Welcome to Affirm Foundation, presented by Princeton ministries with Dr. Ken Smith. This is Carol Smith, Ken’s wife. Please enjoy.

Our God and Father. We ask now that the words of my mouth, the meditations of our hearts, would be acceptable in your sight, for we ask it in Jesus’s name. Amen. Christmas Day. What a day. There is nothing to compare with it in our calendar. Yet I wonder how many of us have ever wondered, what if Christ had never come? What if all of the influence of Christ were removed and expunged from the record? What about all of those Christmas traditions never observed, all of the Christmas carols never sung, all of the gifts never exchanged? What would it have been like if Christ had not come? I think it would be an awful subtraction from any brightness that we find in this world. And yet, as we look at Christmas as a day, it’s a day that’s surrounded in various squabbles within the church.

It’s a day that some have said we should never have set a Christmas day in order to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, the puritans and pilgrims were opposed to worshiping and assembling on a day called Christmas. John Calvin pronounced at one point that the day of Christmas is no more than a day of superstition. Superstition not in the sense that Jesus was not born into the world, but superstition in the multiple layers that have been placed upon the day until today. It is very difficult, as we sort through all of the tinsel and the wrappings and the trees to come to that kernel of truth which Calvin would want all Christians to remember.

And there are some within the church, even today, who say, well, I don’t know that it’s such a good thing that we have a particular day in which we remember the birth of Jesus Christ. And this is the time of year, if you read Christian magazines, that various writers will point your attention to the truth that Ivy, is inappropriate for Christians because originally it was used to dedicate offerings to the roman God Bacchus, the God of debauchery. And so, Christians, take all of that ivy out of your home. They say. There are others who would point our attention to the fact that mistletoe simply came from an old ceremony of the druids to whom St. Patrick would go and preach about Christ. So Christians, remove all of that mistletoe, for it is nothing but a pagan source of ceremony.

Why even the day itself, Christmas, is surrounded in ecclesiastical debate. Did you know that depending upon where you entered and lived in the course of history, that there was debate and controversy over whether the day of Christmas should be celebrated on January 6, or perhaps the 29 march. Others said no. It was the 29 September. And some finally said no. The 25 December. And what a forest of Christmas trees is in the living rooms of Americans throughout the land. Christmas trees which originally were brought into the house by those who were superstitious, feeling that the leaves of that evergreen had within them a wonderful spirit. And so by superstition, they would bring that tree into their house to enjoy good spirits in their home. Well, should Christians have mistletoe and trees?

Well, I think that really is not the business primarily of the church to talk about the ceremony. What is the business of the church is to remind us of the purpose behind this day, which we have set aside in our calendar, which is called Christmas. And beneath all of the mistletoe and ivy and the egg corns on the hot stove and all of the cider and all of the pomp and the commercialism that has happened over the course of the years, as we would focus our attention upon the birth of Jesus Christ, that is the point of attention for a Christian. For behind all of our efforts to remember the coming of Christ, primarily, that we would remember that Jesus Christ came into this world as a babe, that he was the son of God, and that therein is the meaning of Christmas.

This week I heard Paul Harvey talk about a letter that he had received from an irate woman. And she said, I go around to all of the stores and I see all of these religious symbols and what has happened. Can’t we celebrate Christmas without getting religious? I was in a Bible study this week, and a man came to me and said, I saw a sign on the front of a Christian bookstore. And the sign said, Jesus Christ is the reason for the season, and it’s good for us to focus and to remember again Jesus Christ and really the wonder of Christmas. There is a sense of great wonderment as we look at this season. There is a politeness that comes out of people that you scarcely see in the rest of the year. And there are warm greetings.

It’s a unique time in our calendar. There is a wonder about Christmas day. And in preparation for that day, God who is a God, who works according to a plan. It was God who planned that a star should shine in the heavens and shine upon a manger over Bethlehem. And in that manger, there were no satin sheets to place the head of his son. As a matter of fact, all that was fluffed up was some hay. And there was no nursery with bright clowns and mobiles floating overhead for this babe to come. No. Instead, there was the moan of camels. There was the bleating of sheep, the lowing of cattle mingling in the midst of the baby’s first cry. And it was in that setting that Jesus Christ, the son of God, was born. And overhead, a star that seemed to say, look here.

