Celebrating Christmas
By James Boice
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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?
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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