Introduction:
A. Christmas time in our day and age can be a very confusing time to children and adults alike.
1. As you can see the manger scene in this picture includes some characters that don’t belong.
2. You can see some kind of snow queen in the back.
3. There are Mickey and Mini Mouse to the right.
4. And what Christmas scene would be complete without Frosty and Santa – they are on the left.
B. I came across this piece that I think illustrates the Christmas confusion we face. Here are some signs that you have fallen into some Christmas confusion:
1. Your child looks at the nativity scene nestled serenely beneath your tree and says, “What’s that camel doing in Santa’s workshop?”
2. Little Johnny is writing a letter to Baby Jesus at the North Pole, asking for a pony like the one Mary Christmas rode in the Christmas pageant.
3. You sing “Amazing Grace” to the tune of “Frosty, the Snowman.”
4. Your pre-schooler adds a green Play-Doh creature to your manger scene insisting, “Mommy, you forgot the Grinch.
5. In the caravan of magi on your roof, the lead camel sports a red 200-watt nose.
6. Your kindergartner comes home from day care with a story that wise guys from back East (probably Atlantic City, New Jersey) gave the first Hanukah presents to three kids named Golda, Frankenstein, and Murray.
C. Our confusion about Christmas stems from the fact that in our day and time, Christmas is celebrated in many different ways.
1. Some of them are sacred and some of them are secular.
2. All these ways of celebrating Christmas have meaning for those who observe them.
3. But how should we evaluate these things?
4. Should all of these ways of celebrating Christmas have a place in our lives as Christians?
5. These are important questions and I trust that God will lead you to the right answers.
D. Let’s discuss these ways people observe Christmas.
I. The first way that people observe Christmas is what we might call – “The Sparkle” Christmas
A. This Sparkle Christmas is a time of fun, frenzy, excitement and exhaustion.
1. It’s what some might also call secular Christmas, and that’s what it is.
2. It is not spiritual. It is secular. But that does not mean that it is sinful.
3. There are many things that are secular that are not sinful – things like sports, art, and music may not have spiritual content, but that does not make them sinful.
B. The Sparkle Christmas Season begins soon after Halloween.
1. You can’t live in the United States and miss it unless you are a hermit, cut off from newspapers, television, mail, and stores.
2. Our whole society becomes immersed in the sights and sounds of this Sparkle Christmas.
3. It’s chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
4. It’s mistletoe and holly.
5. It’s stockings hung by the chimney with care.
6. It’s eggnog and fruit cake.
7. It’s dreaming of a “white Christmas” and fantasies of Santa Claus and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. (I’ve always wondered if “Blitzen the Blue-Nosed Reindeer” would have gone over as well.)
8. As you know, Sparkle Christmas is measured by sales and profits.
9. Our whole national economy is, to some extent, measured by how well Sparkle Christmas is doing.
C. Nevertheless, let’s not minimize the importance of Sparkle Christmas.
1. I’m certainly not here to put it down. I really enjoy this aspect of this holiday season.
2. Granted, it’s a kind of manic/depressive season, producing its highs and lows.
3. Its upside is all the fun, excitement and memories of the season.
4. Its downside is the shopping frenzy, the physical and emotional exhaustion, the fear of missing someone you should have remembered with a card or gift, and the prospect of credit card bills that will come some time in January.
5. Unfortunately, for some, this kind of Christmas is like a narcotic. It numbs them to their deepest needs. The spiritual ones.
D. However, I would encourage you to enjoy the “Sparkle” Christmas.
1. Have a great time with its fun.
2. Enjoy the family gatherings.
3. Delight in the excitement of children and their anticipation.
4. Sing the joyous silly songs, like “Jingle Bells” and “Frosty the Snowman.”
5. God is not against cultural expressions and customs. God is very much in favor of good, clean fun and frolic.
II. A second way that people observe Christmas is what we might call – The “Giving” Christmas.
A. One of the wonderful things about this season is the way it changes people.
1. Whether people approach the holiday as secular or spiritual, there is a spirit of giving that characterizes the season.
2. During this season there is a spirit of good will and cheer.
3. People are more likely to think of others, and especially those who are less fortunate than they.
4. Hundreds and thousands and perhaps millions of dollars are given during the month of December, and this is a beautiful thing.
