Christmas is one of my favourite times of year. Everyone is getting excited for the big day and running about looking for presents. For Christians, this time of year is great to share Jesus with others. Conversations are easier to start as people enter the Christmas season - they have time off school or work, and often reflect on their year while enjoying the good gifts from God like family and friendship. They are looking to give and receive gifts, and as Christians we want to share with them the greatest gift that came 2000 years ago in Jesus. With that in mind, five ways you can share Jesus this Christmas are ...
1. Get excited!
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. (Luke 2:10)
Christians should be the most excited around Christmas. This holiday celebrates the Saviour of the world taking on human form and being born in a stable. God’s plan to rescue his people from sin was entering the world. This is far more exciting than the PS4 release or the new iPad. This is Jesus, who grew to be a man and die a death that can bring us to God and give eternal life. This is the greatest gift ever given and it comes from God to all people. Get excited about this gift. Be thankful for this gift. Celebrate this gift with joy!
2. Be generous
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
You have every reason to be generous to others because God has been so generous to you. God has shown us great generosity in sending Christ. Christmas is a great time to be generous to others in celebration of what Christ has done. I love giving presents and being generous with others, as I am so thankful for the generosity God has shown me. This is also a great time to be generous with others who you don’t know. Give generously to the poor and homeless, share your time generously with the lonely, and accept the outcast. Be generous with the gifts, time, talents and money God has given you in response to the generosity God has shown you in the giving of his son Jesus.
3. Be Christ-focused instead of present-focused
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
As Christians, we can enjoy gifts and be generous with others, but Christmas is a time to be thankful and focused on Christ. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Reflect on what he has done and focus on Him. Read about the first Christmas and celebrate the birth of Jesus. Keep Christ the focus. This will contrast the world focusing on presents or food, and hopefully lead others to question why we focus so much on Jesus.
4. Invite others to church
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation". (Mark 16:15)
People are open to coming to a Christmas service more than any other time of the year, either because they want to get in the Christmas mood, or because it is 'nice' tradition. Invite others to come to church to hear this Good News of Jesus. The worst that can happen is that they say no. We can use this time as a key opportunity to invite others along as we celebrate the birth of Christ. Who knows, it could be their first day of a new relationship with Jesus.
5. Be bold in conversations and prayer
And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:31)
I love how bold the disciples were in talking about Christ. They seemed to have a way of turning any conversation back to Christ. They relied on God in prayer to be bold with others.
It is not difficult to turn a conversation about Christmas back to Christ, but it takes boldness. So far, I have had loads of people ask me what I am doing over Christmas. I have tried to be as bold as possible in turning these conversations back to Christ. I want to point people back to the reason I love Christmas and explain the greatest gift to them. For some, Christmas is the only time they will talk about Christ, so be bold with your conversations.
I’m excited to look at ways to share Christ with others this Christmas. Merry Christmas!
