Okay, so we're in Matthew chapter 2, and we're going to just look at the first three
verses again.
So Matthew 2 and 4 verse 1, which reads, Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea
in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews?
For we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him.
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And the title of my sermon this afternoon is, Is it Sinful to Celebrate Christmas?
Is it Sinful to Celebrate Christmas?
So I'm going to pray, and then we'll get started.
Father, thank you for your word.
Thank you, well, for sending your son to not only be born, but also to die on that cross,
and Lord, and what that means to us.
And help me to preach this sermon that I've been thinking about for the last week or two
now, just in a clear way, and in an accurate way, and in a bold way as well, Lord.
I hope everyone to just really listen to what your word is saying, rather than any
sort of preconceived notions either way, Lord.
Let's just judge it by your word, and help me to just do all these things filled with
your spirit.
In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
Okay, so like I said, this is something, funnily enough, someone asked me, I think it was last
week, had said to me, he told me about a channel on YouTube that he'd been following for a
while.
So I went on this channel just to check it out for him.
I said, I'll have a look, I'd never heard of it.
I went on this channel, and sort of the top videos on it all about, you know, Christmas
is pagan, Christmas is this, Christmas is that, and I thought, well, if that's something
that he's looking at, then I'm sure other people in the church probably come across
his stuff as well.
I've come across his stuff before.
I've kind of hinted, I've talked about it briefly in sermons before, but I've never
done a full sermon on it, so it's something I'd like to preach on today.
Now, it's obviously not one of those cliffhanger sermons where you wait to hear the conclusion,
okay.
I'm clearly standing behind a pulpit with a wreath hanging from it.
You probably have noticed other decorations in the church.
Over the last few weeks, we've been singing more and more hymns about the birth of Christ.
Last week, we had Christmas carols sung by the children, or at least the children that
were covered in time for the carol service.
We've given Christmas cards out, and if anyone didn't get one from me, apologies, but I think
hopefully everyone here did.
This morning, I preached a Christmassy message about who exactly it was.
It was born a couple of thousand years ago.
We've just had a nice meal.
I enjoyed that meal as well.
That was part of the celebrations as well, and we even had quite a few different desserts
as well, which I keep talking about, as you can tell, they're on my mind a bit, right.
This evening, my wife will be preparing some food for tomorrow, and I might even help her
out if she's lucky.
There'll be things that we don't eat often, so there'll be certain things that we eat
that we don't eat every week, every month, sometimes that we don't eat really other than
at Christmas, and there will be some healthy-sized portions eaten tomorrow, okay, and maybe even
for a couple of days afterwards as well, right.
In the morning, my family are going to be exchanging presents with each other, okay,
so we're going to be giving presents to each other.
Have I said anything sinful yet?
Anyone think I've, I don't think I've said anything sinful yet.
Now, some will be sitting there thinking, well, it depends what you're cooking, okay.
Any of you turkey haters out there, you got issues, right, because, Chris, you're just
cooking it wrong, this is probably, you're drying it out, okay, Christmas turkey's good,
don't give me all that Christmas beef stuff, all right, but anyway, okay, so I don't believe
I've said anything sinful yet, however, there are many out there that choose not to celebrate
Christmas.
Now, just bear in mind, that is your prerogative, okay, that is your, if you choose not to,
you're perfectly entitled to choose not to.
That doesn't make you sinful either, okay, is it sinful to not celebrate Christmas?
I don't believe it's sinful to not celebrate Christmas either, there's no commandment either
way.
There's not a commandment saying thou shalt celebrate Christmas, or thou shalt not celebrate
Christmas.
We don't see either of that, so if you don't celebrate Christmas and you're here and you're
sitting here thinking, I've had to put up with this for the last couple of weeks, I
don't hate you, okay, I really don't, just don't invite me around for Christmas, okay,
because I'm going to be disappointed if I get around, all right, okay, but no, we don't,
we're not saying that you're bad either, okay, but I want to just, what I want to tackle
today is the accusations of it being sinful, because there are those that will say, well,
they'll either say it's sinful or they'll say a lot of the time it's paganism, okay,
so celebrating Christmas is paganism, which if we were worshipping some sort of pagan
god, that would be sinful, agreed?
So if anyone here is worshipping a pagan god, that is sinful, that makes Christmas sinful,
that makes your celebration sinful, okay?
And there are those, aside from those, there are those that will say that, and there are
those that absolutely hate Christmas and anything to do with it and call everyone unsaved pagans
who don't agree, there are these extremists around as well, however, I don't think we've
probably come across many of those, okay?
So today I'd like to go through some of the things which are sinful about some believers'
Christmas celebrations, okay, so I want to talk about some of the things which are sinful
about how people celebrate Christmas, and ultimately, like I said, I'm going to talk
really about believers here, okay, because, look, how, you know, most of the unsaved world
do things, it's not really our, it makes no difference either way, right, okay?
So what I want to talk about is how some believers celebrate that are sinful, I'm then going
to debunk some of the criticisms about things that aren't sinful, so I'm going to show you
things that aren't sinful, and then finally I'm going to explain how to therefore, or
why basically we celebrate Christmas and how to do it in a non-sinful way as well.
So the title this afternoon is, is it sinful to celebrate Christmas?
And just the last point is, if you're sitting there going, why are you preaching about this,
because we've already made us celebrate anyway, okay, so isn't it a bit too late?
Well, no, look, ultimately, you've come to church and you've been part of our church,
but I'm hoping that people will go away tomorrow and maybe not with that kind of thinking,
oh man, but is this wrong because all these kind of online kooks are telling me that I'm
a pagan and everything else because I'm celebrating Christmas, because there are people out there
doing that and they're trying, and look, that's not everyone, so like I said, it's your prerogative,
so if you're sitting here going, well no, we don't really celebrate, that's cool, okay,
I'm not having a go at you, but I have noticed, for example, the video, the channel I went
online was, as usual, an unsaved heretic, who believes you can lose your salvation,
telling anyone, including therefore believers, such as all the believers, most of the believers
in this church, that if we celebrate Christmas, we're somehow pagans, yet the guy thinks you
can lose your salvation, and that's usually what it is with a lot of these people, it's
a lot of people that are trying to one-up holiness on people, okay, not always, but
that is.
Now again, like I said, if you choose not to celebrate for your own reasons, fair enough,
I want to debunk some of the reasons that some people come out with, okay, so is it
sinful to celebrate Christmas?
Number one, it is if you celebrate like this, so point number one is that it is sinful if
you celebrate like this, I'm going to give you a few ways that people celebrate Christmas,
which is sinful, it's sinful if you try to destroy or replace Jesus at Christmas, that
is sinful, if your Christmas is about replacing Jesus Christ, if your Christmas is about destroying
Jesus Christ, it's sinful, look at Matthew chapter 2 and verse 1, it says this in Matthew
2.1, now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold
there came wise men from the east of Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born king of the
Jews?
