Christmas time. A season of Buddy the Elf hopping across our televisions, holiday parties and eggnog. Sugary Christmas cookies bake while It’s a Wonderful Life plays in the background. Mariah Carey’s Christmas album plays on repeat while we all try to sing the high notes along with her. What’s not to love about Christmas? Whether you believe in Jesus or not, the Christmas season is a bright time of year for most people. But, Christmas isn’t built on Buddy the Elf, a warm, seasonal feeling, or a tradition of gift-giving; it’s built on the birth of Jesus.
As we approach the Christmas season ahead, where do we place Jesus in the mix of the holiday excitement? Is our main focus truly on Him?
I want to share a helpful reading plan I’ve gone through in the past to help us remember Jesus this season. It’s called Rediscovering Christmas, and features daily scripture readings from December 1st – 25th centered on Jesus and His story.
Here’s why I like it: all you need is yourself and a Bible. That’s it!
I would love for you, your spouse, friends, co-workers, etc. to join me in following along with the reading plan this year. My hope and prayer through sharing is to offer guidance and encouragement, as well as help you focus on the firm truths of Jesus. Presents, parties and the joy surrounding Christmas is so much fun, but it can also be distracting.
From my experience, something or someone will always fight for my attention during this season. The distractions are usually not bad things, but I leave them feeling depleted at times. When I intentionally choose to set aside time for Jesus, my heart and mind are full; ready to embrace the Christmas season with a grateful heart and centered mind.
If you’d like to follow along (which would be awesome), our reading will start this Saturday, December 1st. My goal is to share my personal notes from the reading on the blog each week. Some days require a little extra time because of the length of scripture listed, which I’ve noted below!
Here is the entire reading plan:
Dec 1: Luke 2:21-40
Dec 2: Matthew 1 *Allow extra time. The first 17 verses are the genealogy of Jesus, which might take a few extra minutes to follow.
Dec 3: Luke 2:1-20
Dec 4: Mark 9:33-37
Dec 5: Matthew 4:12-17, Isaiah 9:1-3, Matthew 5:14-16
Dec 6: Acts 20:35, 1 John 4:10
Dec 7: Exodus 25 *Allow extra time.
Dec 8: Matthew 25:31-46
Dec 9: Isaiah 9:6-7, Revelation 19:1-16, 1 Timothy 6:11-16 *Allow extra time.
Dec 10: Matthew 1:22-23, Isaiah 7:10-15, John 1:14
Dec 11: Genesis 1, Isaiah 1:18, Psalm 51:1-10 *Allow extra time. This day is long!
Dec 12: Revelation 2:1-5, 1 John 3:1-3
Dec 13: Psalm 150 *Allow extra time.
Dec 14: Acts 15:22-31
Dec 15: Luke 1, Jeremiah 32:17 *Allow extra time.
Dec 16: Matthew 2:1-12
Dec 17: Galatians 4:1-7
Dec 18: Isaiah 58, Matthew 6:16-18 *Allow extra time.
Dec 19: Luke 11:1-13
Dec 20: John 1 *Allow extra time.
Dec 21: John 21:25
Dec 22: Psalm 100 *Allow extra time.
Dec 23: Matthew 25 *Allow extra time.
Dec 24: John 3:16
Dec 25: Luke 1:26-56, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:1-40 – Merry Christmas!
If you prefer to have more of a guided study with commentary each day, check out the advents from hereadstruth.com or shereadstruth.com. We determine who gets our attention, so why not plan on focusing on the Lord this season?
Love y’all!