Look at the gift that your heavenly father has sent his son wrapped in swaddling clothes. It was from this very simple beginning that the people who lived in darkness began to see a great light, the light of Christ. DeWitt Talmage, who is a famous minister in Philadelphia in the last century, in reflecting upon the great consequence of Christ, said this, what name is mightiest today in Christendom? He answers, Jesus, who has more friends on earth than any other, being Jesus, before whom do thousands kneel in chapel and in church? Jesus. And Jesus began in a very humble way. And I think there is a lesson in that for us, because most of us did not begin our life with a silver spoon in our mouth. We did not begin with a host of servants wanting to take care of our every need.

As a matter of fact, most of us were born in a barn like setting, with no great lineage, no great parentage. And most of us can remember the birth of Jesus and realize that we came with no fanfare. And if you look at the history of the church, you find that many who have been used by the Lord began very simply. Martin Luther, as a matter of fact, was born among the mines. We find Columbus, who committed his life to Christ and his navigation and exploration, was greatly motivated by the desire to share the gospel of Christ. This man was born in poverty. In Genoa, we find that Haydn, the great musical composer, was born in a humble home. John Bunyan, who wrote one of the great Christian classics, pilgrim’s progress. He was born as the son of an innkeeper.

And you and I were also born in simple homes. There was no great fanfare. No one said to you that you shall achieve some great goal, but instead quietly born, few noticed. And here we sit, having been used by God in a way reflective of the way Christianity was used by God, that as Christians, we have been called upon to bring the light of Christ into this world. Part of the wonder of Christmas is that, like Jesus, who was born with no earthly advantage, God uses men and women today who seem to have no earthly advantage, to be the instruments by which he builds his church, by which he shares his message of faith. But also the wonder of Christmas is that on that particular night when Christ was born, there was born into the world. Goodwill, goodwill towards men.

Can you imagine if all of the Christians were removed from this world, how much of the good will, how much of service, how much of love in action would be removed from this world? World. Christ was born into a sinful world. And we do not often reflect enough, I think, on the fall of man, because after the calamity of that fall, after Adam and Eve had sinned, we find it is the introduction and the continuation of sin in this world. And so we find that the ox begins to gore and the snake begins to bite, and the lion would use its paw to rip and to maim. It’s into this world that Jesus Christ was born. But the consequence of the fall was not simply upon creation, but also upon men and women, that we would be born into sin.

And because of the sin of Adam, that you and I were born and conceived in sin. And it was from that beginning at the fall, that malice and envy, that jealousy, that wars were hatched and that egg was fertilized by the sin of Adam. And so we today have been born into this world, the scriptures say, full of sin. And it was into this world that Jesus Christ was born. And one of the great wonders about Christmas is the fact that you and I who have been born and conceived in sin, that God is able to take us and by planting his gospel in our heart and in our mind, that we are able to be used by God, that, in fact, we become part of the light that goes out into the world.

And that fills me with a sense of wonder how people who have lived in darkness, that God is able to shed his light into our heart and that we are able to say, I’m a Christian. I’ve experienced the love of Christ. And because of Christ and his spirit in me, I will now go forth and serve in his name. If that does not fill you with wonder, then perhaps there is nothing in this world that will draw your attention. I was talking this week to a friend of mine, Jim Martin, who has just finished a career in the military.

He was remembering back in 1960, which was just a few years at following the close of World War Two, and the fact that there was still in Germany a great deal of sense of the awareness of what had happened in Germany and the fact of enemies. And here was Jim Martin as a military officer stationed in Germany. And he met a minister by the name of Steiger, German. And he says, when I met this man, there was a wall between us, and I never seemed to be able to cross that. He said it seemed to have something to do with the war and that this Christian was not even able to see me as a fellow Christian. I asked him, well, how long did that continue? He said, it continued until one night when I called him Brother Steicher.

He says, it doesn’t sound very impressive, but I called him my brother in Christ. And he says, it was from that moment that there was something different in our relationship. And you see on the mantel that beautiful clock, that’s from Brother Steiger. It’s been said that Karl Marx can make men comrades, but only Jesus Christ can make men brothers. And that’s a fact that fills me with wonder. How God is able to take lions like us and turn us into lambs, how he is able to take the natural sense of being an enemy, of being opposed to other people, the general sense that pervades our culture of, you take care of yourself. I’ll take care of myself. Yet Christ comes in and he cast his light in our heart, and he says, no, show my love.