For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him,
so Herod was troubled, you could say agitated, concerned, maybe slightly scared, all Jerusalem
too, okay, so it's not just Herod, it's a whole lot of them, right, so what was his
response?
Well, we're going to jump forward for a second, look at verse 16, verse 16 says, then Herod,
when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wrath, and sent forth and
slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years
old and under, according to the time which he diligently inquired of the wise men, so
he tried to destroy Jesus by killing all the children in the area, and isn't that kind
of what Santa Claus does nowadays?
He just kind of destroys it, he basically replaces and destroys Jesus amongst people's
Christmas celebrations, really, he just takes turn, or at least he just, sorry, he just
basically takes pride in place instead of Jesus Christ, isn't he?
In many people's households, many children's minds, worlds at Christmas, it's all about
Santa Claus now, isn't it?
He's replaced Jesus at Christmas and become the star of the show.
He's basically, he's an omnipresent, flying magician breaking into people's homes, okay?
This is what this guy is, and I'm not going to go into length about Santa Claus, many
households across the UK have what?
They have their homes decorated and covered in Satan claws, I like to call them as well,
and his merry elves and his merry devils, and all different magic this and magic that,
elves and Grinches and all this stuff, sometimes, it's crazy isn't it, people have got stuff
all over their houses and it's just all about Santa Claus, right?
That's weird, isn't it?
Very weird, but it's also ultimately just replacing Jesus Christ at Christmas.
There's like Elf on the Shelf, flying reindeer, all magic, magic, magic stuff.
Now some will say, well, is it sinful to do the whole Santa Claus thing?
Because where's the sin there?
Where's the thou shalt not?
Well turn to Proverbs 12, because for starters, it's a big fat lie, okay?
Santa Claus is a big fat lie, in fact it's usually multiple lies.
So it's not just the lie of Satan Claus, it's the multiple lies that go with it.
For example, the mince pie crumbs and glasses drunk of who knows what next to the fireplace,
to condemn that he came and started stuffing his greedy face on the way in and out of their
bedroom in everyone's house, I mean, just imagine the poor guy.
I mean we're talking about, oh poor guy, I don't know, you're talking about billions
of mince pies and glasses of usually something alcoholic.
But it's not just that.
The half-eaten carrots, the whole he sees your behaviour, yeah, he knows if you've been
good or bad and all that stuff, he comes down the chimney.
I mean that's just a massive lie, isn't it?
Most people, if they even have a working chimney, it's not wide enough for Santa Claus.
He's on the back of a sleigh in your neighbourhood with some slightly creepy-looking old people
shaking a box of coins, right?
Do they still do that?
I didn't really get that down my road this time, but sometimes you get that, they're
from like the Rotary Club or whatever, and all these strange old people walking around
shaking things and with some guy kind of dressed slightly like Santa Claus on the back of a
sleigh shouting ho ho ho, and you're like, oh no.
But again, then what happens?
You're then lying to your children about, well there he is, he just happened to turn
up in our neighbourhood with all those old folk and trying to get money out of us.
If you don't go to sleep, he won't sneak into your room.
I mean that is just weird, isn't it?
The old thing is pretty creepy as well, isn't it?
Because what's it encouraging?
It's like, you'd better go to sleep so this fat old stranger creeps into your room.
I mean what?
It's not, it really is bad, isn't it?
OK, Proverbs 12.22 says this though, Proverbs 12.22 says,
Lying lips are abomination to the Lord, but they that deal truly are his delight.
Lying lips are abomination.
OK, so if anyone thinks he lets you off when the lying lips are about some magic elven
wizard that's stealing the attention at Christmas, you're in a dream world.
OK, no, he doesn't go, well lying lips are abomination.
OK, however, when it's about like someone who's completely unconnected, it's just some
magic like wizard.
No, no, no, it's no longer a problem.
God hates that, right?
It's bad enough, the lying lips, then when you're lying to steal the focus off Jesus
Christ at Christmas onto some just some magic creature, some magic creature thing who just
happens to be an anagram of Satan, I mean, that's just bizarre, isn't it?
Right?
OK, that's not, you can't justify that.
And I'll tell you something else, which is an abomination aside from the lying, and you
don't have to turn it, but in Deuteronomy 18, he gives a list of devilry, including
witches and wizards, which is basically what Satan clause is, and then says,
For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord.
And because of these abominations, the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
So you go, well, he's not really real, right?
Well, you're lying about an abomination.
You're lying and pretending that this guy who's an abomination is something to be kind
of, you know, basically glorified, right, to replace Jesus Christ at Christmas.
So Satan clause and all the other little magical lies are sinful.
I don't, I don't think you can argue that, could you?
That's pretty clear, right?
Turn to Proverbs 23, turn to Proverbs chapter 23.
Here's another thing that would be, it's a sinful way to celebrate Christmas.
It is sinful if you celebrate Christmas with alcohol, okay, that's sinful.
It is sinful if you're celebrating Christmas with alcohol.
In Proverbs 23, the Bible is very clear that there's a type of one that we shouldn't even
look at.
And if after having had this explained, okay, and again, after having this, so I understand
when people, there's a lot of false doctrine out there, people see the Bible and just talk
about wine, oh yeah.
I remember growing up thinking, what a strange thing that Jesus Christ's first miracle was
like, just make you a load of wine.
How what?
But what do I know?
Right.
Okay.
But if after having this explained, you still think that Jesus first recorded miracle was
turning water into alcoholic wine.
If you still think that, then you're either stupid or probably drunk, okay, because that
is preposterous.
If you're like, you're saved, you've got the Holy Spirit, you got the word of God and you're
looking down going, I just can't believe, wow, you know, Jesus Christ, he just came
along, first miracle, he just got everyone drunk.
I mean, that's bizarre, isn't it?
Okay.
That's just ridiculous.
And obviously, there's something wrong with your understanding.
The word wine can apply to unfermented juice or fermented alcoholic juice, okay.
It's either or, and we don't always know, okay, and the translators, it wasn't their
job to tell us what they think, okay.
We work that out by the context, by whether or not it's clear or not.
And it's the same from what I understand in the Hebrew and the Greek, the words aren't
clear whether or not it's alcoholic or not, it's just basically juice and it can be fermented,
it can be unfermented.
And that was the same when they translated it at the time back in the 1600s, wine could
apply to unfermented juice as well, okay.
And in Isaiah, for example, 658, we see it talk of the juice in the cluster of grapes
where it says, thus saith the Lord, as a new wine is found in the cluster.
I mean that hasn't fermented into alcoholic wine, but it's called wine in the cluster
and one saith destroy it, not for a blessing is in it.
So all I do for my servant's sake, that I may not destroy them all.
And before all the commercial, factory, farming, all of that stuff, automatic pressing, everything
else, look, juice was a massive luxury, okay.
It should still be, shouldn't it?
