In the movie Christmas Vacation, Clark Griswold is determined to have a perfect Christmas. After faulty lights, neighbor conflicts, a house full of wacky relatives, he is on the verge of a break down. During the holiday season, it is easy for our family to drive us to the edge of a break down. We all have some Cousin Eddie’s in our family. Jesus had some knots/nuts on His family tree as well. Liars. Adulterers. Criminals. Prostitutes. Polygamists. Murderers. You’ll find all these dysfunctional types in Jesus’ ancestry. Could the Savior of the world actually be descended from a lowly prostitute, a chronic liar, a corrupt king, and incest? Absolutely. And that’s what makes God’s promise of grace all the more amazing.
Christmas Vacation
Netflixmas, Part 1
November 29, 2015 • Chris Edmondson • Matthew 1:1–17
More from
Netflixmas
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
December 24, 2015 • Chris Edmondson • Luke 2:1–7, John 1:11, Acts 4:13
Tonight—on Christmas Eve—we’re finishing our series called Netflixmas talking about Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The story of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer was written in 1939 by Bob May, a writer for Montgomery Ward department stores. Montgomery Ward had bought and distributed coloring books every Christmas for children, and decided to write an original story. Montgomery Ward distributed 2.4 million copies of the Rudolph coloring book in 1939, with a total of 6 million copies given out by December of 1946, even though wartime paper shortages restricted printing.
Elf
December 20, 2015 • Chris Edmondson • Matthew 7:7–11, Luke 15:1–20, Philippians 2:5–8
In the movie Elf, Buddy is a 6 foot, 3 inch elf who lives up in the North Pole. All is good, until Buddy finally figures out what everyone else knows—he isn’t an elf, but he’s a human. So Buddy goes on a magical journey through New York City to find and meet his Dad. Today, we will learn that all of us have a Father who loves us just as we are. That you and I don’t have to search high and low to find him—He came to us.
The Polar Express
December 13, 2015 • Patrick Fowler • Matthew 3:5, John 1:29–34, Matthew 11:2–3
In the movie, the Polar Express, a magical train takes several children to the North Pole to rebuild their faith in Santa. Faith in Santa and faith in God are a lot alike. They deteriorate for many of the same reasons. Through the themes of this movie and the story of John the Baptist, we will learn some key things about faith and doubt.