I saw this statistic today and thought it was worthy to share:
Top Five Times People Are Open To Considering Matters Of Faith…
* #5 – After the birth of a baby (28%)
* #4 – After a natural disaster (34%)
* #3 – After a major national crisis i.e. 9/11 (38%)
* #2 – During the Easter season (38%)
* #1 – During the Christmas season (47%)
Who will you personally invite into your church and into your home this Christmas?
My wife got me hooked on these. Perfect blend of coffee, caramel, and chocolate, with a nutty, salty flavor. It’s not on the menu (the salted caramel hot chocolate is). But try one this holiday season!
“Infinite, and an infant. Eternal, and yet born of a woman. Almighty, and yet hanging on a woman’s breast. Supporting a universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms. King of angels, and yet the reputed son of Joseph. Heir of all things, and yet the carpenter’s despised son. Oh, the wonder of Christmas.”
Mark Driscoll with some thought-provoking words on the truth about Santa at the Washington Post. Here’s a snippet:
As the parents of five children, Grace and I have taken the third position to redeem Santa. We tell our kids that he was a real person who did live a long time ago. We also explain how people dress up as Santa and pretend to be him for fun, kind of like how young children like to dress up as pirates, princesses, superheroes, and a host of other people, real and imaginary. We explain how, in addition to the actual story of Santa, a lot of other stories have been added (e.g., flying reindeer, living in the North Pole, delivering presents to every child in one night) so that Santa is a combination of true and make-believe stories.
We do not, however, demonize Santa. Dressing up, having fun, and using the imagination God gave can be an act of holy worship and is something that, frankly, a lot of adults need to learn from children.
What we are concerned about, though, is lying to our children. We teach them that they can always trust us because we will tell them the truth and not lie to them. Conversely, we ask that they be honest with us and never lie. Since we also teach our children that Jesus is a real person who did perform real miracles, our fear is that if we teach them fanciful, make-believe stories as truth, it could erode confidence in our truthfulness where it really matters.
My friend, Scott Holman, gives a good warning for us to not overshadow and marginalize the incarnation by running too quickly to the Cross:
My gut tells me that some would rather pass over the baby at Bethlehem for the glories of the cross. It’s easier to preach and easier to explain through propositional arguments. Generally, one would rather stand meditating on the sight of the cross than meditating on God as a baby in a feed trough.
But there is something about God coming to us as a vulnerable, needy baby that reformed people especially need to think on. The God of glory needs us to change his diapers. He is as inviting and approachable as any baby we encounter. What do we do with that?
This is a great idea if you’re looking for something fun to do with your kids on a snowy day but you don’t want to go outside in the cold! It takes paper snowflakes to the next level! Plus it provides a great opportunity to talk about how God makes each one of us unique. I must admit … we got some pretty cool snowflakes hanging up in our kitchen!
I’ve been thinking about how the incarnation means nothing without the crucifixion. In fact the reason why God came down is so that he would be lifted up on a tree at Calvary. And if we only tell the beginning of the story we have no story at all — at least no gospel story.
The purpose of the manger was realized in the horrors of the cross. The purpose of his birth was his death. Or to put it more personally: Christmas is necessary because I am a sinner.
And so, in order for us to see Christmas for what Christmas really is, we must first see how disturbing the Christmas message really is.
Mahaney tells of an article written some years ago in WORLD Magazine by William H. Smith with the title, “Christmas is disturbing: Any real understanding of the Christmas messages will disturb anyone” (Dec. 26, 1992).
Smith ends his column with these words which I invite you to ponder:
Only those who have been profoundly disturbed to the point of deep repentance are able to receive the tidings of comfort, peace, and joy that Christmas proclaims.
And so my prayer for you and me is that we would be filled with peace and joy this Christmas–because we have been disturbed by the God who was born in a manger so he could die on a cross for our sins.
A few years ago I came across Lamplighter Publishing. Lamplighter publishes rare old books that communicate character education themes. Over the years, I have purchased quite a few books from Lamplighter for my family. One of my favorites is Hedge of Thorns by John Carroll. These books make great Christmas gifts!
This is even more funny for me as my two girls have wanted a puppy for quite some time, but I’m not giving in yet. For now, their little brother (2 1/2) is the “family dog.”
