Christmas can be the hardest season of the year in youth ministry. For the church, the family and our entire society, there are weeks of build up and excitement as we move towards the climax – Christmas Day. Christmas has taken on two realities. On the negative side, materialism climaxes with the Christmas shopping and gift season. On a more positive side, Christmas has a strong focus on the family. We exchange gifts, enjoy food, and celebrate our relationships. None of these things are bad. That is the subtle danger of the Christmas season: we have exchanged something great for something good. The great reality of Christmas is that God came to earth as a man – as a baby, born into a poor family, in a small town, in an obscure part of the monumental Roman Empire. The celebration of Christmas is one of the most significant celebrations in the history of the church. But since it happens every year, and because it has become so diluted by materialism and even “good cheer”, it is also one of the hardest to discuss in youth ministry. Many of the young people in your ministry have heard the story countless times as children. Some have heard confusing stories. Maybe some have an idea of Jesus as a fat man in a red suit with a white beard.
Your job at Christmas is difficult. For those who know the story, you are telling it again. For those who don’t know the story, they will act like they do – everyone is supposed to know! In some ways the Christmas season is an easy ministry season – people expect us to talk about Jesus! In other ways, it is very difficult. For the youth pastor, we must ask the question, “How can I be creative in telling this story…again”?
This series is intended to provide some creativity, but from another perspective, it is a good thing that the students in our ministry have an “oral tradition” – that they know the scriptural stories and can repeat them to others.
Jesus is at the centre of our faith. The Old Testament makes promise of the coming Messiah, the gospels tell the story of His arrival, and the Epistles and New Testament history books tell of His impact! But youth ministry often has morality and lifestyle at its centre. This series is meant to challenge and educate your youth ministry about the story of Jesus the Messiah.
We have integrated the Title from J.R.R. Tolkien’s series, “The Lord of the Rings” and have given movie clip suggestions also. As you think about Christmas, it really makes sense that we are celebrating, “The King”. This coming three week series will focus on three movements: Rumours, the Return and the Reign of the King!
The following introduction can be spoken or revised by the leader to “front-load” the experience for the students.
The Return of the King! Earlier this year, the Tolkien film won piles of awards, and many of us stood in line ups to be the first of our friends to see the movie. The movie tells the story of the destruction of the One Ring…but also of the recognition that Aragorn Elessar is king. It is in the final moments, in this the third movie of the trilogy, that Aragorn finally is recognized for who he is – the rightful king of Gondor. Some recognized him much earlier, but it is not until the final moments that his destiny is realized.
Each Christmas, Christians celebrate the Return of our King – Jesus the Messiah. For thousands of years before His arrival, Jewish prophets told of His coming. God himself promised the arrival of a Messiah – which can be literally translated, “the anointed one” but for thousands of years, false messiahs would come and go, as God’s people waited for the true King.
But just like in the movie, Return of the King – not everyone was glad to see the arrival of King Jesus, and while we celebrate his birth and life on earth at Christmas, we also know that Easter is a memorial to his death by human hands.
I don’t know what Christmas has come to mean to you – maybe it means a new GameBoy, a sweater knit by grandma, or turkey dinner with distant relatives, but the true and most important focus of Christmas is that Jesus Christ – The King came to earth as a human baby, and lived a life amongst us humans. For the next three weeks, we are going to study some background to the arrival of Jesus, and what it means to you and me today that Jesus came to earth on Christmas day some 2000 years ago.
Contact: Please feel free to email Darren DeGraaf to clarify, brainstorm ideas or provide feedback.