Give More, Spend Less:Advent Conspiracy

A situation I have always wondered about, and never really understood is this...

If it is my birthday, and I have a great party, everyone comes and brings me a gift. I don't buy gifts for them on my birthday. At Christmas, Christ's birthday, we give gifts to everybody except for Him. Doesn't really make sense to me.

We could say how can we give a gift to Christ? The gift that Christ wants from us is this gift of generosity. Generosity, with our time, money, and resources (stuff).

"Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. [Let them] do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." (1 Tim. 6:17-19)

I like the part that says God "gives us...things to enjoy". Growing up in church, we are always taught that God supplies our needs. However, this passage says that God "richly" supplies our wants.

We lack in generosity, because we fear what we may lose. We do not give money because we want to save it for something special, we do not give time because it's "our time" for us to do our thing, we do not share our resources because they may be limited. However, God promises that those things we are being stingy for (things for our enjoyment) will be provided. God will reward our generosity, by providing thing for us to enjoy.

The passage says to "do good" or be generous. This Christmas think about your circle of influence (the people you know, the jobs you work, the "circles" you are part of) and consider the needs that are present. What can you do to meet those needs? Can you skip out on a Christmas present, so that you have more money for generosity? Can you skip one Christmas party to spend time with someone who is lonely? Can you share a resource or give something away that will be of greater benefit to others?

If you see a need, do something about it. God has called us to generosity.

This call to generosity has no greater example than that of Christ himself. We are all born into this world with a need. The need for a savior, the need for a relationship with Jesus Christ. God looked upon us and saw our need. He could have done nothing, instead, He sent Jesus. He sent Jesus on Christmas day for the express purpose of giving His life for our need. Our need for forgiveness of sins.

This Christmas, be generous.

Give More, Spend Less.

Christmas Shift:Advent Conspiracy

Christmas is a revolution. It's not so much the idea of revolution that we usually have of war, weapons, revolt, and upheaval. No, it is more a revolution in the truest sense of the word, a "drastic and far reaching change in ways of thinking and behavior".

And this is what Christmas is all about. With the arrival of Jesus, into our world, our way of life, thinking, and behavior was forever changed (like the revolution that takes place in our personal lives when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior).

But, through the years, something changed. Christmas stopped becoming about Him, and became a "revolution" of us. It has become a time of stress, busyness (often forgetting God), materialism, and focus on self (what am I getting, will they accept what I am giving).

We can go through the whole Christmas season and never truly experience Christ! Christmas is really all about having a true encoutner with Him!

In Matthew 2 we read of the magi, and the gifts they brought to their King. They brought the gift of worship, and they brought gifts of meaning (gold, frankincense, and myrrh). These are the same "gifts" that our King desires, still today.

He desires our wholehearted, and sincere worship. He desires meaning, service to others, sharing life together, and being the Body.

Let's Experience Shift in our Christmas, this year! Let this year be the year of shifting from a revolution of us, to a revolution of Him (a revolution of life-change)!

Four practical steps that we can take to start this revolution:

1.) Recognize what Christmas has become.

2.) Believe it has/can change (a shift can occur).

3.) Conspire to change Christmas (conspire: to act or work together toward the same result or goal)

4.) Take action to start the change.

Learn more...cfstudents.com

Advent Conspiracy

At Christ Fellowship, we are celebrating Christmas a little differently! We are taking part in a conspiracy, an Advent Conspiracy!




The story of Christ's birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love.
So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists.

And when it's all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose. Is this what we really want out of Christmas?

What if Christmas became a world-changing event again?

Welcome to Advent Conspiracy.