Section 1: The Why The Why

56 million Christmas trees bought in 2018 $5.01 billion spent on trees in 2018 16% increase from 2017

Section 2: The Answer

THE CHRIST OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE

1. The tree is triangular shaped, reminds us of the Trinity. Luke 1:35

2. The evergreen tree is a symbol of both new and everlasting life we can have in Jesus. (Evergreens stay green in all four seasons.) John 5:24 & John 10:10

3. The branches and needles point upward, reminding believers that their home is in Heaven. 2 Timothy 4:18

4. A star is placed on top to remind us of the star that marked where Jesus was born. Matthew 2:1-11

5. An angel is placed on top to remind us that the angels announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds. Luke 2:8-20

6. Lights on the tree remind us that Jesus is the Light of the world. John 8:12

7. Other colorful decorations remind us of the beauty and variety God has placed in Creation for us to enjoy. Psalm 104

Section 3: Imagine

Conclusions1. It’s all about Jesus.2. Christ is relevant to our entire life.3. Believers should think in parables.4. Christmas is filled with the Good News.

What should we do?1. Make Jesus the Center.2. See Him in every detail.3. Think biblically, not culturally.4. Accept & share the Gospel.

1. What is my message about? The message is about Keeping Christ in Christmas, and all the Christ-significant symbolism wrapped up in the Christmas Tree.

2. Why is it important? As a culture, we spend A LOT on Christmas. We called Black Friday “black” because the old rule of thumb was that it wasn’t really until Christmas buying season that retailers actually started turning a profit for the year. Christmas buying alone was enough to get retailers out of “the red” and into “the black.”

Isn’t it true? I want us to simply think about Christmas trees for a moment – not gifts, not other decorations, not pictures with Santa, not sending Christmas cards, not special holiday feasts – just the Christmas tree. How many of you have a Christmas tree up or are going to put one up? How many of you will put lights on it? How many of you will put ornaments of various kinds on it? Okay, so this is for all of us …

In 2013, we bought around 47 million Christmas trees? And for those 47 million Christmas trees, we spend $2.35 BILLION? Wow! Now, how much did we spend on Christmas lights, ornaments, tree stands, tree skirts, tree toppers, garland and tinsel, etc. … Well, who knows, but you can be sure it is in the millions. Many millions at least.

This is something we do. As a culture, we pretty much assume you are going to put up a tree each year. Particularly if you have kids, it is pretty much a given. We do this without thinking. We spend time and money and FRUSTRATION on it. If you are like our family, we have to take special steps to make sure there is enough space in the house somewhere for all these decorations that we only use about a month out of the year. So, for me, for all that trouble, just leave it up!

Have you very often stop to consider what all this tree business is about? I want to suggest that the Christmas tree IS and SHOULD BE about JESUS!

3. What do I want them to do?

What should we do?1. Make Jesus the Center.2. See Him in every detail.3. Think biblically, not culturally.4. Accept & share the Gospel.

4. What is the single most persuasive idea? Christmas is filled with the Good News.