Coram Deo ~

Nativity (Holy Night) by CORREGGIO

Christmas:

• Must We Believe the Virgin Birth? Albert Mohler writes “This much we know: All those who find salvation will be saved by the atoning work of Jesus the Christ — the virgin-born Savior. Anything less than this is just not Christianity, whatever it may call itself. A true Christian will not deny the Virgin Birth.”
• The Innkeeper. Watch this eleven-minute video of John Piper reading his classic Christmas poem “The Innkeeper”. The text of the poem is also included.
• What Does the X in Xmas Mean?C. Sproul writes “There’s a long and sacred history of the use of X to symbolize the name of Christ, and from its origin, it has meant no disrespect.”
• Christ’s Supremacy Before the Manger. John MacArthur writes “Christ’s supremacy over all things is what His incarnation ultimately put on display.”
• Santa Claus: Harmless Fun or Tragic Distraction? In this episode of the “Ask Pastor John” podcast, John Piper addresses a question about Christian parents who allow their children to believe Santa Claus is bringing them gifts on Christmas. He states “My counsel is to give all your efforts to making your children as happy as they can possibly be with every kind of surprise that is rooted in the true meaning of Christmas. Let your decorations point to Jesus. Let your food point to Jesus. Let your games point to Jesus. Let your singing point to Jesus. Out-rejoice the world. Out-give the world. Out-decorate the world, and let it all point to Jesus. And if being Jesus-focused is a killjoy for your Christmas, you don’t know him well.”
• Is There a “War” on Christmas? In this episode of the Signposts podcast, Russell Moore asks “Should Christians take offense when the signs say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”? If not, how can Christians cope with a rapidly secularizing public square? He talks about what is and what is not evidence of a transforming culture, and the right way Christians ought to respond to both.
• Joseph, Did You Know? Nicholas T. Batzig writes “Why was it necessary for Jesus to have an earthly father if He didn’t need a biological father?” Isn’t it conceivable that Mary could have, with the help of family members, raised Jesus without a husband?”
• 10 Ways to Be a Christian This Christmas. Kevin DeYoung writes “But whether you love every nook and cranny about the holidays—or consider most of it “noise, noise, noise!”—there is no excuse to be grinchy and scroogeish. Here are ten ways we can remember to be Christians this Christmas.”
  

  Max and the Grinch by Theodor Seuss Geisel

Continue reading →

CHRISTMAS:

• The Blessing(s) of Immanuel. Scotty Smith prays “Lord Jesus—Immanuel, God very with us, and God so very much for us, I cannot read this favorite Scripture without thinking about Advent, and why you came, and why you’re coming again. The hopes and hurts, fears and tears of all our years are met in this passage. You are all we need, and way beyond all we can imagine.”
• Is the Virgin Birth Essential? Kevin DeYoung writes “There are a lot of questions here, but the underlying one seems to be this: is the virgin birth really that essential to Christianity? The answer is a resounding “Yes!”
• Christmas Gift Guide. The Babylon Bee has rounded up a list of unique and memorable gifts you can give to your family and friends this Christmas, conveniently sorted by the theological leanings of the recipient.
• Who Was St. Nicholas? Kevin DeYoung writes “With what little we know about St. Nicholas, it is safe to say he would not be pleased to know he had eclipsed Christ in the hearts of many as the central figure of Christmas.”
• How God Became a Man. David Mathis writes “It is striking how little we know about most of Jesus’s life on earth. Between the events surrounding his celebrated birth and the beginning of his public ministry when he was “about thirty years of age” (Luke 3:23), very few details have survived.”  

IN THE NEWS:

• Betsy DeVos, Trump’s Education Pick, Is A Billionaire With Deep Ties To The Christian Reformed Community. Sarah Pulliam Bailey writes “DeVos is politically known in Michigan for her push for private school voucher programs, a position that has been controversial within public education circles. But in religious circles, the DeVos name is synonymous with key philanthropic efforts in Christian communities. DeVos, 58, graduated from Calvin College, a Christian Reformed Church school that is named after the famed Protestant reformer John Calvin, where the DeVos name is well-known.”
• The Sad Case of Tullian Tchividjian. Alistair Begg often states “The best of men are men at best”. Tullian Tchividjian, a pastor who was formerly in my denomination and who had been one of my favorite authors continues to stir up controversy After being deposed of his pastoral credentials, he has returned to the pulpit and is planning to release a new book soon. Recently, several pastors have called on him publicly to repent.
• “‘I Loved Heresy…But the Holy Spirit Found Me’ — Thomas C. Oden (1931-2016) and the Recovery of Christian Orthodoxy” Albert Mohler writes “Thomas C. Oden, one of the most gracious and respected theologians of our times, died yesterday at age 85. Professor Oden made the pilgrimage from theological liberalism, and what he acknowledged as an infatuation with heresy, all the way to the orthodox affirmation of biblical Christianity. His story is one of the greatest theological testimonies of our age. The following is an edited transcript of my conversation for “Thinking in Public” with Dr. Oden about his life and times and the trajectory of his theological pilgrimage.”
• Creating Silence. In this interview with Rev. James Martin, S.J., Martin Scorsese talks about his new movie Silence, starring Liam Neeson as Father Cristóvão Ferreira, a Jesuit who recants his faith after undergoing torture, and Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge) and Adam Driver as two younger Jesuits, Fathers Sebastião Rodrigues and Francisco Garupe, respectively, whose mission is to find their mentor. They, too, find themselves submitted to torture and struggle with whether to apostatize. Also check out the video in which Scorsese talks about his faith.
• If the U.S. had 100 people: Charting Americans’ Religious Beliefs and Practices. Aleksandra Sandstrom and Becka A. Alper from the Pew Research Center write “About 218 million of the United States’ roughly 245 million adults say they believe in God. Such deeply personal views might seem abstract or distant when expressed as large numbers, but this is not the only way to look at religious belief in the U.S. What if we looked at our data about people’s religious beliefs and practices through a slightly different lens – that of small community, rather than a huge country?”