And when you get really nice fresh juice, it's really nice, isn't it, you get freshly
squeezed juice, especially from an area where it's being grown, not like freshly squeezed
from a load of imported fruit, freshly squeezed, literally plucked off the vine, or at least
trodden out or something else, that's going to taste pretty amazing, isn't it, okay.
Hence there's a blessing in it.
And in Proverbs 23, we're told to not even look at the other kind of juice, a fermented
kind of wine.
He says in verse 29, who hath woe, who have sorrow, who have contentions, who have babbling,
who have wounds without cause, who have redness of eyes, it doesn't sound very good, it sounds
a little bit negative.
They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine, look not thou upon
the wine when it is red, when it giveth its colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
And that's just, that's fermentation, okay.
When it is red, when it giveth its colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright,
that's fermented alcohol.
We shouldn't even look at it.
Don't even look upon it, says the Bible, okay.
At the last, it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder.
That's not a good thing either, okay.
You don't want to be bitten by a serpent or stung by an adder.
Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse sings.
Definitely not good either, right, okay, not something that you want to be getting involved
with.
Yea, thou shalt be a sea that lieth down the midst of sea, or a sea that lieth upon the
top of a mast.
They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick.
They have beaten me, and I felt it not.
When shall I awake?
I will seek it yet again.
Okay, that's talking about people that sadly, what happens with this stuff as well, people
just end up drinking more and more and more and more.
Can you imagine celebrating the birth of Christ with the poison of asps?
Can you imagine celebrating the birth of Christ with something that he told you, in his word,
to not even look upon?
I mean, that's bizarre, again, it's crazy, isn't it?
But that's what you'll see the world over, that's what you'll see at least this nation
over tomorrow and probably today as well, and maybe going into Boxing Day, is people
celebrating Christmas, drinking something he told you not to even look upon.
Remember 1 John 2, so Christmas is sinful if you're celebrating it, if you're celebrating
basically Satan Claus, if you're managing to push Satan Claus into what should be a
celebration of the birth of Christ and his magic devils, if you're celebrated with booze.
And here's another way it's sinful, is if you're celebrated with worldly music.
So if you're celebrating Christmas with all your favourite worldly music tracks and everything
else, that's sinful.
Okay, 1 John 2 and verse 15 says this, 1 John 2.15.
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world, love the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the
pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.
And the world passeth away and the lusts thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth
forever.
And let me tell you something, all of that junk Christian pop is the lust of the flesh.
That's what it is.
That's the flesh lusting it, it's the flesh wanting it, it's the lust of the flesh.
And if it's not just some empty nonsense about snow at Christmas, which is probably the least
sinful one, it's just vanity though, it's just like, what a nonsense thing to sing about
whether or not it's going to snow at Christmas.
I hope it doesn't snow at Christmas because driving is going to be a nightmare.
Because I'm probably going to be at a much higher chance of crashing my car.
I don't want it to snow at Christmas, some of the kids are looking at me with evil eyes
right now.
But, okay, I hope it doesn't snow at Christmas, I'm not dreaming of a white Christmas, that's
a nightmare.
However, okay, that's just empty nonsense, but it's usually much worse than that.
That's kind of, that's like the best you're probably going to get, right, old Bing Crosby.
Usually it's singing about fornication, it's singing about Satan Claus or his flying reindeers
or something, or a combination.
And what has any of that got to do with the birth of Jesus Christ?
Nothing at all.
Instead it's just a song of fools, and Proverbs 9.6 says forsake the fool that should live,
and go in a way of understanding, obviously talking about salvation as well, but you could
apply that as well.
We shouldn't be wanting a list of that, let alone have that stuff in our house, be around
fools, a lot of the time these are wicked people as well, we're told we should not know
a wicked person, let alone have these singer-songwriters, these producers literally just beamed into
our home and into our ear holes, okay?
And that's if it's in your home and not everywhere else, okay?
Now there's some of the common sinful ways that believers might celebrate Christmas,
and believe me there's a lot of believers out there that will be singing along to their
latest song about fornication at Christmas time, or singing along to something similar,
or maybe they're having a good old-fashioned, well we just have a glass of wine at Christmas.
That's when we crack open the champagne, people that crack open the champagne at breakfast
time, did you know that at Christmas time, maybe a lot of you are like, yeah I do know
that actually, yeah.
There are people that don't even apparently believe in Jesus Christ that start hitting
the champagne at breakfast time on Christmas day.
I mean, what?
But there are believers sadly out there that will try and justify alcohol, justify booze,
and I tell you what, if they're justifying it the rest of the time, are you telling me
that they're not having it on Christmas day?
That's when they crack open the special stuff.
I mean that's wicked, isn't it, really?
Okay, how like dishonouring, how just, just really like, yeah it is, it's just completely
dishonouring to the Lord Jesus Christ.
But there's some other things as well that I'm not going to go into, but for example
some of the filth on TV that people kind of celebrate by what you like, just pure filth,
pure junk.
Most of the Christmas movies are pretty wicked, really.
And you can think of other things as well that people do as a kind of tradition around
Christmas that's sinful.
Is it sinful to celebrate Christmas is our title today.
Point number one, it is if you celebrate like this, and we've looked at some ways that people
celebrate Christmas, that we want to be as far away from possible.
Right, now point number two, which I'm going to focus on a bit more today, is it isn't
if you celebrate like this.
So for me, that's stuff that we just talked about and you can think of other things that
are just clear sin, okay, that people do at Christmas.
Sure, if that's how you celebrate Christmas, yeah, it's sinful.
Your Christmas is sinful, okay, and you need to sort yourself out because you're meant
to be honouring the Lord Jesus Christ at Christmas, thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ and going
into just all sorts of sin because it's Christmas is just, I mean it's beyond ironic, it's
ridiculous, okay.
However, number two, it isn't if you celebrate like this.
Now look down at Matthew chapter 2 again and look at that, those first few verses again,
Matthew 2 and verse 1, it says here, Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem and Judea in the
days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east of Jerusalem, saying,
Where is he that is born king of the Jews?
For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him.
Now what will people say?
They say it's pagan, it's pagan.
Well my question is this, were the wise men pagan?
Anyone think the wise men were pagan?
Because they came from afar to celebrate the birth of Christ, didn't they?
Now here's a clue, okay, if you're wondering, well were they pagan or not, those wise men?
Because don't they call them the Magi, is it Magi, Magi, Magi, I don't even know how
they pronounce that yet, I see all these weird names people come out with for them.
They were like from these three kings from Orientar and everything else.
All we know is that they were just wise men, we don't really know how many there are, okay,
that's just a nice little Christmas carol.
But I'll give you a clue, pagans aren't wise, okay, pagans aren't wise.
Verse 9 said this, When they had heard the king they departed, and lo, the star which
they saw in the east went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child
was.
When they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
They were pretty excited about the birth of Christ, they rejoiced with exceeding great
joy, didn't they?
