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All right, everybody, welcome to anchor Baptist Church. Still getting used to it. Welcome to anchor Baptist Church. Let's do it right. If you would, take your hymnals and turn to hymn number 420. There's a song in the air, hymn number 420. We'll go ahead and start there right on the first. There's a song in the air, there's a star in the sky. There's a mother's deep prayer and a baby's low cry. And the star reigns its fire while the beautiful sing. For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a king. There's a tumult of joy o'er the wonderful birth. For the virgin sweet boy is the lord of the earth. A the star reigns its fire while the beautiful sing. For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a king. In the light of that star by the ages it pearls. And that song from afar has swept over the world. Every hearth is a flame and a beautiful sing. In the homes of the nations that Jesus is King. We rejoice in the light and we echo the song. That comes down through the night from the heavenly throng. We shout to the lovely, vengeful they bring. And we greet in his praise, O our Savior and King. Good singing will open in a word of prayer. Dear Father, thank you for this church and this opportunity that we have to sing praises unto you and to rejoice over your son's birth. I pray that you fill us with your spirit for the rest of the service and help us to be edified by the singing as well as the preaching Lord. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. For our next hymn, if you would, turn in your hymnals to hymn number 421. Just flip the page. The first Noel, hymn number 421. Hymn 421. We'll go ahead and start there right on the first. The first Noel, the angel did say, was this certain poor shepherd in fields where they lay, in fields where they lay keeping their sheep on a cold winter's night that was so deep. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, born is the King of Israel, and by the light of that same star three wise men came from country far to see, for a king was their intent, and to follow the star wherever it went. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, born is the King of Israel. This star drew nigh to the northwest, or Bethlehem, it took its rest, and there it did. Oh, stop and stay right over the place where Jesus lay. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, born is the King of Israel, then enter in those wise men free, hold reverently upon their knee, and offer there in his presence their gold, and fur, and frankincense. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, born is the King of Israel. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to Anchor Baptist Church. We'll go through some announcements. If you don't have a bulletin, go ahead and raise your hand. On the front there is a Bible memory passage of the week, Hebrews 6, 18. Just a couple more weeks left to learn this chapter. And once we're done with the last verse, there is going to be a grace week. So you still have several weeks. It's still very doable if you have not started yet or you haven't completed yet. On the inside is our service times listed, as well as our soul winning times. All those meet here at the church building. Great job soul winning today. I believe we had a total of eight salvations. That's something to rejoice about, especially during the cold weather, so great job on that. Nursing home ministry schedule is there. If you take part of that ministry, please make note of those times and dates, our year to date statistics for the year, as well as our church email. You could report those salvations there or in our signal group. Either one is fine. And on the right side there, you see we are expecting ladies. Please be in prayer for Miss Whitney Reed. We did today have the first practice of the children's choir. That was a lot of fun watching them sing. And I think in a couple of weeks, they're going to get even louder and sound even better. So keep up the good work. Parents at home, sing with them. Help them to learn those lyrics. And we're looking forward to them performing for us. They're going to be performing for us the Sunday before Christmas, just because a lot of people are out of town on Christmas Day. So we want to make sure that the kids are here and that as many people as here can be here as possible to hear them sing. So that is going to be Sunday morning. The kids will do that. Tomorrow, adults is your chance to sing and kids' chances to sing at our Christmas caroling event. We're going to meet here at 6.30. If for some reason you're going to be late, you don't think you can make it to the church building, I'll also put the address of where we're going to actually go out and meet. That way, if you're running late at work, you still want to join us. You're more than welcome to. The more the merrier for stuff like this. Please do join us tomorrow. December 20th is the ladies' Christmas party. Dads, make sure you schedule that night to watch the kiddos. That's going to be a great time for the ladies to have fellowship. Us men, we got the men's retreat in August where we go out in the heat and punish ourselves and make ourselves hate our lives. But the ladies, they get to have a nice meal and enjoy each other's presents. So let's make sure we watch the kids so that they can enjoy that time as much as we enjoy ours. December 21st is our Christmas soul-winning push. That's Saturday morning at 10 a.m. 10 a.m. is when the rally starts. Nine o'clock is when the food is going to start. So please join us for that Saturday. December 31st is going to be our New Year's Eve party and service, no Wednesday service that week. Tuesday will be immense preaching night and then a time of fellowship, food, games after. You're more than welcome to stay and bring in the new year at church. Highly recommend it. Giving is listed there if you'd like to give. There's that QR code. Some details for the ladies' party. And on the back is our prayer list. Please do email me if you have any requests you'd like prayed for. That's going to be it for announcements this evening. Let's go ahead and go to our third song. All right, for our third song, if you would take your hymnals and turn to hymn number 422. Thou didst leave thy throne. Hymn number 422. We'll go ahead and start there right on the first. Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown when thou camest to earth for me. But in Bethlehem's home was there found no room for thy holy nativity. O come to my heart, for Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee. Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang, proclaiming thy royal decree. But of holy birth didst thou come to earth and in great humility. O come to my heart, for Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee. The foxes found rest and the birds their nest in the shade of the forest tree. But thy couch was the subtle well sun of God in the deserts of Galilee. O come to my heart, for Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee. Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word that should set thy people free. But with mocking, spoiler, and with crown of thorn they pour thee to Calvary. O come to my heart, for Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee. When the heavens shall ring and the angels sing at thy coming to victory. Let thy voice call me home, saying, yet there is room, there is room at my side for thee. My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus, when thou comest and callest for me. Good singing this evening. As the offering plates are being passed around, turn, if you would, to Romans chapter number 14. Romans chapter number 14. The Lord be with you, O Lord, for I am the God of the world. And the Lord be with you, O Lord, for I am the God of the world. And the Lord be with you, O Lord, Good evening. Romans 14. The Bible reads, Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things, another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not, and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth, for God hath received him. Who art thou that judges another man's servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth, yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able to make him stand. 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 doth not regard. 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. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieteth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and received, and revived, that he might be the Lord both of the dead and living. But why didst thou judge thy brother, or why didst thou set at not thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, for it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block on occasion to fall in his brother's way. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself, but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably, destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died? Let not then your good be evil spoken of. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. For meat destroy not the work of God, all things indeed are pure, but it is evil for that man who eateth with offense. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God, happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith, for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Let's bow our heads for prayer. Father in heaven, we thank you for this day and all the souls saved out today. And we just ask that you be with those people that were saved and help them to get into a church. Amen. All right, well, we are in the time of year known as the holiday season, and I want to preach a applicable sermon this evening about this time of year. The title of my sermon is called Holiday Season Sins, Holiday Season Sins, and of course, sin is a problem in our lives all time of the year. But around the holidays, there could be certain sins that rear their ugly head a little more this time of year than at other times of year. And so I want to talk about four things that you should avoid around the holidays, four attitudes or sinful practices that people sometimes have around this time of year. And number one is this, don't be judgmental towards other Christians that celebrate Christmas, okay? There's a group of Christians out there that somehow think that Christmas is sinful. And it's not like, hey, that's just their private persuasion, that's just their belief. But oftentimes, they try to go out of their way to tell you that you're wrong for celebrating Christmas, or they would condemn our church for having lights on the wall, or for having a wreath or for having a Christmas tree. You know, these people are out there, and this is a bad attitude to have. Let me show you why. Romans chapter 14, verse 4, the Bible says, Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth, yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able to make him stand. Verse 5, one man esteemeth one day above another, another esteemeth every day alike, let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. So look, the Bible is saying here, some people esteem, they recognize, they lift up a certain day above other days in the year. And guess what? There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with celebrating a birthday, there's nothing wrong with celebrating a holiday, so long as the holiday itself is not inherently sinful. There's other people that they choose to esteem every day alike. They're not going to celebrate holidays, they're just going to view every day as the same. The Bible says, let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. So there's nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas on one hand, there's also nothing wrong with choosing not to celebrate Christmas, but usually it's not the people who celebrate Christmas condemning people that don't, it's usually vice versa, right? It's someone that wants to say, well, Christmas is pagan, Christmas is wicked, Christmas is serving false gods or something like that. That's the type of people that I'm really talking about. Look at verse six, it says, he that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord, and he that regardeth not the day to the Lord, he doth 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. Look, as long as whatever you're doing, as long as you're regarding it unto the Lord, you're safe. I mean, if you decide not to celebrate Christmas, but just like any other day, you wake up and you thank God for life and you read the Bible and you praise the Lord, hey, that's great. There's nothing wrong with that. But if you choose to set apart December 25th and say, this is a day that we're just going to think about the Lord Jesus Christ, we're going to be thankful that God gave us the gift of his son, the perfect lamb of God to come down in human form, to live a perfect life for us, to die on the cross, to raise again from the dead, and you know what? We're celebrating the Lord Jesus Christ today. What on earth could be wrong with that? You know, it doesn't make any sense, yet there's Christians that don't like Christmas. It's very strange, right? I mean, it's a Christian holiday, but people will judge you for this and it's a wrong attitude to have. Now, I haven't really met too many people like this before, but when it comes to, okay, where are they coming from saying that Christmas is bad, Christmas is pagan, you know, where are they getting this from? Well, sometimes they'll get it from this place in Jeremiah. Go to Jeremiah chapter 10, and I've seen this stretch made from Jeremiah 10 saying, here's where God condemns Christmas trees. Now, let me just stop right here. You don't have to have a Christmas tree if you don't want one. You don't have to have a Christmas tree in your house, you know, Christmas. The Christmas tree is not like a symbol of Jesus or anything like that. I think it's just cool. I just think it smells good, it looks good, you know, it's a cool tradition. There's nothing sinful about it, but here's where people will try to say it is sinful from this passage. Let's learn what it's actually saying. Verse two. 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 the heathen are usually what superstitious, right? They look at an idol or they look at a sign in heaven and think that it's some sort of omen from God, right? And the Bible is saying, when you see these things, don't be dismayed at them because that's what the heathen are like. Verse number three, four, the customs of the people are vain. For one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workmen with an axe. And this is where people say, see, this is a Christmas tree right here. Look at verse four. They deck it with silver and gold, silver and gold. We're talking about Christmas, right? They fasten it with nails and with hammers that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not. They must needs be born because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them for they cannot do evil. Neither also is it in them to do good. So the Bible is talking about people here that they take a tree out of the forest, the work of the workman's hand, and they place it, they nail it, and you know, they're decking it with silver and gold. And you could kind of see how someone who just doesn't know anything about the Bible could just on a really quick surface level, say, man, that kind of sounds like a Christmas tree, but hold on, hold on. Keep reading. Let's read verse five again slowly. They are upright as the palm tree. We're talking about the tree right now, but speak not. Now did you need me to tell you that Christmas trees don't speak? No, you didn't really need me to tell you that, right? They must needs be born, meaning they have to be carried because they cannot go. You all knew that, right? I hope. Be not afraid of them for they cannot do evil. Neither also is it in them to do good. Now who in here has ever been afraid of a Christmas tree? Hopefully no one, right? Because this is not talking about a Christmas tree. You know what this is talking about? It's talking about an idol. That's what this is. Someone took wood from out of the forest. They cut it down and then the work of the workman worked on it to where it's made into some sort of image of the likeness of something under heaven, a carved image, likely a face of some sort. You see the idolatry of pagan culture, some sort of like demonic face or some sort of you know, beast. And that actually makes sense to be like, hey, this thing, you need to carry this thing. I know it looks like a living thing, but you actually have to carry it. I know it has a mouth, but it can't speak. And by the way, don't be afraid of it. Now that actually makes sense if it's an idol. You could see how someone might get superstitious over an idol. The Bible is saying not to do that. Don't be superstitious of it. Don't be afraid of it. It's just the work of man's hands. That's all it is. This is not a Christmas tree, okay? Christmas trees are not idols. Now what actually is an