From Outsiders To Insiders

“Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
Luke 2:10-14 (NLT)

Christmas is coming again.

The Greatest Story ever told will go largely unheard or unremembered as Americans focus on buying things they don't need with money they don't have and giving gifts to people they don;t even like. How can we get our story noticed among the cacophony of sounds and competing stories? Is it enough just to retell of Messiah's coming, or do we need more?

How can we be most effective - like the angels that first Christmas - at bringing outsiders like the shepherds - inside?

We're going to try something very different.



Let It Be Christmas - A story told by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, George and Ringo.

The idea is to take people from the secular - those experiences, feelings, and preferences we all have and share in common - to the Sacred - to the wonder, the mystery, and the grace-filled gift that is the Incarnation. To get them close enough to hear more this Christmas than Radio Shack jingles. To introduce them again to just what the Advent of Christ means.

Each week we would use a Beatles song prior to worship to set the tone and the message would follow a specific theme suggested by that song.

* Week one - Nothin's Gonna Change My World
* Week two - All The Lonely People
* Week three - I Believe In Yesterday
* Week four - You Say You Want A Revolution

Let me say upfront that there will be a clear explanation of the gospel every week and a call to come to Christ just as we always do. We won't water anything down. I think the effect of using the secular to highlight the sacred will do just the opposite.

And if we will invite our friends, if our youth will invite their friends, maybe people who have never really heard the true meaning of Christmas might draw near to Christ.

Outsiders to insiders. That's good news.