It’s the final weekend before Christmas 2019, and here are some of my hopes. I pray they’re some of yours, too:
- Some “once-a-year” church attender will find redemption in Christ. That attender might come to church just because it’s Christmas weekend, but God will meet him or her there. No Christmas will ever be the same again.
- The words of the Christmas carols we sing will really be the songs of our heart. “Joy to the world,” “O holy night,” and “Come let us adore Him” will be much more than well-known lyrics. They’ll leap out of our soul as we sing with brothers and sisters in Christ.
- A weary pastor will find renewed hope in the Christmas story. The telling of the story will thus be much more than an annual routine in December; instead, it will genuinely bring hope to a church leader who needs renewal.
- Some grieving believer will experience the supernatural comfort of the Holy Spirit. The first Christmas without a loved one can be tough, but the Holy Spirit has a way of providing comfort and peace the world cannot explain.
- Our hearts will be deeply burdened over the billions of people in the world—often including our own neighbors—for whom Christmas means nothing. Some have never even heard of the baby in Bethlehem. The holiday will come and go, and nothing will change for them.
- A non-believing loved one will see Christ in a believing family member and turn to Christ. Many of us have family members who don’t follow Christ, and we continue to pray for God to reach them. Maybe they will follow Christ this Christmas.
- Some wandering, distant child really will come home this year. He’ll stop running toward sin, and he’ll find a hopeful father waiting for him when he returns. He’ll come home because that’s where he finds God’s love—not just because it’s Christmas.
Let us know your hopes, and we’ll pray together for you.
