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Going Fishing at Christmas Luke Tattersall
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At the time of writing, Luke
Tattersall was the pastor of Byron Bay/
Mullambimby Presbyterian Church and has absolutely no
interest in the kind of fishing that involves the use of
lines or nets. |
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If your
church is anything like mine, then Christmas is the one
time in the year when you can be sure of a bumper size
congregation. More than likely, there will be people in
church who you've never seen before in your life. And
many of them will assure you on their way out the door
that they're Presbyterian or Anglican or Baptist*
- though you are not exactly sure what that means! But
whatever the reason, they're in Church - and by the
family full. So what are you going to say? More than any
other time of the year the pressure is on. It's one thing
to be a boring preacher the rest of the year - your
congregation is used to it. But at Christmas? Come to
think of it, the visitors probably won't mind much if
you're boring either. After all... they're expecting it!
That's one of the reasons they only come to church twice
a year. It's normally so boring. So what are you going to
say? Well the first question you have to ask yourself is
this: "What do you want to achieve? What do you want
people to go away with after the service?" Let me
tell you what I don't want to do with my Christmas talks. |
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First, I
don't want to make people feel guilty about the fact that
they only turn up to church at Christmas and Easter. I'm
sure we've all heard that one - maybe you've even given
it? |
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Second -
and most important - I don't want to be boring. |
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Well that covers the
don'ts of the Christmas talk - so what about the do's? |
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Well, for me the main
aim at our Christmas services is to surprise people. I
want to present the Gospel to them in a way they've never
heard it before. I want to present the Gospel - crisp and
clear. I want them to see that the message of Christmas
is important, that it's true, and most of all that it's
for them. Jesus calls us to be fishers of men [sic]. Our
job is to present the good news about him to those who
have not heard. On Christmas day, a whole stack of fish
will come swimming into your pond. You won't have to go
looking for them - they'll come to you. So make the most
of the opportunity! |
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Here's a set of five
pre-tested Christmas messages in point form. Most of the
ideas are not original - I've made a point of borrowing
them wherever I can. Naturally, you'll need to build on
these outlines, and the results will depend on your
audience and your own personality. These ideas are just
starting points – good hooks for you to build a talk
on. |
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Talk 1 |
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The Three Christmas
Presents |
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The idea at the talk
is to tell people about three Christmas presents you have
been given. You will need to have-your own three
presents. The three that I used were: |
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(1) A purple crotched
tank top |
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(2) A walkman cassette
player and |
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(3) A wallet. |
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Each of these had
varying degrees of usefulness. The purple tank top never
got to see the light of day after Christmas. It was put
into a drawer and promptly forgotten. The walkman was
useful for a while. It was great for listening to music.
But gradually, as I got older, the novelty wore off.
These days I hardly use it. It was good while I was
young, but now I've outgrown it. The final gift, the
wallet, is with me all the time. In fact, I'd be lost
without it. It has become a part of me. Christmas is the
time when we remember the gift that God has given to us
in Jesus. People will tend to treat Jesus the same way I
treated my Christmas gifts. Some will never pay any
attention to him - they'll never even get him out of the
drawer. Some will think he is okay for the young people.
By the time they leave Sunday School, they've grown out
of it. But the only response that God wants from us is to
accept Jesus completely - to make him the very centre of
our lives. |
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Talk 2 |
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The Great Christmas
Rip-Off |
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As soon as you become
a parent, you begin to see through the Christmas
"hype" and razzamatazz. All those special deals
and offers you see in the shops amount to little more
than a rip-off. It seems like they'll say anything and do
anything to get you into their store. Christmas salesmen
are full of empty promises. At the time of the very first
Christmas, there were angels around promising peace.
