We are in one of my favorite times of the year right now. We are about a week away from Christmas Day as you read this. There is not very much about this season that I do not like. Yes, I could do without much of the commercialism that is going on, but in all reality, as long as the main reason for the Christmas season is remembered, then I can deal even with that.
That main reason I mentioned above, let me be very clear what I mean by that. Christmas is the time of year that we set aside specifically to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. I personally love the way that John recorded the event in John 1. In verses 1-5 and 14, John wrote this; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
While Matthew and Luke record the story in a little more of a concrete way, there is just something poetic about the way that John chose to record Jesus’ birth. While December 25 is more than likely not the actual date of Jesus’ birth, it is the time that we have set aside to remember that each year.
December 25 is on a Sunday this year, and we have decided to do something a little different at Central Christian Church. Instead of a service on Christmas morning, we have chosen to do a service on Saturday, December 24, at 5:30 P.M., and we would like to invite you all to attend. This will be our first Christmas Eve service, at least to my knowledge, and we could not be more excited about it. It will be a simple, candlelight service, but I can promise you one great thing. We will proclaim the main reason for our celebration of Christmas each year, and we will do it proudly.
Jesus chose to leave God the Father, and to take on flesh. He did this by being born of the virgin Mary, and living a human life. Why would He do this? You see, we live in a broken world; a broken world due to our sin that separates us from God. Jesus came to live the perfect, sinless life, and to go to the cross to pay a debt that we could never pay ourselves. You see, Christmas is not about snow. It is not about presents. It is not about spending time with family. It is not really even about a baby born in a manger. All of those things are good, but you see, Christmas is all about the cross!
Thoughts From a Crosseyed Jesus Freak
Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak 