Jennifer GrishamThis article was originally published in December of 2022. “Advent is for the few.” That’s one of the first things Rev. Fleming Rutledge said to me in our recent interview about the Advent season. This time of year, it’s easy to let our imaginations...
Logos StaffWhat is Advent? Advent is a season in the church calendar that spans the four weeks leading up to Christmas and ends on December 24. Each Sunday coincides with the lighting of one of four candles—a purple one on the first, second, and fourth Sunday...
Emily Hunter McGowinIs Christmas a Christian holiday? Yes. Yes, it is. I’m being definitive up front because so many today are committed to the public and often gleeful discrediting of Christmas. Some such naysayers are devoutly Christian and seeking earnestly to...
Kyle BeutlerFrom Thanksgiving to Christmas Day, you won’t need to look—or listen?—far to run into a Christmas song or two. They’re playing in the background of grocery stores and coffee shops aplenty. But when we let Christmas songs sit in the background they...
Everybody has heard of the 12 Days of Christmas. In fact, we’ve all probably sung about them. But what are the 12 Days of Christmas, and who actually celebrates them? What are the 12 Days of Christmas? For more than 1,400 years, the 12 days of...
Mark WardIf I thought I was a pretty scintillating Bible teacher, the kind that makes people sit on the edge of their seats, the kind that is also able to put the cookies on the lower shelf and interest even kids, that thought was shattered when my own kids...
Lexham PressIn this excerpt from Tidings of Comfort and Joy: 25 Devotions Leading to Christmas, Mark Yarbrough explores the significance of Judah’s scepter in Genesis 49:10—and the scepter Jesus held for his first advent that he sacrificially wielded for us...
Ryan PembertonRyan J. Pemberton—author of Called: My Journey to C. S. Lewis’s House and Back Again and coauthor of Walking with C. S. Lewis—explores Advent ideas for your worship community. For Pemberton, Advent is a beautiful, counter-cultural...
Every year, Sunday school teachers spend time teaching the virgin birth. But pastors and small group leaders teach it too—and as a small group leader or pastor, you can dive deeper into Mary’s story and its applications. For one, faithfulness to God...
Often when reading the birth narrative of the Christmas story, we filter what the Bible says through our twenty-first-century Western mindset. Combined with images from church nativity plays, holiday cards, and Christmas movies, we’re left with a...
Christians understand the meaning of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem . . . but there’s so much that’s hazy in our imagination and understanding of the details. Popular Christmas songs, Christmas movies, and Christmas media have given us the wrong idea...
Matthew BoffeyWith all the preparation you’re putting into your Christmas services, don’t forget one of the most important elements: presentation slides. What should you keep in mind as you build your service slides for Christmas and Christmas Eve? Here are five...
Christmas! It’s one of the best times of the year—especially for church outreach. And this year, that outreach may be even more important than ever. Many churches are shrinking. Carey Nieuwhof reports that “anecdotally, most churches find themselves...
I’ve been in church all my life, and I’ve been in volunteer leadership positions long enough to know that planning a service simply takes time and energy.
The holidays—Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the new year—are a special time in ministry. Not only do we celebrate the birth of Jesus but we also get the chance to welcome visitors in our churches—many of whom will be attending for the first time. It’s...
Guest AuthorThis post is adapted from the January 6 entry in A Light Has Dawned: Meditations about Advent and Christmas, available now from Lexham Press.
Tavis Bohlinger"Think of your life on the other side of the pandemic. How will you retroactively judge the decisions you made during lockdown?"
2020 has been a year for the books, one that many (if not most) of us would like to forget. But despite the frustration of quarantines, lockdowns, masks, and restricted gatherings, coupled with the fear of what is happening and uncertainty of what’s...
Karen EngleThis Christmas, contemplate the mystery of the incarnation through the eyes of 10 fellow believers throughout the ages.
This December, spread Christmas cheer for all to hear . . . and see! Inside Proclaim + Pro Media, you’ll find church media as pretty as a sparkling Christmas tree or the fireworks on New Year’s Eve. As you close the door on this year, you can use...
“And there was no room for them at the inn.” It’s difficult to read that without thinking of the countless Christmas plays featuring a brave, costumed young soul stepping onto the platform to play the role of innkeeper. Similarly brave, costumed...
Pacing crowded aisles and scrolling through page after page looking for just the right gift can be fun at first . . . and then not so much. You can skip the stress—and still give a thoughtful gift to those on your list. Here’s why a Logos gift card...
To some, Christmas means only a time of warm celebration with friends and family, gift-giving, and festive holiday traditions. To others, Christmas means the celebration of something eternally significant—the Savior’s birth. “Jesus is the reason...
In our busyness leading up to December 25, the date set aside to remember when God entered time and space to dwell or “tabernacle” with humanity, have we missed the beauty of anticipating Christmas and what it means? In this excerpt from A Light Has...
This Christmas, deck your church’s screens with good tidings of great joy. Christmas and Advent motion graphics are waiting for you inside Proclaim + Pro Media! This winter, use new professionally designed graphics to . . . Announce holiday...
A 2015 study from LifeWay found that 61% of Americans attend church at Christmas time—and even more would come if invited. What an opportunity! Whether your church is meeting in person again or not, you can still take advantage of that opportunity...
This post is the seventh and last in a series adapted from Anticipating His Arrival, a family Advent devotional by Rick Brannan. 2 Samuel 7:1–16 It happened that the king settled in his house. (Now Yahweh had given rest to him from all his enemies...
This post is the sixth in a series adapted from Anticipating His Arrival, a family Advent devotional by Rick Brannan. We will be posting one devotional a day through Christmas. John 1:6–8, 19–28 (Part 1) A man came, sent from God, whose name...
This post is the fifth in a series adapted from Anticipating His Arrival, a family Advent devotional by Rick Brannan. We will be posting one devotional a day through Christmas. 1 Thessalonians 5:16–24 Rejoice always, pray constantly, give...
Take a stroll through your local shopping mall this time of year, and you’ll see the word at least a few times. Wonder. It’s on advertisements, in Christmas songs, and on coffee cup sleeves. Of course, the “wonder” of Christmas has become detached...