The Character of Christmas

Humility

December 31, 2023 • Pastor Andy Shanks • 1 Peter 5:6–11

Hope, Kindness, Service, Love, and Humility: The Character of Christmas. As we conclude our advent series we will explore the humility of Christ; not only at his birth but throughout his life and death. With 1 Peter 5 as our foundation we will see how Christ embraced humility throughout his life and what that looked like. Looking at Christ’s example will raise some difficult questions we need to personally wrestle with: What does true humility look like? Are we living lives of humility? And IF we are living humbly, what effects will that have on us and those around us?

Candlelight Service

December 23, 2023 • Pastor Doug Forman, Pastor Andy Shanks

Casting Call - A Christmas Play

Love

December 24, 2023 • Pastor Doug Forman • 1 John 4:7–12

Love is the highest Christian ethic. It's at the heart of the Gospel and it's woven into the very fabric of Christmas. But we are not just talking about any kind of love. In fact, we're talking about a foreign kind of love that the world did not know until Love entered the world that first Christmas so long ago. This year, as we celebrate the birth of King Jesus, let us love as He loved so that what seems so rare might just become common as the people of God love others with the love of God that they themselves have received.

Service

December 17, 2023 • Dr. Cary Shaw • Philippians 2:1–11

Service. We all enjoy good service whether at a restaurant, a department store, or the DMV. But do we all enjoy being good servants? The question is this, is service a “Christian thing,” or is it just what people do? This week, in our Advent celebration, we are going to explore service as it relates to our role as Christ followers. Last week, Pastor Doug walked us through a study of biblical kindness. It is appropriate that we follow this week with a lesson on service. Following the example of Christ, service is what we do because we are kind, and we are truly kind when we serve. Join us this week as we answer the why, how, and who questions of service. And the Christmas season is the perfect time to put this all into practice.

Kindness

December 10, 2023 • Pastor Doug Forman • Ephesians 4:31–32

Kindness. It's such a good word. We all like to be treated kindly and it's plainly obvious that the world we live in could use more of it, but what is it? This week, in our Advent celebration, we're going to explore the Biblical idea and command of kindness and the fact that the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ is a kindness of God to a hostile world. The question becomes, as we live out the character of Christmas beyond this Christmas season, how can we show the kindness of God to others?

Hope

December 3, 2023 • Pastor Doug Forman • Genesis 3

Christmas has the potential of bringing out the best qualities in people. Things like hope, kindness, service, love, and humility. As we celebrate Advent this year we want to explore these characteristics together. We want to see how each is seen in the birth of Christ and how we can live them out in our own lives all year long. In this first week we will consider the importance of hope in the human experience and that it's impossible to truly flourish without it. God has built into us the belief that “Everything is going to be ok”. With that foundation of hope, we look to a sovereign and omnipotent God who always keeps His promises.

Breesport Baptist Church

2023 Advent Series