.jpeg)
Articles
“Why Do You Not Have A Christmas Program?”
As the holiday season approaches, many people will go to a church that might not otherwise go to services. People will go to church to celebrate “the Birth of Jesus.” Many churches will have Christmas programs where they will do a play or a concert about Christ’s birth. Yet, we do not have a Christmas program. Perhaps someone will ask you, “Why do you not have a Christmas program?” Let us consider the answer to that question.
We Are Not told When Jesus Was Born
- The Day is Unknown - Many believe that Jesus was born on December 25th, thus why it is celebrated as such. However, we do not know when Jesus was born. There is no passage of scripture saying that He was born on December 25th, or even in the month of December.
- It Is Unlikely to Be In December – Aside from the fact the day or month is not mentioned, it appears from scriptures to be in much warmer weather. In Luke 2:8 it reads, “And in the same region where shepherd out in the field, keeping watch over the flock by night” (emphasis mine MW). Albert Barnes points out in his commentary that the shepherds would be in the field with the sheep from the summer months until the end October or early November. This means the shepherds would not be in the field in December.
We Have No Authority to Observe Christ’s Birth
- We Must Have Authority For Everything We Do – “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17). This passage teaches us that we must have authority for what we do. We cannot go beyond what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6).
- We Have No Authority to Observe Christ’s Birth – There is no passage that tells us we can observe the birth of Christ. There is no passage we can necessarily infer from or an example of anyone observing the birth of Christ. Therefore, we have no authority to do such.
A Christmas Program Is Entertainment
- There Are Three Works of the Church – As We read through the scriptures, there are three works the church can engage in. These are: 1) Evangelism (1 Timothy 3:15), 2) Edification (Ephesians 4:16), and 3) Limited Benevolence (1 Timothy 5:16).
- Entertainment Does Not Fit In Any of These – We Already saw we must have authority for what we do (Colossians 3:17). Since there are only three works authorized in the scriptures, then we can only do those three works. Entertainment is not evangelism, edification, or limited benevolence. Therefore, we cannot have a Christmas program.
Conclusion
Perhaps you have been asked, “Why do you not have a Christmas program?” We have seen that we do not have one because 1) We are not told when Christ was born, 2) We have no authority to observe Christ’s birth, and 3) A Christmas program is entertainment. Now we can answer those who ask us why we do not have a Christmas program.
