email : Webview : SDMI Connections: December 2020

A Perfect Time to Celebrate Christmas Early

When I was a child, it seemed department stores did not put out Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was followed by Black Friday, a unique name but not totally inappropriate—a day when multitudes of sale-seeking families cram into stores and malls to find that perfect gift for a loved one, or themselves. When I was a child, Christmas movies were not watched until the first of December. In my wife's childhood home, Christmas songs were not played until Thanksgiving weekend. How things have changed!

The year 2020 has not been an ordinary year to say the least. This year, I saw Christmas decorations in stores in early October. Online Black Friday became online Black November. Hallmark Christmas movies began their 24-hour, nonstop showing by early November. When I arrived home from traveling during the second week of November, my family had already decorated for Christmas! In surprise, I exclaimed, "What in the world! Why so early this year?" My wife replied, "We just thought Christmas needed to come early in 2020." She is right. It is a perfect time for Christmas!

The Apostle Paul spoke of the perfect time for the first Christmas to arrive in Galatians 4:4-5.

God sent His Son just at the right time in history! Not a moment too early or a moment too late. God is always right on time. The timing was so significant that Christians for generations mark time (AD and BC) by this key moment in history. God's intimate self-revelation transformed our understanding of love, sacrifice, and hope at just the right time.

As we gather around Jesus to celebrate His birth this Christmas, let us reflect how His life has brought redemption to this world for all those who believe. Think back and recall the day you experienced rebirth and began to understand the real meaning of Christmas for the first time. May these thoughts shape the way you live, love, and generously share with all those around you.

Turning our eyes to Bethlehem and a manger in a stable is what we need to put our minds and hearts to given the multiple challenges of 2020. This year is the perfect time to celebrate Christmas a little early knowing that God sent His Son so that we might be His children eternally. This year is the perfect time to bring the joy of Christmas early to a family you know who desperately needs to know the hope that comes from trusting Christ.

May you have an early Christmas in your heart and home!

Scott Rainey,
SDMI Global Director

Grace: A Word to Guide Us through 2021

SDMI champions our global Nazarene mission of making Christlike disciples in the nations. Our basic desire is to help believers be Christlike disciples who join others in our intersecting journey from grace to grace.
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Parenting in the Pandemic: Spiritual Growth in Trying Times

As we reflect on what 2020 has offered us, I am quite convinced the vast majority of us can confidently say, "I didn’t see it coming." The spiritually and emotionally taxing moments we have encountered in this year are diverse and multifaceted. Read more

Helping to Change a Blue Christmas to a Bright Christmas

Far too many families have little to no contact with their senior relatives once they move into assisted or nursing care. For those left behind, the holidays could be full of memories of lost loved ones and endless loneliness. Read more

Children's Bible Quizzing

Dorothy Whipp provides information regarding quizzing during the pandemic and World Quiz 2021. Click here to read more or contact Dorothy at Dorothy@efnaz.org for additional details.

Global Discipleship Resources Expanded with Basic Bible Studies

New Christians learn that they belong to God, and they learn how to walk with God. They also discover ways to learn from God and to talk with God. New Christians find ways to share with God and to speak for God. They also realize their need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to join the family of God. To help us establish new Christians, Dr. Chic Shaver wrote several basic Bible studies that are making a global impact. Learn more

Save the Date for SDMI's Leadership Conference (LC2021) November 9-11, 2021!

LC2021 will be held in a beautiful mountain setting at the Ridgecrest Conference Center, just outside Ashville, North Carolina on November 9-11, 2021.

Planning for LC2021 has already begun. The new program and schedule will be online in December on the SDMI website and communicated through your SDMI field and SDMI district representatives. Please be praying with us for this key leadership and discipleship-equipping conference.

You can expect inspirational speaker, informative workshops, transformative worship, and refreshing fellowship. Don’t miss this crucial event for your discipleship ministry!

2021 VBS – The Journey of Grace!

In 2021, the Church of the Nazarene's Vacation Bible School will invite children to follow in the footsteps of a girl named Grace. In this free, downloadable VBS, children will join Grace as she embarks on a journey that is open to all who are brave enough to travel with her. Each leg of the journey will help the traveler understand God's prevenient, saving, and sanctifying grace, which leads them to grow to their potential.

More information about the Journey of Grace Vacation Bible School is coming in the next edition of SDMI Connections and online!

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