Christmas worship.

Sunday morning in Sunday School we studied Luke 2, the Christmas story.
I have heard and read this story more times than I can count but this time God showed me something new and different. Something about worship.

Luke 2:17 - After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said about this child.

We can learn so much from these shepherds. When they heard about Jesus they went and told everyone. So many times we hear things about Jesus but we keep them to ourselves. I am so guilty of this. God will show me something awesome about Himself and instead of going and telling everyone I will keep it to myself or just tell one or two people. That is not enough. I need to be telling everyone about my Jesus.

Luke 2:18 - All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished

Astonished means surprised or greatly impressed. When is the last time you were greatly impressed by the story of Jesus. Even on Sunday as we read the Christmas story I kind of blew it off because I'd heard the story so many times. Why am I not blown away by who my Jesus is? by His story? by His life? by His love? Sometimes I am but those times seem far and few between. I want to be surprised and greatly impressed by Christ every day.

 Luke 2:19- but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.

I love memories and journaling and I feel like Mary did too. She treasured and pondered. I do not spend enough time doing this. I do it when it is convenient, when I have extra time. But sometimes I get busy and get lazy and don't treasure or ponder at all. My hope is that I will be more mindful of all that Jesus is doing in, through, and around me. When I see these things I want to treasure them and to dwell on them. Keeping what Jesus does close to our heart and thinking on it all must be pretty important since it made it into the Christmas story and Jesus' own mother took the time to do it. If Mary, the girl who got pregnant by the Holy Spirit, the woman who had just had a baby, who had taxes to pay with her fiance, who had a million other things to think about and take care of, took the time to ponder and treasure, I think I have enough time to do the same.

Luke 2:20 - The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.

How often do we leave a time of worship, a camp, a retreat, a church service, a campus ministry, glorifying and praising God for all He has just done? Maybe we talk about it in the parking lot or we discuss it over lunch or dinner. Maybe we talk about it for a week to the people that were with us for the event but we never tell anyone else. I can't remember how many times this has been true for me. The shepherds went back to where they came from glorifying and praising. So as we go back to our homes, our jobs, our schools, wherever it is we come from, let's glorify and praise the Father for what we have seen and heard.

Thank you God for sending Jesus. Thank you for shepherds and Mary. Thank you for teaching me new things about a familiar story. Thank you for Christmas!