Tricks for Reading the Christmas Story

Here comes the Christmas season! If  you are like me, you struggle to keep the right perspective during this season. There are so many distractions from the "true meaning of Christmas."

So, here's one idea for keeping your focus. Take time every day to dig into the Christmas story, reading and reflecting. You can just read a few verses and let God take over your imagination as you read. You can find the primary stories in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2.

As you read consider these tricks for deeper understanding.

• Read the story in an unfamiliar translation. You can find lots of them at biblegateway.com.
• Imagine yourself in the context of the first century, as an ordinary person: poor, struggling, powerless.
• Imagine how the story would feel to different people in the story: Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the magi, Herod, Herod's court, Mary's family, Joseph's family, Simeon, Anna, etc.
• Look for some of the familiar story elements and see if they are really in the stories. When did the shepherds see the star? (They didn't.) How many wise men were there? (We don't know.) What was the innkeeper like? (There is no mention of an innkeeper.)
• Let different family members read different parts.
• Read the story by the light of an oil lamp.

Let's keep our focus on Jesus this season!

Christmas on Sunday: Uh oh...

Occasionally Christmas falls on a Sunday--about one-seventh of the time, I would think. I have to admit that I don't like it. It messes with our Sunday routine and our Christmas routine. This interruption forces us to make choices, and it may make us think a little more clearly.

How is a Christian to celebrate Christmas on a Sunday? Some will bag the church service entirely; some will opt for part, but not all, of the Sunday services; some will probably go all out for Christmas at church.

Of course that will depend on what their church is offering.

Some churches have cancelled services entirely on December 25.
Some churches will have streamlined services, like we will at Crossroads.
I imagine that some churches may have even more elaborate services than usual.

Christmas on Sunday brings to my mind some questions.
Isn't Christmas all about Jesus? Isn't church all about Jesus? If so, wouldn't it be twice as celebratory to have both on the same day?

Or maybe Christmas is about family, food, decorations, music, and gifts. We have to consider our stated beliefs in light of our practices.

But at the same time, there is grace and freedom in Jesus. Celebrating Christmas (which is never called for in the Bible) should not become a legalistic requirement. Even Jesus missed some weekly synagogue services. Can we skip church on Christmas, and truly celebrate the freedom we have in Christ?

Do we really celebrate Jesus in our Christmas family gatherings? Or is Christmas just a good occasion to gather family and friends?

Maybe I'm the only one to get so analytical here. Or maybe a lot of believers are thinking this, and I'm just saying it.

Here's my encouragement to you: Let Jesus break through to you as you celebrate his birth on Sunday this year. Enjoy your freedom in Christ, purchased for you on the cross. Know that he came for you and longs to enjoy your fellowship--whether that is around the fireplace, the dinner table, or in a worship service.

Receive the blessing of Jesus this Christmas!

A Deeper Christmas

Christmas is for children, folks often say.  It's about toys, Santa, and smiles on children's faces.  It is about giving and receiving.  It is about chilling out in a busy world. 

For some adults, Christmas is about reliving childhood. 
Or it may be about trying to experience what they missed in childhood.  We need to suspend our adult cognition if we want to enjoy Christmas.  Believe in Santa, flying reindeer, and Christmas magic.

Jesus does call us to become like children, trusting fully in the Father.  But his call to childlikeness doesn't mean giggly, air-headed belief in snowmen who come alive.

He wants to bring us to faith that is like a child's in its simplicity, but rich with a knowing wisdom.  This wisdom comes through experience, hardship, frustration, failure and success.  It comes through trial and error.  It comes through prayer and fasting.  It comes through experiential knowledge of the scriptures.

A deeper Christmas experience comes only when we embrace the mystery of the arrival of God himself as a helpless child.  In this child, he continues to reveal himself, as Creator, Master, Shepherd, and Judge. 

Through means that baffle human minds, God himself comes to his hurting, broken creation to restore hope, to unveil the mystery of this creation, and to express his tender love for us.

Unto us a Child is born.

Parade Time!

