There are more people who haven’t made a commitment to Christ yet in churches during the Christmas season than any other time of the year. The Pew Research Center tells us that the number of Google searches for “church” skyrockets before Christmas and Easter each year. People are open to the idea of being with us. Are we prepared to give them a message they need to hear?
A friend of mine challenged me this year to concentrate on peace for Christmas. With all the noise of the holidays and the business and tension, people are desperately aware of the need for peace. Considering the Prince of Peace is at the heart of the Christmas story, it seemed like a natural theme for the season.
Here is the “Christmas Truce” video that starts 52 seconds into the sermon:
When I first saw that video on YouTube I knew I had to use it this year. It made a huge impact on me in my preparation and on the crowd as it was presented. At the end of the sermon I played Bryan Duncan’s rendition of “Grown Up Christmas List” in a video I put together. During the children’s chorus in the song I went back to clips from the Christmas Truce video to tie it all together. That went over well.
Honestly my big concern with this sermon was whether or not I was overloading the extras. I used a lot more Bible in this sermon than usual and two videos. However, the majority of the verses I used were all in Luke and tied directly to the main text. The videos were connected and sandwiched the message well. I really couldn’t be more pleased with how this one went.
Next week I want to talk about peace in our relationships. I want to build a bridge between Isaiah’s promise of the Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9:6-7 and “He is our peace” in Ephesians 2:11-18. I’m excited about where this one might go.
