02 December 2018
Two-Minute Features | 09 December 2018

History Behind the Celebration of Christmas, Part 2 (TMF:SE18)

Friday, December 07, 2018
Peace to Live By: History Behind the Celebration of Christmas, Part 2 (TMF:SE18) - Daniel Litton
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       An excellent read about the history of Christmas is a book titled ‘The Battle for Christmas’ by Stephen Nissenbaum. I recommend this book to anyone to read. We know that Christmas, as a holiday, originally became a reality in the fourth century (Nissenbaum, 1996, p. 4). This is when the Christian church decided to recognize Christmas, and the day of celebration was placed on December 25, as this was around the period of time that the Winter season began. Now, here in America, the first Americans, the Pilgrims, who were Puritans, didn’t celebrate Christmas and in fact believed it to be a sin to do so. This is because in their eager legalism, they believed that since the date of December 25 for the birth of Christ doesn’t appear in the Bible, that it was wrong to therefore celebrate the holiday. While they were correct in stating that December 25 for the birth of Christ doesn’t appear in the Bible, I think what God really cares about here is the heart attitude we are displaying when we celebrate Christmas. We have made Christmas to be all out giving, and with that attitude, we are in the right.

Reference
Nissenbaum, Stephen. (1996). The Battle for Christmas. New York: Vintage Books.

History Behind the Celebration of Christmas, Part 1 (TMF:SE17)

Thursday, December 06, 2018
Peace to Live By: History Behind the Celebration of Christmas, Part 1 (TMF:SE17) - Daniel Litton
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       We had separated ourselves from God by our sin, but Jesus makes possible a resorted relationship. Verse 17, in John chapter 3, states: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (ESV). Anyone, then, who believes in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins can be saved from any of God’s wrath to come in the future. But before we touch on this a little more, while we are on the subject of history today, I thought it might be beneficial for us to understand some of the history behind the celebration of Christmas and especially in America. An excellent read about the history of Christmas, and particularly the American history, is a book titled ‘The Battle for Christmas’ by Stephen Nissenbaum. I recommend this book to anyone to read, and I will be relying on some of the author’s information today to carry us along through the American roots of Christmas. We know that Christmas, as a holiday, originally became a reality in the fourth century (Nissenbaum, 1996, p. 4).

Reference
Nissenbaum, Stephen. (1996). The Battle for Christmas. New York: Vintage Books.

Remembering the Real Meaning Behind Christmas (TMF:SE16)

Wednesday, December 05, 2018
Peace to Live By: Remembering the Real Meaning Behind Christmas (TMF:SE16) - Daniel Litton
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       It’s important for us to remember the real meaning behind Christmas, the most important gift given of all time, and this is the gift God gave to us, of his Son, whom he sent into the world to save us. This really is at the heart of our gift-giving, or it should be. Remember what the Apostle John has told us in his Gospel, the most famous verse of the whole Bible. You know it by heart. He said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, ESV). Yes, God loved the world then, some 2,000 years ago, and he loves the world today. He wants everyone to be in right relationship with him, and he, sending his Son into the world, made this possible. We had separated ourselves from God by our sin, but Jesus makes possible a resorted relationship. Verse 17, in John chapter 3, states: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (ESV).

Intro to An American History of Christmastime (TMF:SE15)

Tuesday, December 04, 2018
Peace to Live By: Intro to An American History of Christmastime (TMF:SE15) - Daniel Litton
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       One of my favorite paintings of all time is the famous one of ‘Washington Crossing the Delaware.’ The crossing of the Delaware took place on Christmas Day Eve of 1776. The year of 1776, while it was the year of the Declaration of Independence, had proved to be a tuff and troublesome year for the Continental Army in the fighting of the War of Independence, the Revolutionary War. So, Washington needed something big—he needed a substantial victory against the British. Washington’s tactic in attacking Trenton was, of course, the element of surprise. Christmas is all about the element of surprise. Sometimes people need a morale boast, just like the Continental soldiers needed, and so we give our gifts to others hoping they will make them happy. We want Christmas to be a joyful time, a time of celebration, a time when we are with family, and perhaps even friends, celebrating the goodness of life and all that God has done for us. We are thankful for how kind he has been to us throughout the year. And we want to bless others by giving to them out the abundance that God has given to us.

Our Faith Tested Develops Our Self-Control (TMF:1031)

Monday, December 03, 2018
Peace to Live By: Our Faith Tested Develops Our Self-Control (TMF:1031) - Daniel Litton
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       However, just because a difficulty or trial may have entered into your life, this does not mean God is punishing you. Quite the opposite. We have to have our faith put to the test so that we will further develop our self-control. If nothing bad or nothing challenging ever happened, we would not grow, but really we would regress backwards in our Christian character. We cannot just have easy lives all the time. There will be times when things are easy for us and exactly the way we want them to be, but there will also be times when that is not true. James has taught us, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4, ESV). Steadfastness relates to self-control. We cannot be firm in our beliefs and stand firm if we don’t have faith and exercise self-control in our thoughts and emotions.