People go, oh well, that was, you know, he was in a house by then, that wasn't the birth,
yeah, but they still came to celebrate the birth.
They might have been late to the party, they might have had their Christmas in the New
Year, okay, and I'm kidding, okay, because I know they don't start getting onto me
about December the 25th, we'll talk about that in a minute, however, they still, they
were coming to celebrate the birth of Christ, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
You say, okay, but how they celebrate now, what they celebrate now is a pagan worship
festival.
Has anyone heard that sort of stuff before?
Some of you might have done.
Okay, I have no doubt, no doubt at all, that most of the world's Christmas is pagan.
Seriously, most of the world's Christmas celebrations, today, tomorrow, the next day, is pagan.
Some of them, apparently some of these orthodoxies in some places, they celebrate in January.
Some of them have some different days for this as well.
No doubt at all, they're pagan festivals, because, do you know what a pagan is?
Do you know what a pagan is?
A pagan is a worshipper of false gods, okay, it's a heathen, an idolater.
That's the vast majority of the world.
The vast majority of the world are pagans.
Did you know that around the world on Sunday mornings, a pagan worship service is everywhere?
Does anyone know that?
Did you know that across Southend this morning, and maybe this afternoon, evening, I don't
know what they're doing, but I'll tell you what, Sunday mornings, do you know what the
vast majority of worship services in places that call themselves churches are?
They're pagan festivals.
They're pagan worship services.
They ain't celebrating the Lord Jesus Christ, it's an idol.
They're worshipping an idol, it's a false god.
It's a false god where you earn your salvation by your works, in one way or another.
They're false gods, they're idols, okay, they've all got a different type of Jesus with a different
sort of set of rules that you've got to follow, and they all generally will take some of
what he says and other bits he doesn't, they all make their own Jesus in one way or another.
Ultimately it's a false god, it's not the Christ of the Bible, right?
So there are pagan services going on all over this nation on a Sunday morning.
Are we there for worshipping an idol on Sunday morning because most of the world is?
Anyone here come in to worship a pagan god because everyone else is?
No, we're worshipping the God of the Bible.
We're worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ.
We're not guilty by default because everyone else is worshipping a pagan god.
Otherwise, I mean, why are we even here, right?
Do we go, oh, well, no, okay, well, we're not going to do Sunday mornings now because
the rest of the world is, so now suddenly by default we're worshipping a pagan god?
No, of course.
We see that example in the Bible, don't we, on the first day of the week.
For something to be pagan, it would have to include the worship of a false god.
I hope no one here is worshipping a false god in our worship services.
Now, the reality of it is there will be the odd person, whether or not they're here today
or will come in and maybe be here for a while or whatever else, that won't really be worshipping
the Christ of the Bible.
We'll still believe in some sort of repent of your sins salvation.
We'll still believe they can lose their salvation or something else, okay?
But they're like, they're the exceptions to the rule, right?
The vast majority of people are coming in here and from the pulpit we're preaching and
teaching the Jesus of the Bible.
It's not a pagan god.
So therefore, how about at Christmas time, does that change?
Suddenly at Christmas time, when I've been preaching the Lord Jesus Christ, when I've
been reading from the Word of God, when we've been singing carols to the Lord about Christ,
about his birth, about everything else, did that suddenly become pagan?
Because other people are.
What about if we had a service tomorrow, is that now pagan?
Well, what if Christmas fell today, on a Sunday, would that make it suddenly a pagan worship
service?
We're doing it the same thing we do every other time of the year, don't we?
So how is it suddenly, it's not pagan, is it?
Are we doing anything, is anyone worshipping a pagan god here?
If you are, just remove yourself slowly.
You can do it quietly and we won't bat an eyelid, all right, until you're gone.
Okay, so that is the way we do it.
And like I said, it is what we're doing at Christmas, okay?
Our services have not really been much different, have they?
What have we had?
Where's the Kids Carol concert pagan?
We just had some kids come up here and sing, and that's about as far as we push it with
all that, hey, look at our stuff, okay?
We don't dress all the kids up in dresses and get them doing weird stuff, and we don't,
you know, it's not...
Because we're trying to honor and glory Christ, and we do that through song, right?
We don't have people come up and do specials and all of that sort of stuff, we're not into
any of that stuff at our church, we're just worshipping God, but none of that was pagan,
was it?
Okay?
Now, some will say this, they'll say, yes, but we're not commanded to celebrate the birth
of Christ.
You heard people say that before, right?
Well, turn over to Luke chapter 2.
We're also not commanded not to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Did you know that?
I don't see anywhere in the Bible that says don't celebrate the birth of Christ.
Now, I agree, we're not commanded to celebrate the birth of Christ, but we're not commanded
not to celebrate the birth of Christ.
We're not commanded, for example, did you know we're not commanded to meet on a Sunday?
Anyone know that?
Did you know you're not commanded to meet up on a Sunday?
You are commanded not to forsake the assembling of yourselves together, but we're not commanded
to meet on a Sunday, the first day of the week, but we see that example in Scripture
also being the day that the Lord resurrected, okay?
So we see the example and we choose to worship on a Sunday.
We're not breaking any commandments worshipping on a Sunday, but we wouldn't actually be
breaking any commandments if our church said, actually, we're going to meet on another
day.
We're going to meet on a Thursday, you'll have to take the day off work.
It's quite handy that most people, a lot of people, sadly not so much nowadays, but a
lot of people don't have to work on a Sunday.
You don't have to turn to Acts 20 and verse 7, it says, and upon the first day of the
week when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart
on the morrow and continued his speech, excuse me, until midnight.
That was a long sermon.
You're lucky I'm not going to follow that example as well, and go, we're going to be
preached till midnight on a Sunday as well, because that's what Paul did, but we're just
following an example in Scripture that we see and we have the choice to do that.
And do you know what a load of Judaizing Sabbath obsessives probably say about Sundays?
You're right, you better be sure.
There are people out there with their private little YouTube channels that probably never
step foot in a real church, who will be telling everyone that Sunday worship is pagan.
That's what the pagans do.
But is anyone here coming to worship a pagan god?
It ain't pagan.
But there'll be many that will try and claim that, right?
Funnily enough, most of those guys aren't saved as well, because they're just sort of,
you know, they're all about the Sabbath and not even realize that Christ fulfilled the
Sabbath.
Anyway, not only did the wise men celebrate the birth of Christ, and by the way, the wise
men aren't a bad bunch to emulate, okay?
If you're going to emulate someone and you're going to follow someone, someone called the
wise men is probably a good idea, right?
So did the shepherds in Luke 2.
They wanted to celebrate the birth of Christ as well.
Verse 10 said, and the angel said unto them, in Luke 2 and verse 10, Fear not, for behold
I bring you good tidings of great joy, which I be to all people.
Now like I said this morning, isn't it interesting that all people are at least made aware of
Christ's birth every single year?
All people are at least aware every single year that Jesus Christ was born a couple of
thousand years ago.
Oh well, it wasn't until December 25th, who cares, yeah?
At the end of the day, people are every single year, even the most staunch, God-hating, curly
whirly Jews down the road, the most God-hating, dress-wearing imam, they have to acknowledge
the birth of Christ at least to some degree.
Every single year.
Without change, right?
The good tidings of great joy isn't just the fact that it's the Saviour, the Christ,
the Lord, as we looked at this morning, it's that the Saviour was born, because it all
goes together.
Verse 11 says, For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ
the Lord.
There was something special about that birth, wasn't there as well?
Did they say, well thanks for the heads up, we'll look forward to his first sermon when
he's older?
You know, give us a shout, can you just give us a reminder in about 30-odd years and then
we'll turn up when it's important now?
No, they were so excited about the birth, they wanted to celebrate the birth!
Verse 15 says this, And it came to pass the angels were gone away from them into heaven.
The shepherd said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing
which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger.
When they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning
this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart, and the shepherds returned
glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told
unto them.
They celebrated that first Christmas, not just because Christ was born, I completely
accept that, but because of what that meant for the world.
But it all went hand in hand.
They were celebrating the birth because of what the birth of Christ meant for the world.
But also, as discussed this morning, when we're celebrating Christmas, we are focusing
on those humble beginnings, aren't we?
We're focusing on those fulfilled prophecies.
And look, for me, that's a good time of year to check in with that stuff.
Look, I hope no one came away from this morning's sermon going, why couldn't he just preach
on one of my sins instead?
Why couldn't he preach a sermon on, if only he'd just preached on the sodomites, if only
we didn't have to have this Christmas.
No, because a lot of what we heard this morning, and preaching about that, and thinking about
the birth of Christ, and how he's born, and everything else, look, that's important stuff
for us.
Strengthens our faith, it's some of the foundations of our faith, isn't it?
Is that a bad thing, is preaching about that stuff pagan?
It's not pagan.
They say, well, this is another one they say, they say the 25th of December is a pagan date
when they celebrate Saturnalia, I don't know if I said that right, okay, I'm assuming that's
how it says.
Okay, they say that's when they celebrate Saturnalia.
Now some apparently say that this Saturnalia, some sort of pagan god worship, or worship
festival or something, is between the 17th and 25th.
I don't really care, because I'm not celebrating Saturnalia.
So I don't really care when it is, or what they do, because we're coming here to celebrate
the birth of Christ.
So it makes no difference to me what the pagans are doing, like I said, half of them, most
of them seem to be pretending that they're celebrating a form of Christ, but it doesn't
bother me, because what we do here is what bothers me, and we're celebrating the Lord
Jesus Christ.
And there is a one in 365 chance, like I said this morning, that it's also when Christ was
born, and if the date is wrong, that doesn't bother me either.
It makes no difference to me, okay, because it's great that once a year, you know what's
quite handy as well, is that once a year when we celebrate, we all generally get some time
off work, because it'd be a lot more awkward if I was like, right guys, Christmas is changing
now, I've been looking at the alignment of the planets and everything else, and when
the star would have been, and it must have been a bit warmer for the shepherds to have
been out at night, do me a favour, shepherds are out in all weathers.
But whatever, I've decided we're now going to celebrate in this date in, right, it's
going to be September, and I was like, oh man, my boss won't give me the time off work,
you know, I can't spend a day eating turkey, I don't know what I'm going to do, okay.
It's quite handy that it's right now, and that suits me.
I like the fact that it's the 25th of December, because that's when most of the world is acknowledging
the birth of Jesus Christ, right, this is great, because the rest of the world is acknowledging
it, and it's great, right, it's like, yeah, they've all got to think about at least something
through Jesus Christ at that time of year.
You know, I also noticed that the rest of the world don't seem to be acknowledging
Saturnalia, whoever he or she or whatever it is, I don't know, I didn't do enough research
into that, okay, but they don't seem to be acknowledging that.
And do you know what, Saturnalia took a Google search, yeah, I had to Google search Saturnalia
to see what on earth apparently is this pagan festival that apparently I'm doing, that I
wasn't aware of, yeah, but you know what does it take a Google search?
The birth of Christ.
The whole world has to acknowledge the birth of Christ in some way or another at this time
of year, or at least acknowledge that other people are acknowledging it, in some way they're
acknowledging it, right.
Now, turn over to Jeremiah 10.
I'm not inadvertently worshipping some pagan god because of the particular day that I celebrate
Jesus' birth.
And look, everyone's got their own version, some will say, well actually, the real Christians
were celebrating around this time for whatever reason, others will go, it's all pagan and
they merged it, others will go, the Catholic Church did this, who knows?
But do you know what I do know, is that the Bible doesn't tell me not to celebrate then,
and the Bible doesn't tell me that I'm suddenly now connecting myself to paganism because
I'm choosing to worship Christ on December the 25th.
So for me, I've got no reason to fix it, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, there's no reason,
the boy of God's not telling me to not do that, okay.
But let's keep going.
You're turning over to Jeremiah 10, because some will say, oh but it's the way that you
celebrate it, it's that wicked Christmas tree.
This is the one that people really hate, okay, it's that wicked Christmas tree.
They'll say it's giving power to the devil, okay, you're giving power to the devil with
that Christmas tree.
Well let's look at the popular Jeremiah 10 passage to see what is actually being talked
about in Jeremiah chapter 10, okay, because this is a go-to for many of the, you know,
Christmases pagan, you're a wicked pagan for celebrating Christmas types.
Jeremiah 10 and verse 1 says this, hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you,
Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs
of heaven, for the heathen are dismayed at them.
So what is the way of the heathen that we're being warned about?
We're going to focus on the way of the heathen rather than the signs of heaven that they're
dismayed at.
So they're worried about things happening, you know, out in the sky and, you know, the
signs of the weather, things like that that are going on, but we're going to look at the
way of the heathen.
He said, for the customs of the people are vain, for one cutteth a tree out of the forest.
Right, are we being told not to cut down trees?
Are we being told not to be, are we being told that we should actually be tree-huggers?
You know, there are like people out there like, have you ever seen these in the olden,
you like, handcuff themselves around trees and stuff to stop forests being cut down,
like completely, they're pagans usually, but they're like those hippie types, aren't they,
you probably see down at Stonehenge, okay.
But okay, are we being told don't cut down trees?
Now that would be a bit difficult and that wouldn't make sense considering that the original
tabernacle subsequent temples after that, so even God's holy places, were made using
different types of timber, okay.
So that would be a bit bizarre.
It was assumed that we'd be able to mark the blood on the doorposts of our houses, yeah,
in terms of talking about God's people back, you know, a few thousand odd years ago now.
So that wouldn't make sense either, would it?
So it's not talking about not cutting down trees.
Is it about, well, let's see what it is.
It says, learn not the way the heat has been not displayed in the signs of the heaven,
the heat of the dismay of the land.
For the custom people are vain.
For one cutteth the tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workmen with
the axe.
Right, so is it about having a whole tree in the house maybe?
Well, you don't have to turn up it, in Psalm 52.8, David says, but I am like a green olive
tree in the house of God.
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
So this is obviously an example, it's like a symbolism, but it's an example of a good thing.
Being a green olive tree in the house of God.
I don't think it's wicked to have a tree as some sort of decoration.
So it's not, you know, if we have, because then where do you stop?
Is a plant wicked to have a plant in your house?
So can we have like a small tree?
What about like an indoor little kind of shrubby thing?
Does that become wicked?
No, none of it's wicked.
Okay, that's ridiculous.
Okay, so what's it talking about?
He said, for the custom people are vain.
For one cutteth the tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workmen with
the axe.
It's the work of the hands.
Okay, this is a phrase along with a few variants that is used throughout the Old Testament,
the work of men's hands, the work of the hands of men.
To describe the graven images, the false gods, they're the work of men's hands, which is
basically a god of their own making, for starters, and also for me pictures a work salvation
god as well.
The god is a work of men's hands, it's a god of their own making, it's a graven image.
They worship the work of men's hands, ultimately they're worshipping their own work as well.
This is what we see time and time, and I've gone through this before in previous sermons,
and that's exactly what this is.
It's a graven image being made with the axe.
It's not that they cut down a tree and the axe is used to make the graven image, followed
by the silver and gold.
It says in verse 4, they deck it with silver and with gold, they fasten it with nails and
with hammers that it move not.
Right, this isn't gold or silver coloured tinsel, in case anyone's wondering.
It's silver and gold.
There's a bit of a difference between coloured tinsel and baubles, this isn't talking about
baubles, this isn't talking about tinsel, this is silver and gold, covering this graven
image at this point.
And it's being nailed to something to stand up, and look at verse 5, it continues, they
are upright as the palm tree, this is this graven image, but speak not.
So it's a false god, it's upright, likely made to look like a man or a creature, but
it doesn't speak.
It's not real.
It's not a real god.
They must needs be born, okay, born, needs to be born.
That's carried or supported, that's not talking about being given birth to, okay, born with
a knee there.
It's carried or supported because it can't move.
It's not a real god, it's a graven image.
That's what we're talking about here.
Because they cannot go.
He said, be not afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do
good.
He said, don't fear this false god.
Anyone here at risk of fearing their Christmas tree, by the way?
If you are, you've got too big a Christmas tree, you've got carried away, alright, or
you didn't set it up straight, because if it's a bit tilted you might fear it, okay,
because that could be a bit scary, okay, you've got to get it straight.
But okay, he's talking about a false god, he's saying don't fear, you don't want to
fear this false god, this graven image.
It can't do good or bad because it's just a graven image, it's a false god, the idol's
nothing.
You don't want to fear it, it's an idol.
He then glorifies God in the next two verses, okay, then in verse 8 to 9 continues to speak
of the heathen and their graven images, says, but they are altogether brutish and foolish.
The stock is a doctrine of vanities.
The stock is the stem or main body of a tree, okay.
This is people making graven images of and worshipping trees, that's what we're seeing
here.
Silver spread into plates is bought from Tarshish and gold from Ufaz.
The work of the workman and of the hands of the founder, blue and purple is the clothing
there, all the work of the kind of men.
So the workman is graving the image, okay, that's what he is, he's the one doing the
graven image, the graving of the image.
The founder is a metal worker, okay, he's doing metal work.
They're wealthy men, they're making money out of their false gods, it's saying blue
and purple is the clothing, they're all the work of the kind of men.
Basically these people, like, they ain't stupid, they're making a fortune out of this latest
graven image thing that these people, the heathen, are into, okay, which is basically
they've cut down a tree and then they've carved it into this image, which even for me looks
like some sort of person saying, look, don't fear it, they can't actually move, they can't
do all this stuff, they fix it upright so it stays upright.
He then said, it's the work of the workman in the hands of the founder, these are rich
wealthy people who made wealth from this whole graven image thing, because with all false
religion, with all this stuff, people just make you a killing out of it, right?
At the top of all these religions, there's just these money men just making money, with
all the graven images of Catholicism, there's all these jokers just making a fortune selling
people like, you know, so-called fragments of the cross and, you know, the toenail of
some dead saint or something else is going to give you luck, it's all just people trying
to fleece people, okay?
Who did you get to decorate your Christmas tree, anyone here, by the way?
I'm sure it wasn't a founder who was somehow, like, melting down the gold and the silver,
and if you did get real gold and silver in your Christmas tree you do have issues, but
it still doesn't make it a graven image.
The closest thing that this has to a Christmas tree is that there's some timber involved.
Did you know that anything wooden comes from a tree being cut down first?
That's the closest thing you'll get between this and your Christmas tree.
This is, look, and again I say this because people get their heads turned by this stuff,
because it sounds, it's like, look, man, look, in Jeremiah he's talking about the Christmas
tree in Northern Europe, because the trees we use they don't even have over there.
It's like, that's, look, wow, look at the prophecy, he's talking about graven images.
They're worshipping them.
Anyone here worshipping their Christmas tree?
No?
Okay, I'm not seeing any hands going up.
What about giving presents?
It's pagan.
I wonder if those guys that say that giving presents is pagan championed that on their birthdays.
I bet they don't.
You know what it is?
Seriously, you know what it is?
They're sick of getting socks at Christmas.
And they're sick of spending all this money on everyone and then getting socks in return.
They're like, it's all pagan, all this present giving at Christmas.
Just remember me at my birthday.
Go back to Matthew 2, because there were some wise blokes that thought that a few gifts
at Christmas was a good idea.
Matthew 2 and verse 11, it says,
And when they were coming to the house, they saw the young child with Mary's mother, and
fell down and worshipped him.
And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense
and myrrh.
And by the way, the gold itself isn't sinful, it's when people worship it.
So there's nothing wrong, they're like, oh man, they gave him this sinful gold.
No, it's because people worship it because people make graven images of it, making it
into gods and everything else.
Some say, yeah, but it's pagan to put presents under the tree.
That's the pagan part, because you've got these pagan presents and you've put them under
this pagan tree that was actually prophesied about in Jeremiah chapter 10.
You're worshipping the tree, they say.
I find it a pretty useful place to put them.
I don't know about you, okay, but that's a wasted space, isn't it?
Especially when you get one of those wide trees at the bottom.
It's like, where am I going to put all these presents?
Taking out half my living room with a stupid tree, where do I put the presents?
Put them underneath.
Sensible, isn't it?
Get them under there, you can use all that empty space underneath those wide branches
at the bottom, and you can stash the obvious, the ones that you haven't been able to cover
what they are with a wrapper, you can stash them around the back, like the kids don't
see what's in them, because it's like they're too focused on the front stuff, which you've
wrapped well enough for them to not know what's there.
