Christmas Isn’t What You Think

Are you ready for the holiday season? I know at our house, the Christmas music has already begun! Decorations will be coming out of storage very shortly, and we’ll ride that Christmas joy all the way to epiphany (not because of religious reasons, but because we’re too tired…or lazy… to take all the decorations down the week after Christmas!).

Christmas is usually a time for family and friends, gifts, and rest. And none of that is bad! We should take times like this throughout every year to recharge, to reflect, and to be thankful for all God has given us.

However, it’s also easy in our culture to make Christmas about ourselves and about our own family. But what if Christmas is really more about God and his family? 

New Message Series

In our message series, Reimagining Christmas, starting Sunday, December 5th, leading up to our Christmas Eve Eve service on Thursday, December 23rd, we’re going to reimagine what Christmas is all about.

God sent his Son into the world to save the world. He sent Jesus to call together his family from every tribe, language, and nation. So Christmas is ultimately about God and his mission! We can make it about ourselves, or even about our own family, but when we do that we miss the significance of the season.

What other time during the year does our culture even remotely acknowledge Christian morality or principles of love, mercy, and generosity? Christmas is one of the best times to engage your neighbors with the gospel. 

Let’s use the time wisely, as Paul says in Ephesians 5 (v.15). Don’t make this year about yourself… make it about God and his mission. If you do, I guarantee it’ll be the best Christmas you’ve ever experienced.

Two Challenges

So I want to challenge you with two practical steps to take over the coming weeks:

1. Give financially:

We’ve challenged our church to double their giving for the month of December. On average, our members have given about $15,000 per month this year. So our goal is to have everyone double their giving so we can give that extra $15,000 away! Whatever we raise over the $15,000 average we’ll give to partnering organizations in Roanoke and to church plants in the coming year. This is a very tangible way to make sure Christmas isn’t about us, but it’s about God and his mission. 

2. Invite your neighbors:

We’ve also challenged our church to invite neighbors, coworkers, friends, and family to church on Thursday, December 23rd, for our Christmas Eve Eve service at 6pm! A few times a year, we want to enable you to invite people to church. And since Christmas is one of the few times non-Christians might consider going to church, this is a great opportunity to engage them in deeper, spiritual conversation. It’s just another opportunity for you to share the gospel.

Christmas As Mission

I’m aware, these two challenges are not small asks. Most people who make Christmas about themselves and about their own family don’t want to give their money away, or invite other people into their life. Most don’t think about Christmas as an effective time to live on mission for God. 

But the life of a Christian is different. We know our life isn’t our own. God’s generosity fuels our generosity. The gospel is the message that he sent Jesus into the world to live the perfect life on our behalf, then die in our place. Now we have a hope that one day Jesus will return and restore this world to its intended glory because Jesus himself rose from the dead. 

Christmas is a time to share that incredible message with others, not a time to keep it to ourselves! If you really follow Jesus with your whole life, don’t buy into the American Christmas hooplah. Instead, live for God and reimagine how you think about Christmas this year. It could be your best Christmas yet.