Matthew on Christmas Gift Giving | The Pastor's Workshop

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Christmas: A Tradition of Gift-Giving
Author

Emily Hunter McGowin
Keywords
Scripture

Matthew 2:11, James 1:17, Matthew 2:1-12, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Proverbs 22:9, 1 Timothy 6:18, John 3:16
While Christmas traditions vary the world over, gift-giving is a central practice just about anywhere Christ's birth is celebrated. Sometimes gifts are exchanged on December 6, the feast day of S...
Quote
Author

David Jeremiah
Keywords
- Christmas
- Christmas Gift-Giving
Scripture

John 14:27, Matthew 1:22-23, Luke 2:15-20, Luke 10:38-42, Galatians 2:20, John 15:4-5, Matthew 17:1-9, John 6:35, Matthew 28:20, Joshua 1:9
All the Christmas presents in the world are worth nothing without the presence of Christ.
illustration

Our Christmas is Complete
Author

Tsh Oxenreider
Keywords
Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Luke 2:6-7, Isaiah 9:6, 2 Corinthians 9:15, Hebrews 13:2, Luke 2:7
There is a story from Czech bishop Monsignor Hnilica of a Christmas Eve with Saint Teresa of Calcutta. There was a knock on the convent’s door during their simple but festive dinner, and the nun who w...
illustration

The Twelfth Day of Christmas
Author

Emile Griffin
Keywords
Scripture

Matthew 2:1-2, Ephesians 3:6, 1 Kings 10:1-13, John 1:9, Philippians 2:10-11
In many Christian lands Epiphany is the most important feast of Christmas. Especially in Latin countries the arrival of the Wise Men, the Three Kings, looms large in the imagination. My native city, N...
illustration

The Dicey Side of Christmas
Author

Emily Hunter McGowin
Keywords
- Christmas
- Christmas Gift-Giving
Scripture

Luke 2:10-11, Romans 12:2, Luke 2:8-20, Colossians 2:8, Matthew 5:16
Christmas (a shortened form of "Christ’s mass”) has been an embattled holiday for much of its history— and not just because talking heads on TV like to argue about the “war on Christmas” every ye...
illustration

What Do You Want for Christmas?
Author

Rick Warren
Keywords
Scripture

Mark 13:37, Philippians 4:4-5, James 1:17, Psalm 95:2-3, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Matthew 2:10-11
What do you want for Christmas this year? If you were to ask a typical little boy, he’d probably give you two words: video games. There’s a little boy I know named Brian. For weeks he bugged his paren...
illustration

Bigger and Bigger Christmas
Author

Kristen Welch
Keywords
Scripture

Luke 12:15, Ecclesiastes 5:10, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Matthew 2:11, Hebrews 13:5
Kristen Welch, in her book Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World , described the growing discontent their family experienced after pursuing more and more stuff. She describes it this way with ...
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The Plane Is Coming
Author

Emily Hunter McGowin
Keywords
Scripture

John 3:16, James 1:17, Matthew 2:11, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Romans 12:10, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Ephesians 5:2
In rural Msinga, a municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, the highlight of Christmas Day festivities is when men, newly returned home from work in the big cities, gather to sing a...
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The Anti-Gift League
Author

The Pastor's Workshop
Keywords
Scripture

Matthew 6:19-21, Isaiah 9:6, Luke 2:10-11, Matthew 2:1-12, 1 Timothy 6:6-7, Luke 12:16-21
If you ever find yourself sympathizing with Charles Dickens’ character Ebenezer Scrooge regarding the commercialization of Christmas, you’re not alone—this has been a common complaint for quite some t...
illustration

Eating Your Gift
Author

Tony Evans
Keywords
- Gifts
- Christmas Gift-Giving
Scripture

Colossians 3:17, Matthew 25:14-15, 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, Romans 12:6, 1 Peter 4:10, James 1:17
A man who was well-to-do enjoyed buying his father unusual and exotic presents for Christmas.… But one particular Christmas this man found a gift for his father that was truly unique: a talking bird t...
Quote
Author

Larry Libby
Keywords
Scripture

Luke 2:8-14, Luke 2:1-7, Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:46-55, Micah 5:2, John 1:14, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:25-38, John 10:10-11
Late on a sleepy, star-spangled night, those angels peeled back the sky just like you would tear open a sparkling Christmas present. Then, with light and joy pouring out of Heaven like water through a...
Quote
Author

David Letterman
Keywords
Scripture

Proverbs 21:5, Proverbs 31:15-18, Acts 20:35, Luke 21:1-4, Matthew 25:1-13
Halloween is the beginning of the holiday shopping season. That’s for women. The beginning of the holiday shopping season for men is Christmas Eve.
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The Origin of Santa Claus and Stockings
Keywords
Scripture

Matthew 6:3-4, Acts 20:35, Proverbs 19:17, James 1:27, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, 1 John 3:17, Matthew 25:40
The man behind the unlikely tradition of Christmas stockings is usually thought to have been Nikolaos of Myra. He was a Greek Christian who became bishop of Myra, a city of Asia Minor. Nikolaos, or Sa...
scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Matthew 2:1-12 (Guide B)
Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.
Keywords
Scripture

Matthew 2:1-12, Micah 5:2
Confusion about Epiphany The celebration of the Epiphany of our Lord can be at once both wholly familiar or somewhat confusing, especially for those who grew up in less liturgical traditions. What ca...
lectionary

Epiphany of the Lord
Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.
Keywords
Scripture

