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Can we really tie together the cuddly baby story with the reality that Jesus came to ask us to face issues (and other ways I get myself in trouble preaching Christmas Eve)

last year for reasons I am not still not sure of I scrapped the Xmas story and instead preached the Gerasene Demoniac. The theme was fear not. Best "response" I ever received from a sermon. Folk expected cute and cuddly and I gave them a screaming demoniac. This year I am back to Xmas story, titled Free to Live. It wont be cute.

Yes! Less is more!

the familiar, the traditional and the ritual have great power - Amen!

We utilize the projector, screen, church projection software (Media Shout), in our services. You could say we have most of the "bells and whistles). But we have scaled back our use of technology this past year. Why? We discovered that too much use of technology in the service can actually be more distracting than helpful.
I formerly put all my ... See Moresermon notes, scriptures, and pictures on the screen during my sermon. My wife, who sits in the back row, told me that people were paying more attention to the screen than me. So now I don't put anything on the screen during my sermon.
One rule for any projection system: Let your presentation be on the subject, not the presentation itself. I've been in churches where the powerpoint's are awful. Always use the same background throughout the presentation. Never use loud colors.
And another thing we found is: use a projection system that is easy for your workers to run. Many of the new fangled software has many features, but if you don't have people who know how to use it, it can be a disaster.
And hire professionals to install your sound systems. I've been in too many churches where the sound system was installed by the local "know it all" in the church, and you could tell it.

We actually moved Advent a couple weeks early a few years ago for that very reason. Tried the experiment for two years. It was hard to know what to call the weeks after Advent but before Christmas. It really messed up the Advent wreath and everyone's Advent Calendars. We eventually gave up and went back to being in step with the rest of the church.
this Advent our theme is In the Waiting Room.
1. Waiting for Help to Arrive.
2. Waiting for Healing
3. Waiting for Wrongs to be Righted... See More
4. Waiting for a Child to be Born
The image of the waiting room I think will be a powerful metaphor for Advent. We'll see if we can resist the temptation to leave the waiting room and start celebrating Christmas early.???

Thanks for this great conversation and keep sharing ideas with your fellow working preachers.