A Gift That Won’t Disappoint
As I mentioned at the beginning of my sermon this last weekend, there is great potential for the season of Christmas to end in disappointment on the morning of December 26. For some of you, the Christmas season is a reminder of broken family relationships, lost loved ones, or cherished, yet painful past memories. Potentially this makes the holidays a time of anger or bitterness, the morning of the 26th bringing about further reflection on yet another hard holiday. For others, the Christmas season is a time that you look forward to all year. Perhaps you have long held family traditions to uphold, or a gift list for your family that you can’t wait to shop for. But on the morning of December 26, the reality sets in that the holidays are coming to an end, and the joy of the day before only carries you so far. In either case, the season of Christmas is one of anticipation. But, I’d argue, most of the time, our anticipation is aimed incorrectly.
That’s why I would strongly encourage you during this Advent season to try and set your heart on the one gift that won’t disappoint you on the morning of December 26. That gift is the Messiah: Jesus Christ. He is the very Word of God who was in the beginning and through Him everything was made. In love, He gave up His station, an aspect of His glory, to take on human nature so that He could save you from sin’s tyranny.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll need help in setting your heart on Jesus this Christmas. There are lots of resources out there. Here are two that you might find really helpful in setting your heart, and your family’s heart, on anticipating the arrival of Jesus during this Advent season.
Families with Young Kids
Miss Beth (in coordination with Awana Sparks) is making an Advent series of videos that will be available to watch each morning at 9am until Christmas. They will be available on the Children’s Ministry Page on our website (the first one is available to watch now!). Various people will be reading from the Jesus Storybook Bible the Advent story so that you can follow along as a family this season.
Individuals and Families with Older Kids
I shared about the book “The Christmas We Didn’t Expect” by David Mathis this weekend. Unfortunately, most physical copies are sold out, but you can still buy a digital copy. If you’d like to learn more about how this book might help you put Christ first this Christmas, you can watch a video that David Mathis put together with a brief overview of the content.
Let’s seek to help ourselves marvel at Jesus this Christmas, church family.
In His Mercy,
Pastor Ryan
Categories: Evergreen Connection