17 December 2017
Two-Minute Features | 24 December 2017 | 10 December 2017

First the Birth of Christ, Then Comes the Kingdom (TMF:SE28)

Friday, December 22, 2017
Peace to Live By: First the Birth of Christ, Then Comes the Kingdom (TMF:SE28) - Daniel Litton
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       And it was some 1,000 years later that Christ was born into the world, and he was the fulfillment of the promise that God made to David. He is of the lineage of David, as both Matthew and Luke so clearly show us, and he is to reign on the earth as King (see Matthew 1 & Luke 3). You know the famous passage. You remember what Isaiah prophesied. Isaiah 9:6, 7 state: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this” (ESV). Now, only the first part of this passage has been fulfilled thus far in human history. We are still waiting for Christ to come again and to establish his kingdom for the Israelites here on the earth. And he is going to do this very soon.

The Real Roots of Christmas- It's All About Jesus (TMF:SE27)

Thursday, December 21, 2017
Peace to Live By: The Real Roots of Christmas- It's All About Jesus (TMF:SE27) - Daniel Litton
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       Getting at the real roots of Christmas, then, we know that Christmas is all about Jesus. It’s about his birth into our world, some 2,000 years ago, in a little Jewish town called Bethlehem, over in Israel. You see, God had promised King David in 2 Samuel chapter 7, in the Old Testament, that he would establish an everlasting kingdom for the Israelites. Let’s review what God said to King David. 2 Samuel 7:12-14 states: “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son” (ESV). And it was some 1,000 years later that Christ was born into the world, and he was the fulfillment of the promise that God made to David. He is of the lineage of David, as both Matthew and Luke so clearly show us, and he is to reign on the earth as King (see Matthew 1 & Luke 3).

Should Everyone Be Celebrating Christmas? (TMF:SE26)

Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Peace to Live By: Should Everyone Be Celebrating Christmas? (TMF:SE26) - Daniel Litton
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       We see, then, how the gift giving was further developed by the character of Santa Claus, and, of course, we saw the commercialization of Christmas throughout the 1900s. What I find to be interesting, personally, is that so many businesses, stores, seek to profit off of the Christian holiday of Christmas and yet do not want to uphold Christian values and morality throughout the rest of the year. It’s like, Christianity is good during Christmastime, but for the rest of the year Christianity is bad. This is an unfortunate and yet hypocritical paradox among merchants today. But many people do the same thing. I personally don’t even know why so many people celebrate Christmas when it is a Christian holiday. There are so many non-Christians who want to take part in the Christmas festivities but who either don’t believe in Jesus Christ, or who deny him by there actions throughout the year. Really, if you stop and think about it, if a person doesn’t believe in Jesus, should that person be celebrating Christmas—the birth of Jesus? I would encourage everyone to examine themselves and think about that.

The Role of Santa Claus in Christmas, Part 2 (TMF:SE25)

Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Peace to Live By: The Role of Santa Claus in Christmas, Part 2 (TMF:SE25) - Daniel Litton
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       It happens that soon thereafter the judgment idea was removed from Santa Claus, and he would in fact only bring a “happy Christmas to all.” ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ was written by Clement Moore which carries the famous phrase, “’Twas the night before Christmas…” So, Santa Claus becomes only a positive guy, so to speak, where he just brings presents and happiness to children. Moore really created the Santa Claus that most Americans know and love in our day and age. He is the bearer of gifts, brought by his sleigh pulled by his reindeer which landed on the roofs of people’s homes. But it’s in the latter half of the 1800s that we finally see Santa Claus taking shaping, literally so to speak, into how we see him today. It is during this time at we learn he goes down chimneys, and he seems to gain weight as the years pass by. The famous artist, Thomas Nast, does many drawings of Santa Claus, and these certainly contribute, and carried along, the way we see him today. And Claus’ home being in the North Pole also comes to us during this time in a poem written by author George P. Webster.

The Role of Santa Claus in Christmas, Part 1 (TMF:SE24)

Monday, December 18, 2017
Peace to Live By: The Role of Santa Claus in Christmas, Part 1 (TMF:SE24) - Daniel Litton
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       Nonetheless, by 1821, we read of Christmas being celebrated on December 24th and 25th, but it was meant to be sort of a children’s version of an adults Judgement Day. The point was to emphasize to children the importance of doing right in this life. If a child did right throughout the year, he or she would be rewarded by St. Nicholas. However, if the child did wrong, he or she would find a rod, or coal as we have changed it to, in the morning. This practice among children was supposed to remind them of, or make them aware, that what we do in our lives matters. So, St. Nicholas’, or Santa’s, job is important. Children learned that what really matters is eternity, and one would not want to find him or herself spending an eternity in Hell because he or she was living in the wrong way—out of a proper relationship with Christ. It happens that soon thereafter the judgment idea was removed from Santa Claus, and he would in fact only bring a “happy Christmas to all.”