The Best Gift Is You

It's so hard to believe that thanksgiving is over and Christmas is coming soon! This time of year is exciting! What makes us most excited during the Holidays? PRESENTS! We look forward to receiving presents, don't we? This is a present that I'll be putting under my tree. This gift is for my niece. I give her a Christmas gift every year, because I love her, and I like to do nice things for her!

What kinds of things do you hope you'll get for Christmas this year? (ALLOW KIDS TO SHARE) I hope that all of you get what you want for Christmas, but I want you to know that you have already received the best gift that you can ever receive -- that's the gift of Jesus Christ! God loves each one of you so much that he gave you Jesus to come into this world, to teach us, and to take away all of our sins. That's an amazing gift!

Now, at Christmastime, we not only receive gifts, but we GIVE gifts to others. As you prepare to give gifts to others, I want you to be sure that you don't forget a very important person -- JESUS! Jesus doesn't want the kinds of gifts that we want -- like toys or clothes. Instead, Jesus wants most of all to be a part of your life -- He wants to be in your heart. Of all of the things in the world that you could give to Jesus, the BEST gift that you can give Him is YOU!

In the midst of the business of the holiday season, I want each of you to remember that you have already received the BEST gift that you'll ever receive -- the gift of Jesus, God's Son. I want you to also remember that the best gift that you can ever give Jesus is your heart!

PRAYER: Almighty Father, we thank you for the gift of Jesus Christ! As we enter the Christmas season, as we write our Christmas lists, and we make our visits to Santa, help us to remember that you have already given us the best gift of all! In Jesus' name, amen.