Christmas - Sermons, Bible Studies, Articles, and Essays

Excusing Paganism in Christmas

Commentary by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The annual celebration of Christmas is widely embraced across the world by people of various beliefs, marked by glitzy lights, special foods, carols, parties, and gift-giving. However, there is a sense of oversaturation with the festive cheer and its trappings, leading to a desire for the season to end. Many customs and traditions

A Sanitary Christmas

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Christmas is only days away following the winter solstice, which used to coincide with it. However, due to calendar inexactitude, the solstice has shifted forward over centuries. Some celebrate Christmas in the heat of summer for different reasons. Christmas-keeping Christians have been defending the holiday against atheists, agnos

Christmas Contradictions

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Christmas is a bundle of contradictions, inanities, and outright lies. Most people are aware that Jesus could not have been born around the winter solstice. In the early fourth century, the Catholic Church combined the Roman winter solstice festival, the Saturnalia, with a celebration of Jesus' birth to help new converts adjust to

The Conundrum of Christmas Cheer

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Christmas, often marked by greetings of seasonal cheer, reveals a stark contradiction as December emerges as the most depressing time of the year for many. Despite the overdone jollity, the holiday season is filled with angst, frustration, and disappointment, leading to negative emotions that many struggle to handle. The central fo

Does Jeremiah Describe a Christmas Tree in Jeremiah 10:2-5?

Bible Questions & Answers

The practice of using a Christmas tree, as we know it today, mirrors the carved idols described in Jeremiah's writings. This custom, linked to the signs of heaven much like the winter solstice, reflects a pagan origin despite modern unawareness of this connection. The scriptures in Jeremiah, primarily prophetic and relevant to our

The Crazy in Christmas

CGG Weekly by Ronny H. Graham

Many years ago, the subject of Christmas arose in conversations, revealing astonishment from others when I shared that I do not celebrate it. Neighbors, upon presenting Christmas gifts, were stunned to learn of our stance, questioning our belief in God when they noticed the absence of a Christmas tree and decorations in our home. T

Cogitations on Christmas

Article by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Christmas is a bundle of contradictions, inanities, and outright lies, a fact that many people are aware of yet often ignore. The celebration, commonly associated with December 25, is not the true date of Jesus Christ's birth, as He could not have been born around the winter solstice. In the early fourth century, the celebration wa

Reasons for Not Celebrating Christmas

CGG Weekly by John Reiss

Christmas, as observed on December 25, does not align with the actual birth date of Jesus Christ. Clues in the Bible suggest His birth occurred in the second half of September, around the fall holy days, based on calculations related to John the Baptist's birth in late March. The Bible does not specify the exact day of His birth, a

The Plain Truth About Christmas

Herbert W. Armstrong Booklet

Did Christmas come from the Bible or paganism? Here are the origins of the Christmas tree, Santa Claus, mistletoe, the holly wreath, and exchanging gifts.

What's Wrong With Christmas?

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

The Catholic Church mixed truth and falsehood to have the 'official' birthdate of the Son of God coincide with the rebirth of the sun, the winter solstice.

So You Plan to Keep Christmas Now?

Article by Mike Ford

Decorating with evergreens, festivals of lights, and the practice of giving dolls as gifts in the middle of winter all originate in pagan festivals.

Christmas, Syncretism, and Presumption

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Many think keeping Christmas is fine, yet God never tells us to celebrate His Son's birth. Celebrating such an obvious mix of biblical truth and paganism is presumptuous.

Christmas and Sun Worship

Sermonette by Mike Ford

Christmas, Easter, and Halloween all derive from sex, fertility, and sun worship. Christmas traces to the incestuous relationship of Semiramis and Nimrod.

The Names of Christmas

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Christmas is also called Yule, Noel, the Nativity, Advent, and the Feast of the Incarnation. Many were borrowed from other languages; all come from paganism.

The Rea$on for the Season

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

If there is indeed a 'war on Christmas,' then let Rome defend it, for it was pagan Rome that co-opted the winter solstice and inserted the presumed birth of Jesus.

Celebrating a Lie

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The true story of Jesus' birth has been syncretized into a non-Christian festival, and even that has been obscured by a wrong date and a phony crèche scene.

