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#20 – Leading Your Family Thru the Holidays   

Act Like Men – Men’s Leadership Podcast

Sponsored by Men’s Ministry Catalyst

Holidays can be very challenging.  As men we either let it sneak up on us and are unprepared to do anything except rush them; we spend so much time on the social calendar that it hardly seems like Christmas at all; we delegate most of the family holiday part to your wife (she does it so much better than me anyway), or you and your wife can take some time to talk about the holiday and plan.  This allows you to be intentional about what you and your family want to accomplish thru this very important Christmas Holiday. 

Let’s start this episode by establishing The Reason for the Season and what we are celebrating at Christmas.   

1. Celebrating the Birth of God’s one and only son, Jesus Christ.   The angel appeared to the Shepherds on the night of Jesus' birth, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy amount the people.  Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord”.  Luke 2:10-11 
2. Why does Christmas matter?  I thought Easter was the most important Holiday.  At Christmas, we celebrate who He is and the gift God gave us – His only son.  At Easter, we celebrate what he did as the fulfillment of thousands of years of prophecy fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  He is the Way the truth and the life and our only pathway to God the Father and eternity in Heaven.   

There were three titles that the angel used that applied to Jesus: 

1. He is the Savior who delivers us from sin and death. Matthew 1:21
2. He is Messiah – the human – who fulfills the law and the prophets showing us God’s faithfulness
3. He is God almighty who entered in human flesh; God and man fused together to pay for our sins and give us eternal life.   

Easter is where we see the fulfillment of the final piece that gives us the victory to overcome the world and know Heaven is our home.  

1. What is it about the traditions we use to celebrate the birth of Jesus?
   1. We give gifts because of the incredible gift God gave to us – His son, and the Wise Men also showed the reflection of the gift of the Father by giving gifts to Jesus.  2 Corinthians 9:15
   2. We string lights because Jesus is the light of the world who has come to us. John 1:4, Isa 9:2
   3. We sing Christmas Carols because of the Angels singing on Christmas. Luke 1-2
   4. We decorate Evergreen trees with stars, angels, and tinsel because of the eternal life Jesus makes possible.  

What are a few simple (not necessarily easy) steps we can consider to ensure we don’t let Christmas get past us this year?   

1. Establish what are you trying to accomplish this Christmas  

A couple of ideas; 

1. Have a family over for Christmas so you can share God’s Reason for the Season with them. 
2. Take time to go look at Christmas lights, go to a Christmas program, etc.  Be sure to talk about the reason for the season while you are doing this.  
3. Time set aside to make your purpose happen 
4. What do you need to say NO to so you can say YES and make this happen – if we feel compelled to do everything, we end up rushing thru everything and accomplishing very little towards our goals.  
5. Plan your budget for family gifts – stick there