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, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? We only understand the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ by revelation. December 26, 2015 Furthermore, do not think that you need to go back to church in order to do these things, but learn rather to do them wherever God sends you in your home, school, or business. K But then, suddenly, an angel appeared with the message: After the angel spoke a host of angels appeared, all praising God and saying. So the question is not "where did God say not to ." It is always the question "where did God say to ." See: Holiday Observances. Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. The God who did not forget us in Christ's first coming will not forget us in His second. How Should We Celebrate the Birth of Christ. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. You cannot tell that which you have not first felt and experienced. I bring you good news of great joy" (Luke 2:10). Why? Here are five great appearances of angels. Romans 14:5-6 - One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. I am not referring to activity, of course. Christmas Is Rooted in Paganism In addition to Christmas having no Scriptural basis, it is important to note that the celebration of this holiday did not stem from Christian or Church-based doctrines. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. The Way! And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it? And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 5. Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals Inc, 1716 Spruce St. Philadelphia, PA 19103 And yet this is what we often do with Jesus. What is more, in these verses, God promises to give us all victories for peace if we ask Him. But that is not what the Bible is talking about when it talks about salvation. H And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. Finally, in chapter 1, verse 7, Paul indicates that the only solution to the problem lies in receiving peace from God: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ." 5. Mary and Joseph were far from home, in a strange town without even a room to themselves in which Mary could give birth to the Child. If you know this joy, then you can go on, as the angels did, to give glory to God; and you can possess that peace of heart and soul which transcends understanding. Further light is shed upon these verses by the meaning of the words for peace in the original Greek and Latin. U Joy is of God. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Contact Us. This is the perfect combination a knowledge of the Good News and men who need to hear it. Love never ends. He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? P Here then is the first lesson Luke teaches us on celebrating Christmas. So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. you are asking. For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living. Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Now when you acknowledge a person's true worth or express a proper opinion of him, you may be said to be glorifying him. This is why Jesus came. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." What are we to say to such theories? "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" Words: Charles Wesley, Hymns for Those That Seek and Those That Have Redemption in the Blood of Jesus Christ, 1747. In other words, peace will come when men are truly men of good will. You do not have, because you do not ask God. Then out of the darkness we hear God speaking to call forth life and order. James means that the lack of peace between men has its true source in men's emotions. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. O come, let us adore Him, In other words, the best way to celebrate Christmas is by becoming a follower of Him whose birth we commemorate. It is the kind of amazement we associate with special effects in a movie or with an Olympic gold medal winner. But how should a Christian celebrate Christmas? Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Is there such a verse? So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. Greet also the church in their house. Do you do it? God did not forget! ( John 19:14-16) Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his three-and-a-half-year ministry, so he was born in the early fall of 2 B.C.E. Luke 3:23. Like the message to Mary, this message also has four parts: Also, like the message to Mary, it has an important emphasis which, in this case, is the proclamation of joy. 8. The shepherds, wise men, and angels celebrated the birth of Jesus with gifts, songs, and prayer. Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! 7. It teaches us that we will find this second rest when we take time to "figure out" the Lord Jesus Christ and attempt to walk in His way. Arrangement: William H. Cummings, Congregational Hymn and Tune Book, 1857. So do that. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. I Three sentences! O come, all ye faithful, Let the wonder of that first Christmas fill your life todayand every day. There is a clue to what peace means in this verse in the way the word is used in the earlier chapters of Romans. It is a temporary fascination with something unusual. King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. 4. E The Bible tells us that the birth of Jesus was unlike all other births in that Jesus existed before birth as the second person of the Godhead and He became man, not to provide us with a sweet story to tell children each winter or even as a theme for our greatest musical compositions, but in order to grow to maturity and then to die for our sin as a means of our salvation. It was lost, confused, dying. Jesus was born to be our Savior as the carol says: Christ was born to save! There are plenty of decorations to buy and parties to attend during this season but how should we really celebrate Christmas? Hopefully Christmas this year has been more than presents and parties for you, and youve taken time to focus on Jesus. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Geocoding The third type of peace is a peace with one another. The Bible says, But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is not just brooding or getting into a pious frame of mind. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. To do so is to participate in the Christmas story. He then assured the professor that the reason why the Christmas message was an apparent farce to him was not God's fault. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Most people think that the day of one's birth is special. The Bible says that when Jesus was born, a multitude of angels appeared suddenly and erupted in joyful praise to God, saying: "Glory in the heights above to God, and upon earth peace among men of goodwill." ( Luke 2:13, 14) However, it is noteworthy that nowhere in the Bible is there even a suggestion that Jesus' birthday should be celebrated. Now it is true that this new line is less likely to be misinterpreted. But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod. It implies a diving beneath the surface. It is unfortunate that these great words "savior" and "salvation" have been watered down so much as they have been in our day. Perhaps you have prayed for something and have not received an answer, at least not the answer you were waiting for. It was confused because it lacked revelation and, therefore, also an awareness of truth. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. Then glorify and praise God for what you know. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. It is just that His plans do not run on our timetables. To the choirmaster. You quarrel and fight. Rather, He enables us to face them with a quietness, a calmness and confidence, which makes it possible to find a solution" 10 This is the peace that Edward Bickersteth wrote about in the late nineteenth century, in a verse which has since become one of our great hymns: The first way in which we find this peace, then, is by learning of Jesus. Joy is a wonderful thing; it is an appropriate part of Christmas. Because it came from God and was centered in the birth of the Savior. Now this is what the shepherds did. But now, assuming that you have believed on Him and that you are a Christian, what can you add to this in order to properly celebrate Christmas? Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found . Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds. There are two kinds of amazement. And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. L Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. Taken together, therefore, the Greek and Latin definitions imply, first, that peace is not primarily a state of mind or an individual virtue but rather a state existing between two or more persons. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28201 Keiper asked, "Why do you call it a farce?" But over against this dying world was Jesus. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Beyond any question, the gospel of Jesus Christ has important social implications. However, God does promise to give us what we need (Philippians 4:19), and He promises to keep our minds in His peace, if we will pray to Him. When circumstances are right, there is happiness; but when the source of happiness departs, happiness goes with it. Z. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7). And God will grant your requests." Yet, Solomon was inspired to write, "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth" . The smoke from her goes up forever and ever. And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, Amen. She would have wondered how she could have conceived without having slept with a man. Systematic Theology Volume 2: Existence and the Christ. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. The first of these important appearances was to Mary. Music: Pax Tecum, George T. Caldbeck and Charles J. Vincent, 1876. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate. The time of fulfillment has come! When a person is at peace with God judicially and is experiencing increasingly in his own life that peace of God which transforms him and gives him tranquility even in the midst of great emotional turmoil and misunderstanding, then there is a firm foundation on which to overcome those interpersonal tensions that upset families, churches, cities, governments and the world. The situation would have been difficult for anyone to understand, let alone a man engaged to a woman who was expecting a child. But how? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. When I return to these wonderful chapters of Matthew and Luke in order to prepare my Christmas messages, I always seem to find a detail that I had overlooked before and which therefore speaks to me in a new way. As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. There had been revelations from God in the past. Long ago, when the Greek language was in its infancy, the word from which the word "glory" came meant "to have an opinion." I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. Had God forgotten His people? To ignore them is unimaginable. After all, just because we celebrate our childrens birthdays doesnt mean we forget them or ignore them the rest of the year! The second message brought by the angels concerning the birth of Christ is the message to Joseph. Celebrating it certainly does seem and feel like the right thing to do. Come to the wedding feast. But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. And when he had eaten, his spirit revived, for he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights.
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