by Mitchell Skelton

I love Christmas. There is no one facet of Christmas that makes the season so charming to me. I think it is the combination of all the different aspects. I enjoy the family gatherings, the food, giving gifts, the eyes of little children as they set their gaze upon Santa Clause, and, of course, there is the receiving of gifts. Christmas became much sweeter to me when I became a father. Nothing thrills me more than to watch my children as they unwrap that one special gift; the one Santa always puts way behind the tree so that you inevitably open it last.

One thing that has always puzzled me about Christmas is the zealot-like effort that some men put forth to show that Jesus really wasn't born on December 25th. The reality that Jesus was or was not born on this specific day really does not matter in the big scheme of things. Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to celebrate the birth of Christ and yet nowhere in the Bible are we told to ignore his birth either.

Like it or not, the majority of people in the world still celebrate December 25th as the birthday of Jesus Christ. Rather than ignore his birth or, worse yet, try to discredit the holiday and those who observe it, I believe we should embrace this holiday as an evangelistic opportunity.

One of the first examples of evangelism was Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip found the eunuch, a religious man, reading prophesies about Christ from Isaiah 53. The Bible tells us; "Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus" (Acts 8:35). Philip did not assume that the eunuch was naive or unlearned in the Scripture, yet he knew there was more he needed to know. The eunuch needed to hear the good news about Jesus. The eunuch had an obvious interest in God and a desire to know about the prophesied Messiah. Philip capitalized on this man's desire to learn about Christ and the eunuch, after being baptized, "went on his way rejoicing." We, too, should learn from Philip's example. Wherever we find a seeker of Christ, there is where we should start teaching them the good news. With so many seekers of Christ focusing on his birth during this Christmas season we would be careless, even negligent, if we did not start from "that very passage of Scripture" and tell them the good news about Jesus.

The birth of Jesus was good news for all people. "But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people" (Luke 2:10). Jesus' birth was good news because it brought light into the darkness of the world. "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). Jesus' birth was necessary for our atonement. For Jesus to take away our sins he had to become human. "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:14—17).

The birth of Jesus was a demonstration of God's grace. The birth of Jesus was God's declaration to mankind that he takes sin seriously. Jesus came to take away the sin of the world. "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:5—6). Jesus came to give us the gift of grace. "But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!" (Rom. 5:15—17).

The news of a gracious Savior requires man to act. The shepherds' example in the birth narrative of Jesus shows us the urgency of seeking Christ. Upon hearing the news of the birth of a Savior the Bible says, "They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby" (Luke 2:16). In Matthew's account of Jesus' birth, we find the story of the Magi or Wise Men who sought out the newborn King of the Jews. What we know to be true of these men is still true today; wise men still seek Him! "Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD" (Ps. 107:43).

This Christmas season, do the right thing concerning true seekers of Christ. Take them from where they are and teach them the good news!

by Mitchell Skelton

Bill Keane's comic strip, Family Circus, has communicated a beautiful truth about Christmas. As the children were setting up their nativity set, little Dolly held up the baby Jesus and declared, "Here's the star of Bethlehem!" /1

As we approach Christmas, and while the majority of the "Christian" world will be thinking about Christ during this season, I want us to consider "The star of Bethlehem." It would be careless if we ignored the reason placed upon this season and failed to teach Christ to a lost and dying world.

Paul proclaimed to the Corinthians, "When I came to you brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:1,2). The very fact that Jesus did come to earth and became human is the very cornerstone of our faith. For Jesus to die, he had to become human. For Jesus to endure the cross he had to be born of woman. While we certainly must admit that we do not know the exact day of Jesus' birth we certainly must admit that he was indeed born. Instead of ignoring Christmas, let us embrace the season as an opportunity for evangelism.

J. G. Dailey, wrote a timeless hymn asking a very poignant question, "Why did my Savior come to earth, and to the humble go? Why did he choose a lowly birth? Because he loved me so! Why did He drink the bitter cup of sorrow, pain and woe? Why on the cross be lifted up? Because he loved me so! He loved me so, He loved me so; He gave his precious life for me, for me, because he loved me so."

We must never forget that for all the trial and persecution that Christ endured since his birth, he had no sin. Christ lived a sinless life to be a perfect sacrifice (1 Pet. 2:22). Christ's sinless perfection paved the way for our future perfection. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). The fact that Christ did live a perfect life means that we can attach ourselves to Christ's sinless perfection, and this is the Christian's hope.

Christ did not stop at living a sinless life as a man. Christ went further and became sin for us. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). God, being just, could not overlook sin. The penalty for sin had to be paid. "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people (Heb. 2:14, 17).

It is in Christ that we become the righteousness of God. In Christ, we become new creatures. "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him (Rom. 6:1–8).

