The Old, Old Story: Children Sharing Christ's Love

Devotional

Day 1: Joy returns as we retell the old, old story

Advent joy is not noise or hype; it is the steady gladness that rises when the old, old story of Jesus and His love is told again. Even if the holidays hold grief, the story speaks into the longest night with light that does not flicker. You can be honest about your hurt and still receive the comfort that comes when Christ is named, welcomed, and worshiped. Let this week be simple: light a candle, sing a verse, and remember that the glad news is for you. Joy grows where Jesus is remembered, and His story still gladdens weary hearts today [12:21].

Luke 2:10–11
A messenger from heaven said, “Do not be afraid. I bring news that will fill every heart with deep joy: today, in David’s town, a Rescuer has been born for you—He is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Reflection: Where does joy feel thin for you right now, and what small practice—lighting a candle, singing a carol, or reading Luke 2 aloud at dinner—could make room this week to hear the good news again?

Day 2: From manger to cross to empty tomb

The story we love does not stop at a manger; it moves through a cross, breaks open a tomb, and lifts our eyes to a risen and ascended Lord. We can face our sin and our sorrow because the ending has already been written in resurrection hope. When you tell the story, tell the whole story, and let each chapter steady your steps. In Jesus, God’s love took on flesh, carried our burden, and triumphed for us. That is why this story never grows old and why we can tell it over and over again [34:04].

Philippians 2:6–11
Though He shared all the richness of God, He did not clutch His status, but emptied Himself, became a servant, was born as one of us, and obeyed to the point of a cross. Because of this, God lifted Him high and gave Him the highest name, so that every knee bows and every tongue declares that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the honor of God the Father.

Reflection: Where do you tend to stop the story—manger, cross, or empty tomb—and how will you pray through the next movement of the gospel this week so your hope is complete?

Day 3: Tell it again—for those who haven’t heard

We repeat the story because some have never truly heard, and others of us need to hear it again to keep our hearts awake. Love shares what is life-giving, and this news is for innkeepers and outsiders, for the hurting and the hopeful, for all of us. God’s love seeks people right where they are and invites them into a new beginning. Your voice, note, invitation, or prayer may open a door for someone you care about. Tell it one more time, trusting God to do what only He can do [35:12].

Romans 10:14–15
How can people call on the One they have not trusted? And how can they trust if they have never heard? And how will they hear unless someone speaks? Those who are sent with good news have beautiful feet, because they carry words that bring peace.

Reflection: Who is one person in your life who needs to hear this story in a gentle way, and what specific step—an invitation to Christmas Eve, a handwritten note, or a simple prayer offered—will you take this week?

Day 4: Learning the gospel through the eyes of children

Children teach us to receive the story simply, gladly, and without pretense. Their smiles, questions, and songs strip away our hurry and remind us that grace is a gift, not an achievement. Let their wonder reawaken yours; kneel low, listen well, and say “yes” to Jesus with childlike trust. Sometimes the clearest path back to faith is the smallest practice done with a full heart. May your faith be small in pride and big in joy today [36:16].

Matthew 18:3–4
Jesus said, “Unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter God’s kingdom. Whoever lowers himself like this child is the greatest there.”

Reflection: What childlike practice—thanking God out loud, a short bedtime prayer, or drawing the nativity—could you imitate this week to let your heart receive the story simply?

Day 5: From gathered worship to shining witness

We gather to remember and then we go to reflect: the story we love becomes the light we live. Every worship service points to a new beginning, an invitation to say “yes,” to recommit, to pray, and then to step into the week as people who carry hope. Let your ordinary places become altars where others glimpse Jesus’ love. Serve quietly, speak kindly, and point beyond yourself to the Father who loves the world. As you go, shine so that others see Him in you and find their way to the old, old story [59:41].

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light be seen in everyday life, so that people notice the good you do and give praise to your Father in heaven.

Reflection: Where will you be this week that especially needs light—work, the kitchen, a hospital, or a classroom—and what one concrete act of service will help someone see beyond you to the Father?

Sermon Summary

Today we gathered on the Sunday of joy to welcome guests, light the Advent candle, and prepare our hearts for a week full of worship—our Christmas service next Sunday with the choir and Hallelujah Chorus, the Longest Night service for those who grieve, and the 5:30 p.m. Christmas Eve service for the whole family. I encouraged our church to be generous toward missions through the Lottie Moon offering and shared ways to honor loved ones with memorial bricks next door. Then we turned our attention to the old, old story we love.

