Preaching for Christmas is overwhelming initially, because how do we say anew what everyone thinks they have heard a bizillion times?

Here are thoughts about Christmas that most people in the pew probably will not think of:

1. The Incarnation. The idea that God--the same God who created the universe and parted the Red Sea and all of that--came to Earth as a baby is pretty extraordinary. The God of the planet Kepler 22-B is the same God who was in the stable as a pooping, crying infant.

2. Mary as the bearer of God. God uses a person to bring God into the world. Incredible! How does God use us to bring God into the world?

3. The birth of Jesus matters because it makes possible the death and resurrection of Jesus. Good Friday and Easter are the reason for the Christmas season.

4. Jesus' birth does not just lead to eternal life (although that is no small gift). The birth also transforms our present lives. It inaugurates a new age of intimacy with God. Christ is Emmanuel, God with us. How does Christ being with us in this new way transform our present lives?

5. Where and when in our lives do we find ourselves at the stable, and how do we respond? In other words, how does the story of the birth become a type (dangerous word, I know) that recurs throughout our lives?

(from www.goodpreacher.com/blog/)