{"id":1308,"date":"2016-12-22T13:08:44","date_gmt":"2016-12-22T18:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pibcny.com\/blog\/?p=1308"},"modified":"2022-12-16T12:42:44","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T17:42:44","slug":"christmas-sunday-worship-to-go-to-church-or-not-to-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pibcny.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/22\/christmas-sunday-worship-to-go-to-church-or-not-to-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Sunday Worship\u2014To go or not to go? That is the question!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This year, Christmas Day falls on a Sunday. Are you planning on taking your family to church this Christmas Day?<\/p>\n<p><em>For those who have been eternally blessed by the greatest Christmas Gift ever given<\/em>, here are a few questions to <em>prayerfully <\/em>consider in light of Christmas Sunday. PLEASE PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER THESE!<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>The <em>reason<\/em> for the season:<\/strong> When we cancel church services on Christmas Sunday or choose to stay home, are we, as Christians showing that JESUS is truly the REASON for the SEASON? What then are we showing is most important about Christmas?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>In the gospel of Matthew we read, \u201c<span style=\"color: #800000;\">And she [<em>Mary<\/em>] shall bring forth a <strong>Son<\/strong>, and thou shalt call <strong>His<\/strong> name <strong>JESUS<\/strong>: for <strong>He<\/strong> shall save <strong>His<\/strong> people from their sins<\/span>\u201d (Matthew 1:21). The <em>reason<\/em> for this season is the <em>gift<\/em> of the Gospel\u2014the Good News of salvation to those who place their faith and trust in this \u201cJesus,\u201d the One who <em>saves people<\/em> from the penalty of their sin.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>The <em>value<\/em> we are placing: <\/strong>What are we showing that we <em>value<\/em>? How do we show that we <em>value<\/em> our Savior when we cancel Christmas Sunday service or choose to stay home on the day we claim to celebrate His birth? What <em>value<\/em> are we placing on Christ?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The value of Christ is <em>spiritual life <\/em>to those who place their faith in His perfect sacrifice on their behalf. Attending Christmas Sunday service then is a bold statement to an observing world that Christ is supreme over all that is precious to us.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>The <em>message<\/em> we are sending:<\/strong> What <em>message<\/em> are we sending to our children and unsaved family members when we choose to stay home instead of going to church just because Christmas falls on a Sunday?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>When the message of Christmas is, Christ putting on flesh, dwelling among us in order to one day be our PERFECT SACRIFICE, shouldn\u2019t we take this opportunity to celebrate this <em>message<\/em> with our church family and also invite others who normally don\u2019t attend church to hear this life-changing <em>message<\/em> so they can receive the <em>greatest Gift<\/em> ever given?<\/p>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong>The love we are showing: <\/strong>The message of Christmas is the message of God\u2019s amazing <em>love<\/em> for us displayed through His sacrifice.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>\u201c<span style=\"color: #800000;\">For <strong>God<\/strong> so loved the world, that <strong>He<\/strong> gave <strong>His<\/strong> only begotten <strong>Son<\/strong> [<em>Jesus<\/em>], that whosoever believeth in <strong>Him<\/strong> should not perish, but have everlasting life<\/span>\u201d (John 3:16).<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<span style=\"color: #800000;\">Herein is love, not that we loved <strong>God<\/strong>, but that <strong>He<\/strong> loved us, and sent <strong>His Son <\/strong><em>to be<\/em> the propitiation [<em>the atoning sacrifice<\/em>] for our sins<\/span>\u201d (1 John 4:10).<\/p>\n<p>We display what we love through what we are willing to sacrifice. What <em>love<\/em> are we displaying when we cancel Christmas Sunday or choose to stay home?<\/p>\n<p>Making a sacrifice to go to church to celebrate the birth of our Savior shows the importance that we place upon the first advent of Christ and the purpose for which He came to this earth. It is a way of displaying our love for Christ. After all, our <em>gift<\/em> of eternal life is the precious <em>gift<\/em> of the Son. Shouldn\u2019t we show Him how much we love Him?<\/p>\n<p>I want to urge you to consider attending a Bible-believing church this Christmas Sunday and celebrate the birth of the greatest Gift ever given\u2014God\u2019s greatest Gift, the gift of His Son.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">\u201cO come, let us adore Him,&nbsp;Christ the Lord!\u201d<\/h3>\n<iframe src='http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fpibcny.com%2Fblog%2F2016%2F12%2F22%2Fchristmas-sunday-worship-to-go-to-church-or-not-to-go%2F&amp;layout=button_count&amp;show_faces=true&amp;width=280&amp;action=recommend&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=30' scrolling='no' frameborder='0' style='border:none; overflow:hidden; height:30px' allowTransparency='true'><\/iframe><div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-official sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><div class=\"fb-share-button\" data-href=\"http:\/\/pibcny.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/22\/christmas-sunday-worship-to-go-to-church-or-not-to-go\/\" data-layout=\"button_count\"><\/div><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-url=\"http:\/\/pibcny.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/22\/christmas-sunday-worship-to-go-to-church-or-not-to-go\/\" data-text=\"Christmas Sunday Worship\u2014To go or not to go? 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Are you planning on taking your family to church this Christmas Day? For those who have been eternally blessed by the greatest Christmas Gift ever given, here are a few questions to prayerfully consider in light of Christmas Sunday. PLEASE PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER THESE! The reason for the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<iframe src='http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fpibcny.com%2Fblog%2F2016%2F12%2F22%2Fchristmas-sunday-worship-to-go-to-church-or-not-to-go%2F&amp;layout=button_count&amp;show_faces=true&amp;width=280&amp;action=recommend&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=30' scrolling='no' frameborder='0' style='border:none; overflow:hidden; height:30px' allowTransparency='true'><\/iframe><div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-official sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><div class=\"fb-share-button\" data-href=\"http:\/\/pibcny.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/22\/christmas-sunday-worship-to-go-to-church-or-not-to-go\/\" data-layout=\"button_count\"><\/div><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-url=\"http:\/\/pibcny.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/22\/christmas-sunday-worship-to-go-to-church-or-not-to-go\/\" data-text=\"Christmas Sunday Worship\u2014To go or not to go? 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