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Bring Forth the Great Tidings in Christmas

by Rev. Zheng Biqing

        “Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)The angels proclaimed to the shepherds living out in the fields in Bethlehem one night. This was the first Christmas carol in history. 

        ‘Christ’ means Saviour in Greek. He is the ‘offspring of woman’ predetermined by God to crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15). It is through the birth of Christ, that the hope in the reconciliation between God and man become a reality. The heavens proclaimed the glory of God and the earth began to experience true peace and joy on that very first Christmas. 

        The Christmas celebrations today stand in stark contrast with its first. Man has freely indulged in drunkenness and excessive carousel, and given in to our pleasures. This is just a modern form of the Isaraelites’ idolatrous worship of the golden calf in the wilderness, the worship of Chemosh, the vile god of Moab, and the worship of Bamoth Baal in Canaan. Dear saints, you must resist all these with wisdom and courage from the Holy Spirit. 

        More than that, we should be part of the effort in spreading the great tidings during Christmas. You may invite your family and friends to attend our “Christmas Concert of Praise”. You will not only be introducing beautiful Christmas hymns to them by doing so. More beautifully, you will also be inviting them to the house of the Lord, to meet with the children of God, and listen to the precious message in the gospel. This is the best Christmas present you can give to your family or friends. 

        If you have your own home, why not consider having a Christmas gospel rally in your own home? Family gospel rallies were widespread amongst the Christian families in the first century, and the Bible has more than a few records of such – like those of Zacchaeus, Levi, Peter and Martha. This was also the case for Cornelius, as recorded in Acts 10. Cornelius was moved by the Holy Spirit to invite his relatives and close friends to gather in his home, while inviting Peter to preach the salvation of God through Jesus Christ. “Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.” (Acts 10:33) 

        It is not difficult to have a family gospel rally. Do you already have plans to have a Christmas meal with your family? Then you need only invite the Christmas caroling team. The carolers will bring along beautiful Christmas hymns, scripture recitation and the gospel message. In this way your Christmas family meal will easily be transformed into a Christmas family gospel rally!  

        Christmas seems like a season of peace and warmth on the surface, but is in actual fact, an intense spiritual battle. Satan has tried ways and means to hinder the birth of Christ to the world, and today his plan is to cause us to forget to true meaning of Christmas by embracing the festive figure of Santa Claus. Yet “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to be prayerful and alert, lest we fall into temptation. The followers of Christ in the early churches proclaimed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior at a heavy and bloody expense. How can we then, dear brothers and sisters, remain silent in the comforts of today, and not bring forth tidings of great joy from God to man?