What was your best Christmas?

As you’ve gotten older, has the magic of Christmas been harder to capture?

What's your best memory of Jesus centered Christmas?
What have been the most spiritual? Jesus filled? Christian experiences?
Ones’ where -> Growth, Presence of God, Joy, Purpose, Truth?

This January people will ask you, “Hey, how was your Christmas?”
What will you say?
What do you wish you’d be able to say?

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What do we celebrate at Christmas?

Jesus – God who saves – He is a rescuing God
Emmanuel – God with us
o Fully God, fully man
o He cannot redeem what he did not assume
o He knits himself to humanity in the humblest move ever taken
Messiah, the Christ – king, anointed one – bringing a new reign - a new kingdom

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How do we enter into that story?
You have to craft it. Plan it.

Ideas:
- Times of Silence – (see last week's sermon)
- Repent - are there things you need to repent of?
- Special Devotional Time
- Something special with your spouse?
- Read something with a friend?
- Family time - kids love candles, tell the story using the nativity
- Remember those who don’t know Jesus
o Lights – light in the darkness – be the hoola hoop bringer
o "Happy Holidays" moments – so many people who still don’t know his love
- Christmas eve
o Prepare for the service
o Parents, lead something before or after
- Christmas morning
o Song, story, reminders of what you’ve done
o Sing as a family
o Read at Christmas breakfast

What will you craft?

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Pick a theme song for this Advent/Christmas season.

Example - Joy to the World.
- More about the return, but works as both Jesus' birth and his return
- It’s a hoola hoop song – an already and not yet song
- As we live in the in between of his two appearings