DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Park Cities Baptist Church

Thursday, December 22
Friday, December 23
John 1:1-2 “In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. 2 He was
with God in the beginning.”
John’s Christmas story goes all the
way back to the beginning and gives
us a glimpse at God’s relationship
WITH Jesus (the Word). Verse two
restates something that John already
communicated in verse one. Jesus was
WITH God in the beginning. The
close proximity of their divine
relationship was important enough to
tell us twice.
My image of Christmas is family. All
of my greatest Christmas memories
involve being WITH my family. I
remember playing games WITH,
eating WITH, watching football
WITH, sitting around the tree
WITH and just sharing life WITH
each other. I can’t imagine Christmas
without the ones I love.
Emmanuel = God WITH us
John 1:14 “the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us…”
The Word (Jesus) became flesh and
came to be WITH us! The incarnate,
eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful
God loved us enough to come and
spend time WITH us, live WITH us,
teach us, and die for us. When you
think about getting time WITH the
ones you love, think about what Jesus
did to be WITH you.
For Discussion:
• What is something that you would
enjoy doing WITH our family
during Christmas?
• How can we intentionally include
Jesus WITH us as we celebrate?
Sam Holm, Associate Pastor of
Teaching and Minister to Singles, and
his wife, Rebecca, have one daughter,
Anna Grace.
It doesn’t take too many years of life
for the focus of gifts at Christmas to
wear thin. Whether you were the
recipient of bigger and better Christmas
gifts, or you come from a family that
could not afford as much as your
friends, the same thing happens. The
thrill of the gifts does not meet the
expectation. I don’t know the exact
year it happened for me, but I do
remember what began to replace it.
I have a large family and it was rare to
find myself alone in my home,
especially since I shared a room with
two brothers. One year, as the hype of
Christmas was wearing thin, somehow
I found myself where the Christmas
tree stood all lit in its glory while the
rest of the house was dark. I walked
into the room and just sat in front of
the tree able to take in the full force
of its gentle light in the very dark and
unusual quiet of the hour. This became
my favorite ritual of Christmas after the
first year I discovered this solitary jewel.
It reminded me of the meeting I had
with my pastor after I prayed to
accept Jesus as my Savior when I was
seven years old. The pastor said he
wanted to show me something and he
led me to the small prayer chapel
within his office. We walked into the
room and he stood me right in the
middle, then he turned out the lights
and it was so dark you couldn’t see
anything in the room. The pastor told
me that this darkness is how my heart
was before I asked Jesus into it. Then
he turned on the light and told me
that this light is how my heart is now.
As I sit in a dark room illuminated
only by the lights on the Christmas
tree, perhaps I am unconsciously
thinking of that important spiritual
lesson regarding light that I learned
so early in my spiritual journey. It is a
beautiful and peaceful experience
where my soul finds rest. Jesus said
He is the light of the world. I’m so
glad I have that light in my life.
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am
the light of the world. Whoever follows
me will not walk in darkness, but will
have the light of life.’” John 8:12, ESV
For Discussion:
• How has Jesus rescued you from the
darkness and brought you into light?
• What are some of your favorite
lights of Christmas?
• How did the Christmas star bring the
wise men out of darkness into light?
Dr. Brian Newman, Minister of
Congregational Care, and his wife,
Debi, have two grown children,
Rachel and Ben.