Keep Your Sanity This Christmas
Rex Yancey
Luke 2:8-20
Bishop Gerald Kennedy told about a woman and a child who were looking in a department store window on a cold night before Christmas. The woman was thin, with many lines in her face, and her coat was worn. The little girl had on a cotton jacket and the shoes were worn out at the toes. Inside the department store was a bright warm manger scene with a Madonna richly robed receiving the expensive gifts of the wise men.
The little girl looked at the lavished scene and said to her mother, "Mary never had any troubles like we have, did she Mama? With tears in her eyes, the woman took the little girl's hand and hurried away.
The Bishop replied, "Brethren let us try to help our people understand what Christmas really means. Let no one leave our churches thinking the incarnation has nothing to do with trouble, but let us pray for words to describe what happens to us when God in Christ shares our sorrows and leads us to the triumph of personal victory."
Christmas will not be Merry to all. Do you know of anyone who is in poor health right now? Do you know anyone who has lost a loved one this year? Do you know someone who has gone through a divorce? Do you know someone who has lost their job? Do you know of anyone who is estranged from their family? Do you know some senior adults who are barely making it on social security? The list could go on and on.
Make no mistake about it. Many are dreading Christmas. But what should be done when Christmas is not Merry?
1. RIGHTLY DIVIDE THE WORD OF TRUTH
Christmas is more of a cultural holiday than it is a spiritual holiday. The business world has seized the opportunity to bail them out of a bad economic year.
You will go into businesses that have beautifully decorated Christmas trees, festive music will be playing, and people will be decked out in their Christmas colors. The idea is to get you in a festive mood so you will spend some dollars.
I can under ...
Rex Yancey
Luke 2:8-20
Bishop Gerald Kennedy told about a woman and a child who were looking in a department store window on a cold night before Christmas. The woman was thin, with many lines in her face, and her coat was worn. The little girl had on a cotton jacket and the shoes were worn out at the toes. Inside the department store was a bright warm manger scene with a Madonna richly robed receiving the expensive gifts of the wise men.
The little girl looked at the lavished scene and said to her mother, "Mary never had any troubles like we have, did she Mama? With tears in her eyes, the woman took the little girl's hand and hurried away.
The Bishop replied, "Brethren let us try to help our people understand what Christmas really means. Let no one leave our churches thinking the incarnation has nothing to do with trouble, but let us pray for words to describe what happens to us when God in Christ shares our sorrows and leads us to the triumph of personal victory."
Christmas will not be Merry to all. Do you know of anyone who is in poor health right now? Do you know anyone who has lost a loved one this year? Do you know someone who has gone through a divorce? Do you know someone who has lost their job? Do you know of anyone who is estranged from their family? Do you know some senior adults who are barely making it on social security? The list could go on and on.
Make no mistake about it. Many are dreading Christmas. But what should be done when Christmas is not Merry?
1. RIGHTLY DIVIDE THE WORD OF TRUTH
Christmas is more of a cultural holiday than it is a spiritual holiday. The business world has seized the opportunity to bail them out of a bad economic year.
You will go into businesses that have beautifully decorated Christmas trees, festive music will be playing, and people will be decked out in their Christmas colors. The idea is to get you in a festive mood so you will spend some dollars.
I can under ...
There are 7311 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