I shared a family memory: my dad preached a Scripture-only telling of the whole biblical arc—from creation to resurrection—and my mom would stand and sing, “I Love to Tell the Story.” Someone once said to me, “I’ve heard that before.” And so have we all. But that admission led us straight to the heart of Advent: we keep telling the story not because we’ve forgotten it, but because it keeps forming us. Repetition is not redundancy; it is renewal.

Three reflections rose from that hymn. First, we love to tell the story because it reveals God’s love for us. That’s why the room fills when our children lead us; we’re drawn to love made simple and clear. Second, we tell it again and again because we know how it ends—not in a manger only, not at a cross finally, but with an empty tomb and a living Christ. The ending pulls the whole story forward into our present pain and our present joy. Third, we tell it for two audiences: for those who have never heard, and for those who know it best and still hunger to hear it again.

Our children helped us hear it with fresh ears: Jesus born in humility, living in holiness, dying in love, rising in victory, ascending in glory—because He loves you. That love reaches even the innkeeper, the one we might overlook or judge, which means there is room for every heart in this story. As always, the story invited a response—first steps of faith, new obedience, renewed commitment, or simple prayer at the altar. We were sent out to let His light shine through us, so that those who see our lives would glorify our Father in heaven.

Key Takeaways

1. The old story forms us anew Repetition is the Spirit’s slow work of reshaping desire. Hearing again becomes a practice of remembering who God is and who we are in Him. Joy grows not from novelty but from nearness, and nearness is nurtured by retelling. So we listen again, and we are remade again. [58:28]
2. Christmas points to the empty tomb Bethlehem belongs to Easter; the cradle is already pointed toward a cross and an empty garden. Holding the whole arc keeps us from sentimental faith and anchors hope when life aches. The risen Christ is the reason the story never grows old—He is alive now. [34:04]
3. We tell it for two reasons Some have never heard and need a clear invitation; others know it well yet still thirst to hear it again. Mission and discipleship meet here: proclamation for the lost, formation for the found. The same story both awakens faith and deepens it. [34:38]
4. Children teach us profound theology Simplicity is not shallowness; it is clarity. When children tell the story, we are confronted with the heart of the gospel stripped of our complications and defenses. Their joy reminds us that grace is received, not performed. [36:16]
5. Grace for innkeepers and us God’s love reaches the overlooked, the compromised, and the complicated—including us. The Nativity gathers outsiders into the center of God’s affection. If grace embraces the innkeeper, it has already made room for you. [58:57]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[12:07] - Joy Sunday and Advent welcome
[13:02] - Longest Night and Christmas Eve invites
[13:49] - Missions offering and memorial bricks
[14:47] - Year-end giving and call to worship
[15:24] - Opening prayer
[29:40] - Family legacy: The Greatest Story
[30:55] - “I’ve heard that before” tension
[32:04] - Hymn: I Love to Tell the Story
[33:29] - Why we love to tell it
[34:04] - The story ends in resurrection
[36:16] - Prayer before children lead us
[58:28] - Hearing it again still matters
[59:41] - The gospel in one arc
[60:12] - Invitation to respond

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
- Luke 2:1-20
- Luke 24:1-7
- Matthew 18:1-4

Observation questions

Read Luke 2:1-20. What details in the nativity scene highlight the humility and unexpected welcome of Jesus’ birth? How do those details make room for outsiders in the story?
Read Luke 24:1-7. What is emphasized about the end of the story in these verses? How does this change the meaning of the manger and the cross?
The congregation heard someone say, “I’ve heard that before,” about the Christmas story. What reasons were given for telling the story again and again rather than letting it grow old? [30:55]
Children told the story in a simple, direct way. What elements of the gospel came through most clearly when described in childlike language? [36:16]

Interpretation questions

The repeated telling of the Christmas story is described as a spiritual practice that reshapes desire and forms the heart. In what concrete ways might hearing the story again reshape what a person wants and pursues day by day? [58:28]
The nativity and the cross are portrayed as part of one story that culminates in an empty tomb. How does holding the whole arc (birth → death → resurrection → ascension) prevent a sentimental or incomplete faith? [34:04]
The story is told for two audiences: those who have not yet heard and those who already know but still hunger. How do the same words function differently as proclamation for the lost and formation for the found? [34:38]
The inclusion of the overlooked (the “innkeeper” image) suggests grace reaches compromised and complicated people. Theologically, what does that inclusion say about the scope of God’s love and the nature of the gospel?

