Reflections on Reflections on ChristmasChristmas

Mike WiseDecember 6, 2014

Being Men of GodBeing Men of God• Wake up, Stand Firm

o Mike Taylor

• “Man Up”o Ray Bearden

Rise up, O men of God! Have done with lesser things.

Give heart and mind and soul and strength

to serve the King of kings.

How Does A Man of How Does A Man of God Celebrate God Celebrate

Christmas?Christmas?

Whose Holiday Is It, Whose Holiday Is It, Anyway?Anyway?

78% of Americans are

“Christian”- Pew Research

30-45% of Americans

attend worship “seldom or

never”- Public Religion

Research Institute

VS

Worldly Themes: StuffWorldly Themes: Stuff• Anticipated average per person spending for the

holidays: $720o Gallup, Nov. 24, 2014

• "I expect the Saturday before Christmas to be bigger than Black Friday," Cohen said. "So much of what was bought this weekend was self-gifted items. There are still an awful lot of holiday gifts to be gotten.“o Newsday, Nov. 30, 2014

• Fully 57 percent of parents reported that they were going to take on debt . . . in order to buy gifts for their kids. Interestingly . . . those with household incomes of less than $35,000 said they were willing to take on an average of $700 in debt, while those bringing in $75,000 or more were thinking about $300.

Worldly Themes: Worldly Themes: TraditionTradition

• For many, Christmas traditions take on a quasi-religious significance

• For many, traditions emphasize:o Family timeo Giving/receiving giftso Time off, vacationing

• Traditions emphasizing Christ (setting up a nativity, caroling, etc.) are becoming less common

Worldly Themes: Worldly Themes: “Magic” and “Wonder”“Magic” and “Wonder”

This is Christmas. The season of perpetual hope. And I don’t care if I have to get out on your runway and hitchhike. If it costs me everything I own, if I have to sell my soul to the devil himself, I am going to get home to my son.

Don't cry, Karen, Frosty's not gone for good. You see, he was made out of Christmas snow and Christmas snow can never disappear completely. It sometimes goes away for almost a year at a time and takes the form of spring and summer rain. But you can bet your boots that when a good, jolly December wind kisses it, it will turn into Christmas snow all over again.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Worldly ThemesWorldly Themes

"If TV has taught me anything, it's that miracles always happen to poor kids at Christmas. It happened to Tiny Tim, it happened to Charlie Brown, it happened to the Smurfs, and it's going to happen to us."

“Aren’t we forgetting the true meaning of

Christmas? You know, the birth of Santa?”

Christmas Without Christmas Without Christ?Christ?

For much of my life, I felt guilt about our happily godless Christmases. […] There was no one moment that crystallized my thinking or relieved me of my guilt. Rather, it was a series of observations: Most of the classic songs and movies that celebrate Christmas don't even mention God or Jesus. Santa doesn't check church attendance to decide whether he's going to give a child a present—he checks whether she's been naughty or nice. He's the perfect secular judge of moral fiber. To say that the secularists injure the Christmas spirit is much like the claim that two men getting hitched will besmirch the sanctity of marriage.

For much of my life, I felt guilt about our happily godless Christmases. […] There was no one moment that crystallized my thinking or relieved me of my guilt. Rather, it was a series of observations: Most of the classic songs and movies that celebrate Christmas don't even mention God or Jesus. Santa doesn't check church attendance to decide whether he's going to give a child a present—he checks whether she's been naughty or nice. He's the perfect secular judge of moral fiber. To say that the secularists injure the Christmas spirit is much like the claim that two men getting hitched will besmirch the sanctity of marriage.

To Celebrate Or Not?To Celebrate Or Not?“If you can use that time of year, when the whole world is sensitive to the birth of Christ, as an opportunity to proclaim the glories of the incarnation and the wonders of redemption, what a great opportunity that is, and I think we ought to capitalize on it. You ought to take advantage of the fact that the world is conscious for that time of the year of the coming of Jesus Christ and make sure they understand the reason why he came. Just make sure in your celebration you don’t become self-indulgent and focused on the worldly things but you use it as a time to truly honor Christ.”

o John MacArthur

The True Story of The True Story of ChristmasChristmas

[…] Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or seized, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason, also, God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11

Are We “In” But Not Are We “In” But Not “Of”?“Of”?

• Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

• Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 1 John 2:15

• Test all things; hold fast what is good.  Abstain from every form of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

Make a Conscious Make a Conscious Effort to Reflect on Effort to Reflect on

God’s GiftGod’s GiftChristmas goes by fast – if you don’t make an effort to focus on Jesus, you won’t

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

o Mark 1:35

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

o Deuteronomy 6:6-9

Be Intentional With Be Intentional With Family TraditionsFamily Traditions

• Identify what traditions enhance your family’s focus on Jesus (and which ones do not)

• Consider what aspects of Christmas distract you, and ask whether they should be kept

• Celebrating Christmas should revolve around three goals:1. Remembering Jesus2. Worshiping Jesus3. Witnessing to the world

Invite Jesus To Your Invite Jesus To Your PartyParty

• If Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ birth, he should feature prominently

• Some ideaso Pray over meals and at family gatherings, reflecting

on God’s gifto Take the time to read the Christmas story – out loud

especially if you have young childreno Talk to your family about how Jesus is reflected in the

traditions you keep – think about what you are passing down

o In decorating, consider whether Jesus features at least as prominently as other themes

o Buy presents for local charities, etc.o Volunteer

Jesus Should Stick OutJesus Should Stick OutTherefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! […] We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

o 2 Corinthians 5:17, 20a.