What is Christmas anyways?

Written by Pastor McCarty on December 4, 2013. Posted in Pastors Pen

How many have you asked this question? Maybe most of you reading this post have known the real meaning of Christmas all your lives. Or, maybe it’s been many, many, years for others. But, we all know that many people will pass through another Christmas season wondering why we do it. Some will question the purpose of the gift giving, the strands of lights and the singing of obscure carols. They will wonder, what does it all mean?

You and I have the answer to their question. More than the trappings the world puts on Christmas, we know it points to the birth of the Saviour of the world. The gifts are to remind us of the first gifts brought to Jesus. The lights are to remind us of the one great light that announced His birth to the Magi. And, the carols are to remind us of the song of joy the angels sang on that night. For those who are informed, all of the “trappings” of Christmas make sense.

But, what about those who are uninformed? How can they know? Well, in December, 1965 Charles Shultz gave the world a cute, but pretty correct, view of the real meaning of Christmas. He battled the CBS tv executives to not remove Linus reciting the Christmas story. Without Luke’s account in the production the show would not have gone on! So, for 48 non-stop years Linus recounts the story of Christmas. Now, two generations of children have at least hear the story from the lips of Linus.

Below is the clip from “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Watch it one more time and see if it will remind you again of why we go through the Christmas holidays.

Black Friday or Christmas Joy?

Written by Pastor McCarty on November 26, 2013. Posted in Pastors Pen

Joy at Christmas, where do we find it?  Many folks will be looking in every ad from now until Christmas Eve to find just the right gift.  They will travel to every store imaginable to find just the perfect sale.  Not too much nor not too little should be spent on this gift.  Friday morning lines of people will be waiting to get into the right store that has just the right sales.  Some, in fact, will camp out all night to save a few dollars on the “perfect” gift.  Thereby, assuring themselves of joy for Christmas.

Do you remember Charlie Brown’s Christmas?  He was concerned for the overt commercialization of Christmas.  December 9, 1965 was the first airing of this classic Christmas message.  This Peanut’s special has been shown every Christmas since 1965.  Charles Shultz was concerned that people had forgotten the true meaning of Christmas.  He battled with the CBS executives over the inclusion of Linus reading Luke 2:8-14.  In the discussions with the network he wouldn’t budge on its admission into the final product.  He is quoted as saying, “If we don’t tell the true meaning of Christmas, who will?”  If he were still alive today how much more amazed would Charles Shullz be?

Joy at Christmas come from keeping Christ as the focus of our celebrations.  As you approach Thanksgiving and the onset of Christmas shopping, I want to encourage you to keep Christ in Christmas.  Sunday we will look at the subject of the Songs of Joy at Christmas.