As anyone can tell you, "timing is everything", and "location, location location", well, the LORD has impeccable timing and places us where he wills, like pieces of a Chess set.
Finally, we went to the Outlet Mall. We had to park way out by the Casino, and as we walked to the mall, we engaged a store employee, Julie, who was very nice. Although she had been to Sunday school as a kid, she had no understanding of the Gospel message. She was so gracious to converse with us during the entire walk into the mall. Thomas had the opportunity to share the Gospel with her, and she was very receptive. She said she would consider these things and we encouraged her to read her Bible. Inside the mall, we handed Gospel tracts out amongst a sea of humanity. We went to the food court area and stood on the bench and proclaimed the Gospel in the open Air in front of Coach, and then over by Starbucks. It was very nerve wracking because we were addressing so many people. As we completed our second message, the security guard came up and informed us that he appreciate the message, but we couldn't do this and had to leave. We complied.
Here is the text of my message:
Good evening. Merry Christmas to you! My name is Keith and I'm a Christian and I'd like to share a message with you of the true meaning of Christmas. So to do that, I'd like to read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke. Before I do that though, let me say, I really enjoy getting and giving Christmas presents. I love family get-togethers and all that good food. I appreciate having a Christmas tree and decorations and Christmas lights; although I'm not such a big fan of climbing up on a ladder and putting lights on the house. Don't get me wrong, all those things are very cool, but that's not the true meaning of Christmas. So let me read the Christmas story from the book of Luke. One more thing though, I don't mean to burst anyone's bubble, but most assuredly Christ was not born on December 25th. From history and clues in the text we can say that most certainly, Jesus was not born on December 25th. That date was chosen many years later to coincide with the pagan celebration with the Winter Solstice. So although the choice of that date makes me very uncomfortable, I am glad we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Luke 2: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
That little excerpt from Luke chapter cut right to the chase of why there is a Christmas story. We skipped over the angel announcing that although Mary was a virgin, she would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit. We skipped over the fact that Mary was betrothed or engaged to Joseph, and that Rome had ordered everyone to return to their hometown to register for a census, so they could be taxed. We didn't hear about the fact that when Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem for the census, there was no room for them in the inn, so they stayed in a stable, where Jesus was born, and they laid him in a manger or a feed trough as a cradle. We just learned that Jesus was to be a savior which is Christ the Lord. What is Jesus a savior from though? Well, simply sin and death, because the Bible says, “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”, and it says, “the wages of sin is death”. Elsewhere it says, “it is appointed unto man, once to die and after this, the Judgement.” Lastly, it says, “God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in Righteousness.” So we’ve all sinned, and we’re all headed for death. And after we die, we will stand before God our Maker, and give an account of our life. And the standard by which he will judge us is Righteousness, that’s the standard Righteousness, which means God is going to judge the heart. We can know how we’ll do on that day by looking at ourselves in the mirror (so to speak) of God’s law, the Ten Commandments, and we can see how we compare to that standard of Righteousness. So let me ask you a few questions based on the Ten Commandments. Answer to yourself, you don’t have to answer to me, but listen to your conscience.
The Law goes here...
The Gospel goes next...
God bless...