Why did my Savior come to Earth? "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (Jn. 3:16,17). God's love is wide enough for the whole world! If you are included in the world then you are included in God's love. Jesus came to earth to die on the cross. The cross is where God forgave His children without lowering His standards. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21).

1 Houston Chronicle, Family Circus, Dec. 23 1988

by Mitchell Skelton Mark 2:13–17

After a series of revival sermons, a church had prayed enthusiastically for God to give them growth. It happened that one Sunday at worship a known prostitute entered the building and took a seat in the back of the building. Everyone ignored her. After hearing the sermon, she felt the call of the gospel and responded. The preacher and the congregation did not know what to do, much less say. After a very long and uncomfortable silence one well respected man in the congregation stood up, breaking the silence, and suggested that they all pray. He prayed, "Oh Lord, we know that we have prayed that this church would grow and that we prayed that many would hear the gospel and believe. However, when we prayed we didn't know that you would be sending such sinners as this. Don’t you know that we don’t allow people such as this in our church?" It was not until this moment that the members of this church realized that God had indeed answered their prayers!

What is your attitude toward the growth of the Lord's church? Are you ready and willing to accept what God has in store for his church? What about your attitude toward those on the fringe, are you willing to accept them into the fold when God calls? Jesus had an opportunity to show us the proper attitude toward "sinners" in the call of Matthew Levi. Matthew was so excited about meeting Jesus that he wanted all of his friends to meet him. It was during Matthew's "dinner party" that the Pharisees, who saw him there, questioned Jesus' disciples saying, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

Do you, like the Pharisees, constantly find yourself looking for the wrong in someone? Jesus warned of having such an attitude and taught that we should be concerned first and foremost with our own problems. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye" (Matt. 7:3–5).

Jesus didn't view the world as an opportunity for contamination but rather as an opportunity for conversion. When Jesus was traveling in Samaria, he came across a woman who had been married five times and was now living with someone who was not her husband. After Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman he spoke to his disciples with urgency proclaiming, "the fields are ripe to harvest!" (Jn. 4:35). Jesus commanded us to preach the gospel to ALL creation, NO EXCEPTIONS (Mk. 16:15,16).

When you consider the "sinners" of this world, what do you see? Do you only see their problems or do you see past the problems and see potential? The Pharisees looked at Matthew's group of friends and could see no good. Jesus never denied that these people didn't have problems. Jesus acknowledged their problems. Yet, Jesus saw past their problems and looked at their potential (Mk. 2:17).

When 16-year-old Eliza married 20-year-old Andrew, he had never been to school. Others might have written Andrew off as a "lost cause", but not Eliza. She persisted and taught him to read and write. Andrew proved to be a fast learner. He learned so well in fact that years later he became the 17th President of the United States. You see, Eliza's Andrew was none other than Andrew Johnson. /1

How do you view the world? Is the world an opportunity for contamination or an opportunity for conversion? What do you see when you look at the lost souls of the world? Is it only their problems you see or do you see their potential?

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mk. 2:17).

1 Bruce Rzengota, www.sermoncentral.com

by Mitchell Skelton Psalm 103:1 – 22

The observance of Thanksgiving is a tradition that we hold near to our heart as Americans. The tradition of gathering together with friends and family for Thanksgiving began almost 400 years ago at Plymouth Colony. The Pilgrims uprooted themselves and sailed for America on the Mayflower seeking religious freedom and a new way of life for their families. Through what they endured, it is amazing that we ever came to have this holiday at all. Instead of landing in Virginia where others from England had already established settlements, the Mayflower was blown off course and landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts just in time for winter to set in. What ensued next was enough to break the will of even the strongest of people, terrible storms and sickness ravaged the settlers. Gov. William Bradford described this first winter as, “That which was most sad and lamentable.” He went on to describe how that sometimes two even three people died each day. Shelter from the harsh winter was scant as the Pilgrims spent their time digging seven times as many graves for their dead as they built homes for the living. The very fact that the tradition of Thanksgiving originated from this band of beaten brothers is amazing indeed!

Wanting never to forget how God delivered them from their want the Pilgrims and their ancestors developed a tradition to remember the hard times from which they had been delivered. Whenever the Pilgrims gathered for a dinner of “thanksgiving” they had a custom of placing five kernels of corn upon an empty plate before the meal was served. Each member of the family would pick up a kernel and tell that for which they were thankful. This was a reminder to them how during that first winter at Plymouth food was so scarce that each individual was rationed only five kernels of corn each day.

As Christians, we should always remember, even in the direst circumstances, to place our reliance upon God. Today, as we look forward to Thanksgiving, let us take five kernels from Psalm 103 for which we can be thankful toward God.

