The True Story of Christmas

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

 ⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

 ⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:1-14)

Merry Christmas!

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Chuck Colson and others on the Theology of Christmas Carols and Other Good Stuff

Don't get me wrong, Frosty has his place. But sometimes we miss out on and forget the richness of truth encoded into the truly great Christmas carols. Listen to a 2-part discussion with Chuck Colson, John Stonestreet, and T.M. Moore (click here to listen).

Also, here is John Mark Reynolds top 10 Christmas songs. Enjoy!

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Which Jesus did we just celebrate?

"Students of Jesus today are faced with a multitude of options, ranging from the traditional Jesus who was Savior, Lord, and founder of the church, to a Jesus who was considerably different—a Jesus who was a sage, a religious genius or social revolutionary. These latter three portraits though clearly drawing their energies from live wires in the Gospels, leave us with a Jesus who is not big enough to explain his crucifixion, his following, or development of the Church. If we today are going to be honest about Jesus, we have to choose a Jesus who satisfies all the evidence historians have observed and who will also explain why it is that so many people have found him to be so wonderful that they attend churches every week to worship him."—Scot McKnight

This one: "But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." - Luke 2:10-11

Did Humans Invent God?

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Merry Christmas from think Christianly

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."--Matthew 1:23

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. ²The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. ³We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴We write this to make our joy complete."--1 John 1:1-5

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8 Ways to Thrive (not die) with Family

Here is a helpful post on conflict and family gatherings from the Hub...

"As we continue our series on conflict, what an opportunity many of us will have this Christmas. :)

Yes, we all know family is a blessing and wonderful, but quite honestly, most of us know it can be very stressful as well. Here are a couple of reminders as we enter what should be restful, sweet, good, memory making times.

1. Take a deep breath – Is what your mother, brother, or sister-n-law said, or going to say really worth ruining the sweet time you have? I know that words are extremely powerful, but for many of us, we need to learn how to ‘give them less power.'

2. Watch your tongue – As you have heard and will hear many times, An OUNCE of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If most of us would just take a deep breath, relax ONE moment before we speak, we would either say less damaging things or when someone says something Potentially damaging to us, we choose not to react.

3. Stop thinking of the past all the time. This is huge in family. Whenever someone in our family makes a comment to us, we see it in light of the previous 20, 35, or 50 years. It's time to forget some of that (I know it's hard, but it's necessary). A short memory can be quite helpful in these situations.

4. If your comment does not build someone up, then keep it to yourself. Many times in family, we think it is our job to 'share all the difficult stuff.' You know what, unless you have an active, ongoing, close relationship with a family member, chances are ‘more critique', or ‘less positive' opinions should be shared by a person's friend, not a family member.

5. Unsolicited advise is almost always received as criticism, not help.

6. We only have a few days together. Let's be friends:) Friendships are positive. Let's let our family times be positive.

7. Christmas is about Christ's generosity of Spirit, not a spirit of negativity, stress, hurt, and history. If we will slow down enough to get the right perspective on our eyeballs, then He will give us what we need to make it much more enjoyable.

8. Don't stay too long! Proverbs says,'Don't stay too long in your brother's house.' That's from the wisest man who ever lived. Amen.

Remember this week, God is with you.

Merry Christmas from all of us here at The Hub! (See more of their excellent resources here)

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What is the real story of Santa Claus (a.k.a. St. Nicholas)? A Christian Perspective

Daddy, is Santa Claus real?

Where did the belief in Santa Claus come from? Here are some resources...

The True Saint Nicholas: Why He Matters to Christmas by William J. Bennett

The Legend of St. Nicholas: A Story of Christmas Giving

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But who do you say that Jesus is?

When Jesus took his disciples to Caeserea Philippi, he asked a very important question. Around Christmas time, we need to each answer that question. Here is a sermon that I preached as we began our Christmas Series, Vintage Christmas. (Text: Mark 8:27-30; 2:1-12)

Click here to listen

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What's the best way to reduce seasonal stress?

Good article from Focus on the Family..."While "dashing through the snow" could be written today as "speeding down the interstate to the mall," both statements sound stressful to me.

With the arrival of the holidays, many of us experience an odd mixture of excitement and dread as we prepare to celebrate the season.

We get excited about the lights, shopping and Christmas dinner with family, but we also fear the stress that past holidays have taught us to expect. From previous family misunderstandings and hurt feelings to scheduling conflicts, tight finances and the wear and tear on the body, holidays have a way of taking their toll on us.

I have found that the best way to lessen the stress of the holidays is to be prepared:

1. Recognize stress triggers ahead of time, and plan to minimize their impact. For example: Realize that you will get several invitations to holiday parties, events or service opportunities, and limit the number of events you will commit to before the invitations come.
2. Create a holiday budget together. Commit to sticking to the budget no matter how great the sales are!
3. Try to resolve extended family issues before holiday gatherings, if possible. Sit down and discuss the problems rather than ignore them.
4. Commit to dealing with spousal conflict after the emotion has died down: "Honey, we are both tired. Let's not try to solve this now. Let's talk in the morning over coffee." Use common sense, and be disciplined enough to handle conflict in the right way.
5. Schedule time for each other: Go to bed at a decent hour. Exercise or take a walk together. Protect your "together" time.
   

Most of all, remember what this...(read the rest)

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On What Date Was Christ Born?

Michael Patton has a great post exploring the date of Christ's birth...

“The traditional date for the birth of Christ from as early as Hippolytus (ca. A.D. 165-235) has been December 25th. In the Eastern Church January 6th was the date for not only Christ’s birth, but also the arrival of the Magi on Christ’s second birthday, His baptism in His twenty-ninth year, and the sign at Cana in His thirtieth year. However Chrysostom (A.D. 345-407) in 386 stated that December 25th is the correct date and hence it became the official date for Christ’s birth in the Eastern Church (January 6th was still considered the day for the manifestations of the coming of the Magi, the baptism, and the sign at Cana.

Although the exact date may not be pinpointed it seems that there is a relatively old tradition of a midwinter birth, therefore a date in December or January is not in itself unlikely.

The one objection raised for the winter date...For more...

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Who Really Invented Christianity? (latest tC audio)

Every Christmas and Easter new releases hit the bookstores, provocative documentaries spring up on CNN and the Discovery channel, and special additions appear from Newsweek. The common theme? What else have “they” not been telling you about who Jesus really was or what Christianity really teaches?

* How do we know the Bible includes the right books?

* Did the early church invent Jesus’ divinity or did Jesus really claim to be divine?

* What did Christians believe before there was a Bible?

* Who got to decide what is ‘orthodox’ and what is ‘heresy’?

* Why didn’t Jesus write a book?

These are good questions. But contrary to the answers that show up in much of pop culture today about Jesus, a careful look at the historical evidence surrounding the origins of Christianity reveals that we can trust the writings of the New Testament and what they teach about the historical Jesus. Join Jonathan Morrow, as we embark on a journey back to the 1st century to discover the truth.

Listen to Who Really Invented Christianity

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Immanuel

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).”—Matthew 1:23

What a wonderful, life-altering truth. The God of the universe desires to be with us. He takes broken people and offers them His presence, power, and new life (or as Jesus so often put it, the good news of the Kingdom of God).

Advent Conspiracy Video

This is a challenging and hopeful 2 1/2 minutes about what Christmas could be and what it has become.