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Christmas
Celebrating & Sharing
The Greatest Gift of All!
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In This Issue:
10-Minute Gift Shopping
Sharing the Greatest Gift of All
Read the Christmas Story from Three Perspectives
A Time of Giving
Making Christmas Last All Year
Christmas Greetings!
We trust that your family will have a wonderful time of
celebrating Christ's birth in a way that honors our blessed
Savior and draws attention to Him at a time when the world
is open to hear the wonderful Gospel message.
The celebration of Christmas is a powerful opportunity
to teach spiritual truths to our children and to share
the same Good News to our world today that the angels
proclaimed 2,000 years ago.
Sincerely,
The Welch Family, Publishers
Pat, Sue, Heather, Holly, and Brian
The Teaching Home
A home-school family-run business in our home since 1980.
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Sharing the Greatest
Gift of All!
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The message of Christmas and Easter is the very essence
of the Gospel -- the Good News of God's love and gift of
eternal life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This
is the good news that Jesus Christ entrusted us to take to a
needy world (Mark 16:15).
At Christmas time, it is appropriate to include a
witness in our greetings to extended family, neighbors, and
co-workers in keeping with the holiday. We have a ready-
made opportunity to explain the Good News.
"The Good News of the Holidays" presents the Gospel
through Christmas and Easter.
http://www.teachinghome.com/EM-Elements/Christmas/gospel_holidays.cfm
Your presentation of the good news of God's gift may be
as simple as:
1. A sentence such as "Wishing you the eternal love, joy,
and peace that comes from trusting Christ the Savior, Whose
coming we celebrate at Christmas."
2. A verse such as, "For God so loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
3. A link to "The Good News of the Holidays" if you are
sending an electronic Christmas greeting.
http://www.teachinghome.com/EM-Elements/Christmas/gospel_holidays.cfm
4. Include in your card or plate of cookies: a Christmas
gospel tract, a Scripture portion, or an audio tape of a
book of the Bible.
5. Include your testimony in your family's Christmas letter
or newsletter.
"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though
God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf
of Christ, be reconciled to God" (II Corinthians 5:20).
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Read the Christmas Story
From Three Perspectives
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Teach the account of Jesus Christ's birth to your
children from three perspectives. Read and discuss
Matthew 1:18-2:23 and Luke 1:5-2:38:
1. As Accurate History
* Use a globe, timeline, and history book to place the
events of Jesus Christ's coming to earth.
* The exact location, the city of Bethlehem, is a place
where people live today.
http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/dod/bvt/jer.html
* The time of His birth was perfectly planned by God on
many levels. One that is obvious to us is the "Roman peace"
and systems of roads that aided the spread of the Gospel.
2. As Theology
* Read the "Christmas story" in John 1:1-18.
* Read and discuss the 21 answers to "Why Did Jesus
Come?" at
http://www.teachinghome.com/EM-Elements/Christmas/21reasons.cfm
3. As the Story of God's Love
* The coming of Jesus Christ is more than just history
and theology. It is the story of a loving God who is
seeking a personal relationship with you and your family
through belief in Jesus Christ and his substitutionary death
for you and his subsequent resurrection.
* Read the Christmas story with lights dimmed to help
children imagine the happenings and concentrate on the
story.
* Read "The Good News of the Holidays" with your
children and talk about their response to it.
* Thank the Lord for His gift of salvation.
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A Time of Giving
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1. God's Gift List
Talk to your family about those God told us to give to:
prisoners; widows and orphans; our "neighbors"; the poor,
handicapped, hungry, thirsty, or sick; strangers, those in
need of clothing, and those that cannot return our gifts.
(See James 1:27; Luke 14:12-14; Matthew 25:35, 36.)
2. Different Types of Gifts
Discuss ways to meet the needs of the people.
* Some need material things. Give food, clothes, or
money for housing, utilities, or transportation to a needy
family or individual.
* Some need friendship, companionship, time, or
service. Make a short visit to a nursing home, take a meal
or a "tea party" to a shut-in from your church, or help
serve a meal at a rescue mission.
3. How To Reach the Needy
There are several ways that you may become aware of the
needs of others and give to them.
* You may know someone to give to directly. This may
be extended family, neighbors, friends, or acquaintances.
(See the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-37.)
* You may give through your local church, an example
given to us in Scripture. (See Acts 6:1-7.)
* You may give through an organization that ministers
in parts of the world with which you would not come into
contact.
4. Developing the Character Quality of Generosity
* Model a free and happy generosity.
* Teach your child to be thoughtful of those in need
and how to meet their needs.
5. Practice Hospitality
Hospitality is a gift that money cannot buy, and it is
something that God tells us to give to others (Romans
12:13). You do not need to do an elaborate dinner or party.
* Ask a neighbor in for tea.
* Do not wait until your house looks "perfect" to
practice hospitality.
6. Always Include the Best Gift
* True love will offer the best gift, the Good News of
salvation, along with any gift that ministers to physical
needs (Acts 3:6).
* Give in the name of the Lord so that He gets the
glory and others are pointed to Him.
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Make Christmas
Last All Year Long
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You can use Christmas to begin a pattern of giving and
caring that will last all year long.
* Plan opportunities to continue giving to those in
need. Often they are ministered to during the holidays, but
forgotten the rest of the year. Ask the Lord what He wants
your family to do.
* Recycle your Christmas cards by binding them in a
notebook and using them as prayer reminders. This is
especially helpful if a photo was included.
* You can also cut your Christmas cards down to make
bookmarks. Write the name of the sender on the back
so that you can remember their thoughtfulness and pray for
them each time you use the bookmark.
* Find out what practical gifts you can send to
missionaries that your church supports. These are
appreciated year round.
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"Joel's Lamb"
A New Christmas Story
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* Read this delightful story to your children or have
them read it themselves.
* Ask your child to draw one or more illustrations for
the story.
Never before published, you will find this story has a
message of Christmas and why Jesus was born.
http://www.teachinghome.com/EM-Elements/Christmas/Joels.cfm
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