change my friends - a hope revolution christmas special

This is the first of four fantastic Hope Revolution Christmas Specials, looking at how we can use the 'Christmas Story' to 'Change Me, Change My Friends, Change My Community and Change My World.'

Let's Begin... Promise yourself, that if you follow the link below you will come straight back to read on and not be tempted to click onto other similar or featured clips on YouTube. Or, if you do, you will eventually find your way back to this Christmas Special? Deal? Good!

Ok, now we've got that sorted out, how about a little something to get us all in the Christmas mood?
Click on this link for a funny take on Christmas morning:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=etUq95XKGiw

So then, on watching this clip, would you say that this is how YOU react to Christmas?
Let's delve a little deeper into Christmas, shall we?

Turkey & Trimmings
How do you feel about Christmas and all its trimmings?
On a scale of 1 to 10, [1 being Mr ‘Bah Humbug’ Scrooge and 10 being bouncing round the room like an excited puppy on Christmas Day], where would you be?

Christians & Christmas
Christmas is a hugely important time for Christians, but do we really know why and do we get the balance right between ‘the trimmings’ and the central theme of the biggest religion in the world? Don’t worry, I’m not going to preach here, but I do want to challenge you in this year of Hope08 to think through your own feelings, emotions, understanding and response to the message of Christmas. You see, before we share the message of Christmas with our mates, we need to understand its content for ourselves.

Jesus' Birth
Jesus’ birth is celebrated at Christmas. Did you know that in his life on earth, Jesus fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophecies about what he was going to do. These things were written hundreds of years before he was born. For example, there's a prophecy in the Old Testament Book of Micah about his actual place of birth:

‘But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village in Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past’. [Micah 5:2]

Jesus was born onto this earth; God as a man. It wasn't just religious scholars who wrote about him. Even Roman historians such as Tacitus and Suetonius wrote about Jesus. He was an historical figure, a fully human individual who ate, drank, slept and walked the streets. Yet, we would be missing out if we just left it there.

So, this Jesus...who is He and what is He to me?