And that which we would consider to be natural enemies, we are called upon to see as our friends and as our brothers. I think what is needed more today in this world is more helping hands, more men and women who have experienced the love of Christ, more men and women who are willing to take the heavier end and to lift that and to give to their brother the lighter end. Why? Because we’re Christians. Because the wonder of Christ has come into our life. It’s interesting to study what we would consider to be the good movements that we have seen in not only our land, but around the world.

And as you would study, for example, the beginning of various universities, as you would look at the beginning of hospitals, as you would look to see who is it that is feeding the poor, as you would look to see who is concerned for their neighbor, that most of the time, my investigation has found it is Christians who are at the center of seeking to bring something better into this life. I was told recently about an adoption class here in our own county, and a handful of people had come saying they wanted to adopt children. And one of the questions that was just asked in passing, what religion are you? And the person told me, do you know that everyone who is in that adoption group are Christians?

Isn’t it amazing that it is Christians so often who are going into the world and trying to bring the light of Christ? And that brings great wonder to me, as I would reflect upon the coming of Christ. Finally, there is the fact of the wonder of Christmas. That on this day was born the hope for mankind. If you are hoping in a political solution to the affairs of this world, then you are wasting your time. If you are hoping that there is going to be some great economic recovery that is going to bring happiness to this world, and you are wasting your time.

If you think that there is a class that you can take that is going to teach you how to be a better person, and all that you have to do is find that class, and you have been trying to find it, then you are wasting your time. Because there will come no peace in this lifetime other than the peace of Christ that enters the hearts of men and women. There will be no brotherhood, there will be no political peace. Until men and women, boys and girls, come to a deeper understanding of who Jesus Christ is. And how he would show us his example of how we are to love those who would persecute us. And as I would look at the manger, usually our eyes focus upon the swaddling clothes. Baby Jesus in the lap of Mary, the camels, the cattle.

And yet, I think in that scene is to be found a forethought of what would happen eventually with Jesus Christ. For as I would look at those few shepherds gathered, what I would see is that small group turning into a multitude until there are multiple thousands who would come and sing worthy is the lamb that was slain. As I would see the swaddling clothes, it would remind me of the robe that Jesus Christ wears as our high priest. As I would look at the baby Jesus and hear the simple cry of a child, I would be reminded of the words of Jesus as a man who would say, in my father’s house are many mansions of Jesus, who would say that he brings peace and comfort.

As I would look at that manger and those cross beams in the ceiling, it would remind me of the cross of Christ, that he would endure that agony. And as I would think of Jesus Christ in the lap of Mary, being placed in protection, I would think of him today seated in his throne in glory. And you and I have the privilege of knowing Christ. You and I have the privilege of being able to gather our families and to remember on that special day, Christmas morning, the coming of the babe. But would we remember the wonder of Christ, all that he has done, the fact that he is able to take us, who live in darkness. And by the miracle of his gospel, shed in our light, in our life and in our minds, the truth that he is our father.

That he has forgiven us and the hope that we have of being with him in eternity. Jesus Christ, a babe came to a manger die upon a cross. And now to be seated at the throne of his father. And you and I come remembering it was glory in the highest that he came to give peace, goodwill to men. May this be a blessed Christmas as you would reflect upon Jesus Christ, who loves you more than you understand, who loves you with a love that is so great that he gave himself to die to be raised again for that day when you and I will be in his presence, and then we will know fully of his love and his care for us. Amen. Our God and our father. As we would remember Jesus Christ, as we would remember the babe.

Help us to remember the man. Help us to remember your son. We thank you for him. We thank you for all that he has accomplished. We thank you for this time of year, even though we are crude, even though at times we do not know how to worship you. And our best attempts become commercialized. Father, we ask that you would help us to remember that Christ is the reason for this season. Help us this Christmas to place our priorities upon him. Help us join us to remember his love, his mercy, his compassion, that we who have lived in darkness, that by your grace you have shed the light of Christ in our heart. We thank you for him. In Jesus name, amen.

Thank you for listening to a firm foundation presented by Princeton Ministries. This programming is supported by you, the listener. You may go to our website, princetonministries.org, or send your donation to Princeton Ministries Post Office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 08543. That’s Princeton Ministries, post Office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 08543. The Lord bless you, and Doctor Smith looks forward to hearing from you.