Happy Birthday Creator-King

12/18/2019

What makes a birthday special for the birthday person?

What makes a birthday special for party guests and family?

We enjoy picking our favorite foods for dinner, giving presents, and throwing a party with games and laughter.

In our house, we also like to play the Encouragement Game at birthdays.

What is the Encouragement Game?

The Encouragement Game is focused on just one person at a time. Everyone else in the room shares things they appreciate and admire about the that person. It is so uplifting for the one being encouraged. And for those being encouraged, it makes us feel valuable and loved.

We like to focus on Jesus on His Birthday! It's such a privilege to remind Jesus of Who He is and all that He means to us!

“For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16 NASB).

We praise Him because He created all things that exist whether we can see them or not! Jesus not only created all things; He is in charge of all things! Jesus is our Creator-King!

The First Celebration

God the Father prepared for the very first Christmas.

He lined up empires, lined up languages, fulfilled prophetic words, revealed mysteries, brought in angels, produced a star, and invited birthday party guests. I find His choice of guests interesting. There were poor smelly shepherds and rich wise men who were also not part of His Chosen People.

Our Heavenly Father's choice of birth day guests reminds me that Jesus came for ordinary people like me. I became significant because Jesus loves me!

The gifts the wise men brought remind me that Jesus is our High Priest (frankincense), he is a King (gold), and He came to earth to give His life for us (myrrh).

From Genesis to Revelation, we see the role of Christ as Creator/Redeemer. God left clues throughout the Old Testament. Prophetic words spoken by Old Testament prophets were fulfilled in the New Testament. The Birthday Creator-King is our promised Messiah, the One who saves us!

The Birth of Jesus is a special event.

God the Father commemorates special events e.g Passover. Commemorate stones crossing Jordan.
When we celebrate His birthday, do we get the Passover meal ready, visit the stones near the Jordan or do we go to the high places?

Let's do things in our celebrations that point our family and friends to Jesus, rather than adopt the ways of the world.

The Birthday Person!

Is Jesus, the birthday person, the focus of all our preparations or is he on the periphery?

When we celebrate a birthday, we want the birthday person to feel special and loved, to focus on what he wants to do and experience.

So let's think a minute about what Jesus would enjoy for His birthday.

What Jesus likes….

Worship
Marriage
Family
The Poor, Needy, those in Jail
Celebrations (e.g. in Nehemiah)
Prayer
The Word
Us to Enjoy what He has given us
Generosity

Let's Throw a Party!

In our house;, we love birthday parties. At Christmas, we celebrate in some unique, festive ways.

Gifts for Baby Jesus
We buy baby clothes for a baby boy, along with blankets and baby things. We donate all the baby items to a Crisis Pregnancy Center.

Time set aside for Worship
We set time aside to spend in family and personal worship, often singing carols or worship songs.

Romantic Lights
We have twinkle lights everywhere to remind us that the LIGHT of the WORLD was born at Christmas and now that we belong to Him, His light is in us. We get to shine for Jesus!

Family Devotions
We have special Christmas family devotions. We read a passage of Scripture, discuss it, pray, and sing Christmas carols. You can download them for FREE here.

Family Memories
We make special memories as a family at home and at church. We go caroling, decorate the house, bake cookies, decorate the Christmas trees, play Christmas music, buys presents, and reach out to those who are needy or hurting at Christmas.

Reading His Word
We love to read the entire story of Jesus' birth beginning with the miracle of John the Baptist's birth and ending with the little family fleeing to Egypt. Most of the Christmas story is found in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2.

Inviting the Lost to the Birthday Party
We remind each other that Christmas is a birthday. We surrender each Christmas to Him and ask Him to be part of everything we do.

So, how about your family? I'd love to hear what you do to celebrate Christmas in the comments below.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours.

Warmly,
Meredith Curtis