Saint Boniface and Christmas Eve

The German missionary Saint Boniface (or Winfred of Wessex) loved Jesus and he was not afraid to die for Him.  Legend tells us that he nearly died one Christmas when he chopped down the great tree of Thor in front of an angry village of Thor-worshippers.  Click here to read May Louise Harvey’s account of that great night, “How Saint Boniface Kept Christmas Eve.”

Saint Nicholas the Gift-Giver

I should have posted this picture with yesterday's blog.  It's from the cover of Shane and Shane's Christmas album and it captures the truth of Saint Nicholas' (Santa Claus) devotion to God's glory.

Perhaps the most well-known legend about Saint Nicholas tells of him rescuing three girls from slavery:

"One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver." (from "Who is St. Nicholas?")    

The Real Santa Claus

For two millenniums people have annually celebrated the nativity (birth) of Jesus Christ.  We call this celebration Christmas.  Historically, God’s people have made this a 4 week celebration (called Advent) leading up to the actual day of Christmas.

Unfortunately, Christmas has been commercialized and conjures more thoughts of Santa Claus than Jesus.  As a teaching tool, we can bring our children into the truth that the real Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas) was just a man who loved Jesus (Veggie Tales has a great movie about Saint Nicholas).

The real Santa Claus was not magical, but he loved a magical God.  He would not appreciate being the center of our Christmas celebration.  If he were here today, he would want to celebrate Christmas with us.  He would sit down and sing songs like “O Holy Night” and “O Come Let us Adore Him.”  Here are some more questions and answers to help you and your family prepare for Sunday. 

What was Santa Claus’ real name?

Saint Nicholas, born in the year 270.

Where did Saint Nicholas grow up?

Saint Nicholas grew up in a village next the Mediterranean Sea in Turkey.

What was Saint Nicholas’ childhood like?

Saint Nicholas’ family was very wealthy.  He always had a warm place to sleep and plenty of food to eat.  His parents were Christians and they taught him to love Jesus more than their wealth.  They both died when Saint Nicholas was just a boy.

How did Saint Nicholas’ use his wealth?

Saint Nicholas believed that everything he had was from God and that it was his duty to share with others who did not have what they needed.

Why was Saint Nicholas’ so generous with his wealth?

Saint Nicholas was generous because he knew God had been generous to him by sending Jesus to die for his sins.  He loved to give much because he had been given much. 

Why do we find gifts in our stockings on Christmas Morning?

The gifts that appear in our stockings on Christmas Eve remind us of the secret gift-giving of Saint Nicholas.  Some nights, the poor in his village would leave their shoes outside, and Saint Nicholas would leave in them gold coins (which is what chocolate coins wrapped in gold paper are a symbol of). 

Name something Saint Nicholas was known for?

Devotion to Jesus.

Generosity.

Love of children.

Secret gift-giving.

Merry Christmas.

Gloria in Excelsis Deo

One of the highlights of this past week (and there were a lot of highlights this past week) was caroling through downtown Roseville with Cornerstone Christian School.  I was with a team of 20 students, ranging from Kindergarten to High School, who went door to door, home to home, business to business, asking people if they would like to hear a couple of Christmas carols.  My 5-year-old Jackson was on my shoulders belting out “Gwo-whia, in ex-thel-thees, Day-O” which is Latin for… anyone?... “Glory to God in the Highest.”  Long ago, this was the song heard from the Angels on high (Luke 2:14).

I pray this will be my family’s song this Christmas - Glory to God in the highest, the giver of all good gifts (James 1:17).  For those of you with children, below is a sort of Christmas catechism that may help your family to promote the glory of God this holiday season.  Consider asking them in the car, around the table, around the tree, or next to the bed.

(“Catechism” = a summary of Christian principles in the form of questions and answers, used for instruction)

How long have people celebrated Christmas?

Christians have been celebrating Christmas for nearly 2000 years.  The day was first made a recognized holiday on December 25, 325 (that’s nearly 1700 years ago!)  This makes Christmas our oldest annual holiday.

When was the Christmas tree first used?

Legend says that an evergreen tree was first associated with Christmas by St. Boniface in the 8^th century (nearly 1300 years ago).

What is a Christmas Tree a symbol of?

A Christmas tree is an evergreen tree – a tree that stays green through the long, dark, cold winter.  This is a symbol of the eternal life we have through Jesus.  By bringing an evergreen tree into our home we remember that because we have Jesus we have eternal life.  Many decorate their trees with lights and personal ornaments – a reminder that Jesus, the light of the world, has come into our hearts and saved us (1 John 5:12).