So the tree, it's got some dynamic, the tree, you can really use it for different things,
you hide things off and everything else.
Now here's the thing, I've had Christmas trees throughout my childhood.
I don't think I've gone a year of my life without a Christmas tree somewhere.
Now I think possibly when I lived maybe in a flat for a year, maybe I didn't have a Christmas
tree then, but my parents did and I went to the house for Christmas.
But I've always had somewhere, usually where I've lived, a Christmas tree, okay, with my
family, so I've had that throughout my childhood and adulthood, both unsaved and saved as well.
I know, you can't believe it, right?
Wicked, right?
I've had, since I've been saved, we've had a Christmas tree in our house every single
year, yeah?
Every single year we've had a Christmas tree.
Do you know what I've never done?
I've never worshipped my Christmas tree.
Seriously.
Unsaved.
Unsaved without the Holy Spirit.
I still didn't worship my Christmas tree.
Didn't matter.
I've never worshipped a Christmas tree.
Anyone here ever worshiped a Christmas tree?
I was once close to worshipping a sharp saw after trying to cut the bottom of it with
a blunt saw.
I was close, but I didn't, I resisted the temptation, because it's nice to have a sharp
saw when you try and...
Before I was like, ah, it's so stuck in it, yeah?
All I had was a rusty old saw and, I don't know, you know what I'm talking about.
Sometimes you take the bottom off, they last a bit longer, yeah, and then they...
Anyway.
Don't worry, I'm getting too technical.
Christmas tree technique.
We'll talk about it afterwards, all right?
I've never worshipped the Christmas tree, okay?
I've never done that, because that would be moronic, okay?
I've never worshipped it, even though it does make my house look much prettier and much
more Christmassy at Christmas.
In December.
In December, my house looks great.
Looks Christmassy, it's got this lovely tree and little lights and things on it, and they
don't overdo it.
My parents used to overdo it a bit, and some of the colours were a bit off, like, my wife's
probably a little bit more artistic.
Looks nice, looks beautiful.
It makes our house look nice in December, when it's a pretty bleak, dull month, isn't
it, usually, yeah?
Other than, obviously, when we get to this point.
Okay, it's been nice.
But regardless, okay, none of that stuff, none of that stuff is sinful.
Unless you are, in fact, worshipping a pagan god.
If you're worshipping a pagan god, a god which is the work of men's hands, if you're worshipping
your Christmas tree, if you're turning it into some sort of god, yeah, you're in sin,
you're in wicked sin, okay?
That's idolatry.
But no one's doing that.
And that's the same whether or not you renounce Christmas at Easter.
So even if you don't renounce Christmas, you're still in idolatry if you're idolising something
in your life.
So it makes no difference, but just because some pagans do some weird stuff, that doesn't
make you a pagan if you're not idolising a false god, yeah?
Pretty clear, right?
Is it sinful to celebrate Christmas?
Well, we've looked at ways that Christmas can become sinful, and we've looked at ways
that don't automatically make it sinful.
Okay, hopefully I've debunked some of that stuff, right?
So considering that it's not commanded, and the apparent risk it seems around it, especially
if you listen to the online people about this stuff, point number three is, why do we celebrate
Christmas, then?
So why do we celebrate Christmas?
So this is going to be in no particular order.
Let me give you some thoughts about Christmas.
We saw the wise men coming to celebrate the recent birth of Christ, look back at Matthew
2 and verse 10.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy, and when they were coming
to the house, they saw the young child with Mary as mother and fell down and worshipped
him, and when they'd opened their treasures, they presented hunting gifts, gold and frankincense
and myrrh.
So they were wise and chose to celebrate the young child because that birth was a monumental
moment, okay?
It was a monumental moment in time.
It was God being born in a stable of some sorts, yeah?
Couple of thousand years ago, this is a massive point in history, okay?
Going to Isaiah 9, in Luke 2, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna, all celebrated that monumental
moment too, because the birth was an amazing event, okay?
So they all celebrated too, and in Isaiah 9 and verse 6, Isaiah talks of the fact that
God was coming as a baby, okay?
And he made this, it wasn't just, oh yeah, well, forget the birth, it wasn't like, well,
the birth just had to happen for him to be able to do what he did.
No, there was a big, there was something massive about the birth as well, okay?
This was, like I said, this is a massive time, this is a key point in history, was the birth
of Christ.
In Isaiah 9, 6, he said this, for unto us a child is born, he made a point of the birth,
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall
be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of
Peace.
It's a cause of wonder, a cause for wonder, and a cause for celebration, especially considering
what was to come from that birth, okay?
Turn to Romans chapter 14.
Now Christmas, look, for myself, it's a very Christ-focused time for me, okay?
We take at least a couple of sermons out, maybe more, to dedicate to Jesus Christ and
his birth in one way or another, okay, every year for Christmas.
Sometimes we'll have something in the build-up as well.
I kind of chose the Anna sermon just because it was kind of, you know, we obviously were
looking at Luke 2, but also something that I'd wanted to do for a while.
We sing hymns all about that miracle and spend at least a day celebrating at home, okay?
Myself, I'm talking about here as my family, Romans chapter 14, it says this, Romans 14,
it says this in verse 5, one man esteemeth one day above another, another esteemeth every
day alike.
Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
He that regardeth the day regardeth it unto the Lord, and he that regardeth not the day
to the Lord, he does not regard it.
He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks, and he that eateth not
to the Lord, he eateth not and giveth God thanks.
So for me, it's a time to regard it unto the Lord, to eat to the Lord, to give him thanks,
to focus on the birth of Christ, to give him thanks for that, what that meant, everything
that was to come from that, and that goes for my children too.
So they love Christmas, and you know what, what I've noticed, and I'm sure many others
with their kids will have noticed, it's a good practice to get into, is that it's not
just the receiving, they love giving presents as well.
So many of you go, of course they love Christmas because they're getting given a lot of presents,
pagan present giving.
Well, they enjoy giving presents as well, so you get them into an enjoyment, a kind
of an appreciation of giving to people as well, yeah?
I've always found that with Christmas as well.
They love the food.
They love the carols.
They love the family time.
They love celebrating Jesus' birth together with their family.
Is any of that bad?
They don't need Satan Claus to enjoy it.
My kids don't have anything to do with Satan Claus.
They don't need the magic and all that stuff, but it's the magic of Christmas.
Your kids are missing out on the magic.
No, they love Christmas and they don't need any of that rubbish.
They don't need any wizard and wizardry.
They don't need the stupid songs.
They don't need the silly outfits, dressed up as like reindeer and elves and things like
that.
They don't need Satan's grotto.
I don't need to drop them into Satan's grotto once a year and have them like in clothes
called some weirdo that I don't even know, you know, pretending to be a flying wizard.
Yeah, they don't need any of that to enjoy Christmas.
They love Christmas and hopefully they regard it to the Lord and give him thanks.
