The Cost of Christmas || Mark Olshevskiy

Devotional

Day 1: The Widow’s Mite and the Weight of True Sacrifice

True value is measured not by the size of the gift but by the depth of surrender behind it. A poor widow’s pennies mattered more than wealthy offerings because her poverty became the canvas for radical trust. Christmas flips earthly metrics: God’s economy prizes cracked jars of perfume over polished trophies, small obediences over grand performances. To grasp the gift of Christ, we must first feel the ache of what it cost heaven. His arrival in a manger whispers that the greatest treasures are often wrapped in surrender. [03:18]

“And he called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’”
(Mark 12:43-44, ESV)

Reflection: Where does your giving feel safe or calculated? What would it look like to offer God something that costs your comfort instead of just your excess?

Day 2: Bitter Herbs and Sweet Freedom: Remembering Redemption’s Cost

Celebration without reflection becomes empty ritual. The Passover feast included bitter herbs to remind Israel of slavery’s sting even as they tasted deliverance. Christmas joy grows richer when we pause to trace the scars behind the gift: the Son’s descent from throne to straw, the Father’s heartbreak as heaven’s gates closed behind Him. True festivity holds both the ache of what was lost and the awe of what was gained. [07:23]

“This day shall be for you a memorial, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.”
(Exodus 12:14, ESV)

Reflection: What “bitter herb” memory—a season of struggle or failure—helps you appreciate Christ’s coming more deeply? How can you honor that pain while celebrating His deliverance?

Day 3: Shepherds and Signposts: God’s Upside-Down Invitation

Royal announcements demand trumpets; God’s kingdom prefers startled shepherds. The first witnesses to Messiah’s birth weren’t theologians or rulers but night-shift laborers, their hands smelling of sheep. Christmas declares that God’s guest list prioritizes the overlooked. His glory shines brightest among those society deems unworthy, turning their obscurity into a stage for divine encounter. [16:30]

“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.”
(Luke 2:8-9, ESV)

Reflection: When have you felt “unqualified” to approach Christ? How does His choice of shepherds redefine what makes someone worthy to receive His news?

Day 4: No “But First”: The Cost of Unhesitating Obedience

Following Jesus often means abandoning good things to grasp the best thing. A would-be disciple’s request to bury his father seems reasonable—until Christ reframes it as delay. Christmas required Mary and Joseph to surrender plans for a proper family, reputation, and safety. Every “yes” to God’s call demands a “no” to lesser loyalties, even ones that look noble. [20:51]

“To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’”
(Luke 9:59-60, ESV)

Reflection: What “let me first…” excuses do you cling to? What step of obedience have you postponed because it conflicts with societal or personal expectations?

Day 5: Living Mangers: When Your Life Becomes the Gift

The wooden trough that cradled Christ becomes a metaphor for surrendered believers. A manger exists to hold what nourishes others. Paul urges Christians to become “living sacrifices”—not for martyrdom’s sake, but to daily present our bodies as vessels carrying Christ’s life to a hungry world. Christmas challenges us to ask: is my existence about comfort or carrying? [24:46]

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
(Romans 12:1, ESV)

Reflection: What part of your life still resists being a “manger”—a temporary holder of blessings meant for others? How can you shift from storing to surrendering?

Sermon Summary

Christmas is a season of hope, peace, joy, and celebration, but Christmas also carries a great cost. The cost of Christmas gives its gift its true value, because a great gift is understood more deeply when the price behind it is seen. Parents, the poor friend giving a gift, and the widow giving her last pennies all show that God sees what something costs a person, not merely what it looks like on the outside.

Christmas tradition can become routine if the church only comes for songs, smiles, gifts, and warm feelings. Scripture calls God’s people to celebrate, but Scripture also calls them to reflect. Passover was a memorial day, a day when Israel remembered not only freedom from Egypt but the lamb, the bitter herbs, the blood, and the price paid. Pentecost was full of joy and the presence of God, yet Peter first brought the crowd face to face with the cost Christ paid, and they were cut to the heart.

Christ came to die, and that is the heart of Christmas. Christ’s whole entrance into the world was marked by rejection, sacrifice, and the setting aside of what man would call valuable. Luke shows the King of kings born not in a palace but in a manger, laid in what was essentially a feeding box. God rejected the cultural picture of a Messiah who would arrive as a political ruler, mighty general, or conquering king. God showed that His vision is best, even when it flips every expectation of man.

The shepherds carry the same picture. God announced the birth of Christ not first to kings, officials, or generals, but to lowly shepherds. Christ humbled Himself, and God chose the lowly to proclaim that the Savior had come. The manger and the shepherds both declare that God’s standards are better than society’s standards, and God’s direction is better than personal dreams, idols, and signposts.

Christ’s call in Luke 9 brings that rejection into the life of every believer. Christ does not permit endless “but first” responses when He says, “Follow Me.” Christ calls His people to lay down self-will, normal expectations, comfort, and the desire to look back. Paul calls believers living sacrifices because a self-sacrificing Savior seeks self-sacrificing believers.

Christ also gives hope to those who fall short. Christ does not merely call His people to a costly path and leave them there. Christ strengthens, lifts up, and holds the hand of those who turn back to Him. Christmas therefore asks a serious question: Christ gave Himself up for sinners, so what is being given up for Him?