B. Don’t you wish that that same spirit of giving would be carried throughout the whole year?
1. Hopefully, we, Christians do live lives characterized by giving all year long.
2. We do so not because of some holiday emotion, but because of the commands of God and because we want to be like God who is the giver of every good thing.
C. Let me remind you about something important about giving: Some of the most important gifts don’t have anything to do with money.
1. There is the gift of praise and encouragement – give it liberally!
2. There is the gift of consideration – be generous with it.
3. There is the gift of concession – “let’s do it your way” “let’s do what you want to do” “I’m sorry” – give it regularly.
4. There is the gift of gratitude – we can never express too much thanksgiving.
5. There is the gift of attention – people really need us. They need our personal presence and time.
6. There is the gift of confidence – plant the seeds of courage and hope in the capability of others.
7. Of course, there is the greatest gift of all: the gift of salvation – share the grace and love of Jesus with everyone.
D. I encourage you to participate in the “Giving” Christmas.
1. Love the people God has put in your life.
2. Shower them with all kinds of gifts, both at Christmas time and all the year through.
3. And while you are at it, don’t forget those who are less fortunate, the poor, the shut-ins, orphans, widows, the sick and those in prison.
III. A third way that people observe Christmas is what we might call – The “Pageant” Christmas.
A. This is the Christmas that some might name the sacred Christmas.
1. It is the truth about the birth of Jesus.
2. It is the nativity scene, replete with shepherds, animals and angels, Joseph and Mary gently cradling the baby Jesus in a manger (Luke 2).
3. Later, there really was a star that led the wise men to Joseph, Mary and Jesus at a house where they were staying in Bethlehem. Matthew gives that account in chapter 2 of his gospel.
B. The birth of Jesus is one of the greatest events of all time and is perhaps only second in importance to the death and resurrection of Jesus.
1. In the birth of Jesus, God did a most extraordinary thing – he became human, just as we are, but remained without sin.
2. The Old Testament foretold of his coming, and for centuries the world waited.
3. God finally came, and when he did, it was as a baby, born to a peasant virgin and a carpenter stepfather, in an obscure village in occupied territory.
4. But from those humble beginnings, Jesus has turned the world upside-down.
C. Unfortunately, some people celebrate the “Pageant” Christmas, but they don’t get all the details correct.
1. They either mix up some of the Biblical facts concerning Jesus’ birth, or they throw in some secular aspects of Christmas.
2. Maybe you’ve seen the classic picture that shows Santa bending over Jesus in the manger.
3. But even when we don’t mix these things up, and we get all of the facts correct, there remains an important question.
4. The question is: Should the birth of Jesus be celebrated on a specific day, as an official, religious practice?
D. As you probably know, December 25th, as far as we know, is not the day Jesus was born.
1. We not only do not know the date of his birth, we don’t even know the exact year!
2. For the first 300 years of Christianity, there was no official observance of the birth of Christ.
3. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, many bishops in the Catholic church were pressing for the establishment of an official holy day to observe the birth of Christ.
4. A number of dates were proposed at different times, there was January 6, February 2, March 25, 29, April 20, May 20, September 29, October 4, November 17, and December 25.
5. Obviously, December 25 won out. It was the date of a major Roman festival to the Sun God, and Christian leaders really wanted to Christianize the pagan holiday.
E. Since its official establishment, the religious observance of Christmas has had its religious opponents.
1. For instance, the Puritan argument against Christmas (and other similar institutions) was three-fold:
a. #1 - No time of worship is sanctified, unless God has ordained it;
b. #2 - Unscriptural holidays are a threat to the proper observance of the Lord's day because these holidays tend to eclipse the sanctity which belongs only to the Lord's day,
c. #3 - The observance of unscriptural holidays tends toward the superstition and innovation in worship which are characteristic of Roman Catholicism.
2. The famous preacher Charles H. Spurgeon opened a sermon on December 24, 1871 with the following words: We have no superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly we do not believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas: first, because we do not believe in the mass at all, and, secondly, because we find no scriptural warrant whatever for observing any day as the birthday of the Savior; and, consequently, its observance is a superstition, because not of divine authority. (C. H. Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit (1871; rpt. Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications), p. 697.)
