Saving Christmas From Amazon
December 1, 2019
Christmas is expensive! Analysts expect us to spend $920 per person on gifts in 2019. If they’re right, it will mean that holiday spending has increased every year since 2008 and will top $1 trillion for the first time ever! But an expensive Christmas is not the same as a meaningful Christmas. In fact, you may be spending a lot of money and only cheapening the true meaning of the season. Maybe we spend so much because we are trying to compensate for something that would cost us much more. It is easy to shop online and have Christmas arrive on your doorstep with free delivery. But Jesus’ delivery was anything but free to Mary and Joseph. These young political refugees had little in the way of worldly wealth, but their sacrifice is what made that first Christmas possible. Join us for the first message in our new series, Saving Christmas, as we count the cost of making room for Jesus at Christmas time.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Principles (KNOW THEM):
The motivation of the Giver: Love
The substance of the gift: God gives us Himself
The beneficiaries of the gift: Anyone willing to receive it
Practices (DO THEM):
- Give your time and presence to people (see the Advent Calendar Challenge)
- Make your most expensive gift one that delivers Jesus to the world
- Do things for people who could or would not do anything for you
Daily Readings:
Sunday: Matthew 1
Monday: Matthew 2
Tuesday: Luke 1
Wednesday: Luke 2
Thursday: Acts 3-4
Friday: Acts 6
Saturday: Luke 9