December 27th Family Christmas Questions / Advent Study
Here are the next questions for your family Christmas Study or Advent Study. They are followed by a creative idea on keeping Christ in your family Christmas. The answers to the questions appear at the end of this blog. One great benefit of doing this with your family is that it will become a tradition which transcends the Advent Season whereby you do a short daily Bible study as a family at every meal throughout the year. Answer each question True or False
According to the Bible… 65) _____ The Christmas Revelation ends with the arrival of the Magi.
66) _____ Mary was one of the great witnesses of Jesus in the New Testament Church. Both the Gospels and The Book of Acts have accounts of her ministry and her impact on the early church.
67) _____ In the early church pilgrimages were regularly held to the locations associated with the birth of Christ. The Inn, the stall, the manger and most notably the swaddling cloth in which he was wrapped - all become sources of veneration and numerous miracles are associated with these locations and objects.
Keeping Christ In Christmas - Begin The New Year Practicing Your "Christian Swear Words"
Before I came to Christ I had, what was then known in the vernacular as a “Foul Mouth”. Once I came to Christ this is one of many vices which I immediately laid aside. Long before I read and memorized Ephesians 5:3-4, where God the Holy Spirit teaches the church, “But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.” I had cleaned up my language. As we begin the New Year two things in this area both assail and dismay me. First the boldness in which modern men and women curse and second the sophistication which some Christians seem to feel in cursing as well. We should all know this is sin and that God forbids all cursing, profanity foul language etc. from His children. One way we can counter this flood which enters our minds is to use our own “Christian Swear Words”. I use these regularly. They include, “Merry Christmas”; “May God Bless You In The Coming Year”; “God Bless You”; “Praise The Lord”; “Thank You Jesus” and others. If satan can seek to fill our minds with his filth we can in turn proclaim both our position in Christ and His position in the world with our words. Often when I say this it elicits a response. Three recent examples are… 1. When checking out at a local pharmacy I said, “Mary Christmas and may God bless you in the coming year.” The man said, “Well I need God’s blessing!” I asked him why, he shared with me briefly, I then took his hand and prayed for him and my next time in brought him a New Testament. 2. Just yesterday, in a Starbucks Coffee shop I said, “Merry Christmas! In some cultures they celebrate Christmas with a worship service, then New Years and then have the traditional gift giving party again on the Kings Day when the Magi worshiped baby Jesus. So I keep saying Merry Christmas” This immediately resulted in questions from both workers and customers. 3. “Slave Bogo” means “Praise God” in Russian. I often say this when something good happens and I am asked by those involved, “what does it mean”. I was recently mailing some items when this happened. I said, “Happy New Year and Slava Bogo!” I was able to share with them concerning the proclamation of Christ in Russia, Russian Christians and the strength of the church in Russia. Four different workers wrote down “Slava Bogo” and practiced it. A number of customers were amazed at the devotion to Christ found in the Russian Christian church.
During the post-Christmas holiday season continue to say “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Kings Day” and “May God Bless You This New Year” and other such phrases but be prepared to witness for Christ and have your tracts and New Testaments nearby because God will open doors as you publicly declare His name and the Name of Jesus.
The Answers to today’s Advent Questions -
65) F – Luke 2:21 – 40 and continued in Matthew 2:13-23 (The Christmas Revelation ends with the arrival of the Magi.) The Christmas revelation actually ends with Jesus’ family return to Nazareth from the exile in Egypt and His subsequent dedication in the temple with the accompanying prophecies. In Matthew 2:13 & 14, an Angel of the Lord warned Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt and then in verses 19 – 23 an Angel appeared again in a dream to Joseph and instructed him to return to Israel to reside in the city of Nazareth. The Revelation continues on in Luke 2:21 – 40 with the presentation of Jesus at the temple and the prophecies which took place at that time. The Historical Revelation of the “Christmas Story” ends with the return of the Joseph and Mary to Nazareth in Luke 2:40
66) F – (Mary was one of the great witnesses of Jesus in the New Testament Church. Both the Gospels and The Book of Acts have accounts of her ministry and her impact on the early church.) The last mention of Mary, the mother of Jesus is Acts 1:14. There is no Scriptural indication that she played any part in neither the growth of Christianity nor the expansion of the church. Although in the Book of The Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles numerous women are mentioned as laboring in the church as teachers and laborers Mary’s name, unlike those of his brothers, is consciously absent. From the beginning her actions are in marked contrast with others around her. An example of this can be seen in the Historical Revelation of the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:18 – 20. While both the angels and the shepherds are openly proclaiming Jesus Mary is quiet, keeping things to herself.
67) F – (In the early church pilgrimages were regularly held to the locations associated with the birth of Christ. The Inn, the stall, the manger and most notably the swaddling cloth in which he was wrapped - all become sources of veneration and numerous miracles are associated with these locations and objects.) From the Scriptural account it becomes obvious that during the years after the life of Christ, the years after resurrection of Christ, the period of the expansion and the establishment of the church and on until the completion of the Scriptures no special mention nor attention was ever given to the geographical locals relating to the events of Christ’s life nor the physical objects associated with His life. You can search both the historical records of the Gospels and book of Acts as well as the writings of the Apostles and holy Scripture and you will not find a single instance of a pilgrimage, miracle nor even interest in the places and objects associated with the life of Christ. The early church was completely indifferent to these places and objects, the emphasis being placed upon the person of Christ, the Word of God and the ministry of the Church. The obsession of 21st Century Christians with the spiritual, mystical and yes, even magical aspects of pilgrimage locations and objects (as associated with miracles and apparitions) is in stark contrast with the ministry of the early church and Apostles. Both the Apostles and the early church were so indifferent to these pseudo-religious practices that no effort was made to preserve neither the locations of Jesus ministry (Examples Being: The Inn, the manger, the Upper Room, the home of Mary and Joseph where Jesus grew up, the list goes on...) nor the objects associated with His ministry (Examples Being: The manger, the swaddling cloth, the robe, the crown of thorns, the cross, again the list is almost endless.)
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