Building Project

Another Christmas Holiday is upon us. So in an effort to focus our thinking in a God-honoring direction, I want to challenge those who are reading this to a short Bible drill: find the verses in Scripture which describe specifically when and how the Christmas holiday is to be observed. For extra credit find verses which describe how the early church celebrated Christmas. Is it because there are no such descriptions or verses! If you spent more than 60 seconds contemplating this question please give yourself the valuable gift of attending the Sunday School class of your choice.

Though Old Testament believers were required to participate in the calendar of annual feasts and holy days, New Testament believers are not. We observe only the Christian ordinances of Baptism and Communion, and these have surprisingly few specifics other than describing who is to observe them and why they are to do so. Christmas as a memorial celebration does not appear anywhere in Scripture. Many of us are also engulfed in the commercial maelstrom between Thanksgiving and Christmas. So as we compete for a parking space at the Galleria, we should remember that we are doing this to ourselves, and on our own initiative.

And yet... there is something wondrous about the Advent Season. I use the word “wondrous” intentionally because along the path to redemption we encounter the inexplicable on every hand. The story of the incarnation sparkles with the miraculous. God kept His promises, loved fallen man, desired his redemption beyond all reason and was willing to pay any price and suspend the natural course of things to bring that about. It teaches the willing heart about God and confounds David’s rhetorical question; “Why does God care about man?” (Ps 8:4) God cares infinitely (the measure of all His qualities) and proved it with His actions:

“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.” John 3:16

This, then, brings us to what is good and blessed about the Christmas holiday. God’s love, manifested in giving, is at the heart of the event we celebrate. Giving should be a part of every believer’s life. Why? Therefore we imitate God when we give.

Calvary is building, under the leadership of the elders, a new facility which will be a gift to present and future members and attendees of our church. Let us imitate our Heavenly Father, who has given so freely to us, and give to this important work and the ongoing work of the ministry at Calvary Bible Church.