idol? Okay, go to Exodus chapter 20, Exodus chapter 20. See idolatry is not just whatever you make it up to be. People just want to call everything an idol. No, the Bible actually describes what an idol is. Verse number four of Exodus 20, the Bible says, thou shalt not, notice this word, make unto thee any, notice, graven image. Now do you make a Christmas tree or is a Christmas tree just something you cut off the bottom and you just put in your house? You didn't make that, right? Now an idol you make, you have to get some sort of carving device and you have to work on that until it's in the form of something. That's why it says a graven image because you have to engrave that thing to look like anything. Notice what it says, or the likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. Notice this, thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. See an idol is something that man's hands made. It's something that's wooden that man has engraved and it's something that people bow down at, that they worship at. The Catholics do this. They have a statue of Mary and they're bowing down and they're praying to Mary. That is idolatry. But I hope no one has ever kneeled down before their Christmas tree and pray, oh, Christmas tree, please bring, that would be weird, right? But look, a Christmas tree is not an idol. It's just a tree and it being inside of a building is no different than it being outside of a building, wherever it grows in nature. That is fine. There's nothing sinful about a Christmas tree. Go to Psalm 135, Psalm 135, Psalm 135, look at verse number 15, the Bible says, the idols of the heathen are silver and gold, notice again, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not, eyes have they, but they see not, they have ears, but they hear not, neither is there any breath in their mouths. See, that's what an idol is. Someone that's making something to look like something else that has a mouth, that has eyes, that has ears, right? But the Bible is saying these things are dumb. That's why the Bible calls them dumb idols. They can't speak. They can't see. They can't hear, you know, the proverbial Chinese restaurant that has the idol that they just keep giving food to over and over and over again, you know, that idol is never going to eat it. And you know, no idol is ever going to receive that. In India, they do that same thing, giving food to the idols and guess what? You have to carry them, right? Because they're not real. When I went to Mexico, when you're crossing the border back into the United States, all these Mexicans are walking up and down your car trying to sell you stuff. And what a ton of them are trying to sell you is all these Mexican idols. Why? Because Mexico is a Catholic country. And of course, a bunch of suckers go over there and fall for that stupid religion and buy their idols. But what I noticed about those idols is that they're not walking on their own. Why? Because they have to be born by men. They're graved by man. That's what an idol is. That's not what a Christmas tree is. Now, go to Luke 12, I'll read for you 1 Corinthians 8, 4. The Bible says, as concerning therefore, the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. So the New Testament sheds light saying, hey, we know that an idol is nothing. There's no special power that any idol has. The pagans, the heathens of this world, they're the ones that are kind of superstitious and dismayed about certain statues or idols. That's why in Jeremiah, God's saying, hey, don't learn the way of the heathen. Don't be dismayed at the signs of heaven, and don't be afraid of their idols. Don't pay any attention to them because we know that they're nothing. You know, there's all throughout history, there's these special idols that people say like, well, this statue is the god of this, and this statue is the god of that. But really, it's just wood at the end of the day. It's just wood. It's just metal. It's just a carved device. It means nothing. So number one, don't get judgmental over Christians celebrating Christmas. There's nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas. You know, there is something wrong with inherently sinful holidays, like worshipping the devil on Halloween. You know, that's obvious. But Christmas is not one of those. Number two, around this time of year, don't get covetous. Don't get covetous. This time of year, the companies of this world are spending millions of dollars on ads trying to get you to want their product, trying to get you to buy their product. Now, let's look at what the Bible says, Luke 12, 15. Jesus said this, and He said unto them, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. You know, Jesus told us, Beware. Think about this. Let this be in your mind. Remember that your life is not measured in happiness or success based on how much things you have. And today, our American mentality has been so infected by the love of money, by covetousness, that many people, when they think Christmas, their first thought is, How much stuff am I going to get? How many material possessions can I get from Mom and Dad this year? From Grandma and Grandpa? And look, I'm going to talk in a little bit about how there's nothing wrong with buying things. There's nothing wrong with giving gifts. But we have to remember this warning from Jesus Christ to beware, to remember, to beware of covetousness and to remember that a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. The amount of things that you have should not determine whether or not you're going to have good Christmas this year. The attitude that you should have is that, Hey, if I got nothing from Mom and Dad this Christmas, which let's be honest, you probably will kids, or if I got no presents from my friends or from my grandparents or anything like that, that I will still be happy because Christmas is about Jesus Christ. That's what Christmas is about. And hey, this year, thank God, Christmas falls on a church day on Wednesday. Hey, come to church on Christmas. I mean, of all the years, of all the days to skip church, why would you skip church on Christmas? It's the day where we celebrate Jesus Christ. How much sense does that make? Oh, I'm not going to go to church today because it's Christmas. I'm sorry. Did you think this was like a Buddhist temple or something? This is where we worship Christ. Of course you should come to church on Christmas rather than just be worried about all the things that you can get. Now, I found this article that said this, this is statistics from 2022, said Americans spent $929.5 billion on holiday-related purchases in 2022. For comparison, that amounts to over 3.3 times the national yearly GDP of Finland. So Americans in Christmas just spent more money on Christmas in one year than the entire gross domestic product of Finland three times over, just on Christmas, okay? That's a lot of money right there. It says let's break down the categories of goods that customers spend money on for Christmas, which amounted to a total of $833 per person in 2022. That includes decorations, cards, candy, food, presents. So in America, the average person spent $833 per person in their family for Christmas. So for my family, if I was following the exact American model, okay, my family, this is what Christmas would have costed me in 2022 if I followed this model, $4,998. Now who just has an extra just cool, you know, don't raise your hand, please, who just has extra cool like five grand just laying around in the bank? If you do, God bless you. Praise the Lord. That's great. But I don't, okay? And I'm not gonna just open up a credit card and just go $5,000 into debt just so I can make sure I'm keeping up with the Joneses and doing everything that every other America does and make sure that my kids have the hoverboards and the drones and the helicopters and all. And look, there's nothing wrong with buying those things. I don't want you to misunderstand what I'm saying. There's nothing wrong with spending money on Christmas. There's nothing wrong in buying your kids a bunch of gifts, but there is something wrong with feeling this pressure like I have to. Like here you are, you don't want to, you don't have the money to, but because, well, Americans, we have to spend $833 per person, cha-ching, here comes the credit card debt. You know, the Jews are just excited for Christmas. They hate Christ, but they love Christmas because Americans are just racking up debt. You know, that is ridiculous. And we have to remember what Jesus said, beware of covetousness. The abundance of a man's, you