Have some fun this Christmas and take time to do life like Jesus on Christmas.

Go Up for Christmas!  Respond in worship and prayer as you take time to remember what Christmas is all about.  In Jesus Christ, God became one of us out of his great love for us.  God entered into our mess and trouble and did in order to set us free from the curse of sin and death.  Respond to the good news.  There are candlelight services all over the place. Check one out tonight.  Or hold your own.  Read the Christmas story.  Pray.  Listen for God to speak.  Bless the Lord tonight!  Jesus did up very intentionally.  So can we.

Go In with some people for Christmas.  Take a little time to reconnect and maybe even pray with people who have invested in you and in whom you have invested.  And while you’re at it, find ways to connect with the people who are investing in you or in whom you are investing.  Tonight, several of us are gathering for the candlelight service at Faith Community Church at 6:00.  So we’ll enjoy some up time and in time.  Jesus was very intentional about going in with his disciples and a few others like Mary and Martha.  We can, too.

Out – The other night, some members of the 210 missional community and some of my fifteen-year-old sons friends were over.  Those of us in the MC decided to go caroling.  We invited my son and his friends.  He wasn’t all that excited, but some of his friends had never been caroling before.  They got enthused.  They gathered a few more friends.  We ended up caroling with about dozen young people.  We surprised and blessed our neighbors.  At one of house, a teenage girl asked if she could join us.  “Sure”.  You may not be able to sing, but I bet you can go out.   And it gave us opportunity to get to know some kids, to learn portions of their stories, and to talk about Christmas and our missional community.  And it was just fun.

Do you have cookies?  Put some on a plate and take them to two or three of your neighbors and tell them “Merry Christmas.”  Go on a prayer walk.  Wish everyone you see a Merry Christmas.  Go to Starbucks, hand the barista a twenty, and say, “Would you mind helping me out.  Let the next person’s drink be on me – and put any change in tip jar.  And God bless you on this Christmas.”

Has it ever occurred to you how much fun Jesus had going out – meeting needs with God’s love grace and power.  Go out for Christmas!

Just be careful.  Imitating Jesus is a lot of fun.  Merry Christmas!