1. Grace Fellowship Church www.GraceDoctrine.org Pastor/Teacher - Jim Rickard Sunday, December 13, 2009

2. Should Christians Celebrate Christmas? Part 2

3. Reasons why some believers do not celebrate Christmas. 1. The Christmas Tree 2. Christmas is Commer- cialized and Materialistic.

4. Titus 1:15, “To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.”

5. Purity is a matter of the mind and conscience, not merely the external or the fact that others take what is pure and commercialize it.

6. 3. Scripture Doesn't Authorize It They say that since we are not clearly authorized by the Bible to celebrate the birth of Christ, we should not.

7. On the other hand, the N.T. does not specifically tell us not to celebrate the Lord’s birth.

8. 4. They say scripture does forbid it in Col 2:16-17.

9. What Col 2:16-17 forbids, is the judgment of one another in regard to the celebration of religious seasons or holy days, not the celebration of the birth of Christ.

10. In fact, there does seem to be scriptural precedent for celebrating the Birth of Christ.

11. a. The appearance of the angel of the Lord with the glory of the Lord to announce the birth of Christ to the shepherds. Luke 2:9-12

12. b. The response of the angels at the announcement of Christ's birth. Luke 2:13-14

13. c. The actions of the shepherds who left their flocks to go and see the babe, which was nothing short of a celebration. Luke 2:15-20

14. d. The arrival of the men from the east bearing gifts as much as a year or two later. Mat 2:1-12

15. 5. Uncertainty of the Date of Christ's Birth.

16. They say, “Christ could not have been born on December 25 or even in the winter because the shepherds would not have been in the fields during the winter months.” Luke 2:8-20

17. a) It is not certain that sheep were always brought into enclosures during the winter months.

18. b) Luke tells us the shepherds were near Bethlehem rather than in the wilderness.

19. c) The Mishnah tells us the shepherds around Bethlehem were outside all year.

20. 6. What about Santa Claus? Because of the great emphasis on Santa Claus it detracts from the person of Christ.

21. This is one of Satan’s great counterfeit strategies to confuse or replace the meaning of Christmas.

22. Santa Claus originated from a man by the name of St. Nicholas who was the Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor in the A.D. 300's, who gave gifts to poor and needy children.

23. Children should know that Santa Claus is not real, and is a fairy tale just like Cinderella, or Snow White, and that gifts do not come from him but from the parents as God has provided for them.

24. Just because there is a legend about Christmas does not mean that we should not celebrate it.

25. Rom 14:22, “The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.”

26. 1 Cor 10:23-24, “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.”

27. Grace Offering

28. Grace Fellowship Church Grace Fellowship Church Sunday, December 13, 2009 Tape # 09S-050 Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?, Part 2 Col 2:16-17; Luke 2:1-20; Rom 14:22; 1 Cor 10:23 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2009