know, your life is not based on what you possess is what Jesus was saying. Now here's the thing, if you can afford it and you want to, go for it. Have the biggest Christmas you want to. You say, hey, I've got the means, I want to do more than the $833 per family member. That's your prerogative and there's nothing wrong with that, right? There's kind of two extremes when it comes to money amongst Christians. Some people just think like having any money is bad. Being rich is inherently evil. Spending money is inherently wrong. That's not true. What's wrong is having a love of money in your heart. That's what's wrong. What's wrong is coveting something that doesn't belong to you. That's not rightfully yours. That's not something that you could obtain. That's what's wrong. We have to be aware of covetousness. Then verse number 16, if you're still there, it says this, and he spake a parable unto them saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully and he thought within himself saying, what shall I do? Because I have no room where to bestow my fruits. This guy has so many Christmas presents, he doesn't even know where to put them. This is where, you know, storage units came into play in the United States because he's got no more room. Verse 18, and he said, this will I do, I will pull down my barns and build greater and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, now I hope you don't talk to yourself like that, it's really creepy. Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be married. That's the American dream, right? This is what people think that life is all about. This is when you could come to a place in your life where you've got so much stuff, you don't even have room to put it anywhere, and you could just eat, drink, and be married. This is the American dream for a lot of people today. But look, this is not a godly desire. This is not something, the Bible talks about not desiring to be rich, not laboring to be rich. There's nothing wrong with being rich, but when your desire is just to be able to eat, drink, and be married every day, that is not wise. Verse 20, but God said unto him, thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. See, this man had spent his entire life building wealth, gathering material goods, setting himself up financially so that he could just eat, drink, and be married. And at the time where he thinks, I'm doing so well, I've got to pull down these barns, and I've got to rebuild to bestow my fruits, God says, you're a fool, because tonight your soul is going to be required of you. And you know, it's a very foolish thing to look at the holiday seasons, and all you're doing is just thinking about how much money can I get, how much money can I spend, how many gifts can I receive, when you don't even know if you're going to live to the New Year. You don't even know when God's going to require your soul of you, and is all the money that you have, is all the possessions that you've accumulated throughout life. Is any of that going with you when you die? No it's not. So you know what, if you have money, praise the Lord, thank God for that. But when it comes to the Christmas season, think about Jesus Christ. Think about reading your Bible. Think about going to church on Christmas Day. Think about your brothers and sisters in Christ. Think about giving other people gifts, rather than just thinking about how much you can get. You know, think about spiritual things, being rich toward God. There's nothing wrong with being rich, but there is something wrong with not being rich toward God. Go to Acts chapter number 20. Acts chapter number 20. Acts chapter 20 verse 33, I have coveted no man's silver or gold or apparel. Yea yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities and to them that were with me. I have showed you all things, how that's so laboring you ought to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. You know, what if we actually just changed our way of thinking about Christmas, rather than like the average American just thinking about how much stuff they could buy for themselves or how many free gifts they can get from other people. But to think about what Jesus said, that it's actually more blessed to give than to receive. You know, a lot of people are not looking at Christmas that way. And you know, if you are someone that God has blessed really, you know, well financially, you should consider saying, hey, God's blessing with this stuff. I should try to bless my friends. I should try to bless my children and my family members and other people, rather than just thinking about how you could just consume it all on yourself. And you say, well, Pastor Oz, I don't have any money, but you know what? You still have spiritual gifts that you could give to other people around this time of year. How about going out and giving the gospel to people this Christmas? You know, they may not realize it, but if you're going out in the holidays preaching the gospel and you're getting someone saved, you're giving them the best gift ever. And they may not even realize it. And they say, well, hold on, you know, you didn't spend thousands of dollars on this gift. Yeah, but it's the most priceless gift that could possibly be obtained. Salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. You know, you don't have to be rich to go preach the gospel. It's free. And I'll give you a ride to go out there, too, if you can't afford the gas. I got you. Let's go soul winning. Let's give people the gift of eternal life this Christmas. Let's remember that it's more blessed to give than to receive. Matthew chapter two. Go to Matthew chapter two. You know, if you remember the great song that the kids sang this morning for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. You know, Christmas is about the fact that God gave the world a gift. And, you know, the whole reason why, you know, I believe that the tradition of gifts being exchanged during Christmas is to symbolize the fact that, hey, God gave us his son, Jesus Christ. God loved us so much that he gave us a gift. And we in our lives, we usually go to the people that we love and we give those people a gift. You know, that is a beautiful thing when it's done from the right heart, when it's done with the right mentality. But again, today it's like, well, you have to spend five thousand dollars on Christmas. Otherwise you're a bad parent or something like that. And also you have to get presents for your first cousins, your second cousins, your third cousins, the kids you went to elementary school with, all of your family members on ancestry.com or you're just a terrible person. And it's like, hey, man, I'm a single family. I'm a single income family with four kids and a stay at home wife. Happy Merry Christmas. There's my Christmas present for you, you know, I'll sing you him or something like that. I'm not going to be spending a bunch. What if I just spent like like 20 bucks, 10 bucks on just every family member I have and my kids and my friends and my church members? I mean, the Jews would be having a payday from the bank. They would be so excited. But look, that's just not feasible. That's just not realistic. You know, so just don't give into this weird pressure like you have to give a gift to every person you've ever known. Look, if I don't give you a gift this Christmas, that doesn't mean I don't like you. It just means that we've lived in Joe Biden's economy for the last four years. OK, don't take it personally if you don't get a gift from me. Acts chapter or Matthew Chapter two, look at verse 10, it says, when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. These are the wise men. Verse 11. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Notice when the wise men came to the Lord Jesus Christ, the babe in the manger, they didn't say, all right, Jesus, where's my gift card? All right, Jesus, where's my money? Where's my presence? You know what they said? We're coming to give gifts to you, the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because God already gave us the gift. It is that babe right there. Jesus Christ laying in the manger. That is the gift to the world. And these men, what did what did they do? They actually came to bring gifts to the Lord Jesus Christ. And again, I just want to reiterate, what if we just changed our mentality and instead of just thinking about Christmas as how much we can get from other people, think about how much we could give back to the Lord, how we could render good things to the Lord for all of the benefits that he's done for us. Go to Psalm 116, Psalm 116. Psalm 116, verse 12. This question is asked in verse number 12. What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? You know, that's a very deep question. When you think about all the benefits that God has rendered towards us, the fact that he has saved us from hell, the fact that we live in a great state, we have a great church, we have a spouse, we have children, we have friends, we have all these great things that God's given to us. You know, have you ever just sat down and just thought, like, what can I render to God for all of his benefits that he's given me? That is a deep question right there. But look at verse number 17. He kind of answers that question a little bit in verse 17. He says, I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call upon the name of the Lord. You know, what can we render to God for the gifts that God has given us? One thing we could do is by simply being thankful, you know, being thankful is something that's kind of going out of style in our country, unfortunately. And it doesn't seem like parents are really teaching their kids to be thankful. It seems like thank you notes are like the dinosaurs. Now you're writing a thank you note, being appreciative for someone when they do something for you. You know, the Bible saying here, what can we render to God for all the benefits that he's given to us? One thing is that we could just offer thanksgiving to him. Just saying rather than, God, give me more. God, give me more. No, hold on. God, thank you for all that you've already given me. God, thank you for my health. God, thank you for my house. Thank you for my family. Thank you for my church. I mean, so often we're just so focused on all the things that we don't have that we want to have. But do you ever sit around and think about what God already has given you? Do you ever sit down and actually thank God for what he's done for you? Do you look at Christmas and say, thank you, God, for the Lord Jesus Christ? Or are you just thinking like, man, I want that new car. Man, I want that new toy, man. I want that new smartphone. And look, I hope you get that stuff. But I hope that your heart is thankful to Jesus Christ for all of the things that you get in this life, spiritual, physical, you know, whatever it is that God gives you. I hope that you're thankful to him for that. And, you know, looking back on my childhood, you know, my my grandparents were very well to do financially. And I remember my grandpa always just went crazy on Christmas and spoiled the heck out of me and my brothers. But, you know, now that I'm an adult and now that my grandpa has passed away, I don't look back at those things and being like, man, it was so cool how much how many toys I got, how many great things my grandfather gave me. But I'm just thankful for my grandfather. That's what I look back on. I look back on just being thankful for my grandpa loving us and investing in us and caring about us. You know, you got to realize that the gifts that you get in Christmas don't really matter. You know, what matters is the people that get you those gifts. Hey, kids, let me just tell you something. When you're older, you're not going to care about these presents that you're getting under the tree this Christmas, but you will care about mom and dad. And someday when you're old and mom and dad are gone, when mom and dad are in the grave, you're going to look back and be thankful for those times with them. You know, we should just think about that now before those times come saying like, hey, thank you, God, that I get to spend some time with my family. You know, thank you, God. Those of you that you still have grandparents, thank God for that. Appreciate them. You know, thank God for your parents. Thank God for your children. Thank God for everything that he's done for us, because honestly, it's innumerable when you think about it. Verse number 18 says, I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people. Notice 19 in the courts of the Lord's house in the midst of the Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord. Hey, what shall you render to the Lord for all of his benefits? How about just being in the courts of God's house? You know, that's one way you could render back to God the benefits that he's giving you is simply by coming to church. That is something that God desires us to do, quite honestly, demands us to do. And when he sees God's children being thankful for all that they have and wanting to be in the house of God, that's something that he is pleased with, because you often see like throughout the Bible, the children of Israel, you look at their history, you know, God does something really great for them. God delivers them. God gives them the promised land. But then the next generation, what do they do? They are not thankful for God's deliverance. They take for granted all the blessings that God has given them. And then what do we see? God takes away those blessings from them. They're not thankful for the man of God that God has sent in their life through a preacher like Jeremiah, through a preacher like Isaiah. You know, God will send some sort of prophet to them and they'll just not listen to them. They'll stiffen their neck. They won't be thankful. And you see God start removing blessings. Here's the thing about being thankful is that being thankful actually allows you to keep the blessings that you have. But when you just, you know, put put at light, put at not the blessings that God has given you in your life, you're not thankful for them. Those blessings can be taken away. And, you know, I think this church is a blessing. I think this is a great church. But you know what? If this is just something that's light in our eyes and we don't really care about it, we're not really thankful to God for it. Do you really think that the next generation is going to care about this? No, in even America, our own country, God blesses us financially, God makes us the greatest nation on earth, and then now we're living in a generation of a bunch of spoiled brats that aren't thankful for our heritage, that aren't thankful for our founding. And what are we starting to see? We're starting to see America being lost from us, taken away from us, losing our freedoms, losing our culture. Go to Hebrews 13, Hebrews 13, while you're turning there, 2 Corinthians 9, 7 says, Every man, according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver. You know, also, when it comes to gifts, only give a gift if you want to. You know, God says that he loves a cheerful giver. Don't feel the pressure like you have to go spend money. You have to buy a gift for this person if you want to do it. But God loves a cheerful giver. Hebrews 13, 5, let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as he have, for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Stay there, James 1, 17, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. You know, we got to remember that that really good, that really perfect gift that God gave us is his son, Jesus Christ. So number two, don't get covetous this time of year. Number three, don't drink alcohol. Don't drink alcohol. This time of year, people just throw their sobriety out the window and start consuming alcohol. I'm going to read a couple articles for you. This article is called Drinking Increases During the Holidays. Here's how the extra booze affects your health, according to a doctor. Americans drink double their typical amount of alcohol during the holiday season, according to estimates, which could have serious impact on your health. On CBS Morning Plus Tuesday, CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. John Lapook wrote down what broke down what to know before throwing back the extra booze this time of year. The World Health Organization said there is no safe amount of alcohol. There is no safe amount of alcohol. You say, did you get that from a Fundamental Baptist website? No, that's the World Health Organization. Medical professionals, the World Health Organization is saying there is zero consumption level of alcohol that is safe or healthy or good for you. You know, the lie that you heard maybe a couple of decades ago, oh, having a glass of wine with dinner is good for your health. No, no. Right here, they're saying there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. That is good for you. But yet in the holiday season, what did this article say? That the consumption of alcohol doubles in the United States. You know, that is a crazy thing. And of