But then the pastor decided to speak to those who don\u2019t usually come to church. <\/strong> The pastor was really getting into it at this point, and the whole crowd was dead silent. Pause here for a second.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The pastor was clearly attempting to get everyone’s attention, to wake them up and get them to make a commitment to Jesus. But what happened was something quite different: the very person he was attempting to reach just trolled him in front of his entire congregation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The pastor was mocking lukewarm Christians, and at least one of them mocked him right back, in the middle of the Christmas Eve service.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n I share this story not to “dunk on” this pastor. I know a bit of his church and ministry and believe he\u2019s done a lot of good in the kingdom. I believe he honestly was trying to be faithful, help people, and call people to repentance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n I share this story because I think it illustrates some of the ways we try to do the wrong kinds of things on Christmas Eve. I can think of at least 3 ways we get Christmas Eve services wrong:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The first encouragement I want to give for you on Christmas eve is to be freed from the tyranny of having to produce an event that wows and excites everyone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The incarnation of God–God with us, in the flesh–is amazing enough. We don\u2019t need dance-offs and rap battles and smartphone apps. Just give us the incarnation, pastor. Tell us why this is such good news.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n A Chreaster is someone who only comes to church on Christmas\/Easter (get it?). Yes, you\u2019ll have them at your church. And yes, this is one of the couple times per year they’ll get to hear about Jesus and his kingdom.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n But they need good news, not a guilt trip<\/strong>. They need to know this community of people they come to on holidays has a deep, thick culture of grace and reconciliation and truth and love that strikes them as odd, different, other-worldly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n What\u2019s missing in their life isn\u2019t your strong arm tactics to get them to church. What\u2019s missing is the tangible presence of God\u2019s kingdom as announced and made present in the proclamation of good news.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The tyranny of coming up with innovative ways to \u2018do Christmas\u2019 can drive someone to despair. Yes, spend time in your text. Yes, meditate and imaginatively pray through it; Yes, continue to read good, stretching books on the infancy narratives, the incarnation, and Matthew and Luke\u2019s Gospels.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n But don\u2019t feel like you have to improve on the incarnation. The birth of Jesus is wonderful<\/em>. Encounter the incarnation in your study and preparation; allow Christ to grow within you as Mary let it be done to her according to God\u2019s word. And then share from your own encounter with Christ.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n So my Christmas Eve sermon this year is on Luke 2:1-20. Here’s a rough outline of the trajectory of the sermon:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The text is about people estranged from home<\/strong>:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n All these people in the text are living displaced, separated from “home,” that which gives life its center and weight. And Jesus experienced this, too: “He came to his own home and his own people received him not” (John 1:11).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n But then, in the midst of all this estrangement, Christ is proclaimed<\/strong>! Angels declare deliverance, salvation, and peace. The shepherds go see for themselves what has happened in Jesus and this leads them to \u201creturn home\u201d (v. 20), rejoicing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n What keeps you from feeling like you are at home? What tyrant (external or internal) has dominion over you? Where are you living on the outside, with the ox and lambs, not with those “important, belonging” people on the inside? Where are you “living in fields”: doing mundane, unimportant, unrewarded work… feeling disrespected, unnoticed, unseen?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Will you look at God with us today? Will you come and see that \u201cno more fear\u201d has come? Will you behold Joy and Peace? Will you see that God has “made his home among us” so we can find our home, we can return home with great joy?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Christ is born! Old men and virgins, shepherds and babies: all of us get to come home to Peace, come home to Belonging, come home to deliverance from whatever threatens or binds you.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Merry Christmas, Church! God\u2019s coming home to our world in Christ enables all of us to come home.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A few years ago I had the unusual freedom to attend a Christmas Eve service I wasn\u2019t leading. In fact, it wasn\u2019t in my home church at all. I was visiting friends and family out of town and attended a large, well-known church in their area for Christmas Eve. But it wasn’t a great experience,…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":30101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lead-like-jesus"],"yoast_head":"\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re here tonight and you\u2019re an atheist, I can respect that. At least you have chosen your side. But if you\u2019re here tonight and you call yourself a Christian, but only come to church once or twice a year on Christmas and Easter, if you are on the fence, lukewarm about what you believe and how you are living, maybe this is the year<\/em> for you to finally make a decision!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u201cI mean, some of you use any<\/em> excuse to not come to church on Sunday\u2019s. Some of you just want to sleep in…\u201d
And, somewhere deep in the room of about 1,200 people, one, lone, brave voice when the pastor said \u2018some of you just want to sleep in, let out a loud \u201cOOHHHHH YEAH!!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAre you trying to do the wrong work on Christmas Eve?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
1) We try to entertain people.<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
2) We try to guilt-trip the “Chreasters.”<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
3) We try to make it new, better, mind-blowing.<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gravitycommons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/nativity-icon-1024x614.jpg\"){kind=icon}
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAn example Christmas Eve sermon<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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