Last Christmas I had a heart change. It was last year that I made the decision to make Christmas more about Christ and less about me. On the second week of advent last year, I preached a messages entitled "What Do You Want For Christmas." Hear it here or on iTunes. In my message I shared what our family had decided to do with Christmas, and challenged others to do likewise. I stated my belief that since Christmas is indeed the birthday day of Christ, that we ought to bring gifts to Him, and make it more about Him, and less about us.
In the spirit of Matthew 25, my family had a great time buying gifts for Christ from the World Vision Gift Catalog. For weeks after my message I was blessed by hearing story after story from families within our church that decided to do the same thing. Each person, as they told me their story, spoke of how it made their Christmas celebration more meaningful than ever before.
This year I am excited that our church has decided to take it up yet another notch by participating in the Advent Conspiracy. I love the spirit of the Advent Conspiracy... making Christmas a world-changing event once again. Two thousand and eight years ago Christmas changed the world. This year it can do it again!
10.6 billion dollars were spent on Black Friday this year. Despite the downturn in the economy, that is a 3% increase over last year! Imagine what that 10.6 billion could do, if spent on the cause of Christ. This video will give you a pretty good idea.
If you are a part of Grace Point, be sure to participate fully. You will be blessed beyond what you can imagine. If you are not a part of our church family, I challenge you to make Christmas more about Christ this year, and less about you. Join the conspiracy!
Here is how our advent season will be looking this year. Join us in taking back Christmas!
Worship Fully - 11/30/08
- Entering the story of advent means entering this season with an overwhelming passion to worship Jesus to the fullest.
- We're asking people to consider spending less this Christmas (maybe buying on less gift). It sounds insignificant, yet many who have taken this small sacrifice have experienced something that is nothing less than a miracle: They have been more available to celebrate Christ during the advent season.
- God's gift to us was a relationship built on love. So it's no wonder why we're drawn to the idea that Christmas should be a time to love our friends and family in the most memorable ways possible.
- When Jesus loved, He loved in ways never imagined before. Though rich, He became poor to love the poor, the forgotten, the overlooked and the sick. He played to the margins. By spending less at Christmas we have the opportunity to join Him in giving resources to those who need help the most.
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