This Saturday is the Stokesdale Christmas Parade, the community's signature event for the season.  Thousands of people will gather this Saturday to see friends and neighbors roll or stroll down Main Street.  We have scouts, marching bands, trucks, tractors, horses, tumblers, churches, and dignitaries in the procession every year.

As usual, Crossroads will host a family fun experience in the front yard of the fire station.  We'll be giving away hot dogs, drinks, desserts, pop corn, and cotton candy.  





We will have face painting and crafts for kids, and we will have a huge bounce house.  


All our festivities will begin around noon, providing you with lots of fun and food before the parade begins at 2:00.  

Then, as the parade rolls by, Crossroads announcers Lisa Bailey and Keith Street will give you the inside story on every entry.  They may also tease the crowd with some Christmas trivia.




The weatherman promises lots of sunshine for a beautiful Stokesdale Christmas Parade experience.  You'll be glad you came!

New Friends

We arrived back from Uganda on April 11, late in the evening.  I think everyone on the trip had a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Nearly every night since our return, I have dreamed about the people in Wakiso, the district outside of Kampala, Uganda.  Meeting these folks has struck a chord deep in my soul.

Thanks to the work of Scott and Erin Littleton with The Mighty River Project, relationships were established long ago.  On this trip, the Littletons introduced their friends from the U.S. to their friends in Uganda.  It felt like a family reunion.

We visited Sunday through Wednesday in the village, spending the nights at a guesthouse in Kampala.  Every day we were talking with the basket makers, playing with the children, and working alongside the young men.  They received us with warmth and gratitude like beloved extended family. 

On the last day in Wakiso, we shared gifts with them.  The basket-making women received gifts from their personal sponsors and The Mighty River Project.  All the kids received backpacks filled with pencils, notebooks, stickers and toys.  It felt like Christmas.  We were a big family who love each other, sharing gifts from the heart.  They also shared gifts with us.

These relationships have been cultivated for four years.  With this trip, the relationship has reached a whole new level.  Already folks at Crossroads are planning the next trip.  We are planning who will go, whom they will meet and what gifts they will bring.

For me, my prayer is that I will never be the same.  I have seen the world as never before.  I have seen the gospel at work as never before.  To Jesus be the glory!

The Manger

Jesus walks with us.  The manger reminds us that, harsh as this world is, Jesus walks with us.  Through the poverty, hunger, hardship, and struggles, Jesus knows how hard it is.

As we sang "The Little Drummer Boy" in worship last Sunday, this line struck me:  "I am a poor boy, too."  Jesus came to be with us, to enter into the difficulties and joys of this world.  He was like us.  We are like him.

No wonder Isaiah tells us that he will be called Immanuel, which means, "God with us."  God is not some cosmic force, or supernatural cop.  He loves us so much that he gave his Son to live among us, and to experience the ups and downs of earthly life. 

So, when we experience the joys, Jesus walks with us.  When we hit the hardships, Jesus walks with us.  He gave up all the glory of heaven to be with us, to redeem us, to show us his love.  And so we celebrate Christmas. 

Welcome to this world, Jesus!

Christmas Soul Monitor

As we were putting up our Christmas decorations last Saturday, I thought about all the trappings of the season.  There is so much energy put into this holiday.  Christmas has become the dominant theme of December. 

I wondered, as I searched for the optimal tree branch for my ornament, "What is this doing to my soul?"  Everything we do affects our souls.  Every attitude we hold shapes us.  So, what is the Christmas season doing to my soul?  As I shop, party, eat, decorate, celebrate...what is this doing to my soul?

It's a good question, and not hard to answer.  The hard part is remembering to ask it.  When I answer the question, I often realize that I need an attitude adjustment.  Sometimes, I may need to change my activity.  But most often I need to change my heart.

Jesus came to earth to give life to me.  It cost him his life on the cross.  Christmas ought to breathe life into my soul.  It can, as long as I guard my heart.

So, I'm monitoring my heart, this Christmas, watching for Jesus to breathe
life into me.