't think Christmas creates the longing for home, but it does reveal it

— Daniel Goulding

Point 2 of 4

Coming home to God means realizing you are chosen, not overlooked.

Working through Matthew 1:18, Pastor Daniel points out God chose Mary, a poor, young, unknown woman in first-century Jewish culture, to bear the Messiah, showing that God uses the willing rather than the notable. He connects this to John 15:16 and Ephesians 1, saying God does the choosing and initiating, not us.

there was a longing for belonging connection that's deep within inside of every single soul that if we don't know where to put it, we will unhealthily attach it to the wrong things

— Daniel Goulding

the home that your heart is really longing for, it isn't found on a map, but it can be found in a man

— Daniel Goulding

Point 3 of 4

Coming home to God means realizing you are led, not left alone.

Pastor Daniel walks through Joseph's near-decision to quietly break his engagement to Mary, which would have derailed the prophecy of Jesus coming through David's line, until an angel redirects him. He applies this to how God wants to guide our decisions today, citing Isaiah 30:21 and John 16:13, and tells a personal story about a failed church facility deal that turned out to be a 'no' redirecting Echoes Church to a better 'yes.'

A story from life

The story of Echoes Church touring 30–40 facilities, feeling a strong 'yes' about Faith Sossaman Elementary School, then losing it to another group the next day — and eventually being led to their current, much larger venue.

Point 4 of 4

Coming home to God means realizing you are forgiven, not condemned.

From Matthew 1:21, Pastor Daniel explains Jesus was born specifically to save people from their sins, contrasting the ongoing, never-finished animal sacrifices of the Old Testament with Jesus becoming the final substitutionary sacrifice. He stresses that coming home doesn't require cleaning up your life first, just faith in Jesus, citing 1 John 1:9.

Jesus had to be born to a manger so that he could die for our sins

— Daniel Goulding

The God of the universe wore diapers

— Daniel Goulding

Take it into your week

Pastor Daniel's invitation is to make a decision this Christmas to come home — not to family, but to God.

Application

Recognize you are chosen
Stop believing you're overlooked or disqualified; like Mary, God made you exactly as you are and has purpose for your life, even if you feel unqualified.
Let God lead your decisions in 2026
Instead of running your own life and defaulting toward self-destruction, make a decision to be guided by God's Spirit in your everyday choices, relationships, and finances.
Confess and receive forgiveness
Stop trying to clean up your life first; simply confess your sins and put faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, trusting 1 John 1:9 that He forgives and purifies.
Pray to come home to Jesus tonight
During the closing prayer, respond in faith by raising your hand and praying to receive Jesus as Savior and King if you sense God speaking to you.

Keep going

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