It can be agonizing \u2014 planning your \u201cspecial\u201d Christmas sermon. Some people are expecting a feel good bit of \u201cho-ho\u201d sermonizing. Others are expecting a humdinger of a sermon \u201cbecause all the unsaved people are visiting!\u201d Some people are just anxious to fight the crowds at the mall to finish up their procrastinated Christmas shopping. And some people are truly yearning to meditate upon the incarnation of Christ.<\/p>\n
You? You\u2019re just tired from the late-night cantata rehearsal, sick of the commercialization, and just want to stick it to Santa Claus one last time this year.\u00a0Your Christmas sermon is pretty important. The humdinger crowd is right \u2014 a lot of people are sitting in your pews that day that won\u2019t be in a church the other 51 Sundays of the year. Christmas only comes once a year, and that whole incarnation thing \u2014 yeah, that\u2019s pretty important to the Christian faith.<\/p>\n
Not to make your holiday headache worse, but we have a list of five tips that might help to fend off the frustration as you prep your Christmas sermon.<\/p>\n
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1. Say something. <\/strong> You deserve a vacation, but that\u2019s a subject for another article. The point here is that you have an opportunity \u2014 quite a good one \u2014 to say some very important things at a very important time. Don\u2019t miss this opportunity. Say something.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2. Make it about Jesus. <\/strong> I\u2019ve heard fastidious lectures on the \u201cFive Purposes of the Incarnation\u201d in place of a Christmas sermon \u2014 but some of these sermons totally miss the person of Jesus! Yes, the incarnation is a critical theological truth, but it is not a sterile subject to be examined. It is a personal reality to be enjoyed!<\/p>\n This Christmas, preach Jesus! He is everything. He is life. He is joy. He is hope. He is love. That\u2019s what we need most! Now proclaim it!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3. Give the gospel.<\/strong> Giving the gospel is the best thing you can ever give on Christmas.<\/p>\n Give hope. Give truth. Give Jesus. Give the gospel.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4. Do something different.<\/strong> That\u2019s good. Now, take a break from it for Christmas, and do something different. That simple act of breaking your routine makes the occasion a bit more special. Then, go a step beyond and do something different. Here are some examples: The point is, make it memorable by making it different.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 5. Plan way ahead.<\/strong> I suggest that you plan now \u2014 several weeks away \u2014 what you\u2019re going to say. Not some vague \u201cChristmas sermon\u201d penciled into your preaching calendar, but rather a detailed explanation of everything you\u2019re going to say or do in that sermon. The better prepared you are for this significant Sunday, the bigger impact it will have. The longer you mull over the truth of your sermon, the deeper an impression it will make in your own heart.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t reuse last Christmas\u2019s sermon. Don\u2019t plan to say \u201cWell, here we are again…Christmas comes around every year.\u201d Instead, plan a fresh approach with a burst of creativity, insight, and joy about the Messiah who has come in the flesh, to bring redemption and hope!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tell us, what are your plans for the Christmas sermon?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It can be agonizing \u2014 planning your \u201cspecial\u201d Christmas sermon. Some people are expecting a feel good bit of \u201cho-ho\u201d sermonizing. Others are expecting a humdinger of a sermon \u201cbecause all the unsaved people are visiting!\u201d Some people are just anxious to fight the crowds at the mall to finish up their procrastinated Christmas shopping. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[4154,405,4136],"tags":[1723,1646,1901,1900],"class_list":{"0":"post-10882","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-church-resources-church-resources","8":"category-pastor-how-to","9":"category-pastoral-leadership","10":"tag-christmas-anticipation","11":"tag-christmas-sermons","12":"tag-christmas-tips","13":"tag-holiday-preparation"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogrouting.sharefaith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/11.18.13_ChristmasSermon-560.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nThere\u2019s a temptation to make Christmas kind of like a preaching vacation. You may be thinking, howsabout we just do the cantata and all go home? Or maybe a Christmas play? Let the preacher off the hook just once?\u00a0Nice try.<\/p>\n
\nThis isn\u2019t about parrotting the \u201cJesus is the reason for the season\u201d reductionism at the end of your sermon. Everyone listening to your sermon has at least five greeting cards on their mantelpiece that say the same thing. It\u2019s true \u2014 Jesus is the reason for the season. Now, explain it!<\/p>\n
\nAt it\u2019s core, Christmas is about the gospel. You will miss the entire point of Christmas if you don\u2019t explain why Jesus came to earth. Don\u2019t leave Jesus in the manger. Bring your sermon to the glorious climax of his death and resurrection \u2014 and the eternal difference that this makes in the lives of those who accept his gift of salvation.<\/p>\n
\nOne of the ways to make your Christmas sermon memorable is to do something out of the ordinary. I understand that there are some preachers who live and die by the \u201csermon series\u201d \u2014 the unbroken exposition of the books of the Bible, verse by verse, line by line. precept by precept.<\/p>\n
\nIf you\u2019re usually a three-points-and-a-poem kind of preacher, try a storytelling (narrative) approach.
\nIf you\u2019ve never used a short video in your sermon, give it a try.
\nIf you are in the custom of 50-minute sermons, try a 15-minute one for Christmas.
\nUse an object lesson \u2014 a real manger, a replica of a Roman cross, etc. Just be careful with the camels.
\nExplain tradition. There is a rich Christian tradition that has come to characterize some believers\u2019 celebration of the Christmas holiday. If your church doesn\u2019t typically celebrate such traditions, you may want to try it. Use an Advent wreath during your Christmas sermon, or explain the significance of a Jesse tree.<\/p>\n
\nYour Christmas sermon can serve as the pinnacle of a year of preaching \u2014 the high point. But you\u2019ve got to plan for it.<\/p>\n