What is the Star on top of a Christmas tree a symbol of?

A star is placed at the top of some Christmas trees as a reminder of the star that was over Bethlehem to announce the birth of Jesus.  (Matthew 2:1-2)

What is a candy cane a symbol of?

A candy cane is shaped like the staffs that would have been carried by the shepherds who came to visit Jesus after his birth (Luke 2:8ff).  As well, Jesus is called our Good Shepherd (John 10:11).  In 1670, a choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral in Germany, began giving children candy sticks bent into canes to symbolize the staffs of the shepherds who came to meet Jesus.

What does the holly plant have to do with Christmas?

Christians have historically connected the thorns and red berries of holly to the crown of thorns worn by Jesus at the crucifixion as He shed his own blood to save his people.

Why are so many Christmas decorations red or green?

Red symbolizes the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross. 

Green represents the eternal life we have through the blood of Jesus.

How does giving and receiving gifts help us to celebrate the birth of Jesus?  It reminds us of the great gift giver – God – and his greatest gift to us, his only son Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas.

Where do I start with Reformed Theology?

This past Sunday, I began preaching on the distinctions of Veritas - trying to answer the question "What is different (not better) about Veritas Church?"  The first distinction had to do with our theological convictions:

Veritas holds to reformed theology.  By this, we mean that we generally agree with the theology that was recovered in the 16^th and 17^th centuries during the Protestant Reformation – we believe the reformers had it right, and recovered the theology of men like Augustine, the Apostle Paul, and Jesus.

Some of you are new to reformed theology and so I promised to post some resources to get you started:

• You can read through the Veritas Church Elder Doctrinal Statement.  We don't require members to hold to everything in this document - but we do require this of our pastors.  

• The London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 is one of the best historical articulations of reformed theology.

• If you're struggling to understand the 1689 confession, but want to, buy Samuel Waldron's commentary.

• If you're looking for a good, historical, reformed catechism (summary of theological beliefs in question and answer format) check out the Heidelberg Catechism.

• If you're looking for a book that will be a great primer on reformed theology, purchase R.C. Sproul's "What is Reformed Theology."

• Desiring God has a great booklet available online for free.  It's called "What We Believe About the Five Points of Calvinism."

• And finally, the best website to find articles and books that will answer your questions biblically is, in my opinion, Monergism.

Book Recommendations following Sunday's sermon...

I didn't have time to rattle off these book recommendations on Sunday.  I preached about a disciple of Jesus being one who knows Him, believes Him, obeys Him, enjoys Him, and proclaims Him to the ends of the earth.  Here are some books I recommend:

Weak in knowledge?
"The Christian Life" by Sinclair Ferguson
"What Does God Want of us Anyway" by Mark Dever

Weak in belief?
"Prodigal God" by Timothy Keller
"Death by Love" by Mark Driscoll

Weak in obedience?
"How Should I Live in This World" by R.C. Sproul (short booklet)
"You Can Change" by Tim Chester

Weak in enjoyment?
"Dangerous Duty of Delight" by John Piper
"The Art of Divine Contentment" by Thomas Watson (Kristen's top pick)

Weak in proclamation?
"Celtic Way of Evangelism" by George G. Hunter
"The Gospel and Personal Evangelism" by Mark Dever

A Cry for Help

The following blog entry is part 8 in a series of blog posts entitled “A Fight Worth Picking,” in which I’m writing about John’s Owen’s Biblical principles for fighting sin in ‘The Mortification of Sin.’  I’ll be referencing Banner of Truth’s 2004 edition, abridged by Richard Rushing.  (If you’d like a detailed outline of Owen’s work, click here.)

If you’ve been following this blog and dealing with your sin, you may be feeling quite desperate by now.  We’ve looked thoroughly and deeply at the dark corners of our lives.  We’ve considered the guilt of what we’ve done.  We’ve considered the danger we’re in.  And we’ve considered the sheer evil that causes our sin to flourish. 

If God’s grace is upon you, Owen’s next step will come quite natural.  If we are in the valley of our sin and we catch a true vision of God our deliverer – We will cry out.  Christian, you know you are sinful.  Christian, do you long for deliverance from your sin?  Christian, look to Christ for your deliverance. 

2 Corinthians 7:11

For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.

Only by grace do we even look to God for help.  A proud heart helps itself, while a humble heart recognizes the need for power without to help within.

“Longing, breathing, and panting after deliverance is a grace in itself, that has a mighty power to conform the soul into the likeness of the thing longed after… unless you long for deliverance you shall not have it.”  (page 81).

With Paul, let us cry out

“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”  (Romans 7:24-25).