So much of our church’s recent movement has been centered around the idea of story. We want to know the story of Jesus that we are caught up in, as well as each of our own stories. In that spirit, the idea for this year’s Christmas devotional came about. In the following pages, you will find the stories of Christmas’s past from the hearts of our people. Some of these stories are filled with joy, while others will remind us that this season is not always what Hallmark wants it to be. However, in all of these stories, we will find that Jesus has something for us, no matter how we enter the Christmas season.

So many of these stories come from our childhood because so much of Christmas is centered around our childhood memories, helping our kids create new memories, and most importantly, the whole story is centered around a baby in a manger. What if this Christmas, we are reminded of what it was like to be a kid at Christmas? What if this year we are focused on the baby in the manger?

Along with devotionals, you will find memory-making events. These are meant to help you engage with others and create new memories to look back on. They will likely not go as planned, but that is the beauty of a memory. We remember it for what it was, not what it should have been. There are also hymns to draw you into the spirit of the season through song and one final Christmas story, written and illustrated from our heart, that you might know that this short season is part of a grander story of rescue.

What if this year we stop and meditate on the fact that unto us a child is born?

We love you, church. Merry Christmas!

Laine Melikian
Family Discipleship Pastor
First Baptist Church Marble Falls