In Sermon Illustrations: "False Christmas"

A Joyful Noise

Contributed by Noel Herr on Dec 18, 2010

A JOYFUL NOISE You know, when our youth group went Christmas caroling, Emma was all aglow. We sang to her, perhaps not in the most angelic of tones----especially when we tried to sing "O, Come, All Ye Faithful", because the music we used wasn't the familiar tune we sang today. I felt kind of bad ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Lutheran

Mary, Joseph, And Kiddushin

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Dec 19, 2010

MARY, JOSEPH, AND KIDDUSHIN David Stern comments, "The Hebrew/Aramaic word for betrothal is "kiddushin," which signifies "sanctification, separation," i.e., the setting aside and separating of a particular woman for a particular man. According to the Mishna, adultery during the betrothal period ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Good For Goodness' Sake

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Dec 26, 2010

GOOD FOR GOODNESS' SAKE “You better watch out, you better not cry Better not pout I'm telling you why - Santa Claus is coming to town He's making a list and checking it twice; Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice Santa Claus is coming to town He sees you when you're sleeping - He knows when ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Buy Less, Love More

Contributed by Tim Smith on Mar 17, 2011

BUY LESS, LOVE MORE Shane Claiborne writes: I am incredibly hopeful this Advent, because there are so many signs of Christians who are longing for new ways to celebrate our Savior that are not cluttered with the noise of shopping and infected with the myth that happiness must be purchased. On the ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Methodist

Surprise Gift

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2011

SURPRISE GIFT When Gabriel Hurles turned six a couple of years ago (January 2009), he was so focused on eating his birthday cake, that he hardly noticed the giant package in the corner of the room. When another child pointed out the large gift, Gabriel ran over and began to tear off the wrapping. ...read more

Scripture: John 1:14

Tags: Christmas

The Empty Gift

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

THE EMPTY GIFT God offers us more than this world does, but most of us never take the time to see it. There was a 15-year old boy named Joey, whose mother died at birth. She was a severe alcoholic, and that had affected his pre-natal development. The result was that he was slightly ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Tags: Christmas

The More Precious Gift

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 2, 2011

THE MORE PRECIOUS GIFT It is not easy always for people to understand the significance of a gift, or the sacrifices that went behind it. Two students shared a room in college. After returning from the Christmas' winter break, Andrew asked his roommate what presents he has received for ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Tags: Christmas

Shepherds: The Lower Class

Contributed by Timothy Enns on Oct 17, 2011

SHEPHERDS: THE LOWER CLASS For many years I drove truck, hauling produce from California to Canada. I would often cut across the back roads of Idaho instead of staying on the busy interstate. The area I would travel trough on the back roads would take me through deserts and volcanoes, but it would ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Nazarene

Dating" Of A Calendar And "Dating" Of One's ...

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Nov 29, 2011

"Dating" of a calendar and "dating" of one's life... Universally all the Nations irrespective of their stand on religion adopt a calendar, which uses the Christ’s birth as a base. Yes, the World history is split into 2 not on the basis of the birth of great conquerors like Alexander the great or ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: *other

Visit Of Some Of Our Church Members To A ...

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Nov 30, 2011

Visit of some of our Church members to a Departmental store to buy gifts for orphans/widows during Christmas season... Last Christmas, the womenfolk of our Church went to a reasonably distant Departmental store to buy gifts for the widows/orphans/Sunday school children of our Church. When, they ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: *other

The Significance Of Nazareth  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

The Significance of Nazareth "God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee." (Luke 1:26) Many Christian historians tell us that by the time of the birth of Christ, Nazareth had become an unimportant town. It was the home of Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:39) and Nazareth was where the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:26

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Heart Of Mary: Circumcised Heart

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

The Heart of Mary: Circumcised Heart "A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code..." (Romans ...read more

Scripture: Romans 2:28-29

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Stable Stabilizing

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Stable Stabilizing Luke 2:12 says, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord... You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Just as Christ was humble enough to be born in a stinky stable and all stables have a bad smell, no matter how ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:12

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Heart Of Mary: Highly Favored

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

The Heart of Mary: Highly Favored "The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.'" (Luke 1:28) This spoken blessing into her life did not come from abroad, but from the very throne of God and the term "highly favored" (kecharitomene) is an active ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:28

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Heart Of Mary: Submission To The Lord  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

The Heart of Mary: Submission to the Lord "I am the Lord's servant... May it be to me as you have said." (Luke 1:38) The first desire in the child of God who wants to enjoy the favor of God in his life is to die to self and surrender to the will of God in his life. The key word here "servant" ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:38

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Brother Like That  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

A BROTHER LIKE THAT A friend of mine named Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. "Is this your car, Mister?" he asked. Paul nodded. "My brother gave ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Christmas

In One Of My Sources, I Read This About The ‘wise ...

Contributed by Jim Kane on Sep 27, 2008

In one of my sources, I read this about the ‘wise men’ and some of it was news to me! "Not much is known about these astrologers (traditionally called wise men). We don't know where they came from or how many there were. Tradition says they were men of high position from Parthia, near the site of ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Church Of God

Extraordinary Gift Ideas

Contributed by Donny Granberry on Dec 8, 2008

EXTRAORDINARY GIFT IDEAS A while back, on "Good Morning, America," a co-host featured some gift ideas that might be called indescribable. They were extraordinary gifts that some of you might want to include on your Christmas gift list. One of them was a Jaguar automobile, the Jaguar 220. If you ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Visit

Contributed by Todd Leupold on Dec 9, 2008

THE VISIT As Dr. Charles B. Hardwick points out (in his sermon “The Promise”, 2nd Presbyterian Church, 12/24/07): "On that Silent Night, God kept His promise: the God of the universe became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood – moved into a stable, moved into a feeding trough.. . God ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Baptist

One Giant Leap For Mankind  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Dec 10, 2008

ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND ONE OF THE GREAT EVENTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY took place on July 20th, 1969, at exactly 4:17 P.M., EDT, when the Lunar Module "Eagle" landed on the surface of the moon. The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the moon. It was the 5th human spaceflight ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Wesleyan