Rediscovering the Christmas Season 14 of 25

Day 14 - How is your spirit? I know that I am finding this daily reading and reflection a blessing!


Christmas Cards

Exposure: Read the passage about an encouraging letter. Most of the New Testament is made up of letters. Buy or make a Christmas card for someone who has really been a blessing to you this year. Spend some additional time expressing to them what they mean to you. If a card won't hold all you need to say, write out a whole letter like the early church did.

Exploration: Think of how meaningful letters like this must have been in the first century. What kinds of communications do you most often use to express these kinds of thoughts to those in your life?

Expression: How do you think your card will make this person feel? Why do you think there is so much power in expressing love to someone?

Experience: Jesus wrote us a really long letter called the Bible expressing His love for us. What has been the most meaningful part of His letter to you?

Act 15:22-31

22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, 23 with the following letter: "The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell."

30 So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

We'd like to thank LifeChurch.tv for their generosity in providing the structure for the "Rediscovering the Christmas Season" reading plan. To learn more about LifeChurch.tv, visit their website at http://lifechurch.tv.