3. Opposition to ecclesiastical holidays remained in American Presbyterianism through the latter half of the nineteenth century. Listen to this quote from around 1880, “If the exact date were known, or if some day (as December 25) had been agreed upon by common consent in the absence of any certain knowledge, we would still object to the observance of Christmas as a holy day. We object for many reasons, but at present mention only this one that experience has shown that the institution of holy days by human authority, however pure the intention, has invariably led to the disregard of the Holy day the Sabbath instituted by God.”
F. I have included those quotes in today’s lesson, not to say that it is wrong for us to acknowledge and celebrate the birth of Jesus, but that we do not have authority to designate a specific day as the day Jesus was born and to call it a holy day.
1. God has not given us that right or authority.
2. Nevertheless, Jesus’ birth is an event so important that it is always appropriate to call it to the minds of people, regardless of the date.
3. And if we keep the celebration of Jesus’ birth merely as a tribute of respect to Him, and not a matter of divine appointment, then we may as well do so during the same time of the year as the rest of the civilized world is giving attention to that grand event.
4. Every day is a good day to praise the Lord that Jesus was born.
G. Tragically, however, I’ve noticed that many who give great attention to the observance of “Pageant” Christmas, don’t serve Jesus the rest of the year.
IV. The final way that people observe Christmas is what we might call – The “Christ as Lord” Christmas.
A. Sparkle Christmas emphasizes the fun of Christmas. Giving Christmas emphasizes the spirit of giving at Christmas. And Pageant Christmas emphasizes the baby Jesus.
1. Many people love to worship the baby Jesus, but they aren’t as interested in him as Lord.
2. Take that baby Jesus and add 30-plus years to his life, and then listen to what he taught and watch what he did as he died on a cross and three days later burst forth victoriously from the tomb.
3. Yes Jesus came to be the savior, but he cannot be your savior without also becoming your Lord.
4. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:23)
5. If we are really going to honor the birth of Jesus, then we really need to daily honor not only his birth, but his death and resurrection, and His Lordship over our lives.
6. All together, his birth, life, death and resurrection is the greatest gift we have ever received, and in response we must take our lives and lose them in service to him.
B. So, let’s keep in mind that there are secular aspects to Christmas, and there are spiritual aspects to it as well.
1. Let’s be sure we obey the commands God has really given, not the ones we humans have invented.
2. God has commanded us to believe, repent, confess our faith and be baptized into Christ.
3. God has commanded us to love the Lord with all our hearts and love our neighbor as ourselves.
4. God has commanded us to live for Christ everyday, and to meet together on the first day of every week to learn the Word, to encourage one another, and share the Lord’s supper.
C. Praise God that Jesus was born.
1. Praise God that Jesus lived a perfect life and died as a perfect sacrifice.
2. Praise God that he raised Jesus from the dead and that he reigns in heaven as our Lord, our great High Priest.
3. Peter declared in Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
D. I read a story about a woman who was doing her last-minute Christmas shopping at a crowded mall.
1. She was tired of fighting the crowds. She was tired of standing in lines. She was tired of fighting her way down long aisles looking for a gift that had sold out days before.
2. Her arms were full of bulky packages when the elevator door opened. It was full.
3. The occupants of the elevator grudgingly tightened ranks to allow a small space for her and her load of packages.
4. As the doors closed she blurted out, “Whoever is responsible for this whole Christmas thing ought to be arrested, strung up, and shot!”
5. A few others nodded their heads or grunted in agreement.
6. Then, from somewhere in the back of the elevator came a single voice that said, “Don’t worry. They already arrested Him, whipped Him, spat on Him, and crucified him.”
E. It is so easy to get so caught up in the different things that Christmas has become, that we actually miss what started it all way back in the coming of God’s Son into the world.
1. For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
2. Jesus came as a baby, but grew up and died on a cross for our sins and now we are commanded to worship and obey Him as our Lord.
3. Paul said it so well in his letter to the Philippians: And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:5-11)
4. Let’s let our tongues and our lives confess that Jesus is Lord, both at Christmas time and all the time!
