Celebrating Christmas
By James Boice
()
About this ebook
People from all different backgrounds and beliefs celebrate the Christmas season. But should Christians celebrate Christmas, and if so, how? In this booklet, Dr. Boice shows from the Bible what Christmas means for Christians: Overwhelming peace and joy in the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. With this in view, Christmas presents yet another opportunity for us to glorify and enjoy our merciful and loving God. "O come, let us adore Him!"
James Boice
James Boice was born in California in 1982, raised in northern Virginia, and currently lives near Boston. He is the author of MVP and Who Killed The Fonz?
Read more from James Boice
Does Inerrancy Matter? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Good and the Ghastly: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpiritual Disciplines within the Church: Participating Fully in the Body of Christ Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5MVP: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Who's Choosing Whom? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Find Hope Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNoVA: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Shooting Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Celebrating Christmas
Related ebooks
The Church of Christ Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Glory of the Cross: Exploring the Meaning of the Death of Christ Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5'Jesus Himself' Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gospel Arrows: Observations on Heart-Piercing Preaching Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Find Hope Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsComing to Grips with Unanswered Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFirst-Century Truth for a Twenty-First Century World: The Crucial Issues of Biblical Authority Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Faith Bible Study Participant's Guide: Six Sessions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKeys to the Deeper Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiving by the Book: The Joy of Loving and Trusting God's Word Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Christians Grow: Spiritual Transformation for Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of Martyn Lloyd-Jones's The Assurance of Our Salvation (Studies in John 17) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreat Commission Obedience Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finishing Our Course with Joy: Guidance from God for Engaging with Our Aging Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jonathan Edwards's Bible: The Relationship of the Old and New Testaments Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy I Love Home Church Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeepening Our Relationship With Christ Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEverlasting to Everlasting: God Change Not: Malachi 3:6 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGod's Book the Bible Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Life You Were Born to Give: Why It's Better to Live than to Receive Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHabakkuk Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Enduring Legacy of Faith Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPsalm 119: God's Key to Unlock Scripture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReclaiming Adoption: Missional Living Through the Rediscovery of Abba Father Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Walking as He Walked Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Religious Affections Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGo Make Disciples: How Jesus Did It, How We Can Do It Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChristian Hope Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThoughts for the Quiet Hour Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Holidays For You
Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room: Daily Family Devotions for Advent Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Case for Easter: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for the Resurrection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/540 Days of Decrease: A Different Kind of Hunger. A Different Kind of Fast. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jesus Calling Book Club Discussion Guide for Women Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Christmas Carols For Guitar: Graded arrangements of 12 favourite Christmas songs for acoustic, fingerstyle and classical guitar Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Indisputable Existence of Santa Claus: The Mathematics of Christmas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGood News of Great Joy: 25 Devotional Readings for Advent Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unwrapping the Names of Jesus: An Advent Devotional Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Living a Jewish Life, Revised and Updated: Jewish Traditions, Customs, and Values for Today's Families Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesus Lives: Seeing His Love in Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesus Calling Book Club Discussion Guide for Men Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Llewellyn's Little Book of Yule Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The First Advent in Palestine: Reversals, Resistance, and the Ongoing Complexity of Hope Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twelfth Night Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Silent Night: The Stories Behind 40 Beloved Christmas Carols Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe True Saint Nicholas: Why He Matters to Christmas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Heart of Christmas: A Devotional for the Season Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lent in Plain Sight: A Devotion through Ten Objects Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Celebrating Abundance: Devotions for Advent Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jesus Calling for Christmas, with Full Scriptures: Seasonal Devotions for Christmas Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rise: An Authentic Lenten Devotional Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Christmas Sermons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Characters of Christmas: The Unlikely People Caught Up in the Story of Jesus Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/528 Carols to Sing at Christmas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for Celebrating Christmas
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Celebrating Christmas - James Boice
Celebrating
Christmas
James Boice
James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000) was the pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia from 1968 to 2000. During that time, he took up the mantle of Dr. Donald Barnhouse’s Evangelical Ministries, which reorganized in 1994 as the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.
James Boice served as the chairman of the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy (ICBI), which in 1978 drafted the seminal Chicago Statement.
He also served as assistant editor of Christianity Today, and as editor of Eternity Magazine. James Boice’s Bible teaching continues on The Bible Study Hour radio and internet program, which prepares listeners to think and act biblically.
©1975 The Evangelical Foundation, Inc.
Revised 2018, Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, 600 Eden Rd., Lancaster, PA 17601. All rights reserved.
The booklet is adapted from The Bible Study Hour, a ministry of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.
All Scripture from King James Version of the Bible, unless otherwise noted.
This publication may be duplicated in its entirety and without edit, including this full disclaimer, for personal, small group, non- commercial use. No more than 200 copies may be made. No electronic use beyond email is permitted. Any use other than those listed herein are forbidden without prior written permission from the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. All rights reserved.
JMB008
Contents
1. Celebrating Christmas
2. Finding Joy in Christmas
3. The Peace of Christmas
Notes
1. Celebrating Christmas
We have before us a well-known text, Luke 2:17-20, which tells how to celebrate Christmas. How should we celebrate Christmas? The question is important because of the importance of the day and because so many obviously do not know how to celebrate it.
I know, of course, that Jesus was probably not born on December 25—at least there is no real evidence that He was. Nevertheless, this is the day that most people, Christians and non-Christians alike, observe as His birthday, and if we are to mark it at all, this seems to be the only realistic time to do it. But how? That is the question. What is a genuinely Christian way to observe Christ’s nativity? Quite obviously, the fact that the world often celebrates the day in non-Christian ways is no excuse for Christians to either neglect or misuse it.
How do you celebrate Christmas? If we are honest, we must admit that many persons, even Christians, celebrate it most by watching football games on television, decorating their houses, visiting relative and friends, or buying presents. Others—I hope Christians are not among this number—celebrate it by getting drunk, some beginning at the office party on the last working