Application questions

Identify one person in your life who has never heard the gospel clearly. What concrete step will you take this week to tell the story to them in a simple, loving way? [34:38]
Where in your spiritual life do you feel shaped more by novelty than by nearness to God? What practice of repeated hearing, reading, or telling the story could you adopt to cultivate renewed desire for God? [58:28]
When facing sorrow or loss this season, how does remembering the empty tomb change your immediate hopes and prayers? Name one way you can remind yourself of resurrection hope this week. [34:04]
Children tell the gospel simply and receive grace rather than perform it. In what area of faith do you need to return to a childlike posture of receiving rather than achieving? What would that look like practically? [36:16]
Think of someone you’ve judged or written off. What is one small action you can take to demonstrate that there is room for them in the story of God’s love? [58:57]
This season invites concrete responses (first steps of faith, renewed commitment, prayer at the altar). Which of these responses feels most pressing for you right now, and what is your next tangible step toward it? [01:00:37]

Sermon Clips

Second thing, this hymn tells me, we love to tell the story over and over and over again, even though we know the ending of the story. We know how this story ends. It does not end there. It started over there in a manger, but it does not end on a cross. It ends in an empty tomb and a resurrection. And we can tell that story over and over and over again. We can repeat that story over and over again, because it tells the story of God's love for us. [00:34:04] (44 seconds) #ResurrectionStory

It will be a new story. But the story that we will tell will be the same old story of God's love for us. And so today, we come and tell a story. Our children come and tell a story that you already know. You know the characters. You know the plot. You know how it ends. But it is a story that we cherish. A story that never grows old, even though we tell it time and time again. It's a story of God's love for us. [00:35:24] (46 seconds) #CherishedOldStory

You know the characters. You know the plot. You know how it ends. But it is a story that we cherish. A story that never grows old, even though we tell it time and time again. It's a story of God's love for us. So one more time, may we hear the old, old story told through the eyes and the joy and the smiles of our wonderful children. [00:35:45] (39 seconds) #KidsTellTheStory

We come to the end of our service. And every story points to an opportunity. Every worship service points to a new beginning. And it points to a moment. And this is that moment. Because we tell the story of those who have never heard, so that they can come to know Jesus and His love for them. And perhaps today you've never said yes to Jesus. And today you want to say yes to Jesus. And say, I love Jesus. And to be baptized. What better day? What better day than today? [01:00:12] (40 seconds) #SayYesToday

Because we tell the story of those who have never heard, so that they can come to know Jesus and His love for them. And perhaps today you've never said yes to Jesus. And today you want to say yes to Jesus. And say, I love Jesus. And to be baptized. What better day? What better day than today? [01:00:29] (22 seconds) #NowIsTheDay

We tell the old, old story. One more time we've heard it today. Of Jesus and His love. Father God, I thank you that our children can tell the story. The story of Jesus and His love for us. And Father, I thank you for that message of salvation. Yes, Father, we've heard the story over and over and over again. We know how it ends. We know the characters. We know the plot. We know what it means. And yet every time we tell it, we're reminded again of your deep, deep, deep love for us. [01:01:25] (46 seconds) #SalvationInSong

No matter where we've been. No matter what we've done. How you have loved us out of our unlovable condition. Father, today is that day. We proclaim your love for us. Father, in this moment of invitation, may we heed your words. Thank you, Father, for I pray this prayer in your precious, powerful, and holy name. Amen. I invite you to stand as we sing our invitation. [01:02:10] (30 seconds) #RedeemedAndLoved

And as we go, let His light shine in your life so that others may see Him in us. And glorify not us, but our Father who is in heaven. We've gathered for church. Now we depart in service. Father God, I thank you for this day. I thank you for your great love. I thank you for those who tell the story. Father, we go now and as we go, guide us in all that we do. For I pray in your powerful name. Amen. Amen. [01:07:20] (29 seconds) #LetHisLightShine

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