Transcript:

Benjamin Kreps:
Welcome back to Mark Prater's video podcast. My name is Ben Kreps. I'm the host and Lead Pastor of Living Hope Church, Sovereign Grace Church in Middletown, Pennsylvania. And today we're talking about Christmas. Merry Christmas, Mark. 



Mark Prater:
Merry Christmas Ben. 



Benjamin Kreps:
So I want to give you an opportunity to share some thoughts and encouragement for Sovereign Grace Pastors. It's an opportunity to hear from you about what we're navigating through in a very busy Christmas season. So what kinds of things have you seen in different Sovereign Grace Churches that you've enjoyed? Just to highlight perhaps a few different practices that might inspire or encourage us as we think through the Christmas season. 



Mark Prater:
Our churches do a number of different things during the Christmas season. So I would say most of our churches do a Christmas Eve service, which is a wonderful way to have people in your church who may not normally come to church. But there are some other churches that do some things that are related to Advent. They're very intentional about Advent. So Cornerstone Church in Knoxville has something called Lessons and Carols where during the singing of songs they bring a specific aspect of the advent that they want to highlight for the church throughout December. 



Benjamin Kreps:
Each sermon based on a Christmas Carol? Is that why it's called that?



Mark Prater:
I don't know. I don't know the answer to that. I don't think so. Uh, I think it's more recognizing and tying truth to a specific song they're probably singing during, during that. 

And then in Sovereign Grace Church in, in Marlton, New Jersey has Songs for the Savior that they have and they're actually preaching one of five songs each Sunday in December five Sundays that relate to the advent. And then on their website they give specific lists of resources their members can access for advent. 

So you see some churches emphasize Advent and specifically the meaning of Advent. Which is so, so important. 

Here at my church at Covenant Fellowship Church we obviously have a Christmas Eve service, but we do a Christmas concert every year. We just had this past weekend and there's all kinds of people that come in from the community that we don't typically see. 

It's just a fun time for the church. 

And we also do a ministry called boxes of love, where we feed probably around 300 people in our community that are in need. They're poor folks that we're just looking to care for. So members can pick up empty boxes and they fill it with a list of food. And then we typically add something like a frozen turkey to it. And then those people are invited to come to our church and pick up that food on a Saturday if they're able to. We'll also deliver it to them. But we like to bring him to the church just to help them get inside and become comfortable here.



Benjamin Kreps:
That's great. So I think it was, I saw a video clip from your Christmas concert where the lights were out and there were glow sticks and techno music or something playing. 



Mark Prater:
Yeah. That was great. It was crazy. 



Benjamin Kreps:
I didn't immediately think of Christmas, but it looked like a lot of fun. 



Mark Prater:
Exactly. 



Benjamin Kreps:
So how would you encourage pastors when it comes to thinking through how to steward the Christmas season, which is such a big deal in our culture? There are many opportunities as every pastor is aware. A lot of churches in Sovereign Grace are smaller churches and so maybe there aren't Christmas concerts and dynamic programs. Maybe it is just a simple emphasis on the Sunday before because they can't even use the facility on Christmas Eve. But how would you want to encourage the pastors in Sovereign Grace during this Christmas season? 



Mark Prater:
Well, my first encouragement is actually to thank each of our pastors for working hard during the Christmas season. For most folks, life can slow down a bit during the Christmas season. That's not true of pastors. Life is very busy for a number of different reasons, especially up and through Christmas day. You may maybe get some time off after Christmas, but you're working very hard this time of year in ways that most people I don't think see or realize. But the Lord sees, and I believe he's pleased. And I just want you to know my heartfelt appreciation. 

I think the second thought is, and this is not a new thought, but just the opportunity that we have to reach people during this time of year who don't normally enter into a church. 



Mark Prater:
They don't come to church, but they'll come to Christmas Eve service or you can't have a Christmas Eve service they'll come to Sunday after Sunday before they call them Christmas. 



Benjamin Kreps:
They call them Chreasters: Christmas and Easter. 



Mark Prater:
That's right. The Chreasters. But don't miss the point that there's gonna be somebody that's going to come to your church and they're there out of duty maybe. They're there because their family brought them. Don't miss the fact that the spirit can work and do the work of regeneration while you're preaching the gospel either on a Sunday or on Christmas Eve. Pray big prayers that God would save the lost during this Christmas season. I think there are other Chreasters and they're looking for a place to rest at this time of year because life has been hard. Maybe this year has been hard for them and they're wanting to find a place where there's real community and love and peace. Your church will provide that cause Sovereign Grace Churches are like that. Look for the person who's looking for a respite and welcome them into your church family. 



Benjamin Kreps:
And you don't need to be a big church or have some dynamic program. Just your church being a gospel light and a place of unity and love is sufficient for God to use that church to draw people to himself. 



Mark Prater:
So true. 



Benjamin Kreps:
Well, I really appreciate how Twitter you just, I don't know if it's every day, but regularly you post how you're praying for our churches and specifically about opportunities we have with unbelievers. So thank you Mark for your prayers, and we'll be looking expectantly, as your prayers are joined to ours in this Christmas season, about what God will aim to accomplish in and through our churches. So thanks for your thoughts, Mark. 



Mark Prater:
All right, Merry Christmas everyone. Jesus came and we've got to celebrate that. So Merry Christmas.

Mark Prater: 
Merry Christmas. See you man.