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Christmas Sermons
1. Blood In Bethlehem <> William Willimon
2. The Weight of The World <> Thomas Tewell
3. God's Troublesome Timing <> John Maxwell
4. God's Eye View Of Christmas <> Leigh Anderson
5. Wise Men (Magi) <> John MacArthur
6. Understanding Christmas <> Donald Hubbard - 2 Sermons
(GREAT)
7. Those Who Care <> Donald Hubbard
8. Christ and Christmas <>W. A. Criswell
9. What The Shepherds Seen <> David Seamands
10. Through Mary's Eyes <> Unknown ** (GREAT)
11. Christmas Time <> Stuart Briscoe
12. Christmas Message <> Steve Mathewson
13. Baby Book <> Jerry Vines
14. The Shepherds <> Jerry Vines
15. Sweetest Christmas <> Jerry Vines
16. White Christmas <> Jerry Vines
17. Wise Men <> Jerry Vines
18. Lord Of Christmas <> George Gardiner
19. Wonderful Child <> James Merrit <> Commercial
Version
20. Three Pillars <> Ravi Zacharisas
21. Heavenly Host <> Donald Hubbard
22. Four Radio Sermons <> John R. Rice
23. Christmas with Joseph <> Dr. Bob Kelley
24. Tiding Of Great Joy <> Dr. Bob Kelley
25. Dreaming of a Right Christmas <> Dr. Bob Kelley
Thanksgiving
1. Lessons From The Lepers - Charles Allen
2. Reasons For Thankfulness - Chuck Swindoll
Easter
1. Miracle Of Easter <> Donald Hubbard
2. Empty Tomb <> James Kennedy
3. Did Jesus Rise Bodily <> Jerry Vines -9/5/1982
4. Were You There <> Peter Marshall -
All are on two CDs
ready for your use
All are recorded in High Quality
MP3 Format and are computer playable, plus on some CD players
that are designed to play MP3 files.
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The
Christmas Star
The
stars that appear in the sky today are the same ones that were
there two thousand years ago. Was there a nova at the time of
Jesus' birth? The exact time of His birth is not known, but astronomers
cannot place a new star appearance anywhere near the possible
time. Could it have been a shooting star? Again, the astronomers
say it was not likely. A meteor lasts only a few seconds or minutes
at best. The wise men followed the star for weeks looking for
Jesus. We can rule out comets as well. They can be seen by the
naked eye for a week or months. But modern astronomers know which
comets were close enough to earth hundreds and thousands of years
ago and there was no comet visible to humans around the time
of Christ's birth.
Some
star gazers suggest that if we move the birth of Jesus to the
springtime of 6 B.C., we can attribute the star to the time the
planets Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were close together in the
heavens. They formed a triangle in the group of stars known as
Pisces.
The
wise men, themselves, were astrologers and studied the stars
and planets and knew, according to Jewish rabbis, of the triangle
and that it had appeared before the birth of Moses. Perhaps they
interpreted it as a sign of a great event in the land of the
Jewish people. This may have been the star of Bethlehem. Pisces
became the special constellation of the Hebrew people.
Still,
many people prefer to believe that the strange star did appear,
and that it was simply a miracle and throughout the world today,
the Christian holiday has usually begun with the appearance of
the first star of Christmas Eve.
The
Festival of the Star is held in Poland. Right after the Christmas
Eve meal, the village priest, acts as the "Star Man"
and tests the children's knowledge of religion. In Alaska, boys
and girls carry a star shaped figure from house to house and
sing carols in hopes of receiving treats. In Hungary a star-shaped
pattern is carved in a half of an apple and is suppose to bring
good luck.
In
general, the Christmas star symbolizes high hopes and high ideals
- hope for good fortune, hope for reaching above oneself. For
all human beings, regardless of religion, stars have special
meaning for all share the heavens, no matter what barriers keep
them apart on earth.
The Christmas Tree
For families in North America, Germany and other parts of Europe,
the Christmas tree is the symbol of the Christmas season. Other
evergreens have been a part of mid-winter festivals long before
Christ. They played a symbolic part because they stayed green
and alive when other plants appeared dead and bare. They represented
everlasting life and hope for the return of spring. Primitive
European tribes hung evergreens above their doors to offer the
wandering winter spirits shelter within their homes in hopes
of receiving good fortune and good health in return. The Romans
decorated their homes with the greens at the Festival of Saturnalia
and at the Kalends of January, their New Year. They exchanged
evergreen branches with friends as a sign of good luck. The Druids
viewed evergreens as sacred, a symbol of life itself.
When Christmas came about, we incorporated,
rather than dismissed, many of these practices as Christmas customs.
Of course, this was done only if these activities and items were
consider harmless and availed themselves to a Christian interpretation.
The use of evergreens was and is
most widespread in England and Germany. We can trace it back
at least 500 years ago when religious meaning began to be associated
with these plants.
Christmas Giving.
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