Greetings, Brothers, Sisters, and Friends of CBCGL,
First of all, Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones. May your Christmas be full of joy and peace.
This year’s Christmas gathering is rather unusual. Due to the pandemic, we are restrained from celebrating with our immediate household and family members. However, we could meet with other family members and friends through the Zoom or Teams’ virtual gathering. On the other hands, I find that I could have more quality time to spend with people around me…. And also do some exciting thinking…. Here is one:
Did you ever wonder why we celebrate Jesus’ birthday on December 25th and call it Christmas? Though the Bible is not meant to be a source for history; however, it contains information that helps scholars piece together significant events such as Passover and Easter. T Bible leaves out substantial evidence on pinpointing Jesus’ date of birth, except from the encounter of Zechariah and the birth of John the Baptist, who was born six months earlier than Jesus (Luke 1: 5-38). Since we don’t know which date baby Jesus was born, how should we respond to the assumption about “celebrating Jesus’ birthday on Christmas,” as this day, “a Savior is born” (Luke 2:11)?
This question reminds me of a famous Chinese martial art novelist Louis Cha. Louis Cha is better known by his non-de plume (i.e., pen name) of Jin Yong. His novels bear a style of integrating characters from his imagination with the real ancient Chinese history. One of his creations was an imaginary character named Little Treasure. Little Treasure was a fake eunuch who was a friend of the Qing Dynasty’s Emperor Kangxi. In the novel, Little Treasure helped Emperor Kangxi strategically arrest an ambitious general, Obai, who had gained power and threatened Kangxi’s throne. While the account between Emperor Kangxi and the powerful general Obai was historically a real event, the mastermind in the novel Little Treasure was not. Western novelist Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons were also using a similar writing style to integrate fiction with history.
The authors of the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke, presumably Matthew and Luke, were not like Jin Yong or Dan Brown, who conjured their fabrications for a more personal purpose. But it is not true for the authors of the gospel books. So how did the gospel authors know the details of Jesus’ birth? While we may take the narratives in by faith and respond with “they are inspired by God,” there may be other clues in the story to suggest another possibility. A Possibility that the gospel authors had obtained authentic confirmation from Jesus’ mother Mary or Joseph, who were first witnesses when Magi came and visited. As far as the date of baby Jesus’ birth, that remains a mystery until this day.
I hope I have stirred up a little curiosity in your faith. Make a quest for your inquiry. Help affirm your belief and honestly know who you believe (2 Timothy 1:12) and why.
How then should we celebrate Christmas? After all, what God’s Word revealed, was not when Jesus was born (Not to mention Jesus was Jewish, and Jewish people use a different calendar) but how. Will we offend God by celebrating Christmas? We offend God if we are idolatrous and disobedient. Suppose we gather with gratitude and a thankful heart; Christmas is a time to proclaim our salvation through our Savior Jesus Joyfully. He is our price of peace!
Announcement:
- There is no Friday Night’s Bible Study.
- EM Sunday School
Topic: CBCGL EM Sunday Class “52 Major Stories of the Bible” (9:45 am – 11:00 am):
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/491248585?pwd=RnpLcnpjQ01nTGZLSmhaZ3l4L3dKQT09
Dial-in from your phone: +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 491 248 585
YAs Sunday School (via Microsoft Teams)
YAs Sunday School signup sheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1H0oSS1kpU8JUZAv0JcmivEIzR-tvDtihkrEtBLE8tJo/edit?usp=sharing
- This Sunday, Pastor Raymond Lee will be sharing God’s word with us.
- Live stream Youtube: http://cbcgl.org/resources/live-stream/
- Title: Belongs to the Lord
- Text: Jonah 2:7-9
- Coworker reminder:
- The Office is updating the church directory for 2021. Your information will be protected and stored in our secure Microsoft Office system for church member access only. If you’d like to be included in the directory, please follow the link below:
- A new health waiver form has been posted online at
http://bit.ly/cbcgl-covid19-waiver
You are required to fill out the latest form if you plan to participate in any church activities.
- New Life Toastmaster Club is meeting every Sunday at 1:30 pm. Here is their new zoom meeting info:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81263192812?pwd=azR3TGlpUzE5UXlvdjZTK0hoOUN0dz09
Meeting ID: 812 6319 2812
Passcode: 296181
Join by phone: +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
- All other announcement items can be found here.
Prayer Request:
- Prayer is an essential part of the Christian life! Please consider joining our Wednesday night prayer meeting (7:45 pm – 9:15 pm) even if you can’t participate the whole time.
Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/758587937?pwd=aS9sZUdxcm1janNNM2I2aXJ6Smx2QT09
Meeting ID: 758 587 937
Password: 030086
Join by phone: +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
Young Adults:
Wednesday night EM prayer meeting @ 7:45 – 9:30 pm –
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86893982884?pwd=Q2RIWEtVMGtmdGJ2ZHNJdDJ3Rng4dz09
Meeting ID: 868 9398 2884
Password: 197791
- Here is our list of prayer and service requests. The service request tab is for brothers and sisters to ask for assistance or announce any give-away items. It is a new attempt from EM to reach out and take care of those in need among us. You may also enter yours:
Your brother in Christ,
Jeremy