A pastor’s Christmas Eve message will have a flavor all its own. Because of the relaxed nature of the evening, the sermon is often directed toward the child in all of us. Hence, the following….
My friend Annette loves to pass along to me her assignments. Her Mississippi church frequently invites her to give a talk on this or that, and she messages for my take on that subject. She uses nothing I do verbatim, but I suspect some of my responses provokes creative ideas in her.
Some of the most interesting pieces on our website were instigated by Annette.
The other day her message said, “I have to explain the Christmas story to children ages 4-11 in my church. Help!”
I began by assuring her that I am not the best one to ask about this. I’m fast approaching birthday number 75 and my youngest grandchild becomes a teenager in February. Furthermore, women explain things to children better than men do. But always eager to assist, I jotted down a few thoughts for her. And that’s when something occurred to me.
All the people sitting before the pastor on Christmas Eve will be children.
Some will be old children, with white heads (or bald ones), while others will be younger parents and adult singles. And there will be “children children” by which we mean toddlers, preschoolers, the whole bunch. But the thing to keep in mind is that everyone sitting before the pastor is either a child now or has been at one time.
Childhood is one thing we all have in common.