Creative Christmas sermon options

Christmas services are just a few weeks away.  You might be getting excited, or dreading another Christmas and the need to generate more messages when the obvious options feel well worn.  

Here are some other angles to consider:

Prophecies

There are some key Old Testament prophecies, such as Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:2, even Jeremiah 31:15.  Why not take an Old Testament approach to Christmas hopes this year?

People

Maybe you have preached through Matthew’s opening chapters, but have you preached the four other ladies in Matthew’s genealogy? . . . Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, the one “who had been Uriah’s wife.” 

Four ladies with question marks over their morality, rightly or wrongly, that set up the lady who has to be in the genealogy (also with a question mark hanging over her morality, wrongly in her case). 

Or perhaps you might trace the Gentiles in the genealogy to show the greater scope of the Christmas hope?

Themes

Why not track a theme this year that could be developed with one week in the Old Testament, one week in the Christmas narratives and one week later on in the gospels or epistles. 

For example, consider the Immanuel theme from Isaiah 7:14-9:7, emphasized in Matthew 1, continued for our age in Matthew 28:20.

Less obvious passages

Perhaps you might consider the less obvious Christmas passages, ie. those that aren’t in early Matthew or Luke.  

You have the prologue to John’s Gospel, giving the other side of the story, if you like.  Or you have references like Galatians 4:4 and similarly Incarnation focused passages like Titus 2:11-14.

Christmas titles

It would be interesting to explore the titles used in the Christmas narratives: Jesus, Saviour, Immanuel, King, etc.

Carol theology

While some are keen to cut down the errors in the carols, there are some great truths encapsulated in the carols too.  Perhaps you could take Hark the Herald Angels Sing or another carol and trace the biblical background to a verse each week. 

Different, but for some congregations this might be a blessing.  Remember that you are preaching the Bible, not the carol.

November is ending, Christmas is coming.  Let’s not have our pulpits filled with preachers trying to hide a creative fatigue over such a great subject. Let’s take a new angle, dive into the Bible and preach with hearts spilling over.

Peter Mead is mentor at Cor Deo and author of several books. This article first appeared on his blog Biblical Preaching.