Christmas sermon ideas

Christmas focuses on the mystery of the incarnation, the good news of a Savior, born to save the world. In the midst of the cultural sentimentality and pizzaz, Christmas worship services have the opportunity to focus on Jesus of Nazareth, born as a human baby as the incarnate Son of God, without whom we cannot be saved.

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How do I plan a Christmas Day worship service?

When is Christmas Day?

Christmas day always occus on December 25 and is followed for 12 days on the season of Christmas, where we continue to remember Christ, who became incarnate, and entered our world as a baby in order to save the world.

What colors do we use for Christmas?

We use white and gold for Christmas.

What objects or symbols do we use for Christmas?

  • nativities/crèche
  • greenery
  • angels

What themes do we use for Christmas?

Bible passage ideas for Christmas

Christmas in the psalms

The psalms speak of the longing for God, the need for a savior, and God's faithfulness.

  • Psalm 24, the earth is the Lord's, and everything in it
  • Psalms 42–43, as the deer pants for streams of water
  • Psalm 43, vindicate me, my God, and plead my cause
  • Psalm 63:1–7, you, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you
  • Psalm 66, shout for joy to God, all the earth
  • Psalm 72, endow the king with your justice, O God
  • Psalm 80, hear us, Shepherd of Israel
  • Psalm 97, the Lord reigns, let the earth be glad
  • Psalm 98, sing to the Lord a new song
  • Psalm 148, praise the Lord from the heavens

Christmas in the prophets

Christ's coming was long foretold; God had a plan in place and we hear of it throughout the prophets as they look forward to the coming King.

Jesus is born

There are several approaches one could take with the gospels' birth accounts:

Matthew's account of Jesus' birth and its surrounding events (in Matthew 1–2) emphasizes the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (Matthew 1:23), a main theme throughout Matthew. Another important element is Matthew's attention to Joseph (Luke's account focuses on Mary, with Joseph a secondary character). Joseph is a righteous man who treats Mary and her surprising pregnancy with understanding and kindness. Joseph, like his namesake in the Old Testament, is also guided by dreams.

Luke sets the birth of Christ in the context of world history, naming Caesar Augustus and Quirinius. Luke's barely hidden irony is the fact that the Messiah, the world's true king, slips in under the radar of the most powerful government in the world. At the same time, Luke pictures a couple suffering under the oppression of Roman rule, forced to travel a long distance while pregnant. Homeless and helpless, they end up giving birth to the Son of God in a stable and laying him in a manger. This is at least a signal that the salvation he brings is cosmic in scope and includes all the creatures God has made. Further adding to the irony is that the only announcement of the momentous birth is made not to the religious elite in Jerusalem a few miles up the road, but to some poor shepherds in the nearby fields. Christ's birth, angels proclaimed, is "good news of great joy for all the people." The angels sing of peace, the principal purpose of the One who was born (Isaiah 11:6, Ephesians 2:14–15).

John's gospel is above all a theological gospel, and his approach to the birth of Christ places it in the context of creation itself. The Word is the eternal logos who was present with and involved in the creation of the world, the one whose appearance in the world as light amid darkness is unheralded, unexpected, and unwelcome (John 1:11). The declaration that "the Word became flesh and lived among us" astounds us into the realization that this is nothing less than the beginning of a new creation. Eugene Peterson's The Message makes the passage even more vivid, saying that the persistent Word "moved into our neighborhood." The Greek word John uses for "dwell" is skene, meaning "tent" or "tabernacle." The word harks back to Yahweh's stated desire in establishing the tabernacle/temple to "dwell with his people" (Exodus 25:8). Jesus is the new temple by whom God dwells with us and we with God (see John 2:13–24 for a further explanation of Jesus as temple.)

Songs or canticles of scripture

Throughout scripture we hear the story of salvation as told through song.

Line of David

The genealogy of Matthew 1:1–17 has provided a fruitful Advent series for many preachers, especially when focused on the stories of the four women mentioned here: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. Each one in her own way illustrates the meaning of Jesus' coming. Throughout scripture we find mention of the root of Jesse, a reference to the line and lineage of David through which we find Jesus.

God creates and re-creates everything

In the beginning, God created the world. But the world became and still is a fallen place. The story of Christmas reminds us that God is not done creating. God is actively working and calling us to work in the world, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to redeem the fallen world until God makes everything new.

Christmas worship service ideas

"Child: Everyone must have been jealous of you because you were chosen to be the mother of Jesus! "Mary: No, my child, I had to cling to God's love for me, not others' acceptance. I could be strong in God's unconditional love that lifts up the humble. He judges by the heart, not by appearances. My child, do you have God's love in your heart? Do you welcome the poor and the weak, or do you stay at a distance and judge by what your eyes see: someone who isn't as smart, or as pretty, or as strong as you?" Scripture Drama by Linda Kooimanon Reformed Worship

Christmas art by Hanna-Cheriyan Varghese on Global Christian Worship

"Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
we had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
but had thought they were different; this Birth was
hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death."
TS Eliot, with commentary by David E Anderson on Religion & Ethics Newsweekly

"May the everlasting love of God enfold you in blessing, may the Spirit's light shine before you, and may the embrace of the Holy Child keep you this night and always. Amen." Blessing/Benediction by Heidi Neumark from UMC Discipleship Ministries

Find more Christmas worship service ideas on Zeteosearch.org.

Christmas sermon ideas

"Christmas reminds us of God's decision to become one of us, to take on our lot and our life that we might have hope, and to share our mortal life that we might enjoy God's eternal life. This is not merely a season or celebration, it is a promise that requires our active participation every day of the year." David Lose from In the Meantime

"[Mary] uncovered her baby as much as she could in that chilly, dank space. She examined him from head to toe, caressed his tiny body, touched his perfect fingers and toes. Perhaps it wasn't so amazing to her or to Joseph, but to me the most amazing sight she laid her eyes on was the stub that protruded from his belly, the freshly-cut, already-withering cord that had sustained his life in her womb—the cord through which he received her nourishment, her very life. When you really think about it, this is the amazing thing: This child, the long-promised Son of God, has a belly button. . . . The incarnation means that God now has a belly button. He is bound forever to the human race, and that remnant of an umbilicus proves it." Leonard Vander Zee, from The Banner

Find more Christmas sermon ideas on Zeteosearch.org.

Sermon and worship ideas for New Year's Day

"The new year brings another time
to practice some reflection,
to contemplate priorities-
what past ways need rejection?
The call of Jesus comes again
to strengthen our connection
to his inspiring way of life,
and maybe change direction."
New Year Hymn by George Stuarton Worship Words

"As we make plans for a new year, I am reminded that there is a Divine paradox 'in us making plans for a new year'. Isn't it God's plan, God's story? Then it's not up to us! . . . I need to pause and ponder: How might I not strategize and plan but rather listen, discern, pray and prepare according to the God who has come in all his Greatness? How might I simply trust and follow? Scripture Meditation/Reflection by Karen Wilkon Missio Alliance

More sermon and worship ideas for New Year's Day on Zeteosearch.org.