Christmas Devotional

• As the lights from the tree glow in your house, talk about what you will remember from this Christmas season.
• Take turns sharing what things in your life are bringing you great joy right now.

Have a family sleepover by the Christmas tree. Bring pillows and blankets from your beds and create cozy places to sleep on the floor or couches around the Christmas tree. Turn off all the lights in the house except for the tree lights.

1- How did you come to know Jesus? Remember all the details and hold them close in your heart.
2- How can God’s faithfulness to you in the past bring assurance to your present and hope for your future?

• The shepherds were so excited they couldn’t keep the news to themselves. Talk about something you have been so excited about you just had to share it with someone else.
• Inviting a friend or someone we know to church can sometimes make us nervous. Talk about this with each other. Share why you are sometimes nervous, and then encourage each other by sharing about the excitement you had when you first learned about Jesus.

Make a list of 3-4 friends, neighbors, or family members that you want to invite to church for Christmas. Pray for each person on the list, asking God to draw near to them and help them encounter his love and presence this Christmas. Make a plan for how you want to invite them. Dates and times for services can be found at chapel.org/christmas, and invitations to Christmas services are available in the lobby.

1- What was your life like when you first encountered Jesus? How is his love transforming you?
2- Who can you tell about what Jesus has done for you?

• When everyone smells the cookies baking, talk about how smelling them makes you want to eat them. Compare this to when the shepherds heard the good news about Jesus, which made them want to SEE him!
• Discuss how God doesn’t want us to simply know about him; he wants us to experience him.
• Go around and share what it means to experience God.

Gather together and discuss your favorite cookies to enjoy during the Christmas season. Then, choose one of them to bake as a family.

1- When the shepherds heard the message of Jesus’ birth, they journeyed in faith to Bethlehem to see for themselves. Are there any steps of faith you sense God calling you to?
2- What are some ways you can pursue Jesus in your daily life?
3- What good gifts do you think God wants to bless you with?

• Talk about what it would have been like to be a shepherd and to see God’s angelic host worshiping in the sky above you.
• Discuss the difference between singing songs and worshiping as you sing.