Ever Praise Music

and the Joyful Harts Music Library​

Topic 2
"The Good News"

Little Linus from the Charlie Brown stories recited the good news. Luke 2:8-17
God ordained days of remembrance by saying that feast days (the first feast day is Passover)

are days to tell your children about the story of deliverance.

To date, there are many Jewish days of remembrance on their Holy Calendar.
The Christmas Timeline begins with the Emperor Constantine in 336 AD.

Constantine was the first Christian Emperor of Rome.
The Roman Church, according to the Apostle Paul and others,

was one of the strongest churches of early Christianity.
The history of the church and Christendom of the early part of the first century

is important for our understanding of how
Christianity grew up and found a place in the lives and culture of God’s people. 
The story of the birth of Christ has a solid Biblical foundation.
The Birth of Christ is the fulfillment of prophesy. Isaiah 9:6, 7:14 and Micah 5:2
The New Testament gives the lineage of Jesus to illustrate His place

as a descendant of the House of David.

The Book of John Chapter 1 reveals the importance of the birth of Christ

by emphasizing the story of John the Baptist. (John 1:1-36)  
John the Baptist’s birth was the fulfillment of the prophesy of Christ’s forerunner.

The pregnancies of Elisabeth and Mary were miracles of the Holy Spirit.
Both women received these miracles and prophesied to one another concerning the same. 
The work of the Holy Spirit is extremely important in these scriptures.

Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit.
This fact is central to our faith and is included in the Apostles Creed. 
The Holy Spirit worked through Zacharias, Elisabeth, Mary, Joseph, Simeon, and Anna. 
Without the retelling of the Birth of Christ each year this important information would be lost. 
Did God want a celebration? Let us look at what happened in the scriptures.

The work of the angels can serve as clues to God's plan.
What the angels said and did show us what God wanted. 

Once we look at what the angels said and did, we have an indication of how
God felt about the birth of His only Son.

The angels declared, the angels proclaimed (some say sang), the angels sent the shepherds to see,
the angels warned the wise men, and Joseph to protect the child.

In addition to the work of the angels, the Gentiles (the Magi) followed the star,

placed in the heavens by God, which guided them to the manger, with gifts of adoration.

Their presence in the story is also the fulfillment of scripture. (Matthew 2)
On that day, with a multitude of angels present, we catch a glimpse of Heaven.

This a good place to recite the Apostles Creed. 
In the creed you will notice that Jesus is the Cornerstone of our Creed which states:
He was "born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried.
The third day He arose from the dead…"
Jesus birth is crucial to our creed. It is a declaration that He is God’s Son.

 His miraculous birth tells us that He is not just a man.

Our celebration of the Nativity is a way to pass the story of the birth of Jesus Christ to the next generations.

There are Christmas detractors who talk about the link of  the celebration to the various pagan practices…
Paganism has been practiced since the days that Adam and Eve left the Garden.
As man left the Garden he began to do whatever seemed right in his own eyes. 

This same way of thinking proceeded to, and beyond, the Great Flood.

It was not until God chose Abraham that the People of God began to grow and become His Chosen People. 
God’s people have been sorting out paganism and shifting our focus to the faith and salvation which God has for us ever since. 
Conversely, paganism, which is another word for polytheism, has been attaching itself to the things of God since that time as well. 

 Many cultures celebrate the birth of Christ.
People of European culture use whatever is available to them to dress their house, dress the table, and spread the feast.
People in Africa use whatever is available to them to dress their house, dress the table, and spread the feast.
People in South America use whatever is available to them to dress their house, dress the table, and spread the feast.
People in Australia used whatever is available to them to dress their house, dress the table, and spread the feast.

This goes on and on…

Each group of Christians must sort it out and, to the best of their ability, get things right. 
Of course with any traditional feast come the cultural influences, customs, activities, and excess.
Jesus had to throw the money changers out of the temple. But he didn’t throw out the Temple.
He said that God’s house is a house of prayer. And there he did pray and teach.
The significance of any feast or celebration is derived from scripture, sound doctrine, and faith. 
Christmas has a wealth of supportive scripture.
If God didn’t want us to remember Christ’s birth, this wealth of scripture would not be there.
Our job is to sort out the polytheist practices which have attached themselves to our feasts and celebrations...

and keep on celebrating.

We must pass on the story of our faith to the children. 

Make each celebration of our creed count.

One Additional Note…
Easter has some of the same issues as Christmas. So many things have attached themselves to the Holy Day.
What to do?
Let us not discontinue Easter because of the excesses.

Get things sorted out and celebrate Resurrection Sunday!


Read Spiritual Food for Thought: Topic 3
"The Feast of the Epiphany"