So this is Christmas...
Well, for me at least, the Christmas season starts tomorrow, as I'm speaking tomorrow at an evangelistic event at Myerscough College.
There are, of course, incredible evangelistic opportunities that Christmas provides. I'm aware that some of the best chances to explain the gospel in recent years to friends and family have come at Christmas. However, I'm remembering again how difficult Christmas talks can be to put together. It's easy to sentimentalise, it's easy to inoculate people against the gospel message through religion and it's quite difficult to provide the context for the incarnation against the background of Old Testament expectations.
One thing that I have found helpful is a list that I believe the legendary Justin Mote of the North West Partnership put together of possible Christmas texts. It's been helpful to have some suggestions of passages rarely used at Christmas alongside some old favourites. Here they are:
Matthew 1:1-17, 1:18-25, 2:1-12, 2:13-23
Luke 1:1-4, 1:26-38, 1:39-45, 1:69-79, 2:1-7, 2:8-20, 2:22-36
John 1:1-5, 1:6-8, 1:14-18, 3:16
Isaiah 7, 9, 11
Micah 5
Romans 8:3
2 Corinthians 8:9
Galatians 4-5
Philippians 2:6-11
Colossians 1:15-17
Hebrews 1:1-3
... any others we could add to the list?
3 comments:
the lyrics to christmas time mistltoe and wine. and the 2nd half of Hebrews 2 or 1 John 3 "the reason the son of God appeared" etc
That's really helpful, cheers Peter. Christmas is gearing up for me too, and I was struggling to think of a new angle without ending up being sentimental or gimmicky.
I agree with Chris too. Cliff dropped the ball on that one. The first couple of lines are OK, "The child is a king, the carollers sing, the old has passed, theres a new beginning." But it goes down hill from there.
I got a great T-shirt from Matalan yesterday. It says "Desperately Needing Christmas." I realise it's about a holiday with lots of beer, but I saw a subtext. Sadly, it was 2 for £6, yet I couldn't find a second decent one...
Cheers lads. Let's pray that we're able to use the special opportunities that come around at this time of year.
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