A Savior Worth Celebrating

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Christmas is a love story worth celebrating: A Savior, giving up all strength to come down to the earth as a baby, to save His beloved.
  • With your Bible in hand, find a comfortable spot to have your quiet time with Jesus.  Pray that the Lord will bring peace to your spirit and speak to you today.
  • Read and meditate on Luke 2:1-21. Write the verse that most stands out to you in your journal.

A Savior Worth Celebrating

My sweet friend, I know you have been trying so hard. Sometimes the weight of Christmas pulls at us, unleashing such pressure to perform, to live up to the expectations of others, to create a “magical season” for those around us. We lose our peace; we let go of our focus. We set our sights on “making it through the holidays.” What if it were different?  What if Jesus could remain our family’s focal point, our reason for celebrating?

What an amazing gift we were given that night two thousand years ago! Since the birth of sin into the world, humanity had been struggling. We had been consumed by the weight of sin and had been living in a world wrapped in darkness and self-inflicted sadness. We could never have saved ourselves from ourselves. However, God had a plan! We needed a Savior, a Messiah. We needed Jesus.

Our King came, not with strength and power, but as a weak, vulnerable babe. Because of this, He understands our weakness; He knows what kind of love we need. Hebrews 5:2 reveals that “He is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because He himself is subject to the same weaknesses.” We can celebrate Him because of His tender understanding of each of our hearts!

Out of His great love for us, Jesus took on flesh. Ephesians 1:4 whispers encouragement to our hearts: “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love.” Christmas is a love story worth celebrating: a Savior, giving up all strength to come down to the earth as a baby, to save His beloved. We can celebrate Him because of His loving desire for us!

During His life on earth, Jesus went to impossible lengths to rescue us. As we grasp onto Him, He holds us and never lets us go. He is the love that never ends. He is the essence of hope, the restorer of peace, the giver of joy. He is “Immanuel, which means God with us.” (Matthew 1:23). We can find peace in Him Whom we are now able to belong. We celebrate Him because of who He is and His undeniable adoration for us!

He was born for YOU dear sister! The Lord is “abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 86:15) for YOU! He is the only one who can bring you peace, who can understand your heart, and who can love you as only a Savior is able. This week we will be given the honor of celebrating HIM! He is worthy of every single ounce of praise we can offer!

Questions to Ponder:

  • Are you feeling worn out by Christmas preparations?  Take a moment to ask the Lord to renew your focus on Jesus this week.  He loves when we come to Him and is always willing to guide us back to Himself!
  • Think of one thing you can do to bring glory to Jesus this week.  Can you commit to spending time with Him every day, even though your days are busy?  Maybe you can plan a special time with your family to truly praise the Lord for the amazing gift of Jesus?

Faith-Filled Idea:


Making a Celebration for our Savior

  • Would you like to celebrate Jesus with us?  This celebration can take place on Christmas Day or in the days prior.  You can choose to do as much or as little as you are able.  Do not let the addition of a Jesus Celebration bring any additional weight to your Christmas, and do not feel pressured to make this celebration complicated or elaborate. Just do what works for you!
  • The following ideas serve as an example of a few ways to make your celebration special!

1. Read His Story: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

It is important to share the story of our Savior on His birthday!  There are many great versions of the story of Jesus’ birth for children.  I chose to read out of our Jesus Storybook Bible. However, you could also read straight from Luke chapter 2 as well!  As you read, make sure to discuss any thoughts or questions your children have.

2. Every Party Needs a Cake!

Having a cake for Jesus is a fun way to celebrate! We made a cake with symbolic meaning, although picking up a cake from the grocery store would be just as delicious. No birthday celebration is complete without singing “Happy Birthday!”

Tara 1

 

As you assemble and decorate your cake together, it is wonderful to share with your children why Jesus came. We decorated the cake as part of our celebration, just before we cut and ate it!

Tara 2

 

It is fun to let your children decorate as you talk about the cake’s meaning!  (Mommy tip: If you do not have cake decorating supplies, simply fill a ziplock bag with your frosting, cut a small bit off one of the corners, and decorate away!)

