phil wing

you should go over to my wife’s blog and read her interview with our 2 1/2 yr. old son. Priceless…

If you’ve been in Apex gatherings lately, you’ve probably heard me talk about my love/hate relationship with Christmas songs. I absolutely love Christmas…but more and more, as time goes on, the less it becomes about Christ and more about materialism, tradition, and self gratification . Obviously, that’s a shame…

There are lots of songs out there to honor such a day, but how many of them really point at Jesus as being the big deal? How many of them really lead you to praise? Or are most of them familiar sounds for a tradition we’ve become acustomed to? Don’t get me wrong. There are definitely some good Christmas songs out there. Songs like What Child is This, O Come O Come Emmanuel, O Come All Ye Faithful, Angels from the Realms of Glory, etc. No doubt, many people throughout history have written good Christmas songs.

But, if you look at the responses given at the very first Christmas, you find Mary and Zechariah bursting out into songs of praise! It wasn’t a song they’d sang at the temple for years and years. It wasn’t a song that other Jews would sing in each others front yards. And it definitely was not a song about a tree, a jolly fat man, or a hippopotamus (sp?).

It was a new, honest, grateful response for God’s goodness in sending His Son. They were blown away with how God had made a way and for some unknown reason, counted them a part of it! It was honest praise at it’s finest.

That’s what Christmas should be about. Honest praise, given to the One who made a way…a way out, a way in, and a way home. We are His people, celebrating the single most impacting person of all time, living like we mean it, and giving because that’s what He does. That’s Christmas.

The Apex band took on the job of writing some fresh responses to Christmas - there’s a “home recording” of a new Christmas song I wrote on myspace…it’s called “He Has Come to Us”…and there are 3 other new ones as well written by Olivia Tew, Matt Thornburg, and Chad Osborne. You can find them each on the sermon podcasts from December. I hope they help you praise Him this Christmas.

taken from Relevant Magazine:

“Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.” No doubt you’ve heard the axiom before. It’s often used to condemn no-strings-attached giving to the poor. Cliché or not, it paints a nice picture. Unfortunately, the saying only paints half the picture—it’s great to teach a man to fish, but if the man has no fishing gear and no water nearby, how do you expect the knowledge of how to fish to do anything for him?

That’s the plight of the poor. As it is for millions of people across the planet, poverty is a problem in the United States as well. And while dealing with the problem of poverty involves “helping the poor to help themselves,” we need to remember that such a solution is long-term. What are we to do in the short-term? You can’t alleviate the problem by yourself; no one can. But what you can do is distribute some grace to your corner of the world. The thing to remember is that helping the poor isn’t just about donating money. It’s about meeting needs.
The holidays are always stressful, and it’s easy to get consumed with buying presents, traveling and spending lots of money on Christmas-related activities. But December doesn’t have to be a time that we forget about those in need. Here are several ways you can reach out to the needy this Christmas season:

HOMELESS SHELTERS
If you live in a city of any size, there is probably at least one homeless shelter that helps people with meals, beds, hygiene and other services. Most shelters welcome volunteers for a number of activities, from preparing and distributing meals to working in the business office.
FOOD BANKS
Surveys indicate up to 40 percent of people serviced by community food banks at one time or another, had to decide between eating and paying rent. If that’s a decision you’ve never had to make, why not find a way to help out? Community food banks are instrumental in assisting the poor in your community, particularly around the holidays. They employ volunteers to sort and collect salvaged food (much of which comes from area supermarkets), distribute bread, manage inventory and perform office tasks. You can help by doing the above or by organizing and giving to inventory builders like canned food drives.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
Since 1976, Habitat has built in excess of 100,000 simple houses across the world for families lacking adequate shelter. A non-denominational, non-profit organization, Habitat sells its houses via interest-free mortgages. The homes are built by the homeowners themselves and a team of volunteers. If you have any sort of construction, electrical or plumbing skills, you’re exactly the kind of volunteer help Habitat needs. For those who don’t know a Philips from a flathead, Habitat projects provide a fun, unintimidating environment to learn—all the while helping a very appreciative family. Contact your local chapter, or visit www.habitat.org.
CLOTHING & NECESSITIES
Most of us have far too many clothes—in our closet, stuff we haven’t worn in years. When you run out of space, resist the urge to sell your old clothing on consignment or in garage sales. Instead, donate it to a charity like the Salvation Army or its equivalent. My wife and I worked one weekend a few years ago with a downtown women’s center, the kind of place where battered women stay until they get their lives back together. We discovered the center was always in need of decent women’s clothing, in addition to baby supplies and kids’ clothes. After that weekend, Aimee cleaned out her closet immediately. If you have a full closet or baby clothes you’ll never use again, why not give them to someone who’ll treasure them?
BE THOUGHTFUL
I know many kind people who just don’t feel right about giving money to the homeless, worrying that they may be paying for an alcohol addiction or their next drug fix. But the truly compassionate still find a way to give. I know of one elderly lady who has begun collecting coupons or gift certificates for free meals at local restaurants. She keeps them in the ashtray of her car, and is happy to pass them along to the hungry. Once, my sister, who was 16 at the time, was moved to tears by the sight of a small family on the street corner with a sign that read, simply, “hungry.” She had no cash on her, but told the family to wait five minutes. She sped home and made peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches out of an entire loaf of bread, shoved the sandwiches back in the bread sack, and returned to the family. Tears were shed on their end, too.
BE KIND
If you have a chance to interact with the needy, make a point to talk to them like you would any individual—your neighbor, a business associate, a family member. Often, there’s no better gift than the feeling of worth and civilization they feel when someone treats them like a real person. I once read a newspaper feature on the homeless, in which one of the individuals profiled said something I’ll always remember: “You don’t think I feel like crap when a generous person takes me into a restaurant and feeds me? Here I am in the clothes I wore yesterday and smelling like trash. But you can take my mind off that by speaking nicely to me and not looking down on me.”
The poor aren’t just looking for money. They’re looking for understanding, significance, a human connection—gifts to which no dollar amount applies.
To see more about ways to get involved in service projects this Christmas check out this article from Cameron.
This story was adapted from Cheap Ways To … (RELEVANT Books).

Author: Jason Boyett

Jason Boyett is the author of Pocket Guide to the Bible and several other books.

Amber and I have been trying to change gears with our thinking this year, especially in terms of what is given/gotten. I mean, come on, Christmas was started on the idea of giving to those who couldn’t provide it for themselves. What will we think about this season???