Celebrate the King Part I

Whenever I hear the biblical account of the Christmas Story it always reminds me of just how far we’ve drifted away from the true meaning of Christmas, particularly here in America. I was watching two Muslim women the other night playing with a “dancing Santa” the other night at Walmart and I was struck by the thought….that Christmas…must be really confusing to people outside of the Christian faith. When you place the biblical account of Christmas, side by side with the American tradition of celebrating Christmas, there’s no doubt in my mind that the outside world has to be puzzled by all of the contradictions They see the destitution and the humility of the manger all muddled up with lavish spending and over indulgence and selfishness. They see the stillness and tranquility of a starry Bethlehem night…all confused with the noise and the bedlam of black Friday and crowded stores and chaotic shopping malls. They read the second chapter of Luke and they see the solemnness and holiness of the incarnation of God; and then they have to try and reconcile that with the silliness and the almost circus-like mentality that pervades the holiday season. Today we begin our Christmas series called “Celebrate the King”, and my intention over the next four weeks is just to very candidly tell you the real story of the birth of Christ and by the end of the series…my prayer is that you’ll have you have no doubt as to why we have great reason to celebrate at Christmas.