You’re staring at your calendar, and Christmas is coming fast. Again.
You know the story backwards and forwards. Your congregation knows it too. And somehow, you need to make the announcement to Mary, the journey to Bethlehem, and the angels appearing to shepherds feel brand new—for people who’ve heard it every December of their lives.
The question isn’t whether the Christmas story is powerful. It’s how to preach it in a way that breaks through the familiarity and actually reaches people.
MinistryPass has 70 different Christmas sermon series designed specifically for this problem. They’re organized into 5 approaches, each giving you a completely different angle on the same timeless story. Whether you’re two months out or two weeks out, you’ll find ready-to-preach content that makes preparation easier and Christmas more impactful.
Why Does My Church Need a Different Christmas Sermon This Year?
Christmas is when everyone shows up. Regular attenders bring extended family. Young adults come home. People who haven’t been to church in months walk through your doors.
But here’s what kills momentum: preaching the exact same message you preached last year. Or worse, the same message you’ve preached for the last five years.
A fresh Christmas sermon series helps you:
- Connect with visitors who are evaluating your church
- Re-engage regular members who’ve heard the same Christmas message repeatedly
- Reach multiple generations with teaching that resonates across age groups
- Build anticipation throughout Advent instead of just one service
- Give people something to invite friends to because it sounds genuinely interesting
What Types of Christmas Sermon Series Are Available?
Here are five completely different ways to preach Christmas, with 70 total sermon series to choose from:
Traditional Advent Preaching (22 sermon series)
If you want to lean into the liturgical calendar and build anticipation week by week, the Advent collection gives you 22 different ways to walk through the four Sundays before Christmas.
This approach works best if:
- Your church values tradition and wants a theological framework
- You have four full weeks before Christmas to preach
- You want themes that progress: hope, peace, joy, love
- Your congregation responds to depth and reflection
Advent preaching isn’t just about lighting candles. It’s about helping people slow down in the chaos of December and actually prepare their hearts for what Christmas means. These series connect Old Testament prophecy to New Testament fulfillment, showing your congregation that God has been planning this rescue mission for thousands of years.
Here are a few Advent Sermon Series from this collection:
Big Idea of the Series
This four-week series deals with the stress, weariness, and busyness that can come with the Christmas season. Through understanding that Christ is the reason for this time, the giver of rest, and the Prince of Peace, we can find strength for a weary world.
Joyful Expectation: An Advent and Christmas Series
Big Idea of the Series
Advent and Christmas are seasons filled with joyful expectation. During Advent, we look forward to the birth of the Savior. During Christmas, we celebrate his arrival and marvel at all the ways he exceeds our expectations. Chief among these is the joy he brings through the good news of our salvation.
Advent: In Between Sermon Series
Big Idea of the Series
We are living between two advents: the incarnation and the second coming of Jesus. This Advent series explores how we should live in this “in-between.” How do we live in light of Jesus’s ministry while waiting for his expected return?
Pop Culture and Creative Christmas Themes (12 sermon series)
Want to connect the Christmas story to movies your congregation just watched or songs they can’t stop hearing? This collection includes 12 sermon series that build bridges between contemporary culture and timeless biblical truth.
This approach works best if:
- You’re trying to reach younger families and seekers
- Your church culture is more contemporary than traditional
- You want sermons that feel immediately relevant and shareable
- You’re comfortable using cultural references in preaching
These aren’t gimmicky sermon series that force awkward connections. They’re thoughtful explorations of how the themes, longings, and questions in popular culture point back to what only Jesus can provide. From storybook narratives to modern parables, you’ll find creative entry points that make biblical truth memorable.
Here are a few Christmas Sermon Series from this collection:
All I Want For Christmas Sermon Series
Big Idea of the Series
During the Christmas season, we often think first of what we want to receive. This three-week youth series encourages believers to instead live a life of generosity and love because of the gift of Jesus Christ.
Christmas at the Movies Sermon Series
Big Idea of the Series
This four-week Christmas sermon series explores the beauty and importance of the incarnation through the lenses of four classic Christmas films. Just as we find unexpected truth in these movies, we learn that the real Christmas story is the story of God working in unexpected ways in the pursuit of his people. The incarnation is a radical and important doctrine because it teaches us the true heart of God for the redemption of his fallen creation.