course, that has effects on our society. It says this nationwide, alcohol impaired fatalities in 2021 represented 31 percent of the total traffic fatalities. So 31 percent of all the deaths that happen on the road are because of alcohol consumption during the 2021 Christmas holiday period. Thirty six percent of fatalities involved in alcohol impaired driver. And that's that's crazy to think about because most people stay home at Christmas. Most people aren't really traveling a whole lot. At least I don't. And most people I know don't get 36 percent jumped up there. Here's an article that says this mother of infant killed by drunk driver in Luling Christmas night. Louisiana State Police says driver was arrested. A family is mourning the loss of a new mother after she was struck by a drunk driver. Now, a two month old is without his mother. Family told D sorry WDS use Shay O'Connor that 26 year old Dasha Carter and her boyfriend, Ibrahim Gray, were leaving a Christmas pajama party on December 26th around one a.m.. They headed to their son when they were struck from behind by a drunk driver going extremely fast. The speed limit was about 70, she said. We were going about 65 to 67. All of a sudden, it felt like a rocket hit us. I couldn't prepare. I couldn't do anything. It was the grace of God because the railing kept us from flipping over the bridge, Gray said. Gray said after the impact, all he could do next was try to help his girlfriend and the mother of their infant son, Dasha Carter, who was knocked unconscious. Gray said I crawled over to her and noticed the back of her head was bleeding. Mine was bleeding, too. But since she was knocked out, I tried to attend to her. I took a shirt and pressed it behind her head. Photos show how the couple's car looked after the crash. Investigators said a man driving under the influence rear ended them at a high rate of speed. Calinda Carter, the aunt of Dasha Carter, said he made a decision to get on the road highly intoxicated. And drive his vehicle at that type of speed. And it's torn us apart. The 26 year old was taken to a hospital where she would later die of her injuries. Carter is described as a kind hearted person who knew no stranger or enemies. She was especially excited about being a mother for the first time in her life. Her son, Messiah, will now spend the rest of his life without knowing her love. Her son will be able to tell will be able to tell him about her and show pictures to him. But he'll never be able to feel that love from his mom. He'll never be held by her again. That's what happens every day in this country. But you know what? That happens extra around the holidays where people are deciding to be selfish idiots, drinking poison, ingesting poison in their bodies and then getting behind a wheel when they have their judgment impaired, where they're going to go drive on the road and kill a little baby's mother for their own stupidity and selfishness. You know, it's absolutely shameful and woe unto any Christian that consumes alcohol. Woe unto any Christian that would be so selfish and so wicked as to get behind the wheel and drive a car while being drunk. It's disgusting. And you know, someone that just negligently gets drunk and just gets behind the wheel and just goes and kills someone should be put on trial for murder. And you know, if they're convicted of that murder, they should get the punishment that murderers deserve in the Bible. And, you know, people people often say, like, oh, man, there's all these, like, D. U. I. Traps of cops. Good. I hope there's more of them. I hope that cops have zero mercy to drunk drivers because drunk drivers ruin people's lives for the rest of their life. I mean, could you imagine if you had your wife taken away from you by a drunk driver or your mom or your dad or your husband or your brother or your little child? Not for anything that happened other than just some idiot decided to drink and get behind the wheel. You know what? It's disgusting. Go to Proverbs Chapter 20. Proverbs 20. Proverbs Chapter 20. You know, alcohol is just accepted by our society. I mean, it's just a given like, Oh, yeah, of course, it's the holidays. We just drink alcohol. It's just totally normal. No big deal. Look at Proverbs 20 verse one. Wine is a mocker. Strong drink is raging and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Let me bring this to our modern vernacular for you. The Bible saying anyone that drinks alcohol is an idiot is a moron is a fool. Why? Because why would you drink something that's just poison? What if I just said, Hey, man, I have this bottle of poison. You want to drink it? What kind of an idiot would say yes to that? Well, it's everyone that goes to the store and buys bud light. It's everyone that goes to the store and buys Coors and whiskey. What other other kind of crap there is out there for alcohol. You know, people that drink that stuff. You are an idiot. And by the way, drunkards are to be kicked out of church. This church hates alcohol. The Bible hates alcohol. And if someone has found out to be a drunk, you are not welcome to come to anchor Baptist Church. Why? Because I don't want to fellowship with someone that might go get behind the wheel and kill someone's child. Kill someone's mother. No, you're not my friend. You have no fellowship with us until you get that fixed. Put the stupid bottle down. Christmas is not an excuse to get drunk. Christmas is not an excuse to drink alcohol. Why would people take the birth of our savior and say, Hey, this is a great day to drink alcohol. So stupid. Good Proverbs 31. While you're turning there, I'll read Isaiah 28 7. But they also have heard through wine and through strong drink are out of the way. The priest and the prophet have aired through strong drink. They are swallowed up of wine. They are out of the way through strong drink. They air and vision. They stumble in judgment, for all tables are full of vomit and filthiness so that there is no place clean. You know, I don't want my Christmas season to be described by losing my judgment, having places just full of filthiness, full of vomit. You know, that's what alcohol parties are like. A bunch of people just throwing up, getting sick all over themselves, all over other people. You know, that's not a God honoring way to live your life. That's not something that honors the temple of God that is indwelled by the Holy Spirit. No, it's wicked. Proverbs 31 verse four says it is not for kings. Oh, let me well, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink. Why less they drink and forget the law and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted Bible says when you drink, two things happen to you. You forget the law that could be in reference to the Bible. It could also maybe be in reference to just the laws of our land. And it causes you to pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Your judgment is affected under the effects of alcohol. Why would you want to consume something? It's like, hey, Christian, hey, person that believes in Jesus Christ. Hey, someone indwelled by the Holy Spirit. You want to drink this thing that's going to cause you to forget the Bible, to forget God. I mean, when we're saved, when we have the Holy Spirit, why would we ever want to forget God? No, actually, you know who actually wants to drink alcohol is the next verse. It says, Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his misery no more. You know, alcohol is for losers. Alcohol is for people that have miserable lives with nothing to live for those that are ready to perish. But guess what? Those of us that have believed on Jesus Christ are never going to perish. No, we should have the joy of the Lord. We are. It's Christmas season. We're celebrating Christ. We're celebrating the birth of Jesus. No, we're not just these miserable people that need to drink something that causes us to forget we exist. You know, and it's funny how people will make fun of Christianity and be like, Oh, fundamentalists are so, you know, backward and they live lives that are so boring and so sad. It's like, well, that's weird because I don't have to drink alcohol to forget my life because I actually like my life. I'm actually thankful for all that God's done for me. But you, Oh, person who doesn't want to go to church, you don't want to serve God. You don't read the Bible. Your life is so great. You have to drink until you forget how much it sucks. Oh, but you're living a better life. Okay, you're a hypocrite. Actually, you're what the Bible says. An idiot, a fool, someone that's not wise, someone that's been deceived by alcohol. Go to Daniel chapter five, Daniel chapter number five. Let's read a story of a man drinking alcohol. Daniel chapter five, verse one. This is not what you want your Christmas party to look like right here. Daniel five, verse one. Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords and notice drank wine before the thousand. He's drinking alcohol. Belshazzar while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels, which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple, to the king of Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple, which was in Jerusalem that the king and his princes, his wives, and his concubines might drink therein. So now what happens when you drink alcohol? What do you do? You forget the law. You pervert judgment. So he went from drinking alcohol to now blaspheming God by taking the articles of the temple and filling them with this poison, alcohol, so that he and all of his comrades can drink out of it. Verse three. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God, which was at Jerusalem. And the king and his princes, his wives, and his concubines drank in them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and of silver, of brass, of wood, of iron, and wood, and of stone. And then skip down to verse 30. This is the end result of this crazy night. We're not gonna go to the whole chapter for sake of time. But look at verse 30. It says this. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And you know there is a ton, a ton of alcohol-related deaths that happen every day in America. Whether that comes from people playing with firearms while they're drunk. I mean you know how often people get drunk, start playing with firearms, and kill themselves accidentally? Or kill their friend accidentally? Or they get behind the wheel of a car and kill themselves? Or you know what might happen sometimes, especially to saved Christians, especially to Christians that know the Bible, to Christians that have been in church? You know what might happen is God might just judge you himself. Maybe God would kill you himself. You don't think that God has killed people in the Bible? You don't think God has saved, killed, saved people in the Bible? You know I'm not gonna drink alcohol because number one it's stupid. Number two because it's dishonoring to God. Number three because it's gonna cause me to lose my judgment. It's gonna cause me to be perverted in my judgment to forget the law of God. But you know what? It also might just piss God off so much that he would either chastise me in such a severe way or maybe even kill me. You know I'm not gonna play around with that stuff and kids don't ever play around with alcohol. Don't think man my parents are really strict but as soon as I get out of house I'm gonna experiment with that stuff. You know what? God might kill you the first time you do it. You say well man God sounds mean. Look I don't care what you say he is just be afraid of him. Oh he's mean? Well think he's mean then but he still might kill you whether you think he's mean or nice. So just be afraid of him. Go to Proverbs chapter 23 Proverbs chapter 23 and think about this. This church you just heard the preaching about how we feel about alcohol. There's churches all over the world that will literally serve you alcohol in communion. I mean could you imagine looking at these verses that we just read and then saying not only are we just gonna go home and drink at our own Christmas parties but then to serve alcohol in church? The devil's drink? The poison of serpents? Really? Unbelievable. Number four things to avoid during the holidays. Don't be a glutton. Don't be a glutton. Now again this is something that in America is just totally normalized and when I say the word drunkard you know us as Christians we probably have a certain feeling about that word where I hope you haven't been so desensitized to where you hear the word drunkard and you just don't even care you don't even feel anything but a lot of people I feel like when they hear the word glutton they just don't care at all because this is something that has just not really been talked about in our culture this isn't something that we're thinking about as Americans we're just thinking about filling our bellies to the max as much as possible as often as possible in our country that's what we do and what's funny is when I went to Germany one of the things that shocked me right away was their portion size it was it was bizarre but I didn't see a single fat person in Germany okay and then one of my German friends he came to the United States because he's fleeing persecution over there and we went out to eat and he's just like these plates are massive he's like what's going on it's like it's just kind of an American thing to just shove our faces as much as humanly possible you know that's just kind of an American thing but here's the thing just because it's a cultural thing here just because it's an American thing here doesn't necessarily make it right okay look at Proverbs 23 verse 20 the Bible says Proverbs 23 20 be not among wine bibbers all right we talked about that then it says this among riotous eaters of flesh you know I just I picture like a cartoon of just you know some sort of beast just like going into something and it's just like gone in a few seconds just like a riotous eater of flesh someone that's just stuffing their face verse 21 for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags you know someone that is a drunkard and someone that is a glutton usually is someone that does not have any discipline does not have any self control and if you're a person that doesn't have any discipline doesn't have any self control you're probably going to be someone living in poverty why because you don't have the ability to tell your flesh no when that alarm clock goes off at 5 30 in the morning that thing goes off and you're thinking well I would just rather sleep okay well if that happens you're gonna be drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags so of course there's just the surface level sin of drinking alcohol it's just on the surface it's wrong being a glutton it's just on the surface it's wrong but it also has consequences down the road that'll lead you to a lifestyle that you don't want to go down I mean no one wants to be in poverty no one wants to be clothed with rags go to Deuteronomy chapter 21 Deuteronomy chapter number 21 but again you know our society doesn't really view gluttony as a big deal a lot of Baptists even kind of glorify it you know it's really weird but a lot of Baptists will even glorify the fact that they're so fat they're so out of shape they are so unathletic they can't do anything except stand up here and breathe super hard it's like dude this is not something to brag about now look everyone has their sins everyone has their struggles but there's a difference between struggling with something and realizing that it's wrong and trying your best and just like glorying in your shame that's weird okay yeah everyone has problems everyone struggles everyone's a sinner but not everyone just brags about their problems that's just strange it should be a shame unto you let me show you how serious this is in the Bible Deuteronomy 21 18 if a man have a stubborn and rebellious son which will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother and that when they have chaste chastened him will not hearken unto them then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him and bring him out unto the elders of the city and unto the gate of his place and they shall say unto the elders of the city so now the parents are gonna list their grievances that they have with their son this our son is stubborn and rebellious he will not obey our voice notice he is a glutton and a drunkard and all the men of his city shall stone him with stones that he died so shalt thou put evil away from among you and all Israel shall hear and fear you know I think when we read this story and this is a very controversial passage of Scripture atheists really hate this passage but you know I think when we usually read this passage we're focusing on the fact that this child is so rebellious this child's wicked this child's disobedient to their parents they're lazy they're drinking alcohol but I don't think we often focus on the fact that one of this kid's problems is that he's a glutton he is a glutton and this combination of problems with this kid is actually so severe that the Bible saying you know what the