Simply Christmas Pt 1 Series

Simply Christmas

Our goal in this series is to challenge all of us to simplify Christmas and get back to what makes Christmas a matter of the heart – which simply explained - is Jesus the Savior of the world was born he was born in a stable, laid in a manger, and wrapped in swaddling clothes. This baby came to fulfill a divine mission from God to Love this world, to die for this world and in the end to save those who believe.

Thesis: We are going to simplify Christmas this year, which, means we want to encourage you to make it simpler or easier for you to do and experience! We also want to help you refocus and understand Christmas’ true meaning so you enjoy the season with peace and joy.

Thought: Simplify means to simplify our lives so we can enjoy the season of Christmas with joy and peace – it means make it simple – less complicated and to make sure we cherish every precious moment of it with others and especially with Jesus.

Scripture: Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

Thought: The heart of Christmas is rooted in love – in Jesus – in those cherished moments which happen today, tomorrow and the challenge is to simply cherish every one of these moments in life while we still have them.

Share the story of the Christmas Movie you watched - The Heart of Christmas

Note: Movie and song based on the true story of the Locke family and their son Dax's story who lived in Washington next to Peoria IL. It’s about Dax’s battle with Leukemia --- Show Dax’s picture the story unfolds in the year 2009 --- Share the story and reference the website https://www.thedaxfoundation.org/dax-s-story.

Video Illustration: The Heart of Christmas – video and song written by Matthew West in honor of Dax "Last Christmas" – the message of the song and the movie is to come back to the heart of Christmas and learn cherish every moment while you still have it with those you love. We too need to experience the heart of Christmas through Jesus – the baby wrapped tightly lying in the manger in Bethlehem and understand why He came and what He did with His precious life for each of us.

Dax understood His love as he was struggling to survive but during a reprieve from the disease they went to Julie’s oms house for Christmas 2008 and during Christmas Dax took baby Jesus from the manger scene, he clung to it to all day and even brought it home – maybe to remind this 2 year old how much Jesus loved him! He loved the lights of Christmas and it’s special meaning. Amazing what a toddler can teach us!

Scripture Text: Psalms 62:8 “Trust him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge!’

Julie and Austin Locke came to cling to the precious promises of Jesus and God’s Word through this dark time. She said her faith helped her get through the struggle watching her child suffer in pain and sickness. Prayer was essential to survive this ordeal and it was the help they needed to press forward. Dax’s name by the way means “inspirational” and means a “spiritual teacher” fitting for a young boy who taught us so much about the Heart of Christmas. He really was a spiritual teacher at a young age!

Thought: I believe for us to get back to the heart of Christmas requires us to simplify our lives especially starting this Christmas!

Thought: Simplicity connected to Jesus brings peace, joy, and balance to our lives and our heart!

Introduction to Series:

We live in a world and a culture which likes to complicate everything! Would you agree with me? This world seeks to make everything more grandiose or even more complicated than it needs to be. You are no longer male or female --- it use to be simple to decide right-- but now these crazy educators and liberal are telling you that you have to decide what you are and young teens are being told today that they can be what they are not. This seems crazy and complicated – right!

How about the new math stuff? What happened to just simple math?

What about the fancy cell phones – I bet most of you only use a fraction of its ability – right? Why does it have to be so complicated – what’s wrong with simple!

What about those VCR’s – remember how complicated the instructions were?

I read a book a few years ago challenging to simplify my life and then the author gave me complicated instructions on how to simplify – I finally put the book down so I could simplify!