It's hard to believe that Christmas is nearly two weeks away. I wonder how many of you have your Christmas shopping already done. If you are like me, not even close.
It's easy to shop for our kids and spouses most of the time, but what about church leaders. I am not talking just pastors but elders who are not on staff and even deacons. Don't forget Sunday School teachers/Small Group leaders who have sacrificed their time to serve the body of Christ. Sometimes we think a gift card is sufficient which is depending on your budget. If you are giving them a gift card, get one for a restaurant to take their families out to dinner.
Besides gift cards, are there any other gifts we can give to leaders in the church? Yes, there are many. This post is just to give you ideas on what to give leaders in your church for Christmas. If you have already done the gift card thing, great. I know they will love you for it especially if it is from a bookstore.
For the pastor and teachers in your church, if you want to give them a new Bible to use for teaching/preaching, I recommend The ESV Verse-by-Verse Reference Bible. I use this Bible a lot in my teaching of the Word of God. The verses are listed one-by-one with reference notes on the side. The verses are also in a single-column format.
Another suggestion of pastors and teachers are books. Most pastors I know will never turn down a book especially a free one. You are probably thinking how can you pull this one off without going into your pastor's office and look on his bookshelf to see what books he already. That is tricky and I don't recommend asking the pastor's wife or children. That will start some unwanted rumors.
What books should get for my pastor/teacher? Good question. Let me give you a few ideas from books I have read this past year, which one of them I am still going through and another I have not started.
1. The Godly Man's Picture by Thomas Watson. If you want to challenge a church leader in being a godly man, this would be it. I have been on this book for sometime and it rocked my world.
2. Proof by Daniel Montgomery and Timothy Paul Jones. This book reintroduces the doctrines of grace in a fresh and practical way.
3. To Live is Christ To Die is Gain by Matt Chandler. Before I left Emmanuel Baptist where I was youth pastor, I took our teenagers through Chandler's study on the book of Philippians. This book is based on that study.
4. The Gospel by Ray Ortlund. This is one of my favorite books from 2014 and one of my favorites on the gospel. Plus is by Ray Ortlund. He also has a great book on Romans 8 that I highly recommend.
5. Prayer by Tim Keller. This is one I have not started yet, but its Tim Keller. He has written a lot of great books that Christians love and even do small group studies in.
What about something else besides books? There is always a basket of goodies with candy and coffee, if your church leader is a coffee drinker. Maybe a new picture to hang in the office. When all else fails, then go for the gift card. Here is one gift card idea. Get one for a restaurant and another one for a movie theatre plus offer to watch the kids. May not be much, but I am sure your church leader will appreciate it.
Hope I was a little helpful. If you tried something I suggested, let me know. If you had something else in mind, feel free to write in the comments. Merry Christmas.
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