Tag Archives: Christmas

Things Change: A Sermon on Epiphany

Posted on by

Today is January 2nd, and we are nearing the end of Christmastide or the Twelve Days of Christmas.  Western Christians (i.e. Roman Catholics and most Protestant faiths) celebrate Epiphany on January 6th.  Let’s continue to celebrate the birth of Jesus by recognizing that when Jesus arrives, thing change.

Colossians 1:15-20 is a short passage that describes who and what Jesus is.  While the following sermon does not provide exegesis of these verses, they describe not only the incarnation but also the purpose of it.  The birth of Jesus is the meeting of heaven and earth; it changes everything.  Let’s start simple and work our way up. Continue reading →

Merry Christmas!

Posted on by

God is in the manger.  Merry Christmas.

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.   For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”      Matt 2:10-14

 

God is in the Manger

Posted on by

UPDATE: This is part 1.  Part 2 here.

The nature of all sin is that we are so easily willing to settle.  We could have the very best of all that God has in store for us, but all too often we take the easy way, the short cut, the path of least resistance or instant gratification.  Instant gratification may the biggest temptation our culture offers today.  A functional relationship with an actual human being takes time and effort, whereas “hooking up” for a one-night stand requires no long-term commitment.  I contend that the long-term benefits make the commitment a worthwhile endeavor.  A thief – or simply someone who is lazy – is thinking hard work pays off eventually, stealing pays off right now.  But there are also consequences for cheating to get ahead.  Sin is almost always an attempt to skip to the good part.  Satan tempted Jesus three times with shortcuts; turn this bread to stone, prove yourself by jumping from a high place, bow down and worship me. (1) Any of those would have brought more immediate although less rewarding gratification than by taking the slow, painful path to the cross.  Sometimes God’s will is the slow, tough path.  The problem is that we are willing to settle for less.

The same is true with Christmas. Continue reading →

From the Archives: Christmas

Posted on by

Here are a few articles on Christmas from years past that might be worth another look:

Rethinking the Angelic Choir examines the words of scripture carefully and challenges our notion of the angels that announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.  The first thing angels always say when they appear in full glory to human beings is “Do not be afraid.”  If they were beautiful women in choir robes, why would people tremble in fear?

Santa Claus Has Not Sold Out suggests that Santa has not become commercialized, but rather our American image of Santa is the product of commercialism.  He wears a red and white suit because of those early 20th century Coca-Cola ads, and comes down the chimney because of department store Santas standing on the roof.

Christmas Card Theology is from last year, and begs the question what do we learn from the pictures on the Christmas cards we send? There are several things besides the fact that angels are beautiful women with long blonde hair.

All of the posts for Christmas and Advent are listed under the tag in the categories list, but these are a few of my favorites.

Celebrating Advent

Posted on by

I sort of imagine there are two kinds of people out there: those who understand Advent well and continue to observe time honored traditions, and then those who don’t know/don’t care what it is.  If you are from a rich tradition of keeping Advent, then I should probably be reading your thoughts on the subject.  If you’re in the don’t know/don’t care camp… well, I guess you didn’t even read this far, huh?  But perhaps there is a third sort of person.  If you have heard about Advent and are curious, then just maybe I can help you. Continue reading →

Christmas Card Theology

Posted on by

What if everything we knew about Christmas came from studying the pictures on our Christmas cards?  Even if you never pick up a Bible, there’s a lot to learn from the cards we send around each year.  Here’s a list of some that I’ve noticed:

  • Mary and Jesus are both white.  I’ve even seen Jesus with red hair, and lots of it.  Way too much for a newborn.
  • Angels are beautiful women.  They basically look like super models in choir robes.  OR
  • Angels are 6 year old children.  They’re cute, and plump, and sometimes play musical instruments.
  • There were 3 wise men.  There were exactly 3 wise men, no more, no less.  Two of them were white, one was black.  AND THEY WERE AT THE MANGER.
  • The manger was in a shelter made of wood with a straw roof.  There were no other buildings of any sort for several miles in any direction.

These are a few of the things we learn when we get our theology from Christmas card images.  Assuming of course that your cards have anything about Jesus on them at all.  I’m going to leave it at this.  Check out the first couple chapters of Matthew and Luke before asking stupid any questions.

The Pagan Roots of Halloween; and Easter and Christmas

Posted on by

trick-or-treatJust like the Internet Monk rants here, I was raised in a fundamentalist Baptist home.  We read the King James Bible, went to Sunday School, prayer meeting, revival, and every other time the church door was open.  We didn’t wear shorts at my childhood home, nor go swimming in mixed company.  My dad went to the public school and had me excused from the two weeks of swimming our P.E. class had in August.  Dad was a street preacher, standing on the corner of a downtown city block shouting the Gospel at passing traffic.  (He still does that once a week, but I no longer hand out tracts to pedestrian passersby.)

But you know what my parents did let us do?  Go trick-or-treating.  Continue reading →

Christmas Greetings from Jeff and Walter

Posted on by

We just finished watching Jeff Dunham’s Very Special Christmas Special.  This sample contains 3 clips; I especially enjoyed the first one. 

Vodpod videos no longer available.  

more about “Christmas Greetings from Jeff and Walter“, posted with vodpod

Rethinking the Wise Men

Posted on by

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  Matthew 2:1-2

nativity

Take a good look at this nativity scene.  Study it for a moment.  It should look similar to every other nativity you’ve ever seen before.  Jesus is lying in a manger filled with hay; the major characters are in or around a stable of some sort; the star would be shining above; the shepherds came from the field, where they had been watching their flocks; and the 3 wise men came bringing gifts.  It’s a nice picture, and we think “That seems about right.”  But it’s not.  One of the things on my list, according to scripture at least,  doesn’t belong. Continue reading →

Immanuel, God With Us

Posted on by

jesus-in-mangerIsaiah prophesied of the coming Messiah, saying that a virgin would conceive and have a child, and his name would be called Immanuel.  When Matthew quotes Isaiah he adds that Immanuel means “God with us.”  That’s the true meaning of Christmas.

I recently wrote that when we could not come to God, he came to us.  In Isaiah chapter nine he writes “His name shall be called Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  If the baby in the manger is anything other than God with us, you’re not understanding the full implication of Christ’s birth. Continue reading →