A Weekly Christmas Devotional
A familiar Christmas image is three wise men on camels silhouetted against a sunset bringing their gifts to the baby Jesus. Their gifts each had a deeper meaning: gold, pointing to Jesus’ kingship; incense, a hint to His deity and holiness; and myrrh, which was symbolic of death and pointing to His mortality.
Arriving on camel-back, the wise men may have been surprised to find this holy, mortal king was a baby lying in a cattle feeder in a rundown stable because there was no room at the Marriot Bethlehem. Though they may seem a little impractical to us, their gifts were a timely insight into a hopeful future that was coming, no matter what the current circumstances seemed to suggest. They were prophetic gifts that spoke to what was deeply true, gifts of hope, hinting to the unseen, not just what was seen (Hebrews 11:1).
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Christmas can feel like that. We like to send cards or hang decorations with messages of hope, love, joy and peace, even though in reality we may be experiencing the opposite. But these messages, like the gifts of the wise men, are prophetic gifts. They speak to the truth of the gospel that is ours to take hold of, regardless of what we see around us or what we feel. Despite our circumstances, we can take heart as we remember that first Christmas when Jesus came to earth to bring hope, love, peace, and joy to all humanity.
These gifts are already ours for the taking! If we will only reach out, take and unwrap them, both for ourselves and for a world desperate to experience them, a world lost in despair, sadness, division and anxiety.
Over this Christmas season, let’s unwrap the gift of Hope we were promised. Jesus came so that we might experience His version of the good life (John 10:10). As the wisest of wise men, He knew what we needed 2000 years ago, and it rings truer than ever today: more than anything else, we need Him.
We live in a post-Christmas culture. We know what Christmas is about, but do we live in the reality of the gifts brought about for each one of us in Jesus, 2000 years ago?
We can’t unpack all of Jesus’ Christmas gifts, but let’s marvel at one over this Advent season: the gift of Hope.
Hope is a many-splendored thing, and over the next four weeks, we will unwrap its different aspects. Reflect on what Hope means for yourself and for the world. Let the truth of the gospel sink into your heart and challenge you.
The four aspects we will unpack are:
Week 1
Hope is what we need
Week 2
Hope is here for us and always was
Week 3
Hope can fuel us today
Week 4
Hope is in us, in fullness
Week 1
Hope is what we need
Week 2
Hope is here for us and always was
Week 3
Hope can fuel us today
Week 4
Hope is in us, in fullness
Join us online Sunday 29 December
There will be no in-person services on Sunday 29 December, so join us for a special online service to inspire you for 2025! It will be available to watch here at 8.30am and 10.30am.
Don’t forget, you can watch all of our weekly services online, so you can catch up, re-watch, or share any of them with a friend! Click the icons below to watch or listen on your preferred platform.
