Sharing the Light this Christmas

Christmas has been kidnapped! We can take it back bya) telling the real story of the coming of Jesus

b) sharing the goodness of God with the needy

c) making Jesus the focus in our home

d) praying for the lost in special way.

Look at the ideas below and see if there are some you could do this year.

1. Send Christmas cards with the real story on, not Santa, or elves or cute animals.

2. Make a nativity scene the focus in your home, not the tree, and take some moments to read the story to each other in the days before Christmas.

3. Put up a sign or Scripture in a window or on your fence – “Joy to the World, the Lord is come!”.

4. Put a wreath on your front door with a Scripture or card in it.

5. Make signs to put in your car – “It is not Christmas without Jesus. Meet him at a church near you.”

6. “The greatest gift is Jesus.”

7. Make up ‘blessing cards’ – and ask if you can give a blessing to your neighbours. Then read them and leave them with them. “May you know the joy of the angels over the birth of Jesus. May your feet run to worship the King, as the shepherds did. May He be born in your heart this Christmas.”

8. Get the ‘Why Christmas?’ Alpha booklets and give some away.

9. Offer copies of the Jesus video to neighbours or workmates.

10. Type up your testimony of how Jesus became real to you, and include it in your Christmas card.

11. Offer a free New Testament (you can get them for $8-12). “Want to know the real story of Christmas?”

12. Look for a needy family and leave a parcel of goodies anonymously, with an invite to a Christmas event, or a note saying “God loves you…”

13. Help with a community Christmas dinner.

14. Invite some lonely people to your Christmas dinner.

15. Have some simple gifts made up for anyone who visits you before Christmas.

16. Send a gift to Oxfam, World Vision or Tearfund and let people know this is instead of a gift to them.

17. Invite neighbours to a Christmas event.

18. Show the Jesus video one evening and invite half your street, with coffee and eats. Have Alpha ‘Why Jesus’ booklets handy.

19. Prayer-walk your street (30 houses is approx 100 people) praying blessing, praying for eyes to be opened to Jesus.

20. Have a Carols, Coffee and Cake evening in your garden or lounge. Get some musicians, a Carol sheet, some short readings and poems and a blessing card for each. Invite neighbours to bring a plate and a reading.

21. Have a Street BBQ at the end of January to reconnect with neighbours before school begins.

Kindly sent by Kath Wells of Upper Hutt