Christ's Church of the Valley (CCV) likes to run short, 250-word stories in each weekend's bulletin to tie in with the sermon or events happening within the church. So this weekend, November 15-16, the topic was: Spending Less. Here is the short story I wrote to be included in the bulletin reaching approximately 6,000 adults.
Simplifying Christmas
Former Indianapolis Colts quarterback, Travis Brown, and his wife Cory have made a major decision regarding their Christmas spending. Money isn’t the issue, yet this couple has chosen to make Christmas more meaningful by eliminating the materialism that this time of year often cultivates. Teaching their five young children a biblical message is how they explain the real reason behind giving.
Cory explained, “Christmas can get out of hand. So we try to bring back the focus of what Christmas is all about by reducing the gift giving and focusing more on Christ and his birth.” The Browns have set a tradition where each person in the family only receives three gifts to open on Christmas morning. This tradition sets a boundary so that budgets are kept, the stress associated with shopping is set to a minimum, and a biblical approach to giving is established.
When Jesus was born, the wise men presented him with three gifts—gold, frankincense and myrrh. The biblical lesson to be taught is that we don’t need more than what our Savior was given. We can be content with less material because our focus is on what’s eternal. It seems like in today’s culture Christmas is no longer a sacred holiday. It’s mostly a secular holiday with a little Jesus thrown in to it. Deciding to spend less money during the holiday season is a personal choice. But one thing we can all do is to simplify our lives and make Christ the focus.
Cory explained, “Christmas can get out of hand. So we try to bring back the focus of what Christmas is all about by reducing the gift giving and focusing more on Christ and his birth.” The Browns have set a tradition where each person in the family only receives three gifts to open on Christmas morning. This tradition sets a boundary so that budgets are kept, the stress associated with shopping is set to a minimum, and a biblical approach to giving is established.
When Jesus was born, the wise men presented him with three gifts—gold, frankincense and myrrh. The biblical lesson to be taught is that we don’t need more than what our Savior was given. We can be content with less material because our focus is on what’s eternal. It seems like in today’s culture Christmas is no longer a sacred holiday. It’s mostly a secular holiday with a little Jesus thrown in to it. Deciding to spend less money during the holiday season is a personal choice. But one thing we can all do is to simplify our lives and make Christ the focus.
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