People still pick up on that today. You'll see Christmas
cards and banners in shops that quote what the angels
said - "peace on earth and good will to all
men". Well, where is it? Have a look around the
world. Can you see the peace? It's certainly not in
Bosnia. And I doubt you could say it was in Somalia. And
the list could go on and on. Some people try to take the
idea seriously. During the Second World War, they would
call a cease-fire on Christmas day. But the next day the
guns would be out again. Is that the sort of peace the
angels were talking about? Hardly. But there is no doubt
about it - peace was what the angels said. That's what
they promised - that's what is written in the Bible. They
said that this baby was the Prince of Peace, and that his
coming would mean peace and good will to all men. Were
they wrong? Maybe it's just another one of those
Christmas rip-offs? Just another letdown – a promise
that didn't come true? No - not at all. Jesus came into
the world to bring peace. And he delivered exactly what
was promised. There's a verse in the Bible that sums this
up very clearly: "Therefore, since we have been
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1) To put it simply,
if you trust in Jesus then you do have peace - peace with
God - real peace, the peace that people everywhere are
searching for. Jesus came to mend the broken relationship
between mankind and God. He came so that we could know
what it was to have peace with God - no longer to be cut
off from God. No longer to be alienated from God. No
longer to be in conflict with God - but to have peace
with him. |
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Talk 3 |
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The Difference between
Santa and God |
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When it comes to
trying to figure out what Christmas is about, there are
two main players - Santa and God. In some ways the
message they have is similar. But in many other ways, the
message is totally different. Both of them have something
they want to give. They both offer you gifts. But that's
about where the similarity ends. Santa has presents that
he wants to give. But what do you have to do to get them?
You have to be good. That's the question all the Santas
in the shopping centres ask the kids... "Have you
been good this year?" The message Santa gives is
that you have to be good to get the presents. But that is
not the case with God. In fact, God is exactly the
opposite. Believe it or not, he wants to give his gifts
to those who have been bad - to those who don't deserve
it. The other big difference between what Santa gives and
what God gives is how long the gift lasts. The stuff
Santa gives you is lucky to last through Christmas day -
let alone all the way to next Christmas. But look at how
long God's gift lasts: |
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"For God so loved
the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life." (John 3:16) |
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Talk 4 |
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Undercover Operation |
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There was an action
thriller movie some years ago - l think it starred Chuck
Norris. In the movie there were a number of POWs still
being held in a camp in Vietnam. They tried to think of
every way to get them out, and the only solution they
could come up with was to send someone in
"undercover". He'd have to go in and become a
POW himself in order to rescue the other POWs. Christmas
is the time we remember God's "Undercover
Operation". He sent Jesus into this world and he
became a man so that he could rescue men. I heard a story
about a little boy who was very scared of the lightning
during a thunder storm. His dad told him that he needn't
be scared. God knew how he felt. The little boy replied
"How could God know? He hasn't got skin on!"
But Hebrews 2:14 say this: |
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"Since the
children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their
humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who
holds the power at death - that is, the devil – and
free those who all their lives were held in slavery by
their fear of death." |
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Talk 5 |
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CHRISTMAS SACRED |
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CHRIST MASSACRED |
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(This talk hinges on
the word play of CHRISTMAS SACRED - CHRIST MASSACRED. You
need to have it in a prominent place - cover of the
notice sheet, OHP, etc) |
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I heard a story about
a retired minister who was asked to fill in at a church
and take their Christmas service. He got a little mixed
up and pulled out an Easter sermon from his file instead
of a Christmas one. In a way it was probably an
appropriate message for Christmas. It would be difficult
to talk about the birth of Jesus without talking about
what he came to do. When we celebrate the birth of a
famous person (for example Martin Luther or the Queen),
we don't just remember that they were born. We are
remembering the important things they achieved. When
people are doing their HSC they are continually asked,
"What are you going to do?" If you asked Jesus
that question during his ministry, then he would have
told you as he told his disciples - he was going to die
in Jerusalem. In Mark 10:45 Jesus said: |
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"... the Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his
life as a ransom for many." |
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The reason we remember
the birth of Jesus, the reason that Christmas IS sacred
is that Jesus was massacred. |
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Used with permission from www.perspective.org.au |
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