Question on Christmas being Pagan?

Lanolin said:
wow
I think another church did the similar thing except they had way more trees it was like they had totally filled the auditorium with trees that everyone had dragged out of their attics/garages.

If I can find the picture I'd post it.

But then a different church did a drive-through nativity. And they had people playing angels and shepherds.

I mean if someone is not really a tree person (like they are allergic) then I totally understand their objections, but its not like there aren't any other churches around and some won't have trees inside them.
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Ok, that was just one picture. I will take some this weekend, as the worship center is wall-to-wall Christmas trees.

Rtm
 
Lanolin said:
yea I tend to stay away from religious people. They get uptight.

I cut my hair on purpose because it gets very hot in summer and I have black hair. I actually know more christian hairdressers than non-christian ones and they all make a living from cutting hair.

Also the people that insist ladies wear dresses all the time never ever offer to BUY a lady a dress. And they don't understand the time and effort it takes to sew one up.
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If you think religious people get uptight....talk to an Atheist about Hell!
 
Lanolin said:
wow
I think another church did the similar thing except they had way more trees it was like they had totally filled the auditorium with trees that everyone had dragged out of their attics/garages.

If I can find the picture I'd post it.

But then a different church did a drive-through nativity. And they had people playing angels and shepherds.

I mean if someone is not really a tree person (like they are allergic) then I totally understand their objections, but its not like there aren't any other churches around and some won't have trees inside them.
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Ok, this is a better pic of the inside of our worship center and the Christmas trees all over the stage

rtm

20211212_103224.jpg
 
bobinfaith said:
This is very nice, Ray.

By the way, how is your Pastor doing? I know you mentioned he is fairly new.

Thank you for sharing, brother.
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Hey Bob, nice to hear from you.

It's really kind of hard to tell. He does struggle a bit with his messages, mostly just silly moments. Yesterday he meant to say, "tears rolling down his face" and said "eyes rolling down his face."

It's hard to say so because we have not really recovered from Covid. We are seeing the 10:45 service come close to maybe 500 - 700 people, but we use to see upwards of 1,200.

Bottom line is that he remains a work in progress.

Rtm
 
rtm3039 said:
Ok, this is a better pic of the inside of our worship center and the Christmas trees all over the stage

rtm

View attachment 6509
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It looks very dark in your church...do you have your service at night time?

I suppose it gets dark early in winter.
Here in Auckland I always wonder why we don't have services outside as it can be so stuffy sitting inside for an hour....well when it's not raining.
 
Lanolin said:
It looks very dark in your church...do you have your service at night time?

I suppose it gets dark early in winter.
Here in Auckland I always wonder why we don't have services outside as it can be so stuffy sitting inside for an hour....well when it's not raining.
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Well, it is dark because the lights are off.

On Saturdays, service is at 6:30PM, so it does get dark. On Sundays, services are at 9:20am, 10:45am, and 12:20pm. So, it is light for all three services.

Our main worship center is made to hold 1,300 people, so it is pretty large. It has not filled to capacity since Covid first hit.
 
I was looking at the sanctuary of Ray's church and it reminded me back in 1996 when I was playing in the praise band during Wednesday evening services.

I showed up to meet the band at 630pm but noone could make it that evening. It was empty and it felt dark.

So I prayed and said, Lord, if it's just You and me then I'm still going to praise you. At 7pm only one person showed up so I opened in prayer and began leading the praise and worship.

By 715pm suddenly the place filled up and the pastor showed up late. After the service we split up between the youth group and adult bible studies.

I felt kinda disappointed because for some reason it felt good when it was just another person, me and the Lord in an empty sanctuary.
 
2404 said:
We know Jesus wasn't born in December. He was born in spring - to be in a manger, not to mention getting there...
Having the right attitude and reasons for celebrations makes it all good. If someone else has a problem with it - just goes to show that they need to get up to speed - in a Christian manner. We don't do trees because I like trees and can't justify cutting one down just to ditch it in a couple of days. But each to his own - nothing against it.
God bless.
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Hello 2404;

Debating Christ's birthday has gone on for years. Why the world decided to celebrate on December 25th, is beyond me. Instead, it has always been a wonderful opportunity during this time of the year for us to introduce others to Christ - when people and their loved ones gather for the annual giving and receiving gifts, or stopping life to travel home and be with family, and when my wife and I meet with others to celebrate Christ's Birth and First Coming, there's nothing like sharing the Reason for the Season.

When we take those drives to places that have trees for miles we always take the time to praise God for His mountains, the valleys, the water and the trees. It's like a therapy of being awed by His Creation followed by a peace knowing that our God is a Mighty God.

God bless you, 2404, and your whole family. Merry Christmas.
 
Christmas is different dates depending on what calendar you are using.

Many Christians (those in the East) celebrate the nativity on January 6. So you've still got time!
 
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