3 things we must do for our students this Christmas

Christmas time is a great time to enjoy family, friends, special gatherings, parades, and of course lots and lots of food.  While working with junior high students can be different this time of year as they get distracted by the commercialization of Christmas.  We also know that they need a steady diet of Jesus Christ during this time of year.

It is sometimes too easy to think about what to talk about during the Christmas season.  Of course we are going to share the Christmas story and play Christmas games.  We may have a Christmas party and share Christmas presents.

The thing about it is we sometimes forget that this is about more than just a story.

This Christmas we need to do a few things to help our students stay focused during the month of December.

1.  Choose a message.

Pick a message that you want your students to learn during this season.  Don’t just focus on a story, but spend some time on the application for your students lives.

Our new series, Christmas This Year, focuses on having an attitude like Jesus.  Students learn from Mary, Joseph, Shepherds, and Jesus about having the right attitude when God calls your name.  This helps our students continue to grow during the Christmas season.

2. Be excited about the message.

It can be easy to use up all of our energy doing fun Christmas games and activities.  We have to make sure that the excitement we share is about the message of the birth of Jesus and how it applies to our life.

3.  Challenge your students.

Lay the story of Jesus out there for your students and challenge them to make a decision.  I will never apologize for sharing the truth of Jesus with my students, and they always seem to respond no matter what season of the year it is.

Christmas is so much fun, but we need to not only realize the true meaning of Christmas.  We also need to apply it to challenge our students to apply it to their lives.