This season IS worth celebrating!

 

Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year! It's such a wonderful season filled with hope and joy. But the older I grow, the more I see a lack of joy and hope in this world, even at Christmas time. And that makes me sad.

Christmas seems to be becoming less and less celebrated in our world. People used to go caroling and have nativity pagents and host parties and events, but now it seems as if all people care about is the movies and gifts. People aren't festive and joyful; they don't go places and celebrate with others; they don't try to spread Christmas cheer. There doesn't seem to be to them any reason to celebrate. Maybe all they can see about the Christmas season is money spending and sickness going around. It seems as if they're more focused on getting the best deal on the best gift and then coming home and sitting in front of the television or scrolling on social media. 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying everyone is like this and I'm not saying that gifts and movies are inherently bad. But it seems more and more that people don't care to celebrate this season.

But there is something worth celebrating!!!!

Christmas is the celebration of Christ's birth! This season is often called the celebration of advent. Advent means coming or arrival. We are reminded of the longing for the promise of the Messiah to be fulfilled, we are celebrating God's fulfillment of that promise, we are meditating on the reason for Christ's advent (the gospel), and we are looking forward to His second advent. It's truly an incredible season; and it goes beyond music and Christmas cookies. 

Let's look at why these things are worth celebrating and then let's look at some of the ways we celebrate it:

For the unbeliever the birth of Christ seems pointless and possibly even foolish. We have to start with an understanding of who God is and who we are before we can understand why Christ came and why that's significant.

God is holy, eternal, and glorious. He is the Creator of the universe. We see evidence for His existence in the world around us. He created us and the world as good and perfect, and earth was paradise. But we rebelled againt our Creator God. We chose to do what seemed best to us, even though it meant going directly against God's holy and perfect command. As a result our relationship with God was forever changed. We no longer can walk in perfect fellowship with Him. Our sin brought death and disease, suffering and evil into the world. Every human born since the very first sin is born with a sinful nature. This is evident by the fact that you don't have to teach a child to sin (whether it's hitting, whining, complaining, lying, or something else, children know how to sin without being taught). We have a big problem. We went against the original design of our Creator. We chose to go our own way, instead of walking in His good and perfect way. And as a result we must deal with evil and sickness and suffering. And we not only are seperated from God, but we will be for all of eternity. Our sin against an infinitely holy God deserves infinite punishment. In our sinful nature we do everything we can to avoid God, even making up our own gods/idols, and as a result our punishment will be exactly what we want: seperation from God for all of eternity. But God loves us and doesn't want this for us. He is full of grace and patience and He desires to show compassion. But God cannot just excuse our sins and overlook them. He has to be true to His character, and He is not only loving but also perfectly just. He must punish evil. This might sound as if I'm saying God was in a bit of a pickle, as if He wanted to save us but couldn't. Or as if He had to come up with a new plan because His orginial plan hadn't worked. But God is all-wise and sovereign. He never once lost control or had to change His plan. From the beginning He had a plan of redemption, one that revealed to us His perfect love, justice, and grace. 

Right after the first sin God made a promise about His plan. In Genesis 3:15 God says to the serpent (who had deceived Eve into eating the fruit and rebelling against God), "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." God made a promise that one would come who would defeat the serpent. This promised offspring would be victorious over the devil. 

And throughout the whole Old Testament we read about promises that one day One would come who would save Israel. This One would be a son of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), a descendent of King David (Is. 11:1), a son of a virgin (Is 7:14), born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). And this only scratches the surface of the prophecies made about the Messiah. In fact, there are so many prophecies it is practically impossible for a mere man to fulfill most of them, let alone all of them. But One has come who faithfully fulfilled EVERY prophecy made about the Messiah, and that is Jesus!

"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father full of grace and truth." John 1:1, 14 

Jesus is God. He is Emmanuel (which means God with us). He came, born of a virgin. He was both the Son of Man and the Son of God. He came from the line of Abraham and David. He was born in Bethlehem. 

God humbled Himself and came to us. The Father sent His Son into the world that He had created. This was all for the purpose of His plan for redemption. 

