Don’t Forget About Sunday…

Just in case you read this later (maybe during July), I’m writing this on Christmas Eve, 2010.

Don’t forget about Aunt Grace and Uncle Lester. You drew their names to give gifts to this year. Don’t forget about coconut to go on top of the dessert that you’re making. Don’t forget to put the ham in the oven in plenty of time for the guests who will be arriving! Don’t forget to say “thank you” for any gifts you are given (no matter how strange they may be). Don’t forget your manners!

Don’t forget that it’s a good idea to take a trash bag along with you into the den on Christmas Day, so you can put the wrapping paper into it as you open gifts. But before that, don’t forget to check what’s actually in the box before you wrap it and label it. I’ve opened up women’s clothing before (as a man)… awkward.

Don’t forget to check the oil and put air in the tires of your car before you load up for that long trip. Don’t forget to slow down a little with family and friends over the next few days. Don’t forget to give plenty of hugs, and say “I love you.”

But most of all, don’t forget Sunday…

Although it seems there is constant debate in the church about what to do with Christmas, religiously speaking, don’t let it overshadow the fact that every first day of the week we are to come together to worship God. While preachers this week will toss and turn in bed, and possibly be distracted during worship wondering whether or not they should or should not be preaching about Christmas “myths”, don’t let that overshadow your worship to God.

The truth of the matter is this: We come together every first day of the week (Acts 20:7) to remember Christ as one of our acts of worship. It is the only memorial celebration that Jesus ever instituted (Matthew 26:26-29) of his life, and more specifically, his death.

While many in the greater realm of Christendom may take tomorrow to celebrate Jesus’s birth, realize that the Christian who is worshipping God properly has already remembered Christ 51 times this year! How? In 1 Corinthians 11:26 Paul writes the following:

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes

Did you realize that in order to proclaim his death, you must also inadvertently recognize his life? How can a dead man die? He can’t. Thus, his life is remembered, but how did he come to live? He must have been born! And thus, the properly worshipping Christian in a sense recognizes Christ for who he is, including the particulars of his birth, every single Sunday!

But that’s not all. You see, his death, and likewise his resurrection are present in that remembrance as well. Note the importance of the following:

1 Corinthians 15:14 NKJV
(14)  And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

The fact that he is coming again is also there! There’s so much more than just his birth that is exciting about Christ!

Don’t let questions about the season hinder your proper worship of God on Sunday. Don’t let the distractions of the season keep you from doing what you know God really wants this week (John 4:23-24).

Don’t forget about Sunday… or next Sunday… or the Sunday after…

~Daniel Howell