Steve Norman

In this week's featured skills article, "Groundhog Day Christmas," Steve Norman asks if we have lost the wonder of Christmas. He recounts visiting Disney with his daughter and seeing the awe in her eyes as she watched Cinderella's castle lit up at night with fireworks bursting overhead. It is that type of wonder that we want to bring to the Christmas season. But Norman says we don't have to be fancy or creative all the time. People today are "in a world drowning in trinkets and knickknacks, reruns and plastic, people are hungry for the real thing." The Incarnation doesn't need groundbreaking insight; it is a story filled with wonder that "truly requires no upgrades."

Dan Meyer

We have one more Christmas sermon for you, as we move closer to the celebration of Christ's birth. Dan Meyer's sermon, "Against the Rules," features a very different approach to the Christmas sermon. He focuses on three "rules," that, if our allegiance is with Christ, we should be living against. Meyer says, "As helpful as 'the rules' are at times, are they the ultimate standard by which to live your life? … Do we appreciate just how fully this prophesied Savior challenged the rules by which people commonly live?"

Also, check out these new resources:

• Featured Illustration: Garrison Keillor and Tim Keller on Christmas
• Featured Video: Seek: We must draw near just as the wise men did.
• Featured Sermon: "Against the Rules" by Dan Meyer
• Featured Skills Article: "Groundhog Day Christmas" by Steve Norman

In Christ,

Andrew Finch
Administrative Editor, PreachingToday.com
afinch@christinaitytoday.com

P.S. Matt Woodley is out of the office right now because he had the amazing opportunity to preach in different churches in Jos, Nigeria. He will have more to report in future updates. He counts it such a privilege to connect with and learn from the amazing Nigerian followers of Christ, who have been in the hot zone of persecution.

P.P.S. Don't forget that with your subscription to PreachingToday.com, you get full access to our newest Christmas Sermon Prep Packs! Our four-week Advent-Christmas resource to help you with your holiday sermon prep.

Andrew Finch is the Managing Editor for PreachingToday.com.