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Make the Most of Christmas - by yesHEisSample

Make the Most of Christmas - by yesHEis

DAY 1 OF 12

# Christmas: It's your story to tell Welcome, we're so glad you're here. Today we are going to look at the greatest story ever told and how that impacts not only our story but that of our friends and family. Does it ever surprise you that each year the whole world stops to celebrate the birth of Jesus? ### Despite the increasing commercial and secular focus of the season, Christmas is fundamentally about one thing – Jesus. So how do you bring Jesus into focus? How can you make the most of Christmas by talking to your yet-to-believe friends and family about Jesus? Everybody loves a good story and Christmas is the ultimate story. Stories have a powerful way of communicating truth in our culture, and the best thing about the Christmas story is that we are part of the story. Eugene Petersen framed it perfectly in his paraphrase of John 1:14 > “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood.” ### Jesus moved into OUR neighbourhood. Throughout history, humanity has told stories as a means to share traditions and to remember the past. The story of Christmas goes deeper than that. As we celebrate and share the story of Jesus' birth, God is inviting us all into the Great Narrative that He has written out over history. This narrative is not fiction, it’s the ultimate true story. A story of sacrifice, redemption and good overcoming evil. We’re a part of it – but the ultimate hero of the story is Jesus. Ever binge-watched a TV series and enjoyed it so much you insisted on telling everyone you knew to watch it too? Well, yeah who hasn’t! The Christmas story is like the ultimate TV series. What better time to talk about Jesus and invite your friends and family into their own stories of following Him. ### So many of our Christmas traditions have their genesis in Jesus. ## Here’s 3 ways you can use Christmas traditions to bring Jesus into your conversations: ### 1\. Gifts Jesus was first given as a gift to the world. In that spirit, today we give gifts to the people we hold the closest. ### 2\. Carols Most of the traditional Christmas carols we sing are actually worship songs about Jesus. Don’t believe me? Go re-read the lyrics to songs like Joy To The World or Hark The Herald Angels Sing. ### 3\. Candy Canes Yes, even candy canes. Originally created by a German choirmaster to keep the kids quiet during the nativity play. The ‘sugar stick’ was fashioned into a shepherd's cane and coloured red and white. The shepherd cane represents Jesus’ humble beginnings, the white stripes represent his holiness, and the red stripes represent the blood of his eventual sacrifice on the cross. ## Christmas holds a special meaning for everyone, but according to God’s great narrative: * Christmas means you are not alone. * Christmas means you are loved. * Christmas means God’s in control. * Christmas means goodwill one day overcome evil. Make the most of this Christmas season and take the time to invite your friends and family who don’t follow Jesus into their own redemption stories. While watching the video, consider who you may share this with to help you in your conversations about Jesus. 'Birth of Hope' is a story of Jesus from Mary’s perspective and paints the picture of hope entering the world to make a change for all. Find all the links to all the videos on the final day of this plan. [IMAGE CONTENT]

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Make the Most of Christmas - by yesHEis

Love, joy, peace and eggnog – Christmas is full of opportunities to talk to people about Jesus. So how do you make the most of Christmas? Join us for 12 days as we look at the season around the greatest story ever told, ...

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