December 21, 2017 My dear Friends: I’ll never forget my first Christmas as a senior pastor. I was actually the interim senior pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church, St. Louis. Since June 2005, when my friend George Robertson left to go to Augusta, Georgia, I had served that church. And now, I had the opportunity to preach and lead in worship during the Christmas season. I ended up preaching a series from Isaiah, key texts that pointed forward to Christ’s birth. Out of that experience twelve years ago, I came away with two core convictions that govern everything I try to do in December. One is that I try to show you, from every part of the Bible, the entire Bible is about Christmas—if we mean by Christmas, the wonder that God became man, dwelt among his people, suffered, bled, and died for sinners, and was raised again to grant new life. That’s what the Bible is about. And so, through the years, I have preached Christmas series from Genesis, Ruth, the Psalms, Isaiah, and the Minor Prophets as well as Matthew, Luke, John, and Revelation. And this Sunday morning, I want to show you that Christmas story in Mark’s Gospel, right at the beginning. But the other core conviction that guides what I do during this month is this: I try to preach evangelistically, pressing people to decide consciously to put their faith in Jesus Christ. While every sermon has the Gospel and every sermon calls upon us to trust in Jesus, during this month, I’m very explicit in calling people to faith in Christ. One reason for this is that we have so many friends and visitors who come to church only during the Christmas season; what they need is the Gospel of Jesus, more than anything else in the world. But another reason is that I’m realistic enough to know that while some of our members have professed faith in Christ, they may not truly be converted and may not be trusting in Jesus alone for their salvation. All to say, I hope you will be inviting your family, friends, and neighbors to our Christmas Eve services: 8:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 5:30 p.m. In the morning services, we’ll hear about Mark’s Christmas story; in the evening, we’ll hear about God’s glory from Luke 2. You can invite others with absolute confidence that they will hear the Gospel of Jesus and they will be called upon to trust in him. If you’ve been praying for someone for many years and you’ve not been sure how to talk about Jesus with them, one of the best things you can do is bring them to church with you for two reasons: a) you know that they will hear the Gospel clearly, and then b) you will have an opportunity to follow up with them and engage them on what they’ve heard. If we are going to see God shape new people for a new Memphis, then we need to be praying for those who are lost and inviting them to hear the Gospel. Who will you bring with you on Christmas Eve? In the grip of God’s grace,
Rev. Sean Michael Lucas, PhD Senior Pastor Independent Presbyterian Church Memphis, TN