“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:1 – 5)

The Kernel of Forgiveness (Psalm 103:3a)

God’s forgiveness is something we can never earn. “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10). Because of the mercy he has shown us, we should be continually thankful. God’s forgiveness is something we as sinful man can never fully understand. God’s forgiveness is complete forgiveness. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12)

The Kernel of Healing (Psalm 103:3b)

All healing is divine healing and the direct result of God’s work. The healing properties God built into our bodies are part of his process of divine healing. Modern medicines and the knowledge of Doctors are extensions of God’s healing. God does not promise to heal everyone’s diseases, but that he has the power to heal all diseases. Most importantly, God is the only one who can cure our spiritual diseases.

The Kernel of Redemption (Psalm 103:4a)

God is totally responsible for our redemption from sin. That is what it means when we read in scripture, “We are saved by grace.” By the grace of God he sent his Son to die in our place. “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18 – 19) . We could not pay for our sin, but Christ could and he did

The Kernel of Love and Compassion (Psalm 103:4b)

God’s compassion for us is like a father to his child. “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13). God’s love is unmatched in heaven or on earth. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6 – 8).

The Kernel of Blessing (Psalm 103:5)

God’s blessings are given to those who obey him. “But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’S love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts” (Psalm 103:17 – 18). God knows how to bless his children. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him” (Matt. 7:7 – 11).

This Thanksgiving take the time to give thanks!

by Mitchell Skelton 1 Corinthians 11:17–34

Priscilla Larson, of Lexington, Mass., tells of the time her brother-in-law (a preacher) had been away from home one afternoon donating his blood at the Red Cross. The preacher's son was concerned when his father didn't come home at his usual time, so he asked his mother, "Is dad going around visiting all the sick people?" His mother replied, "No honey, he's giving blood." He paused in deep thought for a moment and then as his eyes lit up he exclaimed, "But we know it's really grape juice, don't we, mom?"/1

At a tender age, this little boy knew what many of us, far advanced in years, should know: the cup of communion represents the blood of Jesus. The very mention of blood reminded him of the Lord's Supper.

In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul seeks to correct some serious problems the Christians at Corinth had with the practice of the Lord's Supper. Paul reminds them of Jesus' institution of this sacred emblem and instructs them concerning: (1) It's Practice; (2) It's Purpose; and (3) It's Perpetuity.

The Practice of the Memorial Supper

The Lord's Supper was meant to be partaken by the assembled church. Paul's language in 1 Corinthians leaves no doubt that the memorial supper was to be eaten when the church "comes together." By implication, we know that Paul is speaking of the God-ordained assembly of the church on the first day of the week. Scripture states that the Lord's Supper was taken on the first day of the week. "On the first day of the week we came together to break bread" (Acts 20:7a).

Christ gave the implements of the Lord's Supper. In all four gospel accounts, we can read of the inception of this meal by the Lord himself. The three elements to be used in this memorial meal are shown to us by Christ's example: unleavened bread, fruit of the vine, and prayer. (Matt. 26:26–30)

The Purpose of the Memorial Supper

The Lord's Supper is a memorial of Christ's death. Most people understand that, as we eat the bread, which represents Christ's body, and as we drink the fruit of the vine, which represents his blood, we remember those moments on the cross where he gave his all for us. However, the significance of the meal goes much further in its meaning.

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup (1 Cor. 11:23–28).

The Lord's Supper looks forward to Christ's second coming. This is evident by the command to partake of it "until he comes." The Lord's Supper is evangelistic in nature. When we partake of the supper, Paul says, "You proclaim the Lord's death." Each time we eat the Lord's Supper we show to those around that we care that Christ cared. The Lord's Supper is a cause for self-examination. The serious nature of the individual's state of mind when he eats the memorial meal is seen by Paul's statement against eating "in an unworthy manner." Participation in the memorial meal should help us to take a personal inventory of our faith.

The Perpetuity of the Memorial Supper

Christ intended for His memorial to be observed "until he comes" (1 Cor. 11:26; Matt. 26:29). Scripture implies that the Lord's Supper was to be observed on the first day of every week. In each incident of Christians meeting on the first day of the week in the New Testament we also see a reference to "breaking bread" or the Lord's Supper. Early church and secular history show that Christians came together on Sunday for the purpose of worship with the central element of their worship being the Lord's Supper.

The Lord's Supper is a God-ordained part of our worship to him. Jesus Christ gave us the practice we follow. The purpose is to remember Christ and proclaim his death. Christ intended for us to keep it in perpetuity or "until he comes."

Most people would not dare to ridicule Christ by changing its practice nor would they substitute its purpose for any other reason than that which Christ intended; neither should we fail in observing the supper as Christ intended.

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1/Illustration taken from Jeff Strite at SermonCentral.com