Matthew 2:1-12
Preaching Commentary Confusion about Epiphany The celebration of the Epiphany of our Lord can be at once both wholly familiar or somewhat confusing, especially for those who grew up in less liturgi...
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Turning a Gift into a Commodity
Author

Mike Cosper
Keywords
- Gifts
Scripture

Hebrews 13:16, Matthew 6:3-4, Luke 6:38, Proverbs 19:17, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Acts 20:35
The other way to destroy the relational bonds of gift giving is to turn a gift into a commodity. Let’s say it’s my birthday. Ten friends come over to my house, and we eat a good meal, and they all bri...
blog

Sacrificial Giving—Stories for Epiphany
Author

Scott B. Bullock
Keywords
Scripture

Matthew 2:null, Leviticus 12:null
The Strain of Time Time marches forward for all of us, doesn’t it? There are 365 days in the Gregorian calendar. There are 365 days in the Liturgical calendar. While the respective beginnings and en...
Quote
Author

Emily Hunter McGowin
Keywords
Scripture

Isaiah 9:6-7, Micah 5:2-4 , Jeremiah 23:5-6, Luke 2:8-14 , Matthew 2:1-12 , Psalm 96:1-3
We know instinctively that Christmas is more than shopping mall Santas, silver bells, and snow-flocked trees, but such things are so entangled with our impressions of Christmas that it’s hard to kn...
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A Gift’s Value
Author

Mike Cosper
Keywords
- Gifts
Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Acts 4:32, Proverbs 3:27, 1 Corinthians 13:3, Romans 12:13
A gift’s value is in the way it makes and reaffirms bonds between people. It’s an expression of a relationship. This isn’t to say that the cost of a gift doesn’t matter, but it certainly isn’t the mos...
Quote
Author

Christina Rossetti
Keywords
- Christmas
- The Nativity
Scripture

Proverbs 23:26, Romans 12:1, Matthew 2:11, 2 Corinthians 8:12, Psalm 51:16-17, Micah 6:6-8, John 6:1-13
What can I give Him Poor as I am? If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb; If I were a wise man I would do my part,- Yet what I can give him Give my heart.
liturgy

Dear Lord, We come to you this evening
Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.
Keywords
Scripture

Isaiah 9:2, John 1:4-5, Luke 2:8-14, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Corinthians 13:13, Luke 19:1-10, Philippians 1:6, Matthew 6:33, Luke 10:38-42, Luke 2:11, Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 2:1-12
Dear Lord, We come to you this evening with great expectations. Expectations that your Son Jesus has been born, and that his life is a light for us and all people. We come with expectations that He c...
Quote
Author

E. B. White
Keywords
- Christmas
- Christmas Materialism
Scripture

Luke 2:6-7, Luke 2:8-14, Luke 1:46-55, Matthew 2:1-12, Isaiah 53:2-3, Matthew 6:19-21, John 2:13-16, 1 Samuel 16:7, Philippians 4:11-13, Mark 10:17-22
To perceive Christmas through its wrapping becomes more difficult with every year.
Quote
Author

T. S. Eliot
Keywords
- The Incarnation
- Christmas
Scripture

John 1:14, Luke 1:26-38, Luke 2:25-35, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:41-52, Matthew 3:16-17, Matthew 16:15-17
The hint half guessed, the gift half understood, is Incarnation.
Quote
Author

Augustine of Hippo
Keywords
Scripture

Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 1:14, Revelation 22:12, Hebrews 13:8, Galatians 4:4-5, Micah 5:2
Christmas is fast approaching. And now that Christ has aroused our seasonal expectations, he’ll soon fulfill them all!
Quote
Author

Steve Maraboli
Keywords
- Christmas
- Helping the Poor
Scripture

Matthew 25:31-46, Matthew 7:12, Luke 10:25-37, Matthew 5:43-48, Matthew 18:21-22, Mark 2:1-12, Hebrews 13:2, Matthew 5:7, Acts 4:32-35, John 6:1-14
Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you.
Quote
Author

Mother Teresa
Keywords
- Christmas
Scripture

Matthew 22:37-39, Luke 10:25-37, 1 John 3:18, John 13:1-17, Matthew 25:31-46, 1 John 4:7-12, Acts 2:44-45, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Mark 6:30-44, Galatians 5:22-23
It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you.
Quote
Author

Corrie Ten Boom
Keywords
- Christmas
Scripture

Isaiah 9:6, Philippians 2:6-7, Luke 2:10-12, Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1-2, 11
Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you s...
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A Christmas Surprise
Author

Source Unknown
Keywords
Scripture

Luke 1:26, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:8-14
There was a woman who was baking her Christmas cookies and she heard a knock at the door. She opened the door to find a man who was dressed in pretty tattered clothes, and he was obviously poor. And h...
illustration

What it Means to Be "Childlike"
Author

Phillip Yancey
Keywords
Scripture

Matthew 18:3-4, Hebrews 11:1, Genesis 28:10-17, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 11:6, Luke 2:8-20, James 1:17
In his book of sermons titled The Magnificent Defeat, Frederick Buechner mentions two qualities of childlikeness. First, children have no fixed preconceptions of reality. If someone tells them that ...
Quote
Author

Mother Teresa
Keywords
- Christmas
- Advent
Scripture

Matthew 22:37-39, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Isaiah 9:6
At this Christmas when Christ comes, will He find a warm heart? Mark the season of Advent by loving and serving the others with God’s own love and concern.