Its been a while since I posted on the blog or a podcast. I think I need to get in the habit of my friend, John Armstrong, at ACT 3, and do a morning of nothing but recording podcasts and then post them over several weeks. Might be a fun Christmas project. So, do not give up up, the fight against podfade continues.
Today I am doing a sermon study for an area pastor’s group on preaching on Christmas Eve that I am calling “Reflections On Preaching the Same Old Story Every Year.” Now I’m not really into doing the Greek word studies and textual analysis that I had to do in seminary. Foreign languages is not a real gift of mine and any more, there are better Greek scholars and writers who can do that work for me. My concern any more is making the same old Christmas story that people have heard over and over again, blended and reblended according to what they have seen on TV, movies, and nativity set, and recover the reality that it means more than an “aww, a baby in the manger” Hallmark moment.
Part of what I am offering the group this morning is that maybe the best commonly known Christmas sermon is Linus telling the Christmas story in A Charlie Brown Christmas and actually showing it in worship. Considering that I have used Frankie Goes To Hollywood videos and a VW commercial on Christmas Eve and was not crucified for it, I think it says something about the power of visuals and modern storytelling, something most pastors know little about.
I’ll let you know how it goes and maybe even turn the conversation into a podcast for preacher types.
Otherwise, just enjoy the video. Considering it came out the year I was born, 1964, its part of my childhood and always puts me in the Christmas Spirit.
Now, if I can just get a house like Snoopy’s dog house…