Advent Conspiracy: Rethinking Christmas Before It’s Too Late -- Again

1. WORSHIPPING FULLY

2. SPENDING LESS

3. GIVING MORE

4. LOVING ALL

It all boils down to love.

Love for a savior.

Love to a neighbor.

By spending just a little less on gifts we free up our resources to love as Jesus loves by giving to those who really need help. It’s not that there’s something wrong with the shopping mall—it’s that the better story is about loving all.

You see, my hope for you is not that you simply rebel or push back against the hyper-consumerism of our culture. It is that you do something proactive and positive in its place … you know … like love your neighbor.

Question: Can Christmas still change the world?

I think it can. As God’s people live / embody the message of Christmas we can bring genuine transformation to our communities.

There are many ways we can do this. Some are personal, some are local, and some are global. But all give us the opportunity to share the love of Jesus.

For a number of years now Vickie and I have taken advantage of Nazarene Compassionate Ministries’ adopt a child program by sponsoring a child in others’ names during the Christmas season.

This goes back to some of the questions I ask myself,

• “What does my giving say about the recipient?”

• “What does my giving say about my values?”

I am convinced that most of those I give gifts to would feel honored by another person being lifted-up and “rescued” on their behalf.

Vickie and I create a small card with the child’s name and picture on it and write the words similar to “As a Christmas gift to you; we have sponsored this child for one month in your honor.”

And you know what – when people reciprocate by doing something similar for me during Christmas … well, let’s just say it’s a wonderful gift to share with anyone.

There will be many opportunities this Advent to share that love. I want you to thoughtfully sift through each one and choose the ones that best reflect your values and express His love.

WRAP-UP

The Christmas story is a story of love, hope, redemption and relationship. So, what happened? How did it turn into stuff, stress and debt? Somehow, we’ve traded the best story in the world for the story of what’s on sale.

In closing, let me ask you a few more questions:

• What if, together, we decided that “enough is enough” and we will not do Christmas as usual?

• What if, this year, Christmas could be different; more meaningful, more like we desire it to be?

• What if Advent could be bigger and more effective than we ever imagined?

I want to encourage you to take the bulletin insert home and use it as a guide and source of encouragement as you begin your Christmas this year. I want you to make it through the season and discover that this time you did not begin looking for Jesus only to fill that quest with stuff instead.

Let’s ask God to awaken us this season.

Let’s ask God to realign our priorities.