Christmas Eve Celebration
December 1 - At the Right Time
Matthew 1:17 & Romans 5:6
Matthew recounts the genealogy of Jesus all the way back to Abraham. Doing this brings our minds back to the time when God initially laid out His covenant with the father of God’s people, Israel.
This is the beginning of years of preparation.
This reveals a core truth of the Christian faith: God is not in a hurry because God is in control.
December 8 - Fullness of Time
Galatians 4:4-6 & Exodus 20:8-11
The goal of Advent is not to fill our days with plans, preparations, and presents to look forward to. Advent directs us to a future hope that far exceeds any Christmas party we will attend or throw.
Instead of filling our time every year by trying to fit in all the parties and celebrations we can, God calls us to remember how He filled time. And in our remembering, we hope for what’s to come.
December 15 - Don’t Fill Life
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
In this life, it is so easy for our desire for achievement and notoriety (i.e. chasing after the fleeting things in life) to overshadow God’s command to be faithful and enjoy the simple gifts that He pours upon us.
The goal of the Christian life is to continually remind yourself of the sacrificial love of God so that His love might excite you toward faith-filled obedience and devotion.
December 22 - Nativity
Deuteronomy 6:4-6 & Luke 2:1-7
Due to a census, Joseph and Mary journeyed from their home in Nazareth to the town of Bethlehem. With the census came the fulfillment of the prophecy in Micah 5:2: “from [Bethlehem] shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
If we do not engrain Scripture in us, we will miss out on the richness of God’s voice and the glory in God’s plan.
December 24 - Hastily Come
Luke 2:8-20 & Revelation 21
The certainty of the language in Revelation gives disciples hope and peace in the midst of whatever the world throws our way. This certainty is what we all seek. The certainty of a Savior’s affection and acceptance of us is what we all seek. The shepherds went in haste to find Jesus and God calls us to do the same.
Do not hesitate to surrender your lives and come to Jesus. The moment of surrender calls for a hurried pace. Be intentional, yes, but do not wait any longer. Come and adore our King.
Disciples of Jesus organize our lives to orient our hearts.
Three Practices for Slowing Down
Sabbath Rest
Sabbath aims to remind us that we are not ultimately in control of our lives but are partners with God in the care and protection of the sliver of His creation in which we’ve been placed. The world continues even when we stop. When we take the day off from working, God continues to uphold us and all His creation.
The Sabbath is not only a day without work, but also a day of delight. A day filled with celebration, joy, peace, fellowship, and gratitude. Jesus desires to spend time with us and we often overschedule ourselves into missed opportunities to spend time with Him. Our schedules are full while our tanks are empty. We need the Sabbath.
Sabbath tips:
1. Pick a consistent day and time. Humans are creatures of habit. We all know this, but we quickly forget that habits take time to cultivate. Rhythms are not found but formed.
2. Prepare for the Sabbath. Committing to a full 24 hours of no work takes preparation. Preparing for the Sabbath looks like accomplishing the necessary work ahead of time.
3. Eliminate distractions. This may mean spending the whole day without your phones tablets, and computers. This may mean not turning on the television. The goal is not boredom, but refreshment. Often, we lounge on the couch watching Netflix and scrolling through social media believing that we are being refreshed, while it seldom achieves the intended outcome.
4. Be in community. At the very least you should gather with the body for corporate worship. At most, you should share a meal with others. Relationships are formed around the table and lives are enriched through good friendships and good conversations.
Scripture Memorization
Our instant access is a blessing of the highest degree, but it also can lead us to becoming complacent. Since it is always there, it will still be there tomorrow. We do not need to memorize Scripture if we can just Google some key words and find the passage quickly.
But here’s the reality: Disciples cannot be guided by Scripture if they need to search for Scripture. We are called to be people of the Word, ready at a moment’s notice to give a reason for the faith we hold to. This cannot happen if we do not know the reason for our faith.
Scripture tips:
1. Start small. This is not a competition. If you have never memorized Scripture before it may take some time. However, I have heard many stories of people who claim to be bad at memorization be diligent and memorize large portions of God’s Word.
2. Repetition over time is key. This is not a race. Memorizing Scripture is not the end goal. Growing in your knowledge and love of God is the end goal. This means we do not want to memorize for the sake of memorizing. We want to internalize the message of the Scriptures we are focusing on.
3. Start with verses you’ve already memorized before. This is a helpful way to begin. If you grew up in the church there is a high probability that you memorized some Scripture, likely the most well-known passages. Start there and refresh your memory to help gain confidence and encouragement.
Simplicity
We’ve lost the art of simplicity. The art of contentment.
Discontentment reigns supreme while simplicity calls us to a slower life filled with purposeful interactions and possessions. Practicing simplicity is not about removing every luxury from your life, rather about being intentional with and thankful for the things God has given you. Yes, we remove some things, but it is to open us up to living a joyful life in the Kingdom of Jesus.
Simplicity tips:
1. Digital simplicity. Attention is the highest sought-after commodity in modern culture. If someone has your attention, they have an opportunity to form your heart. We are constantly being marketed to and it is causing us to be rewired for discontentment.
2. Material simplicity. We all have those drawers, closets, storage units, or sheds where we store many things that we believe we will need in the future. Take time to go through one of those and donate anything you have not used in the last year or two. Doing this can show us how little we truly need in our day-to-day lives.