Finding Our Way Home This Christmas: The Promise That Changes Everything

Dec 7

Have you ever listened to "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and felt that tug at your heart? That final line—"if only in my dreams"—captures something profound about the human experience. Regardless of your place in life, you are looking for home. Not just a physical structure with four walls, but that deeper sense of belonging, comfort, and peace that we all crave.

The Universal Longing for Home

It was 1943. The world was uneasy, families were separated, fear was the word of the day. In the middle of it, a quiet Christmas song slipped onto the radio and somehow captured what people were feeling more honestly than the headlines ever could.

This song resonates because home was always meant to be the place where your heart finally feels safe, a place where peace feels possible again. And underneath all the Christmas traditions and festivities is this invitation from God to come home.

Promise Made: A Light in the Darkness

To see the fullness of the story, we need to revisit a pivotal moment in the book of Isaiah. Beginning around Isaiah 8, the people are in chaos. The kingdom was under attack by the Assyrians and their world seemed to be closing in.

They were afraid for their future, living in a state of constant dread and darkness. And when things got most difficult, their King led them astray. He grabbed control and made compromises. King Ahaz tried to fix their spiritual problem with political solutions.

Isaiah 8:22 (NLT) says they found "trouble and anguish and dark despair." Their country was unstable. Their leaders were unreliable. They were a displaced people searching for a place they could belong.

It's here, in this moment, that something amazing happens. There is a PROMISE MADE. Isaiah 9:1 (NLT) declares, "Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever."

God promises a redeemer who would bring wandering, anxious, weary people safely home:

"For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6 NLT)

Four Titles That Lead Us Home

Wonderful Counselor

The word translated as "wonderful" is the Hebrew word פֶּלֶא (peh-leh), used only to describe something supernaturally marvelous. We live in a world full of opinions and hot takes... yet people still feel lost. Isaiah says the One who is coming won't just give advice, He will lead your heart home with wisdom that only God can provide.

Mighty God

We don't make our way back home by following a motivational speaker or a strong leader. We find our way back home with the help of a mighty God. Jesus is profoundly different from any person who came before him because Jesus is fully human AND fully God.

As Paul wrote in Colossians 1:19-20 (NLT): "For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself."

Everlasting Father

We are invited to come back home by the kind of father who embodies everything a father could be. Compassionate. Protector. Faithful. Committed. Present. Jesus came to invite you home, to a home where you are welcomed and you belong.

Prince of Peace

The kind of peace that Jesus brings isn't just calming, it's restorative. The Prince of Peace has come not to make things better, but to make things whole.

Promise Kept: The Arrival of Hope

The best news of all is that the PROMISE was KEPT. The night Jesus was born, God fulfilled what He had spoken centuries before:

"And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them." (Luke 2:6-7 NLT)

For a little while Jesus made his home on earth. And now, he wants to make his home in your heart.

Finding Your Way Home

Every one of us is carrying something that makes home feel farther away than we'd like to admit. Maybe it's the pressure you're under. Maybe it's the disappointment you didn't see coming. Maybe it's the quiet pain of feeling like you're supposed to be okay, but you're not.

Here's the invitation of Christmas: you don't have to keep wandering. You don't have to keep pretending. You don't have to manufacture your own peace. The God who made the promise, and kept it, is the God who invites you to come home.

Restlessness isn't a sign that there's something wrong with you. As St. Augustine said, "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you."

Next Steps: Accepting the Invitation Home

Because of Christmas, Jesus made a way:

The Wonderful Counselor stepped into our confusion.
The Mighty God stepped into our weakness.
The Everlasting Father stepped into our loneliness.
The Prince of Peace stepped into our chaos.

"I'll Be Home For Christmas" reminds us that we are welcome. God has already opened the door. The lights are on, the fireplace is crackling and, most importantly, the Father is waiting for you, His child, to come home.

This Christmas, will you accept the invitation?

Ryan Schreckenghaust

My name is Ryan Schreckenghaust and I’m the Lead Pastor at The Summit Church. Lee’s Summit is my hometown and I love connecting with people to tell them about who Jesus is.

I am a graduate of William Jewell College and, after changing my major countless times, felt God’s nudge to invest my life in the work of the local church. I graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Psychology. I then attended Rockbridge Seminary where I earned the Master of Ministry Leadership degree.

I was licensed to the Gospel Ministry in 2003, ordained as a Pastor/Elder in 2013, licensed as Local Church Pastor in the United Methodist Church in 2019, and completed the United Methodist Course of Study in 2021.

I have worked at several churches over the last 20 years where I served in roles such as Student Ministry Pastor, Creative Arts Pastor, and Executive Pastor. I’ve also worked professionally as a social media strategist in the marketing department at a Fortune 500 company.

I’ve been married to my wife Rebekah for more than 20 years. Rebekah is a school counselor at a local middle school. Together we have two boys, Jackson and Camden, and a Weimaraner named Poppy. I love time with my family, reading and watching my favorite sports teams!