Courtesy of World Magazine

CHRISTIAN LIVING:

• Don’t Go to Bed with Your Anger. Marshall Segal shares five reasons (among many) for us to consider why God is good to ask for our anger each night.
• Can We Do Whatever We Want in Heaven? In this episode of the “Ask Pastor John” podcast, John Piper responds to the question “In Heaven, will we be permitted to do anything we want?” Listen to or read his response.
• Lord, Deliver Me from Distraction. Jon Bloom writes “Our fundamental and most dangerous problem in distraction is in being distracted from God — our tendency to shift our attention orientation from the greatest Object in existence to countless lesser ones. The Bible calls this idolatry.”

TO MAKE YOU SMILE:

• Sweating John MacArthur Awakens From Nightmare In Which He’s Unsure About Something. The Babylon Bee Your Trusted Source For Christian News Satire reports “According to sources close to John MacArthur, the popular Bible teacher jumped up with a start around 3 a.m. Thursday morning in a cold sweat, suddenly awakening from a nightmare in which he is slightly uncertain about something.”

Doug Michael’s Cartoon of the Week

• The magi were pagans who served pagans. Yet God spoke to them; that’s what he does. The faith is not for insiders, it’s for listeners. Dan Doriani
• May our passion for Christ always be greater than our passion for a pleasant and easy life. Burk Parsons
• The Lord’s mercy often rides to the door of our hearts on the black horse of affliction. Charles Spurgeon
• We must never offer the benefits of the gospel without the Benefactor Himself. Sinclair Ferguson
• True humility will lead us to be bashful about ourselves and boastful about Jesus. Scott Sauls
• Formal Christianity is often the greatest enemy of the pure faith. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
• Tolerance isn’t about not having beliefs. It’s about how your beliefs lead you to treat people who disagree with you. Tim Keller
• Truth cannot be sacrificed at the altar of pretended tolerance. Real tolerance is deference to all ideas, not indifference to the truth. Ravi Zacharias
• The Day of no more cancer, abuse, human slavery, addiction, betrayal, shame, poverty, racism, hunger, evil, hatred and idolatry is coming. Scotty Smith  

Christmas:

• Christmas Traditions. Enjoy this article that I wrote last Christmas season.
• Free Downloadable Advent Readings. Download one or both of these books of Advent readings from John Piper.
• Jesus’ Remedy to Holiday Loneliness. Scott Sauls writes “While being “the most wonderful time of the year” for some, the holidays can be lonely, alienating and isolating for others. Loneliness, alienation, and isolation often come from struggles related to family.”
• The Problem with Our Holly Jolly Christmas Songs. Russell Moore writes “We have a rich and complicated and often appropriately dark Christmas hymnody. We can sing of blessings flowing “far as the curse is found,” of the one who came to “free us all from Satan’s power.” Let’s sing that, every now and then, where we can be overheard.
• I. Packer on Having the “Christmas Spirit” and the “Christian Snob”. Randy Alcorn shares these challenging words from J. I. Packer about what it means to truly have a God-honoring “Christmas Spirit.” Packer states “The Christmas spirit does not shine out in the Christian snob. For the Christmas spirit is the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor–spending and being spent–to enrich their fellow humans, giving time, trouble, care and concern, to do good to others–and not just their own friends–in whatever way there seems need.” http://www.epm.org/blog/2016/Dec/5/j-i-packer-christmas-spirit.”

Doug Michael’s Cartoon of the Week

Christians and Culture:

• Are Chip and Joanna Gaines Cultural Heretics? Trevin Wax writes “Pray for Chip and Joanna and their church. The cultural inquisition is coming.” See also Samuel D. James’ 10 Questions For Buzzfeed.
• Grappling with the Fears of Technological Change. Tim Challies writes “We do not know the future, but as the saying goes, we do know the One who holds the future. And not only do we know that, we know what God is accomplishing in history. We know the end to which God is directing history. We know who will bring this world’s history to its beautiful conclusion.”
• Are You Addicted to the Internet? David Murray offers these eight questions to help you with this question.
• Why We’re Obsessed with the Hit Show This is Us. Russell Moore writes “The secret to This is Us is less about ogling some other, strange, dysfunctional family as it is about seeing in it our own.”
• The Shack Movie. The movie version of the best-selling book The Shack by Paul Young will be in the theatres March 3. Here is the first trailer for the film. Though the book resonated with many, I had serious concerns with it. I’ll point you to this review by Tim Challies.
• Freedom of Conscience on Hacksaw Ridge. In this episode of Breakpoint, Eric Metaxas, writes of the new film Hacksaw Ridge, one of my favorites of the year, which he calls an “amazing, powerful film about one man who was willing to give his life, but whose conscience and deeply held religious beliefs would not allow him to take the lives of others.”
• Jesus Did Not Insist on His Rights. Watch this minute and a half video excerpt from Sinclair Ferguson’s wonderful teaching series Sermon on the Mount in which he examines how the gospel teaches us to be countercultural in exercising our rights.
• People are Judging You Silently. Tony Reinke writes “The most effective advertisements tap into our deepest insecurities, if we let them. Ads promise us a new and better ‘me’ a million different ways. But Christians know a better promise and a better way.”

Christian Living:

• How Gospel-Identity Enables Gospel Behavior. Watch this minute and a half video from Bryan Chapell.

Continue reading →