Advice to Preachers This Christmas
As someone who has been preaching for over 3 decades and has had the privilege of being in the room with some of the greatest preachers of our generation, here’s what I’ve learned over the years and my best advice for how to preach Christmas.
1. Preach Shorter
I’m not going to tell you how long to preach, but whatever your average sermon is cut it by 25%. For example: If you usually preach 30 minutes, cut it to 22 minutes. My advice would be the same for praise and worship also. CEO’s (people who come only on Christmas and Easter Only) often site length of service as a reason they don’t come to church more often. You want them to come back.
The goals of your sermon should be to give guests hope, a connection to Christ during Christmas, and a reason to COME BACK.
On the other hand, don’t cut the length too much. I know preachers who cut their sermon time in half. It’s really false advertising. If a guest comes to Christmas at your church and you preach 15 minutes but when they come back you preach 45, you won’t see them after that. Show them what to expect from you.
Some don’t preach at all but put on a Christmas pageant and hope people get the message from the drama which brings me to my second point of advice.
2. Preach the Bible
This seems obvious to most of us but you would be surprised at how many churches choose something other than preaching the Bible for their Christmas services. I firmly believe that the Word of God and The Presence of God are the only things that can bring hope and change lives.
God chose the foolishness of preaching to save souls. (1 Corinthians 1:21)
3. Preach Your Best
For many people, Christmas is the one time they’re open to Christ. Have your best volunteers serving. Schedule the best music team, sound team, and greeters well in advance. Decorate, have professional video, but most importantly, make sure you are bringing your best sermon.
Get rest, practice your sermon and have another set of eyes (or ears) look at your sermon. You don’t want to be confusing or ill-prepared. If possible try to put a fresh spin on the Christmas story all have heard. I once preached a Christmas service called “Scandal” that focused on the scandal a Jewish girl having a baby out of wedlock would have been in a small-town.
4. Don’t Preach Politics
I know in today’s political climate many preachers feel the need to take a stand on certain issues but Christmas is not the time to do that. People want hope and joy for Christmas, and remember one goal is to get them to come back. If you think of it, that’s one of the mistakes the religious folk made when Jesus came, expecting Him to be involved in their political stances.
5. Preach a Reason to Come Back
Start a new series that kicks off on Christmas. When I did ‘Christmas Scandal’ it began a 4-week series looking at some of the most scandalous stories in scripture.
Get guest’s contact info so you can invite them back next week. If you don’t do a connection card weekly, do one on Christmas. Get your people to fill them out by saying you are going to update your database. This creates positive peer pressure for guests to fill out a card.
Use a creative offer. It could be free doughnuts and coffee or a special guest speaker but tell them why they should come back.
6. Preach the Christmas Story
While I love creativity, don’t miss the wonder of a God who came as a human to redeem us. The miraculous virgin birth, the angelic announcement, the magi journey and the babe in the manger still bring wonder to those who hear.
7. Preach The Gospel
As Charles Spurgeon once said, “Take your text and make a beeline for the Cross.” Show them the connection between the babe in the manger, the suffering Messiah on the cross and the risen Savior. This may be the only opportunity for salvation for the “CEO Christians” (Christmas / Easter Only).
Last, please, please give them an opportunity to respond to the Gospel. I don’t care if you ask for a checked box, a raised hand or a come forward call but please ask them to make a decision to follow Christ.