TODAY IS CALLED CHRISTMAS DAY

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TODAY IS CALLED CHRISTMAS DAY
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How should Christians celebrate Christmas?
Gifts, tree, Jesus birthday, etc
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TODAY IS CALLED CHRISTMAS DAY
I. SHOULD CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE DECEMBER 25th AS
JESUS BIRTHDAY? Matt. 2818-20
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ALL AUTHORITY IS GIVEN TO ME
Excluded

• Parents, Matt. 1037
• Conscience, Acts 231 269
• Preachers, Gal. 19
• Feelings, Prov. 1625
• Human teachings, traditions, Matt. 159

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2 John 9 Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not
in the teaching of Christ, hath not God he that
abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the
Father and the Son.

• Count beads
• Burn incense
• Observe Jesus birth
• etc.

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THE LORDS SUPPER CHRISTMAS
1. Authorizedcomman- ded by Christ (Matt. 26
26-29)
1. Not authorized or com- manded by Christ - "of
men"
2. We are told how to observe it (Matt. 2626-28)
2. We are not told how to observe it -- of men
3. We are shown when to observe it (Acts 207)
3. We are not told when to observe it -- of men
4. We are told where to observe it (Acts 207 1
Cor. 1120-25)
4. We are not told where to observe it -- of men
5. Observed by all Christians in apostolic age
(Acts 242 207 1 Cor. 1123)
5. Observed by no Christian in apostolic age -
originated in later apostasy
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How should Christians celebrate Christmas?
Gifts, tree, Jesus birthday, etc
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TODAY IS CALLED CHRISTMAS DAY
I. SHOULD CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE DECEMBER 25th AS
JESUS BIRTHDAY? Matt. 2818-20
II. WHAT ABOUT GIVING GIFTS, HAVING A TREE, ECT.,
BUT NOT DOING SO TO OBSERVE JESUS BIRTH? Rom.
141-3, 14 1 Cor. 1014-21 1 Kgs. 1010, 13
Job 4211 Rom. 1423
III. SHOULD WE CANCEL SERVICES WHEN CHRISTMAS
FALLS ON SUNDAY?
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When Christmas Falls on Sunday, Megachurches
Take the Day Off Some of the nation's most
prominent megachurch- es have decided not to hold
worship services on the Sunday that coincides
with Christmas Day, a move that is generating
controversy among evangelical Christians at a
time when many conservative groups are battling
to put the Christ back in Christmas. Megachurch
leaders say that the decision is in keeping with
their innovative and family friendly
approach and that they are compen- sating in
other ways. Willow Creek Community Church in
South Barring- ton, Ill., always a pacesetter
among megachurches, is handing out a DVD it
produced for the occasion that
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approach and that they are compensating in other
ways. Willow Creek Community Church in South
Barrington, Ill., always a pacesetter among mega-
churches, is handing out a DVD it produced for
the occasion that features a heartwarming
contempor- ary Christmas tale. What we're
encouraging people to do is take that DVD and in
the comfort of their living room, with friends
and family, pop it into the player and hopefully
hear a different and more personal and maybe more
intimate Christmas message, that God is with us
wherever we are, said Cally Parkinson,
communications director at Willow Creek, which
draws 20,000 people on a typical Sunday.
(Laurie Goodstein, 12/9/05, The New York Times,
http//www.ny times.com/2005/12/09/national/09chur
ch.html?pagewanted2themcth)
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"This is a consumer mentality at work Let's not
impose the church on people. Let's not make
church in any way inconvenient,'" said David
Wells, professor of history and systematic
theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary,
a leading evangelical school in Hamilton, Mass.
(AP, 12/6/05, via Greg Gwin, The Electronic
Beacon, my emph, sw) 1 Cor. 122-24
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I see this in many ways as a capitulation to
narcissism, the self-centered, me-first, I'm
going to put me and my immediate family first
agenda of the larger culture, said Ben
Witherington III, professor of New Testament
interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in
Wilmore, Ky. (Goodstein, ibid., my emph, sw)
Matt. 633
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"Willow Creek senior pastor Gene Appel told the
Tribune, We don't see it as not having church on
Christmas. We see it as decentralizing the church
on Christmas -- hundreds of thousands of
experiences going on around Christmas trees. The
best way to honor the birth of Jesus is for
families to have a more personal experience on
that day." (Weblog Megachurches Cancel
Christmas, Compiled by Ted Olsen, Christianity
Today, 12/07/05, http//www.christianitytoday.
com/ct/2005/149/31.0.html)
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Some consequences of canceling church services
for Christmas

• It says that worship with the church is
  optional, Acts 207 1 Cor. 161-2
• It makes the local church unnecessary, Matt.
  1618 Eph. 311 Acts 2028 Eph. 411-12
• It makes void the word of God by tradition, Mk.
  78-13

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TODAY IS CALLED CHRISTMAS DAY
I. SHOULD CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE DECEMBER 25th AS
JESUS BIRTHDAY? Matt. 2818-20
II. WHAT ABOUT GIVING GIFTS, HAVING A TREE, ECT.,
BUT NOT DOING SO TO OBSERVE JESUS BIRTH? Rom.
141-3, 14 1 Cor. 1014-21 1 Kgs. 1010, 13
Job 4211 Rom. 1423
III. SHOULD WE CANCEL SERVICES WHEN CHRISTMAS
FALLS ON SUNDAY?