 

** If you would like to make a symbolic cake as well, an example of the symbols we used and their meanings is at the end of this section!

Tara 3

3. Sing Praises to the Newborn King!

Join your children in worshiping our Savior with Christmas hymns. The angels, shepherds, and wise men worshiped baby Jesus, and we should as well! There are so many amazing Christ-honoring Christmas carols you could sing with your children. We chose to praise the Lord with “Away in the Manger” and “Joy to the World”.

Tara 4

 

4. Lay Your Gifts at His Feet

We do a Jesus gift box each year in which we place gifts from our heart to our Savior.  For a better explanation of how to do a Jesus gift box, be sure to watch Deb’s video from last week!

** Jesus Cake Symbolism:

tara 5

 

– Round Cake: The shape of the cake is round with no end, showing that God’s love is never-ending. He loves us so much that He sent his only Son to die for our sins (John 3:16).

Dark Cake: Before knowing Jesus, our hearts are like this dark cake, and we cannot spend eternity with the Lord with hearts so full of sin (Romans 3:23).

– White frosting: God did a wonderful thing when he sent his Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. Now all the darkness is covered up, and Jesus washes our sins white as snow. We are pure white in the sight of God. When we ask Jesus to forgive all the bad things we’ve done, we are white like this frosting (Romans 6:23).

– Star: The star reminds us of the star in Bethlehem and how the wise men followed it in order to worship the Lord Jesus. It reminds us that we should worship and follow Him every day.

– Red candle: The red color reminds us of Jesus’ blood that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Because He died and rose again, we can have eternal life in heaven with Jesus if we believe in Him (Romans 5:8).

– Light the Candle: The glow of the candle reminds us that Jesus can shine in our hearts if we just ask Him to be our Savior (Matthew 5:16).

– Evergreens: Evergreens around the cake remind us of something living and always growing.  If we have accepted Jesus to be the Savior of our lives, we are going to grow and get to know Him more.  How can we grow to know Him better? By praying, talking about Him, reading our Bibles, and sharing Him with others (John 15:5 or 2 Peter 3:18).

 

Tara Davis
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19 Comments on “A Savior Worth Celebrating”

  1. I just love this! I really am planning on doing a cake this year! Thank you for sharing such a kid-friendly, easy idea to share the gospel with the little ones!

  2. Thank you Tara! This was great and I love the details about the cake idea! Something I’ve been thinking about and may try next year! This week I’ve been reading Luke 2 to my son before bed and he’s fallen asleep to hearing the Word. Just melts my heart! Sometimes it’s the simple things I think that draw us nearer to Him! Thank you again for such a great study!!

  3. Oh Tara, this is absolutely beautiful! I love how you think so deeply about Jesus and how you share your heart with us through your writing. Thank you so much! I feel so blessed!?

    1. Deb! You have such a gift of encouragement!! Thank you!!! I can’t tell you how thankful I am for you in my life!

  4. I love the suggestions Tara! Thanks for the inspiration. I bought the ingredients for birthday cupcakes this weekend. Ours will just have sprinkles and candles though. ?

    1. Heather! I’m so excited for you to have your party!! Your cake will be wayyyyy more healthy than ours. I would love some of your recipes my friend! You are a fantastic cook!!

  5. Thank you for this! What a beautiful reminder for this busy week! I am looking forward to reading to my kids from the book of Luke this week and focusing on Jesus together!

    1. Love you Carmen!!! What would I do without your prayers in my life? I hope you have the most wonderful Christmas with your family!

  6. Great article!!! I love the symbolic cake idea. I am so glad I took the time to read this this morning. I have so much on my plate the next couple days and really just wanted to get started on the task at hand but I felt the Lord prompting me to be still in his word this morning. Thank you for the much needed encouragement. He is the reason for which our focus should be.

    1. I totally understand Brandi! Every morning it is a struggle for me to still my heart before the Lord, especially at Christmas time when things are so busy. I’m praying that you have the most peaceful, sweet Christmas with your family!!!

    1. I miss you too Kristi! I was just thinking of you a couple days ago and wondering how you have been doing! I hope you have such a sweet week filled with the love of Jesus and your family!!

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