Wishlist: A Christmas Sermon Series
Big Idea of the Series
As we consider our goals, dreams, and aspirations, it’s important that we assess what we really want in life. What do we strive for? Conversely, what do we really need in life? Wants and needs might fall into two different categories. This four-week Christmas series for youth discusses the importance of the gospel. The gospel is what we really need—over any other desire or material object.
Classic Christmas Sermon Approaches (16 sermon series)
Sometimes you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. You need a time-tested approach that presents the gospel clearly, stays faithful to the text, and resonates across generations. This collection offers 16 classic sermon series frameworks.
This approach works best if:
- Your congregation values expository preaching
- You want theologically rich content
- You prefer straightforward biblical narrative
- You’re looking for proven sermon structures
These classic approaches have worked for decades because they honor the text and trust the power of the story itself. You get solid exegesis, clear application, and content that works for both longtime believers and first-time guests.
Here are a few Christmas Sermon Series from this collection:
The Wonder Of Christmas: A Season Of Wonder Sermon Series
Big Idea of the Series
This one-week series explores the power of the incarnation of God in Jesus and the importance of God dwelling with a broken humanity to bring about redemption.
Good News for Everyone Sermon Series
Big Idea of the Series
This Christmas sermon is anchored in the angel’s words to the shepherds on the night of Christ’s birth (Luke 2:10) and the promise that Jesus’s birth would be “good news … for all the people.” That good news stretches beyond our friends and family to encompass everyone on earth.
What Child is this? Sermon Series
Big Idea of the Series
This four-week Christmas sermon series looks at Isaiah 9:6 and the titles given to the Christ child Isaiah prophesied would come.
Christmas Story Through Different Characters (12 sermon series)
Everyone knows Mary and Joseph. But what about the shepherds’ perspective? The innkeeper’s view? What was going through the mind of a wise man on a months-long journey? This collection has 12 sermon series that explore Christmas through the eyes of people who were actually there.
This approach works best if:
- You want people to see themselves in the biblical narrative
- Your preaching style is more story-driven
- You want to explore lesser-known figures in the Christmas story
- You’re looking for fresh angles on familiar passages
Character-focused preaching helps your congregation move from observers to participants. When they see how ordinary people responded to the extraordinary announcement of a Savior, they start asking what their own response should be.
Here are a few Christmas Sermon Series from this collection:
Characters of Christmas Sermon Series
Big Idea of the Series
This four-week series examines the different characters in the Christmas story to see how the birth of Jesus was good news of great joy for all of them—whether an elderly couple like Zechariah and Elizabeth, a poor young couple like Joseph and Mary, the marginalized shepherds, or even cosmic beings (angels).
The Christmas Story through Mary’s Eyes Sermon Series
Big Idea of the Series
This four-week series follows the Gospels’ accounts of the first Christmas from Mary’s perspective, highlighting the ways her faithfulness to God’s call remains a model and challenge to believers today. The stories of Mary’s visit from the angel Gabriel and her assent to God’s unusual plan for her life, her visit to Elizabeth and her profound proclamation of God’s power, the visit from the Magi followed by the daring escape to Egypt, and her earliest experiences of the grief of her unique motherhood each contribute to the powerful witness of her life.
The Christmas Timeline Sermon Series
Big Idea of the Series
Envisioning the first Christmas without the benefit of hindsight, this series presents snapshots of those who were near to the events surrounding Jesus’s birth: his parents, the shepherds, and Simeon, and Anna. Jesus’s birth is a welcome invitation to everyone—the poor, unknown, rich, men, and women. To those who recognize him as he comes, he brings hope, peace, joy, and love.
Preaching Christmas Through Music and Carols (8 sermon series)
The songs your congregation sings every December are packed with theology. Most people have sung “O Holy Night” or “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” hundreds of times without really thinking about what the words mean. This collection includes 8 sermon series that unpack the doctrine and narrative hidden in Christmas music.
