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 cultural sentimentality and pizzazz, 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.
How do I plan a Christmas Day worship service?
When is Christmas Day?
Christmas day always occurs on December 25 and is followed by twelve days of the season of Christmas, during which we continue to remember Christ, who became incarnate, entering 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?
What themes do we use for Christmas?
- Incarnation
- Immanuel (meaning: God with us)
- Prophesies of the Messiah
- Peace and righteousness
- Linking Jesus's birth and death
- Line of David
- Creation and re-creation
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 King of glory is coming
- Psalms 42–43, longing for God as a deer looks for streams of water
- Psalm 43, asking God to send his light and truth to guide us
- Psalm 63:1–7, thirsting for God
- Psalm 66, God rescued his people in the past
- Psalm 72, God delivers us and helps us when we ask
- Psalm 80, asking God to restore us
- Psalm 97, light will dawn for the righteous
- Psalm 98, the Lord is coming, and he has done marvelous things
- Psalm 148, calling all creation to praise the Lord
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.
- Isaiah 9:2–7, a light shines in the darkness
- Isaiah 11:1–9, a shoot will come out of Jesse
- Isaiah 35, the joy of the redeemed
- Isaiah 42:1–9, God's chosen servant will bring justice to the nations
- Isaiah 52:7–10, all the earth will see the salvation of our God
- Isaiah 53, Christ was despised and rejected, a man of suffering
- Isaiah 63, God's day of vengeance and redemption
- Jeremiah 31:7–14, God saves the remnant of Israel
Jesus is born
There are several approaches one could take with the gospels' birth accounts (Matthew 1:18–2:23; Luke 1:26–45; Luke 2:1–21; John 1:1–18).
Matthew's account of Jesus's birth and its surrounding events (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 as 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 told through song.
- Exodus 15:1–18, 21, Song of Moses and Miriam
- 1 Samuel 2:1–10, Song of Hannah
- Isaiah 12:1–6, Song of Isaiah
- Luke 1:48–55, Song of Mary (the Magnificat)
- Luke 1:68–70, Song of Zechariah (Benedictus)
- Luke 2:25–34, Song of Simeon (Nunc dimittis)
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's coming. Throughout scripture we find mention of the root of Jesse, a reference to the line and lineage of David, in which we find Jesus.
- 2 Samuel 7:12–16, your throne will be established forever
- Psalm 110, a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek
- Isaiah 9:7, of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end
- Isaiah 11, the branch from Jesse
- Jeremiah 23:5–6, a king will reign wisely
- Matthew 1:1–17, the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
- Romans 15:8–13, the root of Jesse will spring up
- Revelation 22:16, Jesus is the root and descendant of David
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.
- Genesis 1, God creates the world, and it is very good
- Genesis 3:8–19, sin comes into the world
- Genesis 22:13–18, God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac
- Psalm 51:1–2, 10–15, asking God to give us a clean heart
- Galatians 4:4–7, God sent his son to redeem those under the law
- Ephesians 1:3–14, our adoption as God's children in and through Christ
- Ephesians 2:13–18, you are brought close by the blood of Jesus
- Philippians 2, imitating Christ's humility
- Titus 2:11–14, grace was given to redeem the world of its wickedness
- Titus 3:4–8, God saved us out of mercy
- Hebrews 1:1–12, God is faithful throughout history
- Hebrews 2:10–18, Christ shares in our humanity
- 1 John 4:7–16, "God is love. . . . If we love one another, God lives in us."