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How should we think about Christmas? As you well know, there are various ways men and women have thought about it. Over the years I've compiled the following twenty articles on how different Christians thought about Christmas. You will notice that there is a very wide range of perspectives in this list of articles. As the holiday approaches, ponder through this series and test each article by the Word of God. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

In this audio message, Scott Brown discusses the topic of holiness. He explains that there are twelve things that we can learn about holiness. The first lesson that we can learn about holiness is that we should pursue it. If you do not have holiness, you will not see the Lord. 1 Samuel 2:2 (NKJV) - "No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God."

The saving grace of God has shone forth in Christ, and empowers us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to strive after soberness, righteousness, and godliness in this life. This grace also prepares us to look for the return of Jesus Christ, who has pursued us and purchased us with his own blood. This must be the fuel of our motivation to live godly in the here and now.

In this sermon, Scott Brown proclaims the sufficiency of scripture for both church and family life. He shares his own journey with Jesus and emphasizes the importance of knowing and delighting in Christ, who is the center of happy life. Through Isaiah 57:15, Brown explains how a holy God condescends to dwell with humble and broken people, sustaining them with His living water. The speaker encourages repentance, obedience, and a contrite spirit, and calls on listeners to focus on the beauty of Christ and the holiness that leads to happiness.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation; only through the work of Christ can a sinner be declared righteous in the sight of a holy God. Yet this declaration of righteousness by faith in Jesus is not the only work of God in the believer's heart. Those who believe are justified and are being progressively sanctified so that they become more and more like their Savior. Not only are we declared free from judgment but we are also empowered to resist sin, obey the commands of Christ, and grow in practical holiness.

The Bible is brimming with passages that can make Christians blush, squirm, and reel with embarrassment—stories and passages that can make us feel uncomfortable. In response, many have opted for a feel-good faith by embracing only the socially-acceptable and non-offensive passages in Scripture. But if we really believe that the Scriptures are God-breathed, holy, and essential for faith and life then we cannot shy away from these passages and recognize that they ultimately point to the holiness of God. May we not be ashamed of the gospel and dare to embrace the entire Bible for a healthy, holy, and joy-filled faith.

Did you know that there is a wrong way to pursue holiness? It is very easy, especially for those who have grown up in a Christian society that had no concern for holiness, to overreach and swing to the other side of the pendulum. History has seen this pendulum swing between antinomianism and legalism before and we need to be on guard against the same knee-jerk today. We don't want to swing so far that in twenty-years there will be conference to undo our wrong pursuit of holiness. 

The greatest motivation for personal holiness is to get a glimpse of the great holiness of our God. When we contemplate the beauty and majesty of Jesus Christ in his glory we will be changed. If we see Christ exalted we will be like Isaiah when he saw the enthroned Son of God and immediately humbled and recognize the severity of our sin and at the same time be drawn to his holiness. As we meditate on his perfect holiness and his exalted glory we will love him more and desire to become like him reflecting his holiness.

We cannot fully comprehend the depths to which Christ lowered Himself to reconcile sinners to a holy God until we comprehend something of His holiness and preincarnate glory. In these two sermons, drawn from the prophet Isaiah and the Apostle Paul, we will attempt to consider the infinite wonders and incalculable expense of our redemption. The end goal is threefold: To set before the sinner the only means of drawing near to the God whose name is Holy; to teach Christians to esteem the worth of Christ above all; and to shake our hearts from sleep and apathy toward sin that we might be holy as He is holy.

While many aspects of the end times are open for debate among theologically orthodox believers some elements are clear and should be agreed to by all. First, the promise that Christ is coming again is sure, all believers are to look forward to that great day. Second, that when he comes there will be a final victory of holiness. The unrepentant and unholy will be judged and sin will be put away from God's people forever, and true holiness will reign forever.

Whenever we catch a true glimpse of the holiness of God, it draws us deeper into worship and gives us a greater desire to glorify His name. In Psalm 29:1-2, David expresses this very idea, encouraging God's people to passionately glorify His name, and to worship the Lord "in the beauty of holiness". The more we understand the holiness of God, the more we understand just what a beautiful paradox it really is. The One who no one can approach, apart from Christ, is completely approachable, in Christ. The One who no one can ever be like, apart from Christ, makes us like Him, in Christ. By reckoning ourselves as dead, we find real life. By becoming slaves, we gain freedom. By experiencing suffering, we receive joy. As we consider these and other beautiful paradoxes, as revealed in God's character, God's works, and God's ways, we too can catch another glimpse of the holiness of God, and be drawn deeper into worship, having a greater desire to glorify Him with our lives.