There are many lists of gifting trends and ideas floating around this time of year. The hottest categories in 2024 include Tech gadgets and wearables, Sustainable/Eco-friendly gifts, Subscription boxes (streaming to fashion), Personalized gifts (jewelry, art, books), Health/Wellness oriented gifts, Experiential gifts, Home gadgets, and more. Have you ever considered how much gifting has changed through the years?

In 1924 the gift trends did not include Streaming Services, Amazon, Tech gadgets, and wearables. Health and Wellness wasn't a category though people naturally ate healthier. Popular gifts included toys/board games, clothing & accessories, books (with pages of paper and words), radios, home appliances (electric iron became more common in 1920), jewelry, pocket watches for men, wristwatches for women, leather goods, and hand-made crafts.

Personal gifting trends have and will continue to change and evolve along with technology and tastes. What is enduring is the impulse to bless others and the joy of receiving gifts, especially those that are unexpected and undeserved. As we move into this Advent Season of anticipation for the coming of Jesus we are reminded not all gifts are equal.

What makes a great gift? The greatest gifts are thoughtful, rare, personalized, long-lasting, timely, and extravagantly gracious.

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." - Galatians 4:4–7 (ESV)

This Sunday, we will focus on Galatians 4:4-7 and, in particular, the timeliness of God's gift and the radical relational implications (on family, identity, eternity) of God's gift.