advent week 1 – doing christmas vs living christmas

Our Advent content is available on YouVersion as a Plan! Check it out, read along with your team, and receive daily reminders.

Before participating in our Advent content, consider reading Mark 13:33-37 to prepare your heart for Dennis’ message.

Every year as production people, it seems like we tense up, and some anxiety creeps in. Christmas is coming, and we’re thinking, “how will we ever get through this?”

Then we get past the planning mode and we get into the building, designing, and logistics of everything. Our brains get overloaded with stress, frustration, and a need for clarity to get it done in time. 

Mark 13 talks about being ready, on watch. We could easily cruise through Christmas again this year while going through the motions. As usual, the craziness will make it fly by. If we’re not careful, we’ll miss what Christmas is really about. 

Instead of just doing Christmas for church this year, let’s focus on LIVING Christmas this year. Let’s stay focused on doing our best for God amid it all.


Need some community and prayer during this time? Reach out to us and let us know how we can pray for you, your family, your team, and your church this holiday season!

Picture of Dennis Choy

Dennis Choy

Building Teams, especially with behind-the-scenes ministries, is what Dennis has been doing for over 30 years. He currently oversees the production teams at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA. Before joining the Saddleback team, he was the Executive Pastor and Production Pastor for 25 years at North Coast Church in San Diego. Creating and developing Production, Creative and Communications teams are his favorite areas to lead and serve. He is excited to share his experiences (the good and the bad) with anyone who wants to hear. He gives a real-life perspective of "how things really work" in the church world. Dennis has had the privilege of teaching classes at FILO, NAB, INFOCOMM, SALT, NAMM and other conferences around the country. He resides in Oceanside, CA with his wife, Michelle, and their three children.

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