Saturday, December 23, 2017

Saturday Lagniappe: "Four Essentials of a Great Christmas Eve Service" and More


Four Essentials of a Great Christmas Eve Service

Christmas Eve is the most likely time an unchurched person will walk into your worship space. It’s a huge opportunity. My fear is some churches go through the motions since Christmas Eve is the peak of busy season and volunteers are short in supply. Read More

9 Things You Should Know About Christmas Traditions

Christmas is the most widely observed cultural holiday in the world and one with a variety of long-practiced customs. Here are nine things you should know about Christmas traditions. Read More
The Cologne choirmaster story of the origin of the candy cane has been debunked. It has no truth to it. When I was a child, I did not encounter peppermint sticks in the shape of a cane or walking stick until I came to the United States at the age of 10.  My family thought that it was an American invention. We associated peppermint sticks, or sticks of "rock," as they were called in England with going to the seaside. They were about one-inch thick and the adults would break the stick of rock into pieces and share the pieces with my older brother and I. On our excursions to the seaside we not only bought a stick of rock but also fish and chips, sprinkled with salt and malt vinegar and wrapped in wax paper and newspaper. The sweets that I associate with Christmas are chocolate bars, gold foil wrapped chocolate coins, and pink sugar mice. 
Mary, Did You Know? What the Catholic Church Teaches about the Mother of Jesus

What should we make of Mary, the mother of Jesus the Messiah? Protestants and Catholics have strenuously disagreed for five hundred years. We need to understand the Catholic teaching about Mary before we consider why Protestants stand in opposition. Read More

3 Things Mary Knew About Her Baby Boy

New Testament writers don’t directly tell us how much Mary knew about what her son would accomplish. There are strong reasons for believing Mary wasn’t naïve in understanding who the Messiah would be and what he would accomplish. Read More

Your Christmas Eve message

A pastor’s Christmas Eve message will have a flavor all its own. Because of the relaxed nature of the evening, the sermon is often directed toward the child in all of us. Hence, the following.... Read More

Looking For A Last-Minute Christmas Sermon Idea? Keep It Simple, Keep It Weird


One of the challenges of preaching for Christmas is holding two very different truths in hand without falling into one of two traps. Read More

4 Church Trends That Make Me Uncomfortable

Landon Coleman shares four church trends that make him uncomfortable. Read More

What Did Jesus Believe About the Bible?

While there is a great deal that could be said about what Jesus believed about the Bible, any honest treatment of the subject will likely start with these 3 observations.... Read More

How to Share Your Story This Christmas: Counsel from Charles Spurgeon

Long before the digital age, in preparing hearts for this missional potential, Charles Spurgeon preached a sermon to prepare his growing church for the coming Christmas season. On Sunday morning, December 21, 1856, his message “Going Home” encouraged each member of his congregation to humbly, wisely, and appropriately find opportunities to share their personal testimony with family and friends. Read More

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