T

he seasons of Thanksgiving and Christmas are filled with Christian history. We know that our Thanksgiving holiday in America is directly the result of the Christian influence on our early heritage. The first Americans expressed their thanks to God for the provisions and care He supplied throughout the year, and we have done the same ever since.

As for Christmas, the history behind the word, Christmas, is very familiar to believers. It is not that common for the unchurched. Secular culture has succeeded in expunging its utterance from public and government places. See how often you are greeted with Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. Christmas, of course, carries within it the very name of Christ. In fact, the word “Christ” and the word “mass” were brought together to form the word. “Mass” is a term that the church of the Middle Ages used to describe its church services. Thus “Christmas” is in fact the season of church services specifically about Christ’s coming to earth. You can see why it might offend some in our society.

As full and rich as the history is behind these events, worship planners and pastors often come to this season wondering how to bring a fresh perspective, or a new insight, into this age-old story. I’d like to suggest some ideas, and give you the permission to use them, change them, or recreate them as you would like and need for your congregation. These are ideas I’ve used, or plan to use this year.

Ideas for Thanksgiving

For many years I have planned the largest and most involved service of the year to be the service just prior to Thanksgiving Day. I found that the people participating in this service had plenty of time prior to Thanksgiving for rehearsals, planning and preparation. However, once Thanksgiving Day was upon us everyone’s schedule became so crowded that trying to plan a big Christmas service became really difficult.

Short testimonials of thankfulness are excellent during these services. This helps congregation members to connect with their own instances of God’s care in their lives. There are also plenty of musical selections geared toward thankfulness and praise to God for all that He is and does. One might organize a Thanksgiving service thematically. For instance, spend time during the service thanking God in three areas: 1) for redemption in Christ, 2) for family and friends, and 3) for daily needs supplied. There are any number of themes that can be used for this. Supplement each theme with Scripture readings, songs, testimonies, and short sermonettes. Repeat the same flow three times – once for each theme.

 

Ideas for Christmas

Think of the Christmas season as a multi-week discovery and consideration of the meaning of Christ’s coming to earth. Use the Sundays between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day to gradually build expectation from week-toweek in preparation for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services (if you have them).

I’ve written previously about celebrating the Advent season with its candle wreaths, colors and weekly themes. Information on how to do this and what it means is readily available on the internet – along with lots of ideas on how to implement these services. Celebrating Advent is the classic style of building anticipation for the coming of the Christ Child.

Another four-week idea (there are usually four Sundays between Thanksgiving and Christmas) is to explore the offices of Christ each subsequent week. The four offices of Christ would be Prophet, Priest, Judge and King. One topic for each week. What does it mean for Christ to fill these offices? How is He the fulfillment of each one? What does it mean for us today as we remember His birth?

On a more practical level, I have found that enlisting the help of other worship planners for this special season really has its benefits. By having four different people plan the four services, we have variety in style and thought that permeates the season. This reflects the variety we find in the body of Christ, the Church! I will often give overall guidelines, Scripture references and thematic descriptions – and then set them loose!

Overall, the burden that pastors and worship planners feel during these annual seasons can be lifted by trying some of the ideas I have suggested. These recommendations – for the purpose of our discussion – can also help you find a fresh voice that reminds others of these important Christian seasons. May your celebrations of Thanksgiving and Christmas bring you ever closer to the God Who has demonstrated His love toward us so faithfully.

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