The Gift of Good News

Raise your hand if you have heard this before – Christmas in this day and age has largely become about gift-giving! Yes, I think we all would agree that the gift-giving aspect of this season has become largely emphasized in our society. We give gifts to our family and friends, we give gifts to those less fortunate than ourselves, we give to the church, we give to charities, and we even give gifts to our pets! But in the midst of all this gift-giving, do we stop and think about why we do this? In the spirit of Christmas, gift-giving is a reminder that we have been given the greatest gift of all – God’s gift of Jesus, sent to us as a baby boy to be the Savior of the World. And furthermore, gift-giving is great, but as we do it, we need to remember that our best gifts aren’t wrapped up in pretty wrapping paper; rather they wait for us in heaven. So, we can’t get so focused on the gift-giving that we forget this important reminder.

This Advent and Christmas season, we are going to take a journey in which we are reminded of this important truth. Based on James Moore’s study, All I Want for Christmas, we will take a look at some of those amazing gifts which we have been given – gifts that won’t be found under any tree, but which are gifts freely given by the greatest giver of them all. In other words, we will study the life-changing gifts of Christmas. And while doing this, we will also think about how each of these gifts empower us to follow our Savior and give unto others. Yes, each gift will build on one another until, on Christmas Eve, we discover the gifts that we can give to others. So, let’s take a journey this year and think about the gifts that we would really like to receive from Christmas this year. We begin this week with the Gift of Good News.