Spirit and Truth

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

The pagan origins of Christmas are well known. How can Christians practice something that has always been anti-God? Is this worshiping 'in spirit and in truth'?

A Search For Christmas Truth?

Sermonette by John W. Ritenbaugh

Rejecting the Sabbath or embracing Christmas requires rejecting fundamental biblical truths. If we do not do what Christ did, we cannot claim to follow Christ.

When Was Jesus Born?

Article by John O. Reid

The Catholic Church chose December 25 as the date of Jesus' birth, centuries after the fact. However, internal biblical evidence gives a very different story.

'Tis the Season: Help for Our Young People

Article by Staff

As another Christmas season approaches, many in God's church, including our children, dread having to endure it. We can help them understand God's way.

Syncretismas!

Article by Martin G. Collins

Christmas is a very blatant form of syncretism, the blending of diverse religious practices. The origins of Christmas testify of why we should reject it.

Insinuating the Savior Into Paganism

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

Despite the pagan origins of Christmas being well known, here is still defensiveness when anyone poses questions about the appropriateness of it all.

Dating Christ's Birth

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

While a minority of Christians insist that December 25 is the actual date of the Nativity, most people realize that proof for this early winter date is quite scanty.

Pagan Holidays

Bible Study by Martin G. Collins

The holidays of this world counterfeit God's holy days, but it is obvious that they are very different. God warns us not to be involved in them.

Presumption and Divine Justice (Part One)

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Orthodoxy in virtually every aspect of life has been discarded, indicating how perverse human nature is in its determination to rebel against God.

What Is This 'Advent'?

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

'Advent' can refer both to Christ's first coming as a human being or to His second coming in overwhelming power and glory to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

For the Love of the Truth

Sermonette by Ryan McClure

Christ has never been in man's holidays, which are built on lies, and which teach children they cannot trust the veracity of their own parents.

True Worship of God

Sermonette by Craig Sablich

Any practice that does not give its loyalty to the Creator and is not devoted to His truth is nothing more than a method of worship created by men.

Truth-Based Worship Vs Spiritual Confusion

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

God never accepts worship that comes from human reasoning and the traditions of man. The starting point for worship must always be God and His revelation.

Satan's Pagan Holy Days

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by Kim Myers

New Years, Christmas, Easter, Halloween and birthdays all originate in paganism. Satan entices many into accepting these pagan practices through emotional appeals.

Sincerity Without Truth Is Worthless

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

It is dangerous to judge something on the basis of apparent 'sincerity,' which is often the opposite of godly sincerity. Godly sincerity is paired with the truth.

A Son Is Given

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The names of God reveal His character and attributes, and so also with Jesus. The reasons for Jesus Christ's incarnation are revealed in His names.

Appointments

Sermon by Clyde Finklea

God established the weekly Sabbath on the seventh day of Creation; He established His Holy Days (moedim) on the fourth day. These are His appointments.

Does Paul Condemn Observing God's Holy Days?

'Ready Answer' by Earl L. Henn

Galatians 4:9-10 is a favorite crutch of those who claim Christians no longer need to observe God's holy days. However, Paul's meaning is quite different.

Nicolaitanism Today

'Prophecy Watch' by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The end-time church is warned against Nicolaitanism, for it exists today. The Scriptures, plus some first century history, reveal who the Nicolaitans are.

Truth (Part 1)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

If we are going to search for truth, we should not be seeking it in the philosophies of men, but rather in the fullness of truth found in God's revelation.

The Second Commandment (1997)

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Many fail to perceive the difference between the first and second commandments. The second commandment defines the way we are to worship the true God.

More on Tolerance

CGG Weekly by John W. Ritenbaugh

Many are guided by a multicultural value system that posits that all values, regardless of their source, are equal and should be tolerated. But God has one way.

Who Were the Wise Men?

Article by Staff

The Feast of Epiphany, observed on January 6, commemorates the visit of the wise men, known as magi, to the infant Jesus at Bethlehem. These wise men knew in advance who they would visit and that their purpose was to worship Him. It is highly unlikely that heathen, idolatrous astrologers would travel great distances to honor the so