If Christmas is pagan, should Christians be involved?

Should Christians get involved in supporting or celebrating Christmas? Have you ever heard that argument? Why in the world would Christians want to get involved in something that was really a “pagan holiday,” that we the Church co-opted? So for those critics, I have three points.
Number one: Do you give your kids birthday gifts? You celebrate your kids birthdays, why not celebrate the birth of the Savior? If we’re not going to do it now, when would you decide to do it? That would be a question.
Secondly, in 1st Corinthians 9:22, Paul says, “I became all things to all men, that by all means I may win some.” I can’t think of a time, and I doubt that you could think of a time in the year when there is more focus on the birth of Jesus Christ. Once a year, the world is confronted with the reality of His coming. And I think that’s great!
The third point is in Matthew 16:18,where Jesus said, “On this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The idea is not that we are holding out against the world. The idea is that we are assaulting a world and they cannot overwhelm us. They cannot withstand the assault of the Church. The very fact that you and I are here, 2000 years after the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, is evidence of that. The world has done everything it can to squash the message, destroy the Word, and intimidate believers. Yet, all around the world today there are those who are singing praise, spreading the Word and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, if we co-opt or take over Christmas, that’s what we’re supposed to do. We’re supposed to seize the gates of the enemy. This is why we’re here and why this season is so important.

Gene Cunningham - April 19, 2023

Living Hope

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1st Peter 1:3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy...” Catch this, “...has begotten us again...” --that's our spiritual rebirth-- “...to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” You have a living hope if you have believed in Christ. You know how important hope is? Survivalists talk about the “Rule of Threes.” You can live three weeks without food. You might live three days without water. You can go about 3 minutes without air. But you can't live 3 seconds without hope. Stop and think about it, my friend. The whole world moves and functions on hope. Everyone has some hope. The tragedy is that the people who are out there without Christ and without eternal life have set their hopes on things that will never fulfill and never satisfied their living by hope. But it will always be “disappointed-hope.” And that's why with life of sorrow and suffering a disappointment, people take their own life. Why do they do that? They lost hope. Every single one of you right now have things that you're hoping for. But I want you to understand that human hopes and this hope are different. This hope is an absolute certainty. When the Bible talks about hope, it's not talking about a “hope-so-someday.” It's talking about an absolute certainty right now. Why do we have that certainty? Because our hope rests on the promises of God. And God cannot lie, and He will never fail us.