{"id":1952,"date":"2024-12-14T16:22:49","date_gmt":"2024-12-14T16:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drkenrpruitt.com\/KP2\/KP2\/?p=1952"},"modified":"2023-12-30T16:11:43","modified_gmt":"2023-12-30T16:11:43","slug":"december-14-for-sinners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drkenrpruitt.com\/KP2\/december-14-for-sinners\/","title":{"rendered":"December 14, “for sinners”"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Empty manger with shadow of cross in old dirty barn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners . . .<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I Timothy 1:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christmas is best defined as a celebration of the coming of the Christ (which is the literal meaning of this time of year \u2013 Advent<\/em>, or \u201ccoming<\/em>.\u201d).  The entire Bible and all of Biblical history in some way points to and celebrates the coming of Christ and His life and purpose on earth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The angels announced the birth of Christ as Heaven opened and bestowed upon mankind the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in the form of a pure and innocent babe.  What a magnificent picture of God\u2019s love!   This is the message that has changed everything: The Christ has come<\/em>.  The Angels heralded Him as \u201cSavior, Christ, the Lord.\u201d  The Christmas announcement was a message of redemption.  This was a proclamation that salvation is offered to all mankind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christmas celebrates the coming of Christ, and once every year the entire globe pauses to celebrate \u201cChristmas.\u201d  While our culture has regrettably negotiated the deeper meaning of Christmas for the more superficial celebration of the \u201cholidays,\u201d the facts still stand: Christmas reminds us of our God who is Creator and Redeemer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this very moment, lights are strung and wreaths hung.  Each day that I drive to my office, I notice how our own city has merged aesthetically into a clear demonstration of Christmas.  Each day the Christmas season is more noticeable, and conversations are turning to Holiday emphases.  Yet, in the undercurrent of our society, the Yule Tide has developed a superficial gloss; our society seems to be okay with a celebration of Christmas without the pronounced centrality of Jesus, and the message of redemption that defines the coming of Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So today, with less than 12 days until Christmas, let\u2019s consider how we can re-center our own Christmas celebration back to the centrality of Jesus our redeemer.  As we sing Christmas carols, visit replicas of manger scenes, give of time and money to notable benevolent causes, and champion a spirit of kindness conducive to this time of year, let\u2019s not forget that Christmas is an announcement that redemption has come.  The Savior has come.  The King of kings and Lord of lords has stepped into our lives.  And we will never be the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For you, is Christmas a celebration of salvation?  I pray so.  Is Christmas a time for you to recommit to a life that is truly centered on Jesus?  I hope so.  This season, let\u2019s talk about God\u2019s love in Christ; let\u2019s live out that love to family and friends, and strangers.  This season, let\u2019s truly celebrate that our redemption has come.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you share the good news of salvation with someone?  What a way to celebrate the birth of Christ.  This is indeed a worthy statement: Christ came into the world to save sinners.  This is salvation. This is love. This is Christmas.       <\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, read 1 Timothy 1:15 along with Luke 2:11 and celebrate that our salvation has come.   <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners . . .   I Timothy 1:15 Christmas is best defined as a celebration of the coming of the Christ (which is the literal meaning of this time of year \u2013 Advent, or \u201ccoming.\u201d).  The entire Bible and all of …<\/p>\n

December 14, “for sinners”<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-todays"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drkenrpruitt.com\/KP2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drkenrpruitt.com\/KP2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drkenrpruitt.com\/KP2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drkenrpruitt.com\/KP2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drkenrpruitt.com\/KP2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1952"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/drkenrpruitt.com\/KP2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3253,"href":"https:\/\/drkenrpruitt.com\/KP2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952\/revisions\/3253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drkenrpruitt.com\/KP2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drkenrpruitt.com\/KP2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drkenrpruitt.com\/KP2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drkenrpruitt.com\/KP2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}