And something that we try and encourage at home and try and talk about is what it's about.
And it's about the Lord Jesus Christ, it's about the birth of Christ.
And you know what they're then doing is our kids are appreciating that this is a great
time of year.
What a great time.
What a great time of fellowship.
A great time where we've got, you know, Mum and Dad at home just enjoying Christmas.
We're giving presents.
It's exciting.
We're eating great food, etc.
Thank you God.
Praise God.
Yeah.
Thank you because we're thinking about you, we're celebrating you.
I'm trying to look through again.
It's also, by the way, another point why we celebrate Christmas, it's also a great time
for evangelising more awkward family and friends, like I talked about this morning.
It's a great time to at least get some mention, try and get at least a few verses out to think,
at least I'm trying to sow some seeds maybe with ones that maybe don't want to hear the
Gospel, but maybe at least I'll talk and acknowledge and discuss God a little bit at this time
of year.
Okay, so it is a great time for that as well.
I said earlier, I found that soul winning in a build-up seemed a bit friendlier too.
So look, we might not have got a load of salvation in December.
It's cold, it's dark, we don't always get as illnesses around, we haven't had as many
people in church, but you know what, you still seem to leave a good taste of people, you
still seem to be able to leave a few seeds, you still seem to be able to get the Gospel
out to people.
We have still managed to get quite a few salvations already.
So again, and it's sometimes off the back of that as well.
What did that great example Anne of the prophetess do, having celebrated the birth of Christ,
we looked at it last week, Luke 2.38 says, is she coming in that instant, gave thanks
likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that look for redemption in Jerusalem.
She preached the Gospel, she celebrated the birth of Christ, she gave thanks likewise
unto the Lord, and then she spake of him to all them that look for redemption in Jerusalem.
That was her response to the first Christmas.
And lastly, if you go back to Matthew 2, if Christmas is so pagan, why does our society
seem to be so hell-bent on destroying the Christ in Christmas?
Why does our society want to change to Xmas all over the place?
If all these Christians of different flavours are just giving power to the devil, why are
so many Christmas cards saying,
Season's Greetings, Happy Holidays, Festive Fun?
Did I miss any?
No?
Any more?
Give you a chance?
No?
Okay, that's good.
Okay, so, but there are, aren't they?
What are they doing?
They're not going, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, they're trying to take, just completely, just take
Christ out of it.
Why is Satan, Claus, and his devils trying so hard to hijack it?
If we're all just part of a pagan festival, they might as well just go crack on.
But instead, it's like, it's almost like the world just every year is just trying to take
Christ out of it, trying to change it, trying to remove it, trying to change it, but they're
just not really succeeding.
But that's what it feels like to me.
That's what I kind of see out there.
I see people trying to, yeah, trying to do the whole Satan stuff and take Christ out,
but that doesn't strike me that we're all involved in some pagan witchcraft worship
festival.
Otherwise, why are they trying to completely change it?
Sounds like you can do it the right way, right?
Why are the 1.8 billion pagan Muslims and others still trying to avoid it?
If it's such a pagan festival, why aren't the Muslims involved?
They have to acknowledge it, but they're not worshipping, are they?
Why are the 1.2 billion pagan Hindus, or the majority of them apart from the very liberal
ones, why are they avoiding it?
Is there a bunch of pagans?
Why aren't they involved in it?
Why are a load of unsaved Yeshua Yeshua clowns and other conspiracy theorists online so upset
about it?
That's all I see.
I see a load of Yeshua-Wishua-Washuas, and all those I'm just going to try and sound
as Hebrew as I possibly can.
I don't have a clue what any Hebrew even says.
That's what I see attacking it.
All those Sabbath Judaizers.
I don't see any saved men of God attacking it.
Whenever these guys are going on and on and on about it, when you look into them, it's
like they're not even saved.
What does he...
Of course they're attacking it.
Matthew 2, it said this in verse 1.
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there
came wise men from the east of Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born king of the
Jews?
For we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him.
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him,
because the birth of Christ troubles him.
So they tried to corrupt it, they tried to destroy it, they tried to hijack it.
Verse 7 says, Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently
what time the star appeared.
He acted as if he was one of them.
Like he's online, lose your salvation, Yahshua, Yahshua, a lot, okay, he was, Oh yeah, I'm
one of you guys.
Yeah, yeah.
He said in verse...
He says in verse 8, And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the
young child.
And when you found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also.
But he was lying, okay, he was a liar.
It's not that they want to worship him the right way, they just want him gone.
Verse 13, And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph
in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt,
and be thou there until I bring thee word, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy
him.
That's really what these people want to do, and again, like I said, I'm not, I'm talking
about the people that really go on the attack, okay.
Just one last caveat with this, it's your choice, so if you decide, no, actually, I've
heard that whole, I've heard all of that, and I understand with that, however, I just
choose not to celebrate, because that's entirely up to you, yeah.
You do what you want to do with that, and that's your choice.
However, all these people are accusing, basically, most people in this church and others of being
pagans and stuff, that bugs me.
Okay, that really winds you up, because you're just like, what are you talking about?
I mean, Jeremiah 10 is just a classic case of literally completely removing a verse out
of its context, and suddenly it applies to Christmas trees.
I mean, that's, that is, I mean, but that's what people do, don't they, okay.
Okay, Herod wanted to destroy him, but he didn't succeed, and however they may want
to try and change Christmas, they might want to try and destroy Christmas in one way or
another, they're not going to stop me celebrating Christ's birth, okay.
I'm happy to celebrate Christ's birth, I enjoy celebrating Christ's birth, I like Christmas
time.
Is it sinful to celebrate Christmas?
Not if you do it the right way, okay.
If you do it the right way, it's not sinful.
Make sure you do it the right way, and on that we're going to finish in a word of prayer.
Thank you, well, for the gift, the gift of Christmas, Lord, that first Christmas, and
Lord, thank you that we can, you know, have a clear conscience, enjoying and enjoying
the celebrations that we have, as long as we do it in the right way, Lord, as long as
we're not pulled into all the worldly stuff, and help us to just keep it, you know, keep
it as a time where we just keep you in a centre that we just honour and glory, glory
you Lord, and, you know, and just have our kind of, the centre of our Christmas is to
be the Lord Jesus Christ, his birth, and what that meant for us, what that meant for the
whole world, Lord.
Help us to use this time to be able to maybe get that conversation started with people
where we find it hard, where maybe we find it hard to get an entry, and to just be able
to just get some truths, you know, and obviously in a way that's sensitive, in a way where
people, you know, we give them the chance to reject, to accept us talking about the
Word of God, but help us to just use it as a time for that, help us to use it as a time
of great fellowship, a time with our family, and a time of enjoyment, a time of just celebrating
you, help us to all get home safe and sound tonight, have a great day tomorrow, and to
return on Wednesday for another, well, evening at least in your house, and Jesus' name,
amen.