INTRODUCTION
SLIDE #1
• How many of you are completely done with your Christmas shopping? Next Sunday is Christmas or I guess some would just call it holiday?
• There has been a lot in the news concerning the Christmas holiday. Many businesses for some reason are fusing to call it Christmas. We have holiday trees, holiday ornament, holiday wreaths, etc...
• I know that some of the Lowes stores called their Christmas trees, Holiday trees. Later they changed the signs to Christmas trees. I wonder if they are going to have those holiday trees out for July 4, Memorial Day, Columbus day, Presidents Day or any of the other national holidays we celebrate as a nation?
• The issues that are before us bring us to an interesting question as Christians, “Are we supposed to celebrate this holiday and the Easter holiday?
• I know there are a variety of opinions on this matter so I am asking each one of us to listen to the whole message and then make your decision.
• I want to start off by saying that god never commanded us to celebrate Christmas and Easter; however’ God does want us to celebrate. God has several reasons that He wants us to celebrate. We are going to look at three of them this morning.
• I believe when we take into account these three reasons we will see that it is important for us to celebrate in the Lord!
SLIDE #2
SERMON
God wants us to celebrate because:
I. CELEBRATIONS REMIND US OF WHAT GOD HAS DONE
SLIDE #3
1. There are several examples of God commanding His people to celebrate.
• Throughout the Old Testament God commanded His people to celebrate and remember what He had done for them. Some of the Feasts were more somber in nature than others.
• In Deuteronomy 12, God is commanding the people to tear down the alters and places where the inhabitants of the land used to worship. Then He tells them to do some other things pertaining to worship. Follow along with me as I read. READ DEUTERONOMY 12:1-12.
• Notice in verse in verses 7 and 12 God commands His people to rejoice. God did not want them moping around like their dog died, He wanted them to celebrate what He had done for them!
• SLIDE #4
• If you will look at your hand out on the Jewish Feasts, you will see a few listed on Part 1.
• Instead of going into deep details of all these feasts, I wanted to give you a handout that would help you.
• The Feast of the Passover was given by God to commemorate God delivering His people out of Egypt and particularly when the Death Angel passed over the homes that had lambs blood on them during the last plague sent upon Egypt. This is the one that convinced Pharaoh that he ought to let the Israelite go free.
• The Feast of the Unleavened Bread was designed to honor God by offering to Him the first fruits of the harvest; this was connected to the Passover and was to remind the people of God delivering them out of Egypt.
• The Feast of Pentecost was to thank God for the harvest. SLIDE #5
• In Exodus 12:14, God commands the people to CELEBRATE the Passover.
• The word “celebrate means to’ properly to move in a circle, that is, (specifically) to march in a sacred procession, to observe a festival; by implication to be giddy:—celebrate, dance, (keep, hold) a (solemn) feast (holiday), reel to and fro.
• SLIDE #6
• In Exodus 23:14 God commands the people to celebrate more festival! Then He tells them the festivals He wants them to celebrate.
• SLIDE #7
• You can see a list of a few more on the back side of the page. I want you to look at a couple of passages pertaining to the celebration of he Feast of Tabernacles, (also known as the Feast of Booths and Ingathering).
• SLIDE #8
• Leviticus 23:40 (NASB) 40‘Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.
• SLIDE #9
• Deuteronomy 16:15 (NASB) 15“Seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.
• It looks like God would like us to celebrate and enjoy what He has done for us.
SLIDE #10
2. The Lord’s Supper reminds us of what God has done for us.
• When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He told us to do this in remembrance of Him. SLIDE #11
• Why do you think Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper? I believe Jesus knew a lot about human nature.
SLIDE #12
3. Would we remember what we do not celebrate?
• Think about all the holidays we celebrate. How many of them would we remember if we did not have some sort of celebration? I wonder how well we would do with the birth and death, burial and resurrection of Jesus if we did not have the national holidays we have. Jesus must have thought we would forget what He did for us if He had not have instituted the Lord’s Supper.
• God seemed to be big on celebrations and memorials also. Maybe God knew we needed days set aside to give Him glory for what He has done for us?
SLIDE #13
God wants us to celebrate because:
II. CELEBRATIONS ARE A WITNESS TO UNBELIEVERS
The world needs to see that Christians can celebrate and have a great time in the Lord. As I have said before this is one of the things that attracted me to Christ when I saw that people could be Christians ad ACTUALLY have fun living life and enjoying their salvation!
SLIDE #14
1. Our faith is not just about the somber things of life.
• There are WAY too many long faces when it comes to being a Christian. The world needs to see that Christians can celebrate with joy!
• Repentance, sorrow for sin among other things is part of what we deal with, but the joy of belonging to the Lord should s out shine the somber things of our faith.