This approach works best if:
- You want to integrate worship and preaching
- Your church has a strong musical tradition
- You want to slow down familiar songs and explore their meaning
- You’re looking for a unique angle that feels both fresh and familiar
These series help people hear what they’ve been singing for years. You’re not just talking about Christmas carols—you’re using them as entry points into deep biblical truth about incarnation, redemption, and the character of God.
Here are a few Christmas Sermon Series from this collection:
Joyful Noise Christmas Sermon Series
Big Idea of the Series
This four-week student series tells the Christmas story through a topical lens. Jesus’s birth was the catalyst for the believer to find hope in difficult times, true belonging, peace, and eternal heart change through a right relationship with God. Each week, a classic Christmas song will be used as an illustration of the passage and the sermon’s big idea.
The Lyrics of Christmas Sermon Series
Big Idea of the Series
This 4-week Christmas series looks at four songs from the book of Luke (Mary’s, Zechariah’s, the Angels’, and Simeon’s), explaining what each says about the story of Christmas
Hark the Herald Angels Sing Christmas Sermon Series
Big Idea of the Series
This three-week Christmas carol sermon series walks through the angelic messages foretelling how Jesus’s birth would fulfill God’s promise of hope to the entire world. “Hark” explores the powerful and transformative truth of the incarnation of Jesus as well as the faithfulness of God toward us in all of his promises.
How Do I Choose the Right Christmas Sermon Series for My Church?
Here’s how to narrow down 70 options to the one that fits your context:
What’s your congregation’s style? Traditional churches might gravitate toward Advent or classic approaches. Contemporary churches might prefer pop culture connections or character-driven narratives. But don’t be afraid to stretch your church slightly—sometimes a different approach is exactly what’s needed.
How many weeks do you have? If you’re starting in early November, a four-week Advent series makes sense. If you’re planning in mid-December, look for shorter series or standalone Christmas messages within the collections.
Who are you trying to reach? Visitors respond well to creative, accessible approaches. Longtime members might appreciate deeper dives into character perspectives or theological explorations through music. Think about your audience and choose accordingly.
What’s worked before—and what hasn’t? Look at past Christmas services. What resonated? What fell flat? Use that data to inform your choice this year.
What’s Actually Included in These Sermon Series?
Every series comes with complete resources that save you significant prep time:
- Full sermon manuscripts with complete outlines, illustrations, and applications
- Small group discussion guides so the message extends beyond Sunday
- PowerPoint presentations professionally designed and ready to use
- Promotional graphics for social media, bulletins, and announcements
- Customizable content that you can adapt to your church’s voice and context
This isn’t just a sermon outline. It’s everything you need to plan, promote, and preach a complete Christmas series.
When Should I Start Planning My Christmas Sermon Series?
If it’s October or early November: You’re in great shape. You have time to choose a series, customize it for your context, build a promotion strategy, and create momentum heading into Advent.
If it’s mid-November: You can still plan a full series, but move quickly. Choose your approach this week, review the content, and start promoting immediately.
If it’s December: Don’t panic. Look for shorter series (2-3 weeks) or strong standalone messages within the collections. You can still make Christmas powerful—you just need to be decisive and focused.
If it’s Christmas week: You’re late, but not too late. Pick a single powerful Christmas message, use the provided resources, and start earlier next year.
How Do I Make Christmas Feel Fresh Every Single Year?
Here’s the simple strategy: rotate through different approaches.
This year, preach an Advent series. Next year, explore Christmas characters. The following year, unpack Christmas music. By rotating through the five collections, you’ll always have a fresh angle—and your congregation will never feel like they’re hearing the same sermon twice.
The Christmas story never gets old. But the way you tell it can and should change to keep reaching people where they are.
What Should I Do Right Now?
Browse the five collections and pick the approach that fits your church best this year:
- Advent Collection – 22 sermon series for traditional liturgical preaching
- Creative/Pop Culture Collection – 12 sermon series connecting culture and faith
- Classics Collection – 16 timeless Christmas sermon series
- Characters Collection – 12 sermon series through biblical figures’ eyes
- Music Collection – 8 sermon series unpacking Christmas songs
Pick one. Review the content. Customize it for your church. Promote it well. Preach it with confidence.
You don’t need to figure out Christmas preaching from scratch this year. You just need to choose the right approach for your church and let these resources do the heavy lifting.
