if you wish to capture the true meaning and beauty of the season consider making the church services that are part of this day and season the center of your celebration. Too often, I think the services of Christmas Eve or morning are either something that we have to ‘get through” so the “real” party can begin or ignored altogether as some quaint relic of a bygone era.

What a profound witness it would be to the world to see our church services on this day, in fact every day, filled to capacity and beyond. After all, why should the world care about, or just simply respect, our worship if we don’t?

What a profound change in ourselves there would be, as well, if we made worship not simply an event to be managed in our busy schedules but rather a way of life. How different, how holy, how refreshing would our existence be in a life centered on God? The change in orientation of our lives would be a gift to ourselves, and the world, that would last far after the Christmas batteries have gone dead and our world would be challenged and changed for the good in ways we can’t even imagine.