Preaching Holiday Sermons with Freshness (Part 2)

In recent years, as I have had the privilege of teaching and mentoring pastors in a number of countries, one of the vehicles I have used to speak to a number of issues is the concept of “windows.” In pointing to the value of a variety of windows on a particular subject, we are simply talking about perspective. The more perspectives we can apply to a ministry focus, church situation, or biblical event, the more wisely we can approach it. This approach can also be extremely helpful when it comes to finding creative ways to present the Christmas and Easter stories. In the case of these biblical events, there are several windows that can help us to give our people a more full-orbed understanding of what we may mistakenly assume to be a story that has been exhausted.

The Window of Witness. The events of the Bible did not occur in a vacuum. They occurred in time and space with people watching and participating in the events. During the holidays, instead of telling our view of the Christmas story, why not allow the Scriptures to tell the story from the perspectives of the people who witnessed the event. At Christmastime, seeing the significance of the events through the eyes of Anna and Simeon (Luke 2) can breathe great passion for worship and outreach into a congregation at a time when people all around us are unusually sensitive to spiritual things. At Easter, messages on the cross as it was seen by Mary Magdalene or the centurion allow us to more fully enter into the biblical event. Beyond that, people tend to relate to people more easily than they relate to abstract or theoretical concepts. Letting them enter into the experiences of living witnesses can enable that kind of understanding.

The Window of Story. We tend to think in terms of holidays, but it is possible (even likely) that our people’s appreciation of the significance of these holidays can be strengthened if we think less in terms of holidays and more in terms of extended holiday seasons. My all-time favorite Easter series that I personally delivered was a 13-week journey to the cross that began in the upper room and then sought to deliberately and carefully wind its way through the events of the passion culminating, not just on Easter Sunday with a resurrection message, but on the following Sunday with an examination of the ascension of Christ. Similarly, to walk people through several weeks of consideration of the events of Luke 1–2, beginning with Gabriel’s visit to Zacharias and working all the way through to Anna’s witness, gives a more contextual and thorough view of the birth of Christ—greatly enhancing our understanding of and appreciation for the Savior’s birth.

The Window of Visuals. Many people are visual learners, so the creative use of aids can be another way to keep the story fresh. To make part of the Easter story a discussion of the Lord’s supper certainly makes sense, but to do so by recreating for the church a Passover feast so that they understand where the elements of communion come from and why they are so important can have lasting impact. In a sermon on Christ’s birth, we can readily speak of Him in terms of light entering darkness (John 1), but to creatively and wisely use the effects of light and darkness to visualize that powerful reality drives the point home even further.

By using these approaches, we are not saying that the Bible is inadequate in any way. I am only suggesting that the more we can do to help people fully embrace the truths the biblical text is declaring, the more we can see their hearts open to the work of the Spirit to mold and shape them into the likeness of the Christ we celebrate.