Merry Christmas 2006

Why is Christmas important?

It reminds us that God gave us the gift of his Son Jesus, so that anyone who believes in ("believe in" - meaning to trust, rely upon, depend upon...) Jesus might have eternal life. Whether you believe that or not, it is the greatest example of gift-giving known to man.

Why was Jesus such a BIG gift?

Because Jesus was/is the only begotten Son of God. God, in giving us his only Son, gave Him knowing that He would someday be crucified and put to death. If you were in God's place, and knew that your child would be put to a horrible death at the age of 33, for a crime that they were innocent of committing, and you knew that before you had even conceived that child, would you go ahead and send that child? But God did, WHY?

Why would God allow that to happen to His Son?

The Bible teaches us that all men are sinners, and that sin is abhorrent to God. The Bible also teaches that God cannot accept people who have sinned and God requires a blood sacrifice (payment) for sin. The death of Jesus was the one blood sacrifice that makes people acceptable to God; providing that they personally accept and put their trust in the sacrifice made by Jesus.

Is there another way for me to pay the debt of sin?

No there isn't. If there was, God would have chosen another route rather than send his Son? Here is what Jesus Himself said:

So the death of Jesus is important - why do we celebrate His birth?

It's a good question because if Christians were to celebrate anything it should be the resurrection of Jesus (Easter). The resurrection of Jesus is VERY important to the Christian faith because His resurrection proved that what He said was true. And the Bible teaches that Christians - who are the adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus - will be raised from the dead just as he was. Here's just how important the resurrection is:

Is there anything important about the birth of Jesus?

There is one thing about the Christmas story that is central to Christian belief: the virgin birth. Actually it would be better understood as the virgin conception. The Bible teaches that Mary, having had no sex with any human being, was impregnated by the Spirit of God. Therefore, Mary's son was the biological offspring of God. You will notice the Bible sometimes refers to Jesus as the Son of Man (referring to his humanity; from his mother) and sometimes refers to Him as the Son of God (referring to His deity; from his father).

Was it important that Jesus not have a human father?

It is essential. The Bible teaches that ALL men are sinners because they inherit the propensity to sin (often called a sinful nature) through their fathers. Their fathers and mothers inherited it from their fathers, all the way back to the first man Adam. Our sinfulness is best thought of as a genetic defect, a defect which came about as a result of Adam's decision to sin. Because the father of Jesus was God, it broke the transfer of sin.

Was it important that Jesus be sinless?

It was very important that Jesus be born sinless and that he remained sinless; unlike Adam who was born sinless but then chose to sin. The Bible teaches that only a sacrifice without blemish (meaning no defect, ie. sin) could be used as a blood offering to God. And that one time sacrifice by Jesus was good enough, and big enough, that ANYONE placing their trust in Jesus for salvation will have their sins forgiven.


So this year, as I reflect on the coming celebration of Christmas, I want to publicly share with you my thanks to God, who not only gave us Jesus, but who is the source of every good and perfect thing in our lives.

May your Christmas and Holiday celebrations be a time of good cheer and reflection on how blessed we are.

And finally our thoughts continue to be with our troops who will spend their Christmas oversees, in defense of our freedom and liberty, so that we who are here can live and believe as we choose.