Isaiah on Christmas Materialism

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Luke 2:6-7, Luke 2:8-14, Luke 1:46-55, Matthew 2:1-12, Isaiah 53:2-3, Matthew 6:19-21, John 2:13-16, 1 Samuel 16:7, Philippians 4:11-13, Mark 10:17-22

To perceive Christmas through its wrapping becomes more difficult with every year.

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A Grinchy Christmas

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The Pastor's Workshop

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Isaiah 1:13-17, Jeremiah 7:8-10, Proverbs 3:5-7, James 4:17 , Matthew 7:26-27, Psalm 14:1

In Rockland, Maine, two men attempted what can only be described as a full-fledged Grinch heist—trying to steal a Christmas tree straight from a hotel lobby. And, of course, there’s footage. ...

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The Anti-Gift League

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The Pastor's Workshop

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Matthew 6:19-21, Isaiah 9:6, Luke 2:10-11, Matthew 2:1-12, 1 Timothy 6:6-7, Luke 12:16-21

If you ever find yourself sympathizing with Charles Dickens’ character Ebenezer Scrooge regarding the commercialization of Christmas, you’re not alone—this has been a common complaint for quite some t...

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In our prayers this morning, when I

Author

Richard Herman

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Isaiah 40:11, Isaiah 52:7, 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, Micah 4:3-4, Ephesians 2:14

In our prayers this morning, when I say, “Lord of all glory,” please respond by saying “Hear our prayer”. Lord of all glory... hear our prayer . Our God speaks tenderly to His people and cares for th...

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Dear Lord, We come to you this evening

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Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Isaiah 9:2, John 1:4-5, Luke 2:8-14, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Corinthians 13:13, Luke 19:1-10, Philippians 1:6, Matthew 6:33, Luke 10:38-42, Luke 2:11, Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 2:1-12

Dear Lord, We come to you this evening with great expectations. Expectations that your Son Jesus has been born, and that his life is a light for us and all people. We come with expectations that He c...

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How God Enters the World Matters

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Kelley Nikondeha

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Matthew 1:22-23, Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:46-55, Luke 2:1-7, Micah 5:2, Luke 2:8-11, Isaiah 9:6-7

When we turn toward Advent, the name on our lips is Emmanuel, God with us . So much in Christian faith relies on what the faithful actually mean when we say that name. Western Christianity has fo...

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When the Church Isn’t so Welcoming

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The Pastor's Workshop

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Genesis 12:1–3 , Isaiah 56:3–7, Ruth 1:16–17 , Luke 10:25–37, Acts 8:26–39, Psalm 146:7–9

Lamin Sanneh, the African theologian who would be pivotal in the development of missional theology, was raised in an orthodox Muslim household in Gambia. He found himself drawn to Christianity after e...

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Emily Hunter McGowin

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Isaiah 9:6-7, Micah 5:2-4 , Jeremiah 23:5-6, Luke 2:8-14 , Matthew 2:1-12 , Psalm 96:1-3

We know instinctively that Christmas is more than shopping mall Santas, silver bells, and snow-flocked trees, but such things are so entangled with our impressions of Christmas that it’s hard to kn...

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Crafting the Perfect Christmas

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Andy Cook

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Proverbs 31:10-31, Matthew 6:19-21 , Luke 10:38-42, Ecclesiastes 4:6 , Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, James 1:17, Isaiah 9:6, Luke 2:11, John 3:16-17 , Luke 2:10

Ann was a working mother in her 30’s, and one of the millions of women who saw the marshmallow castle on the December cover of a popular women’s magazine. Ann confessed, later, that she felt like a “b...

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Author

Jeremy Begbie

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Luke 2:34-35 , Philippians 2:8, Isaiah 53:3-5, Hebrews 2:14-15, Isaiah 9:6 , Galatians 4:4-5 , Romans 6:23

Only with great care. For thousands, carols will be their only link with a church. At the same time, sentimentality is perhaps the single most dangerous feature of our Church and culture-and the senti...

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Covering the Bald Spots

Author

Sharon Hodde Miller

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Jeremiah 17:7-8, John 15:4-5, Matthew 23:27-28, Isaiah 58:11, Ezekiel 36:26-27

Every year at the end of November, my husband, Ike, and I load the kids in the car and drive to the nearest Christmas tree lot. We are committed “real tree” people—not to be confused with “fake tree” ...

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Author

Augustine of Hippo

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Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 1:14, Revelation 22:12, Hebrews 13:8, Galatians 4:4-5, Micah 5:2

Christmas is fast approaching. And now that Christ has aroused our seasonal expectations, he’ll soon fulfill them all!

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Preference for the Christ-Child Over the Cross

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Luke 19:10, Luke 2:7, John 19:18, Philippians 2:8-9, Isaiah 53:5, 2 Corinthians 5:17

In the sixteenth century, Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci journeyed to China, bringing religious art to share the Christian story with those unfamiliar with it. The Chinese readily embraced images of t...

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Author

G. K. Chesterton

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Luke 2:7, Matthew 8:20, Isaiah 52:2-3, Hebrews 13:2, John 14:2-3, Micah 5:2

Christmas is built upon a beautiful and intentional paradox; that the birth of the homeless should be celebrated in every home.

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Companies and Worship

Author

James Bryan Smith

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Colossians 3:5, Psalm 115:4-8, 1 John 5:21, Acts 17:22-23, Matthew 6:24, Romans 1:25, Isaiah 44:13-17

Martin Lindstrom observes: When people viewed images associated with the strong brands-the iPods, the Harley-Davidson, the Ferrari, and others-their -their brains registered the exact same patterns of...