fix for this person is and all the men of a city shall stone him with stones now look I'm not saying gluttons should be stoned with stones all right don't make some stupid clip friendly atheist or whatever you know that's not what I'm saying what I'm saying is that gluttony is such a big deal in the eyes of God that when all this combination of factors were taken into account for this person that this was a person that was worthy of death because again someone that is a glutton they usually have tons of other problems related to that lack of self-control right if someone can't restrain their flesh from food you know what oftentimes they can't restrain their flesh from fornication they often can't restrain their flesh from adultery they often can't restrain their flesh from being stubborn and rebellious and not obeying their parents you know it actually is a spiritual issue not just a physical issue it's not an eating disorder no it's a sin okay not an eating disorder it's a sin against God is what it is that's what gluttony is go to Proverbs again Proverbs chapter 25 Proverbs 25 now here's the thing I'm not saying to not enjoy the holiday season by eating great food I'm not saying don't eat dessert I'm not getting up here like some weirdos teach saying sugar is sinful or you have to fast or anything like that no no look what the Bible says Proverbs 25 16 it says hast thou found honey eat so much as is sufficient for thee lest thou be filled therewith and vomit it now here's thing there's nothing wrong with honey in fact honey is something that's very good let me show you that in Proverbs 24 look back to Proverbs 24 verse 13 my son eat thou honey because it is good and the honeycomb which is sweet to thy taste so on one hand we have the Bible saying hey eat honey honey is good it's sweet but on the other hand we see hey don't eat too much honey eat what's sufficient for you otherwise you're gonna be vomiting it out and you know I don't know exactly where the line is where God looks down from heaven and says like this person is a glutton or this person is engaged in the sin of gluttony but let me tell you where the line for sure is if you're eating so much that you're vomiting you for sure have crossed that line okay that is not healthy that is not pleasing to God no eat honey hey eat the ham eat the desserts eat all the wonderful Christmas things but don't go so overboard to where you're becoming a glutton hey the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is not an excuse to sin it's not excuse to drink alcohol it's not an excuse to become a glutton it's not an excuse for those things you know what else is not an excuse for number five this would be my last point this evening don't get lazy during the holidays don't get lazy during the holidays oftentimes this time of year people just completely stop caring about everything stop caring about their job they stop caring about their church they stop caring about their family like look just still work hard throughout the holidays Ecclesiastes chapter 10 you should be close to it Ecclesiastes chapter 10 verse 18 says by much slothfulness the building decayeth and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through laziness brings forth decay and during the holiday season you don't want your career to start decaying right man you're out working hard you're out providing for a family oftentimes on a single income that takes a lot of work you know if you've got a good job that's something that I hope is very valuable to you that you take with a lot of care and pride in your work and you know what you should not let that start to decay in your life just because it's the holiday season still at work give it all you got at work obey your boss try to do the best job that you can try to produce as much as you can for the company don't just say like hey it's the holiday season I'm just done working know what that's gonna cause is the building to decay go to 1st Corinthians 15 1st Corinthians 15 but most importantly obviously keep working hard at your job but keep working hard for the spiritual things keep doing works for God keep doing works at this church look at 1st Corinthians 15 58 it says therefore my beloved brethren be ye steadfast unmovable notice always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord you say hey what is the right time of year to quit church there is no right time of year hey when is it when do I get a break from reading my Bible you don't well when can I just take a season of life where I should stop praying to God when should I you know stop going soul winning there's never an appropriate time for that the Bible says always abounding in the work of the Lord you know we don't take vacations from God yeah take vacations from your work do the best while you're there but when it's time to be off sure take vacation relax rest but you know what never take a vacation from God never just say well you know it's cold outside it's Christmas season we're just not going to church this Sunday you know that's not right well you know Christmas falls on a Wednesday this year so we're not going to church that makes no sense no continue to abound in the work of God stay there I'll read for you this Proverbs 24 says the sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold therefore shall he beg and harvest and have nothing hey keep soul winning in the wintertime keep soul winning in the wintertime God says that the slugger the lazy person doesn't plow by reason of the cold you know it be steadfast always abounding in the work of the Lord yeah it's cold out there but guess what praise God our church had eight salvations today out in the cold those people were headed to a devil's hell where they were gonna spend all of eternity but we had some people today that said yeah I know it's cold but you know what they make these things called base layers and they make these things called jackets and gloves and hats and masks and scarves and you know I think brother Ben in Texas was telling me about like an electric suit they're like a body-heated suit I mean I don't care what you have to do stay warm we want you to be warm and healthy and all that but keep going soul winning don't give up on soul winning go to Romans 13 this would be the last place we turn just because it's winter doesn't mean that all of a sudden we start drinking alcohol being a glutton being lazy you know it doesn't make sense this is the time of year if anything we should sharpen things up and say hey this is Christmas this is when we're celebrating the board the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ hey what am I doing for the Lord to render unto him for all of his benefits towards me am I quitting church am I quitting soul winning that does not make any sense here's what we should do last verse Romans 13 13 let us walk honestly as in the day not in rioting and drunkenness not in chambering and wantonness not in strife and envying but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof hey during the holiday seasons continue to walk honestly as in the day and not allow a time that should be glorifying to God that should be a blessing to us where we have some time off work not taking that and just squandering it and allowing it to be an excuse to sin more know if anything we should take it as a time to reflect and to double down on our efforts for Christ okay number one don't be judgmental towards other Christians about celebrating Christmas number two don't get covetous number three don't drink alcohol number four don't be a glutton let's pray Lord thank you for this day thank you for this great time of year we do thank you for the birth of your son I just pray that we would always remember that Christmas is about him it's not about how many things we can get but I just pray that you help us to have the right perspective on the holidays and help us to continue to be spiritual people throughout them we love you in Jesus name we pray amen you all right for our last him if you would grab your hymnals and turn to him number 423 joy to the world him number 423 and number 423 we'll go ahead and start there right on the first joy to the world the Lord is come let earth receive her King let every heart prepare well feels it He comes to make his blessings flow. For as the curse is found, for as the curse is found, for as far as the curse is found, he rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove. The glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love, and wonders of his love, and wonders, wonders of his...