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Key Takeaways

1. The cost reveals Christmas’s true value. The cost behind a gift changes how deeply that gift is valued. Christ did not bring hope, peace, and salvation cheaply, because He came down to live a life headed toward sacrifice. Christmas becomes shallow when its joy is separated from the price Christ paid. [04:08]
2. Celebration must include honest reflection. Passover and Pentecost show that God’s joyful celebrations also make room for being cut to the heart. Reflection on sacrifice keeps celebration from becoming empty tradition and routine. Christmas calls for joy, but it also calls believers to remember what freedom from spiritual bondage required. [09:54]
3. God rejects man’s picture of greatness. The manger rejected the cultural expectation of a powerful political Messiah. The shepherds rejected society’s ranking of who was important enough to receive royal news. God’s vision remains best, even when His path looks small, lowly, or completely different from what a person had planned. [18:50]
4. Christ’s call leaves no “but first.” Christ’s words in Luke 9 confront the tendency to delay obedience until personal plans are settled. Following Christ can require rejecting normal expectations, self-interest, and the desire to look back. A living sacrifice is not centered on comfort but on giving oneself to the One who first gave Himself. [25:22]
5. Christ strengthens those who fall short. Self-sacrifice is difficult, painful, and often exposes how far short believers fall. Christ remains the Savior who lifts up the righteous when they fall and gives strength for the costly road of obedience. His great price is not only the pattern for sacrifice but also the hope that sustains it.

## [30:15]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:34] - The True Cost of Christmas
[01:48] - Great Cost, Great Value
[04:08] - When Christmas Becomes Routine
[05:57] - Passover as a Memorial of Cost
[08:14] - Pentecost and Being Cut to the Heart
[11:29] - Christ Came to Die
[13:49] - The King in a Manger
[16:30] - The Shepherds Receive the Good News
[19:37] - No “But First” in Following Christ
[22:44] - A Self-Sacrificing Savior
[27:32] - Hope for Those Who Fall Short
[29:04] - What Are You Giving to Christ?

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Luke 2:7-16
“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.”
[13:49] [16:30]

Luke 9:59-62
“To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Yet another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’”
[19:51] [19:56] [22:00]

Exodus 12:14
“This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.”
[06:19] [06:25] [07:30]

Acts 2:37
“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’”
[09:15]

Observation questions

What details in Luke 2 show the contrast between Jesus being “Christ the Lord” and the humble circumstances of His birth?
What is the repeated sign the angel gives the shepherds so they will recognize the Savior, and why might that sign have been surprising? [16:30]
In Exodus 12:14, what two purposes are joined together in Passover: remembering and celebrating? What parts of Passover helped Israel remember the cost of their deliverance? [07:30]
What words in Luke 9:59-62 reveal the hesitation of the two people Jesus called, and what picture does Jesus use to warn against looking back? [21:08]

Interpretation questions

Jesus was born in a manger, and the first announcement was given to shepherds rather than rulers. What does this reveal about God’s view of greatness and the kinds of people He is pleased to use? [18:04]
Passover was both a feast and a memorial, while Pentecost led people to be “cut to the heart.” Why does God connect joyful celebration with serious reflection on sin, deliverance, and sacrifice? [09:46]
Jesus’ words in Luke 9 are not a command to neglect family responsibilities. How do these verses show that obedience to Christ must have first place when personal plans, comfort, or expectations compete with His call? [21:32]
Christ’s birth began a life marked by humility and sacrifice, leading to the cross. What does it mean for believers to follow a self-sacrificing Savior without treating sacrifice as a way to earn salvation? [23:42]

Application questions

Christmas can become a familiar routine of music, meals, gifts, and warm feelings. What part of the season most easily becomes routine for you, and what could help you make room to reflect on Christ’s sacrifice? [04:46]
God’s plan did not match the common expectation of a powerful political Messiah. Where might you be measuring a good life by society’s standards—success, comfort, money, recognition, or control—rather than trusting God’s direction? [15:41]
The shepherds responded to God’s message by going “with haste.” Is there an area of obedience you have been delaying with a “but first”? What would a faithful next step look like this week? [17:35]
A living sacrifice means offering God more than spare time or leftover energy. What desire, habit, comfort, or personal plan may Christ be inviting you to place before Him? [24:49]
When obedience is costly, it is easy to look back toward old comforts, old priorities, or the approval of others. What makes looking back tempting for you, and how can the group encourage you to keep following Christ? [30:30]
Following Christ often exposes ways believers fall short. When you recognize that you have resisted God’s call or chosen your own way, how can you turn back to Christ in hope rather than staying discouraged or ashamed? [27:40]

Sermon Clips

26s

#ChristmasCallToSacrifice

“That is oftentimes the call of Christmas because we see this is a story, and it's a story of self sacrifice. That he humbled himself to an infinite measure for me and you, that he sacrificed so much. And so the call echoes after this story that if he gave himself up for you in such a manner, what are you willing to give up for him?”

47s

#FollowWithoutExcuses

“And we need to see from the story of Christmas into the lens of the examples that we just looked at. That a self sacrificing savior will require self sacrificing believers, and that's who he's often gonna see. And that a savior that is willing to pay a great price for human need is going to want believers that are willing to pay a great price for him. And that often means that there are no buts or, well, Lord, I have to wait for it. Whenever he says to follow, you follow. Whenever he says to go, you go. And no matter the signpost that your life says, no matter the signpost that society puts around you, whatever signpost the Lord puts in front of you, no matter how differently it turns from whatever you're saying or society is saying, you go.”

25s

#GiftToChrist

“You know, it's a time of gifting. A time of celebration. So the question that echoes and rings out today, what is it that you are gifting to Christ? Christ gave them so much for you. What is it that you are giving up for him? He paid such a great price for you on this date, in this season. It is a time of celebration. Amen to that.”

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