Alan Bevere is really indignant about the attitude some pastors have about Christmas this year since it falls on a Sunday:
I have had conversations with a few pastors in the past few weeks who basically admitted that since worship attendance on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day will likely be sparse, they are simply going to recycle old sermons and preach them.Seriously? Do they have so little regard for their calling that they are going to use reduced numbers for worship as an excuse to be lazy? Do they have so little regard for the faithful who will show up on Christmas Day and New Year’s Sunday that they have decided that these folks are not worthy to hear a fresh word from the Lord, but must listen instead to a stale sermon?
He has a point. There is a temptation among pastors to look at Christmas Day after the big events on Christmas Eve, as nothing more than a day to “phone it in.” We don’t expect a lot of people to show up (and granted a lot of church folks will sleep in on that Sunday), so we just go through the motions if we have a church service at all.
But even if a few folks show up on that Sunday, there are people who are hungry to hear God’s word. Just because they show up Christmas Day instead of Christmas Eve doesn’t mean that we pastors should be lazy.
After the busyness of Christmas Eve, I can understand the temptation. I can understand wanting to take the Sunday off. But the folks who come into church on that Sunday morning, need to hear the good news of Christ even if only three people show up.
So, maybe we need to be a bit more willing to treat this coming Christmas Sunday with a bit more care.
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