When you were a little kid, did you ever secretly peek into the presents under the tree? Or snoop through closets to try to find gifts? As kids, Christmas was so exciting we could hardly contain ourselves. We were dying to know more about the great gifts that were waiting for us.
This questionāDid you ever peek at your presents as a kid?āis not only a fun conversation starter, but it also can provide an opening for talking about Christmas, God, Jesus, and the marvelous gift of grace we celebrate this time of year.
You can coach your students this Christmas season to ask this and other simple questions that can become a springboard to a deeper conversation about Jesus and why He came to Earth as a baby all those years ago in Bethlehem. Encourage them to find out how their friendsā families ādo Christmas.ā Then after their friends share their Christmas traditions (or lack thereof), what better opening for jumping in and moving the conversation toward Jesus?
Try This! āÆ
Pick a few spiritual-conversation-starting questions, and have your students role-play how to turn a conversation about Christmas toward the Gospel.
Look over the following six questions and pick a few to spend some time role-playing during youth group. Ask students to pair up and have one member of the pair play the role of nonbeliever, while the other practices how to transition from these kinds of questions to a conversation about the Gospel. For help with this, check out this video. Then, after theyāve practiced some, challenge your students to advance the Gospel during Christmas season with a friend who doesnāt know Jesus.
6 questions for turning a conversation toward Jesus:
- What does your family usually do on Christmas? What does that mean to you?
- Do you ever go to church on Christmas? If so, what has that experience been like?
- Do you believe in God? What do you think Heās like?
- Are your beliefs about God the same as your parentsā beliefs?
- Do you think Jesus was Godās Son, like the Bible says?
- Jesusās gift of salvation is sometimes called the āGospel,ā which means āgood news.ā Do you know why itās called that? (Encourage your students to use the YouTube video āThe Silhouette Gospelā to explain to their friends why itās good news that Jesus made it possible for us to have a restored relationship with God.)
The Real Backstory Behind the Presents
Many teens have never heard the real backstory behind all the presents and parties associated with Christmas. Any of the above questions offer an opening for your students to explain that Christmas is about celebrating the greatest gift of allāJesusās free gift of salvation through the message of the Gospel. And thatās something worth celebrating. Jesusās birth opened the way for us to have a relationship with the God of the universe!
Jesus put it this way when describing why He came to Earth, died, and rose again:
āThe thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.ā
Pretty amazing! Thatās good news everyone should have the opportunity to hear about.
Just like the Christmas excitement percolating inside us, the Good News of Godās love and forgiveness should be spilling out in our lives and our words. Do what you can to help your students (and your adult leaders) reach their friends this Christmas season. And donāt forget to share the Good News with those in your life, too!