Jesus was born humbly. This was big; God came to earth and the Messiah that Israel had been waiting for for many centurys had come, but God chose the small town of Bethlehm and a manger for the scene. He chose to annoucne His birth to lowly shepherds and foreign wise men instead of the Jewish rulers or rich and powerful people of Israel. And He didn't come just to see what life was like for us, or to try and get an idea of how He could save us. Jesus came to die. He was born to live the perfect life we never could and to die in our place, satisfying God's justice and wrath for our sins. If Jesus had sinned even once, then He would have had to pay for His own sins, He couldn't have saved us. But because He was God, He lived a perfect life and was able to die in our place. He was our substitute, our sacrifice. And it is because of that that God is able to justly forgive. But if His death is how the story ends then Christmas wouldn't be worth celebrating. We would be celebrating the fact that God came to us and then died to save us, but now He is dead so how can we be saved!? But that is not how the story ends! Jesus rose from the dead three days later! He has defeated sin and death and the victory belongs to Him! He has paid our debt and made a way for us to be reconciled to the Father. If we trust in Him and repent of our sins we can be saved! Jesus is the only way to the Father.

So when we celebrate Christmas we are celebrating the hope of the gospel:

We are celebrating that the Creator came into His creation to save us.

We are celebrating that God came to us when we in our sinfullness refused to come to Him.

We are celebrating that Jesus didn't choose to be born in a wealthy palace in the sight of everyone, but was born humbly, in a manger. And we are celebrating that He doesn't bring salvation to only the rich or powerful or famous; He came to save sinners. He came to call the insignificant and lowly people and place significance on them.

We are celebrating that there is now a way for us to be reconciled to God.

We are celebrating the coming of Emmanuel (God with us.)

We are celebrating the promise of Emmanuels return.

We are celebrating God's love and grace, and His faithfulness to fulfill His promises.

This is why Christmas IS worth celebrating!!!!!!!

So how can we celebrate???

Humans tend to celebrate and remember special events through gatherings and special meals, gifts, or maybe singing. In the Old Testament God gave the Israelites different feasts to remember His work in their nation. 

It won't look the same for everyone, but here are some ways you can celebrate the birth of Christ and take some intentional time to remember the gospel this Christmas season:

1. Do an advent study (take time to dive into Scripture and really think about what the gospel truly means) You can do this individually, as a family, as a church, or as a group with some friends.

2. Sing Christmas carols. Some of the Christmas songs we sing are actually very biblical and rejoice in the message of the gospel! Some of my favorites are Joy to the World, O Come O Come Emmanuel, Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, Glory Be To God (by Sovereign Grace), O Come all ye Faithful, and O Little Town of Bethlehem to name a few. Take some time to really think about the words being sung and take comfort in them.

3. Go caroling! This is a way not only for you to take comfort in the words of these songs, but to share them with others.

4. Read the account of Christ's birth. This is found in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2. There's more to the story then a couple coming to Behtlehem and having a baby in a stable. There may even be some things you never had heard about the birth of Christ (like Anna and Simeon at the temple 8 days after Jesus was born). Or maybe you'll realize there are some things you've assumed about Jesus' birth that we actually don't know for sure (like how many wise men there were or exactly when the wise men came). It's important to remember what we're celebrating, and it's also important to remember that Christmas isn't just about these few chapters in the Bible. It's about the whole gospel, the whole reason why Christ was born.

5. Give. Don't be so focused on getting. Look for ways to give to others. Christ has given so much to you. We have recieved freely and abundantly, and we must give freely and abundantly as well. (If you haven't freely received God's grace then I encourage you to pray to God. Ask Him to give you His grace and help you live for Him. Repent of your sins (which means to confess and turn from your sins). Trust in Jesus and follow Him. God has provided the church for us to help one another walk in God's ways and follow Jesus together, so don't try to do it on your own but find some brothers and sisters in Christ to walk along side you.) We must show the love of Christ to others. This doesn't have to be in the form of a bought and wrapped present. It may be just looking for simple ways to serve those in your church. It might be paying for someones coffee, or bringing a meal to a struggling family. Just look for ways you can serve to others.

This advent season may you worship, rejoice and give thanks! We have a reason to be joyful. We have hope and peace. Don't loose sight of that. Be still and behold your Savior, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord." (Lk. 2:10)