Why We'll Always Celebrate Christmas!
The Mind of Christmas
Friday, December 5, 2003
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, as Jesus came to the world as an infant so long ago, in order to grow up and bring Your great message of love to the world; as He eventually died on the cross, shedding His perfect blood to atone for the sins of the world, may I use this time to grow in Your grace and love. May I give myself to the purpose of sharing Jesus’ love and Good News with all around me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may discern the opportunities You give me to share the Good News with others, through words and actions. Empower me by Your Holy Spirit to live boldly in this Christmas season as one of Your children. Use me to share with others the true meaning of Christmas and to claim this season for Jesus once again. I pray that in all that I think, do and say, You will work in me to accomplish Your perfect will. This I pray in the strong and precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Bible Verses
John 1:1-14
1In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn’t make. 4Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. 5The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. 6God sent John the Baptist 7to tell everyone about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8John himself was not the light; he was only a witness to the light. 9The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was going to come into the world. 10But although the world was made through him, the world didn’t recognize him when he came. 11Even in his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted. 12But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan—this rebirth comes from God. 14So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. (grace and truth) And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.
Reflecting on Scripture
Today’s focus is mission—reaching out to those who don’t yet know Jesus with the Good News of His salvation! Who do you know in your family, among your neighbors and friends, your classmates or co-workers who needs to hear the Good News of Jesus’ love and salvation? Make a list and pray for these folks each day that God will give you the opportunity to share the love and life of Jesus with them!
Exploring the Scripture
What does today’s Scripture tell us about God’s role as a “missionary”?
According to verses 10-13, for whom did Jesus’ carry out His mission to the world?
What does today’s Scripture teach us about the qualities of God’s missionaries? (1:14)
Understanding the Scripture
What does it mean to you to be a witness for Jesus in your everyday life, as John the Baptizer was a witness for Jesus in his day?
What does the reality that everyone who responds to Jesus gets to be a child of God, do to encourage you to share the Good News with others?
Applying the Scripture
Who is one person you can share the Good News of Jesus with today? When are you going to share it?
Mission - To Tell Everyone!
John had an incredible task to from God: to tell everyone about the “light” so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. We have the same task! Jesus calls us to tell everybody about His love and salvation. We all think of His Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20, to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to do everything that He commanded us, but do you realize that there is a “Great Commission” passage in everyone of the Gospels and in the Book of Acts? Jesus wanted to make it clear that we have a mission in the world. He wanted to make it clear that it isn’t enough that we know Him. We must make certain that all people, everywhere have the opportunity to know Him. While the task seems as overwhelming to us, as it must have seemed to John when He was told to tell EVERYONE about the light, the reality is, if we only told two or three people during this Christmas season about Jesus, incredible blessing would occur for those folks and for us! We can’t physically tell EVERYONE about Jesus, but we can tell one person, or two people, or a small group of folks. What if every Christian in the world did that? By Christmas everyone in the world would have heard about the true meaning of Christmas, and John’s task would be complete!!! God doesn’t expect us to do everything. He does expect us to pass along the blessing we have received to others. Let’s make a commitment to tell at least ONE other person about the new life of Jesus during December!
To view other studies from the Why We Celebrate Christmas series, click here.