Rev. David Holwick ZO Christmas Day
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 25, 2011
Luke 2:1-7
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I. What would the world be like if events had been different?
A. Alternative history books have become popular.
1) Harry Turtledove has written a series of books called
"Southern Victory" in which the Confederate States of
America win the Civil War.
Actually, they don't lose in 1865 and become their own
nation.
There is a second Civil War in 1881 but it ends in a draw.
Then in the 1940s we attack each other again, but this time
we go nuclear.
The Southerners nuke Philadelphia, and the North retaliates
against Newport News and Charleston.
The North wins. Of course.
2) Robert Harris wrote a well-received book called "Fatherland"
that presumes Hitler won World War II.
England is a puppet state of Germany.
America is the only other super-power.
No one has heard of the Holocaust.
Hitler's 75th birthday is a big deal. [1]
3) Your high school history class probably missed these details.
B. It is interesting to consider alternatives to history.
1) A fascinating one: what if Christmas had never happened?
2) How different would our world be now?
3) How different would your own life be?
II. The obvious differences if there is no Christmas.
A. You wouldn't owe as much on your credit cards right now.
B. You wouldn't have gained 5 pounds in the last month.
C. You wouldn't be sitting in church right now.
1) But don't think you would be snoozing in bed, either.
2) Sunday is the first day of the week - you should be at work.
III. Without Christmas, the world would be a much different place.
A. Europe and the Americas would have another faith.
1) Would we be Moslem? Buddhist? Jewish?
2) Perhaps we would be worshipping money (no, wait - we do that
already.)
B. Science would have developed differently.
1) Modern science grew out of a Christian worldview.
a) You might think that Christians have always opposed
science, but you would be wrong.
b) Christians knew that God is rational, dependable and
omnipotent.
c) God created a universe with a rational, orderly
structure. #26257
d) Creation should not be worshipped, but it can be studied.
2) It is no mistake that science took hold in Europe and not
in Asia or the Middle East.
C. Democracy would be stilted.
1) Many Islamists see democracy as a godless tool of the West.
a) They prefer rule by a devout tyrant.
b) Common people can't handle freedom.
2) Christians did not invent democracy (the Greeks did) but
we helped it flourish.
a) As our Declaration of Independence states, we believe
all humans have been created by God.
b) Therefore, we have value. We have rights.
1> We are not sheep.
IV. Without Christmas, God never became one of us.
A. There has always been religion in this world.
1) The book of Ecclesiastes says it is because God has made
us religious - he puts the desire in our hearts.
2) Our superstitious natures want to manipulate the unknown.
3) We have a tendency to worship things - or ourselves.
B. Christianity is unique.
1) Other faiths have humans reaching up to God.
a) You try to attain salvation by good works.
b) You follow some rules or laws, and if you make the
grade, you enter heaven.
1> Being kind to people.
2> Going to church every week.
3> Praying every day.
4> Good things like this.
c) For some of you, this may sum up your approach to God.
2) True Christianity goes in the other direction.
a) God reaches down to us.
b) He became one of us, in Jesus, and died for our sins.
c) Salvation is a gift, not a goal.
d) This is why Christians put such an emphasis on Jesus
and the cross.
1> Without Jesus, we are utterly lost.
2> Our good works are never good enough to satisfy
God's requirements.
3> We come to God with empty hands but an open heart.
A> Any good thing we do, is our way of saying
"thank you" to God for that gift.
C. Without Christmas, there is no Christianity.
1) Jesus isn't born, and he doesn't die for us.
2) We would be left on our own, without hope.
V. Are you having Christmas without Christmas?
A. The Star-Ledger had an interesting article this week.
1) It argued that there are two Christmases in America.
a) There is the traditional religious one about Jesus.
b) And there is a secular one with Santa Claus, etc.
1> A resident of Morristown, Thomas Nast, helped
popularize the secular one.
2> The article even suggested Nast invented it.
2) Ninety percent of our holiday is basically secular.
a) You can listen to many holiday songs before you ever
hear Jesus mentioned.
b) The foods and decorations are special to us, but
not necessarily spiritual.
c) Some of our traditions are downright pagan.
I watched a video this week that was a compilation
of recent real-life Christmas office parties.
The common factor in all of them was alcohol.
Way too much alcohol.
The funniest portion was a young woman, slurring
her words, and telling the guy with the camera
that her boss was a stingy jerk.
Her co-workers tried to get her attention - the boss
was right behind her, glaring at her.
3) Secular traditions have their place, but you have to have
more.
B. Don't forget Jesus.
1) One of my favorite Christmas decorations is our nativity
display.
a) We got the olive-wood figurines from Bethlehem; the
barn I made myself.
2) The centerpiece is the baby Jesus in the manger.
a) He is so small he is easy to lose.
C. Has Christmas happened for you?
1) You must be born again...
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
1. See wikipedia.org articles on “Southern Victory Series” and “Alternate
history.”
#26257 “We've Been Lied To: Christianity and the Rise of Science,”
Charles Colson, BreakPoint Commentary, December 4, 2003.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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