Uncomplicating Christmas

If you were here last week you heard I said December is a special month. It’s special because it’s a month of celebrations. December can also be exhausted and complicated. There are just too many parties to go to and not enough weekends. There are too many presents to pick but not enough budget or energy to do it. And I haven’t even mentioned the complicated family dynamic! So who’s going where on what date for what gathering again? The next thing you know you are thinking, when can Christmas be over so that my life can get back to normal?

Christmas is complicated enough. But the story of Christmas—God’s most important message to mankind—shouldn’t be complicated. Today we are going to unpack the bottom line of Christmas. And if you ever doubt the message of Christmas, you will find out that the bottom line is indeed “good news.”

Moving Forward

The message of the gospel is one hundred percent good news. If your feelings about God, Jesus, or the church don’t reflect that, then perhaps someone has misled you. The gospel isn’t a call for you to quit sinning and get your life in order. Rather, it’s – God loved. God gave. We believe. We receive. It’s as simple as that.

Changing Your Mind

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

Discussion Questions

1. What is your favorite childhood memory of Christmas?

2. Read John 3:16. How does the idea that “believe” means “place your complete trust in” change the meaning of the verse for you? This sentence is correct?

3. Have you ever tried to change your behavior or get back to church as a way of reconnecting with God? Did it work?

4. Read John 17:3. What do you think it means to know God?

5. If there’s never been a time in your life when you have quit trusting in yourself and begun trusting in Jesus Christ, what’s preventing you from taking that step?