• Being serious and quiet are part of being a Christian, but I think if you read the Word, you will see more about experiencing the joy of the Lord than you will about being somber, bored and quiet.
• When we gather together each Sunday, do you think people will want to walk into a Mausoleum (burial crypt) or a celebration? I grew up in a Mausoleum church and that is one of the reasons I never connected with God.
• The world needs to see us express the joy of our salvation; they need to see us celebrate the wonderful God we serve.
SLIDE #15
2. Easter and Christmas are great evangelistic opportunities for the Church.
• When do you hear more about Jesus than during Christmas and Easter? Typically when do you see the largest attendance at church? It is during Christmas and Easter.
• When I was a child, our family faith turned into going to church on Christmas and Easter Mass.
• There are many people who only come to church during these holidays. Why not use them for God instead of complain about how materialistic these holidays have become.
• Let’s be real about this for a second. Are you any less materialistic if you purchase that gift you want for yourself or your children some other time during the year? Birthdays seem pretty materialistic to me.
• During these holidays we have a chance to reach people. If a person only comes to church on Easter and Christmas, you better impress them when you have them.
• These holidays lead to people asking questions about Jesus they may never ask at any other time of the year.
• Instead of looking sour when it comes to the holiday, why don’t we use it for God’s glory?
• I am not saying we have to get into the Bunny of Easter or the material trappings of Christmas. Celebrate in a way that honors God. If you do not want to buy gifts, donate the money to a good cause, (not your house payment ). Go serve at a homeless shelter. Do something to honor God.
SLIDE #16
3. What would “pulling-out” of these holidays accomplish?
• What do you think will happen to the holiday if all Christians just pull out of it?
• It will turn into “Happy Holiday”. Personally, if I know a company will know call Christmas, Christmas, I will not shop there, they will not get my money during Christmas. I will wait shop when the season is over and they have to mark down all their overpriced stuff.
• If Christians pull out, we will lose a great opportunity to share Jesus.
• I am not asking the stores to preach Jesus, but they need to call it what it is.
• I do not see any god out of Christians not celebrating Christmas. Maybe we do it in a different manner that we feel is pleasing to God.
• There are aspects of the holiday I do not care for in reference to Church, but I will not go to war over them. I think the damage of doing so would be worse than leaving it alone.
• Is the holiday too commercialized? Yes! What do we do about it? Make sue in your home the holiday is not about Santa, that is about celebrating one of the greatest events in the history of mankind, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ!
SLIDE #17
God wants us to celebrate because:
III. GOD DELIGHTS IN OUR JOY WHEN IT IS FOCUSED ON HIM
1. We are encouraged to enjoy God’s presence in our lives. Psalm 37:4
SLIDE #18
• God wants us to enjoy our salvation; He wants us to enjoy being a part of His family. SLIDE #19
• Psalm 37:4
• Remember that God did not allow you to be saved to be miserable!
• If you belong to Jesus, you should be full of joy! You should be joyful because of what Jesus has done for you on the cross so that you can be saved.
• If you believe in the promises of God, then you will have joy.
• Being legalistic does not bring joy. I see too many people who want to do nothing more than pick things apart instead of enjoying what God has done for them.
SLIDE#20
2. Celebrating what God has done for us is just as holy as being quiet and fasting.
• There are times when we are called to “be still and know He is God.” But there are many places where we are commanded to celebrate. When God threw a party, He wanted it done right. Weddings that lasted seven days, feasts that lasted seven days.
• David dancing before the Lord.
• The building will not fall down if we express some joy when we come to worship God. We do not need to bounce off the walls, but for the love of God, show some emotion!
• Laugh, cry, smile, be happy! God will not strike you down for enjoying your salvation! When you sing, BE HAPPY, clap if you WANT to, raise you hands if you want to. Do not be afraid to show the world that you are alive.
• SLIDE #21
3. You do not have to feel guilty for having fun in the Lord!
• Don’t feel like God will be mad at you for having fun. Guys do you remember the first time you showed some emotion when you watched a movie. You hoped it was not around the other guys.
• For me the end of the first Rocky movie stirs me. The first time the tears rolled down the cheek, I did not want anyone to see it.
• There are too many of us who think there is something wrong with us for having fun and celebrating in the Lord.
• Do not be afraid to let others see that you are enjoying being saved.
CONCLUSION
• God did not command us to celebrate Christmas and Easter.
• God does command His people on several occasions on to celebrate because of what He ahs done for them.
• I understand being a bit put off by the material aspects of the holiday, but do not throw the baby Jesus out with the bath water.
• Pray about it and find ways to celebrate the birth of our Lord in a way you feel honors Him. We do celebrate our own birthdays.
• December 25th was not the day the Lord we born on, but it is the day we have set aside to do so. Let us use this holiday for the glory of God!