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Hard Holy Days and the Wondrous Mystery

Author

Leslie Leyland Fields

Keywords

Christmas

Scripture

Isaiah 9:2, Ecclesiastes 3:1, Luke 2:1-7, John 1:14, Isaiah 7:14

Christmas is Over It’s Christmas morning, not yet light. I am ten years old, creeping down the stairs, and I am full of hope. My siblings and I were told there will be no Christmas. Our mother told u...

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What it Means to Be "Childlike"

Author

Phillip Yancey

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Matthew 18:3-4, Hebrews 11:1, Genesis 28:10-17, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 11:6, Luke 2:8-20, James 1:17

In his book of sermons titled The Magnificent Defeat, Frederick Buechner mentions two qualities of childlikeness. First, children have no fixed preconceptions of reality. If someone tells them that ...

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Noticing Where You Find Yourself

Author

Frederick Buechner

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Luke 2:7, John 1:14, Matthew 1:23, Isaiah 40:11, Psalm 46:10, 2 Corinthians 4:7, Luke 24:13-35

One Christmas Eve in Vermont when my children were small, we did the things you do when your children are small on Christmas Eve. We stuffed and hung their stockings. We put out a draught of cider and...

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A World Three Times Bigger

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Genesis 28:10–17, Isaiah 9:2–7, Micah 5:2–5, John 1:1–14, Luke 2:8–14 , Psalm 96:10–13

Our family started watching our Christmas movies early this year. We love Christmas Vacation , Charlie Brown’s Christmas, Home Alone (one and two), Rudolph, and Frosty the Snowman ...

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Creating Christian Consumers

Author

Jay Y. Kim

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1 Corinthians 1:22-25, Romans 12:2, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Isaiah 55:8-8, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

I’ve served on staff at a few different churches throughout Silicon Valley for the last decade and a half, including a medium-sized church, a young church plant, and a multisite megachurch. At each, w...

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Author

Brian D. McLaren

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Isaiah 9:6, Philippians 2:6-7, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, Luke 2:10-12, Micah 5:2, Matthew 2:1-2, 11, John 1:14, Isaiah 52:2-3, John 18:36

Politicians compete for the highest offices. Business tycoons scramble for a bigger and bigger piece of the pie. Armies march and scientists study and philosophers philosophise and preachers preach an...

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Our Christmas is Complete

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Tsh Oxenreider

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Matthew 25:40, Luke 2:6-7, Isaiah 9:6, 2 Corinthians 9:15, Hebrews 13:2, Luke 2:7

There is a story from Czech bishop Monsignor Hnilica of a Christmas Eve with Saint Teresa of Calcutta. There was a knock on the convent’s door during their simple but festive dinner, and the nun who w...

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We confess, O God, that the Christmas

Author

Chip Hardwick

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Isaiah 26:30, Ephesians 4:31-32, John 15:11, Hebrews 4:15, Psalm 46:10, Colossians 3:17, Luke 2:13-14

We confess, O God, that the Christmas rush is typical of our efforts to live the Christian life. We pursue peace on earth, but we end up with frayed nerves and short tempers. We wish good will to all,...

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Author

Rainer Maria Rilke

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Christmas

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Luke 2:6-7, Isaiah 53:2, Matthew 2:1-2, Philippians 2:6-8, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29

If you lacked simplicity, how then should this fall to you that midnight skies are a shine with? God, who stoked at men mild in you now comes to mortal eyes. That he’s not more great—does this surpris...

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The Nobodies of Nazareth

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Timothy Keller

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John 1:46, 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, Matthew 20:16, Luke 1:51-53, James 2:1-9, Matthew 11:25, Isaiah 52:2-3, Philippians 2:5-8

The world has always despised people from the wrong places and with the wrong credentials. We are always trying to justify ourselves. We need desperately to feel superior to others. And everything abo...

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A Gift That Requires Swallowing your Pride

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Timothy Keller

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Romans 3:23-24, Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16, Isaiah 64:6, Romans 5:8, Titus 3:4-5, Luke 19:1-10

Christmas is about receiving presents, but consider how challenging it is to receive certain kinds of gifts. Some gifts by their very nature make you swallow your pride. Imagine opening a present on C...

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Holy Lord, in this time of Advent, we

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

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Scripture

Luke 10:41-42, Isaiah 55:2-3, Luke 10:38-42, Matthew 25:44-45, Psalm 46:10, Luke 2:7, Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 5:9, Luke 10:1-12, Romans 8:24-25, Luke 2:25-32, Luke 2:25-38, Philippians 2:10-11, Colossians 3:17, Luke 2:13-14

Holy Lord, in this time of Advent, we confess we often are distracted by the season’s busyness, by the stress of commitment, and even by putting our own traditions ahead of the true meaning of Christm...

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Author

G. K. Chesterton

Keywords

Christmas

Scripture

Isaiah 7:14, Luke 2:1-11, Matthew 1:21-23, John 1:14, Galatians 4:4-5

When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?

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Author

N. T. Wright

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John 1:4-5, Isaiah 9:2, Isaiah 60:1-2, Luke 2:25-32, Matthew 2:9-10, John 8:1-11

Christmas is God lighting a candle; and you don't light a candle in a room that's already full of sunlight. You light a candle in a room that's so murky that the candle, when lit, reveals ...

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Author

Billy Graham

Keywords

Christmas

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Luke 2:1-7, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:8-20, John 1:14, Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 2:22-32, Luke 1:26-38, Isaiah 7:14, John 8:12, Ephesians 2:19-22

Christmas is not a myth, not a tradition, not a dream. It is a glorious reality.

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