First Baptist Church (Montgomery, Alabama)
Thursday, May 17, 2012
 
 
 
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves
has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God,
because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and
only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved
God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear
friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever
seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made
complete in us.”  —  1 John 4:7-12
 
 
A Christmas Season of Love (In Another Culture)

My childhood memories of Christmas were always filled with love. I spent most of my childhood in Mexico where my parents served as missionaries. We incorporated many American traditions in our home, but also had the pleasure of sharing in some Mexican Christmas traditions. Some of these I learned to appreciate, even if we didn’t observe them in my home. For example, in Mexico they give gifts on January 6th when they celebrate three kings day (this sort of makes sense since Jesus received his gifts when the wise men came after he was born).

The Christmas season for us meant sharing Christ with our neighbors and friends. We started a tradition in our house of having other missionary families over to our house for Christmas lunch. This was always a great time for us to share the season of love with our missionary family.

The Christmas season was also a great time to share Christ’s love with the people of Mexico. We looked for opportunities to share Christ’s love in many different ways, from putting on Christmas concerts in the parks, to giving gifts to friends and neighbors. We were always looking for ways to share Christ’s love with those who didn’t know Him
 
 
Activity:
 
1.    There are many people right here in Montgomery, AL who may have different Christmas traditions...some of them may not celebrate Christmas at all. Go to a restaurant or gas station where someone from another country works. Ask them if they have a Christmas tradition in their country. If they do, write it down... if they don’t, consider asking them over to experience some of your American Christmas traditions.
 
2.     There are many different ways to say Merry Christmas, Jesus Loves You. Match the phrase with the language:
 
 
 

Merry Christmas!
Brian, Kristi, Andrew, Eden and Matthew Gay
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Answers: a. Arabic b. Italian c. Chinese d. Thai e. Ukrainian f. Haitian Creole g. Spanish