christmas

The Christmas Story Is Enough

Philip Crouse Jr. | December 14, 2023
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We live in a world infatuated with everything new. We quickly grow tired of the old. As consumers, we demand upgrades and updates, and if a company refuses to change quickly enough, we take our business elsewhere. Companies like Apple, Google, Nike, and Tesla constantly invent and innovate to satisfy our love of the new.

Unfortunately, our longing for all things new often breeds discontentment with all things old. Think about it for a second. We know there’s nothing wrong with our two-year old phone, but it suddenly seems ugly, slow, and obsolete when our friend walks in with the new model. The same goes for our houses, computers, cars, and clothing. Is it possible for churches and church leaders to fall into the trap of believing new is good and old is bad? Might the pressure to constantly change and innovate influence pastors to move away from all things considered old or traditional, even during Christmas?

Unfortunately, our longing for all things new often breeds discontentment with all things old.

The Pressure of Christmas

As a pastor, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a certain amount of pressure every year around Christmas. I feel the pressure because I want Christmas to be special and memorable for my entire congregation. I want kids and youth and adults to be captivated by Jesus’ birth. I long for them to find peace, joy, and hope in what God has done. So as I think through the liturgy, music, sermons, decorations, and special services, I ask myself, how can I make this year special and memorable? But this question only adds to the pressure, because now, I feel as if I need to one-up everything we did last year.

Do you ever feel extra pressure during the Christmas season? Are you ever tempted to believe you need to do something bigger and better than the previous years for Christmas to be special to your people? Have you ever looked over your Advent sermons and feared that preaching the same story to a people already familiar with it won’t be powerful enough? What should be an especially joyful season can sometimes become the most stressful time of the year for pastors.

Then there is the pressure we feel when we learn what other churches are doing. You hear of their large productions that draw in thousands of people, and suddenly, what you are doing doesn’t seem special enough. If we are not careful, the pressure of wanting to make Christmas special might cause us to forget why Christmas is special in the first place.

The Old Story Is Enough

Last year around Christmas, a story on social media caught my attention. A church put on Christmas performances filled with special effects, flying cast members, live animals, a full orchestra, and more. Now, it wasn’t the cost that immediately gave me pause, but rather this question: do they believe the Christmas story is enough?

When the constant pressure to do something new and innovative combines with the pressure we feel to make Christmas more special than last year, we can end up losing Christmas altogether. But the Christmas story is enough in itself. The message of Christmas—God sending His Son into the world to save it—gives us all we need for God-honoring and people-satisfying songs to sing and sermons to preach. We can and should be creative and try new things, but not if we lose what Christmas is really about in the process.

The message of Christmas—God sending His Son into the world to save it—gives us all we need for God-honoring and people-satisfying songs to sing and sermons to preach.

This year I’m preaching through the Gospel of Luke which walks through the entire Christmas story. To most of my congregation these aren’t new stories. They’ve heard dozens of sermons on Gabriel coming to Mary and the shepherds rushing to see the newborn king. But I know these passages, although familiar, are exactly what Christians and non-Christians need to hear. I know the hope of Christmas is still relevant today. Similarly, we are singing many of the traditional Christmas hymns that beautifully remind us of God’s faithfulness to His promises to send a Savior. While they are old songs, I believe the Holy Spirit can cultivate a fresh passion for God in all our hearts as we sing them.

Our people need to gather together this Christmas to hear and sing and participate in the old, old story of Christmas because the old, old story proclaims the gospel to us. We were all dead in our sins, “[sitting] in darkness and in the shadow of death,” but “because of the tender mercy of our God,” “the sunrise [has visited] us from on high” (Lk. 1:78–79). Joy to the world, the Lord has come. The Christmas story points us to Jesus, and Jesus is who we all need.

Throughout the Christmas season, people come hoping something special will happen, but not special in the way we sometimes think. They hope to experience a special peace or joy or comfort when they come to our Christmas Cantatas or Christmas Eve candlelight services. Moreover, I sincerely believe unbelievers walk into churches during the Christmas season to see if it’s all really true, and if there really is a God who loves them? Most people don’t want to be entertained; they want to encounter the holy God who came to save them. They don’t want to leave marveling at the light show or how funny your sermon was; they want to leave in wonder that Almighty God showed mercy to them. The old, old story of Christmas is what they want and need to hear. And hallelujah, the old, old story of Christmas is enough!

Most people don’t want to be entertained; they want to encounter the holy God who came to save them.

Take heart this Christmas season, pastor. The Christmas story is enough. Gather with anticipation. Sing with joy. Preach with passion.

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Philip Crouse Jr.

Philip Crouse Jr. was born in King, NC, where he continues to reside with his wife, Mandy, and their 4 children—Adalee, Bryce, Caris, and Everly. He is currently serving as pastor of Germanton Baptist Church in Germanton, NC. He is an adjunct professor in the Piedmont Divinity School of Carolina University. He has PhD in Applied Theology in Preaching from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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