What do you think Christmas is all about?  We’ve included a video of some people answering that question on the street at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ1050bLTVw

From that experience, or your own, you can probably identify some answers drive religious people crazy: Santa, gifts, Elf on the Shelf, and so on.  They will shout – it’s about Jesus!

You can also probably identify some answers religious people would love.  Jesus is the reason for the season.  A saviour was born.  God is with us.

You can see how polarizing Christmas can be!  It is a religious occasion that is solemn, deep and meaningful, and yet it is also a cultural reality with rampant consumerism, time with family, funny traditions and oddities like eggnog and mistletoe.

You might think Chiristmas shouldn’t be polarizing, and that this is a new reality.  But Christmas and its effect on the world was polarizing not just today, but 2000 years ago.  We’ll see how later this week.

Question: How much of Christmas do you think is religious, and how much is cultural?  How much Santa, how much Jesus?

Reminder: We have a great Christmas event coming December 14th, 2013: The Original Christmas Party.  Hope you’re coming!

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - December 12, 2013

Thursday - Act On It - The Night That Changed the Powerful

Jesus is power, personified. The question is how will we respond to Jesus? Will we cling to power like Herod, or do everything we can to find and worship him, like the Magi? We all have some degree of power in our lives – over our own choices, over our dependents, over loved ones and others in our lives, or perhaps over employees and corporations. Given power, Jesus and Herod use it very differently, and Herod and the Magi respond to Jesus’ power very differently. How will you? The Magi responded in worship and service, and go down in history as first non-Jewish worshippers, first missionaries to the larger world. So today, with the same history presented to us, we are invited to decide how we will go down in history...as clinging to power, as knowing much but doing nothing, or as worshipping the true King of love and peace. Challenge: Give some of your power and influence to help others. One great way is to come to the Original Christmas Party and make a generous gift of toys to families who won’t have much at Christmas, but you can find other ways, too! Reminder: We have a great Christmas event coming December 14th, 2013: The Original Christmas Party. Hope you're coming!

From Series: "The Night that Changed Everything"

In preparation for Christmas, our Daily Challenges are going to explore the lifechanging significance of Jesus' birth so long ago. It's more than a sentimental story, or a time for generosity, Christmas celebrates The Night that Changed Everything. We'll explore the original Christmas story from the Bible, and its impact on five kinds of people.

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