What a sight to have seen, the host of heaven singing over the greatest event to ever happen to men and women on earth - the birth of Emmanel - God with us!

Can you imagine what they saw!

Amen


Dutch

Amen again...

Merry Christmas!

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
What a sight to have seen, the host of heaven singing over the greatest event to ever happen to men and women on earth - the birth of Emmanel - God with us!

Can you imagine what they saw!

Amen brother, Amen!

Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus.

How humbling it must have been.
Shepherd's were not thought very highly of back then, & for the announcement of Christ birth to have been given first to them.
We all need a good shepherd.

We were all truly blessed on this day.

Merry Christmas everyone!

We have one, Bwana Cecil.

Dutch

The shephards were watching their flocks on the hills surrounding Bethlehem; flocks that were being raised to become the literal sacrifices for the alter of the great temple in Jerusalem. And, these humble shepherds were then privileged to witness and testify of the birth of the Son of God who would later become the great sacrifice and who would atone for the sins of all mankind, and by so doing he would overcome sin and death and be resurrected. How truly blessed we all are who believe in the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and his Atonement and Resurrection!

Still plenty of sin and death
Nothing changed since then
Religion still oppress us

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
What a sight to have seen, the host of heaven singing over the greatest event to ever happen to men and women on earth - the birth of Emmanel - God with us!

Can you imagine what they saw!

I have thought about it often.

quote:

Originally posted by boarkiller:
Still plenty of sin and death
Nothing changed since then
Religion still oppress us

Boar,
I would offer that sin oppresses us. Faith in a savour frees us from sin to be what we all hope to be and more.
Religion based on our performance is slavery, religion based on what God has done for us is freedom.
Not to preach, but there is a dramatic and life changing difference.

Okay, it's been "two thousand years ago" since I was a kid. If it happened around 4 to 6 BCE, that's approaching "two thousand twenty years ago."

Rejoice!!

Barry

quote:

Originally posted by boarkiller:
Still plenty of sin and death
Nothing changed since then
Religion still oppress us

everything was changed on that day. Its a shame you cant see it. Christ doesnt oppress us be sets us free. It is our sin that oppresses us.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

quote:

Still plenty of sin and deathNothing changed since thenReligion still oppress us

I have never found anywhere in the Bible about there being no more sin or death after the birth of Christ.
When we accept Christ as our savior we are admitting we are sinners in need of a savior.
As for the religion still oppresses us. I do understand that. Religion is man-made & just about everything man gets into he messes it up somehow.
Being a Christian is a belief, not a religion.

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

- Luke 2:9-11

Bwana Cecil
I agree
My comment wasn't against Christ or faith
It was said as it is
Religion gets hijacked in the name of God and next control freak starts telling the flock how to live
I think Jesus has been rolling in his resting place ever since and God just laughs, because he know we are just people
It's up to individual how to make mark here on earth
Church is not a building or place but any place at any particular time where you're standing at any time
BTW. I love politics and religion almost as much as hunting

quote:

It's up to individual how to make mark here on earthChurch is not a building or place but any place at any particular time where you're standing at any time

Amen Dogcat, great food for thought.

quote:

Originally posted by bwana cecil:

quote:

Still plenty of sin and deathNothing changed since thenReligion still oppress us

I have never found anywhere in the Bible about there being no more sin or death after the birth of Christ.
When we accept Christ as our savior we are admitting we are sinners in need of a savior.

As for the religion still oppresses us. I do understand that. Religion is man-made & just about everything man gets into he messes it up somehow.
Being a Christian is a belief, not a religion.

Agreed my friend!
Sin is still with, but the Redeemer is as well. The price was paid, we are free to love and serve as we should!

quote:

Originally posted by boarkiller:
Still plenty of sin and death
Nothing changed since then
Religion still oppress us

No, not really, men, misusing religion or using religion to their own ends, are the real oppressors.
Those who have faith and live according to their faith do not oppress others.

Great!!

It's freakin' Christmas and we are going to argue about religion?

You all need to examine what really matters to you all individually.

If a Christian lives his/her live based on the tenants of the teachings that they have studied and the good far out ways the bad then I'm all for it.

Same applies to our Muslim friends, and we have them on here.

I, personally, am a very deeply spiritual man. I refuse to define that as Christian or any other name. That is between me and my personal connection with "whatever you wish to name a deity"

Truth is I've met good and bad examples of practically every religion you could name and I've been among most.

Let's just set all that aside and agree that for many, today is special.

For me it's a simple day. I got to give presents to my wife of 40 years who is still alive.

Many on here offered prayers in her fight against cancer. Those prayers were not all Christian. We appreciated all of them including those couched as "thoughts" being with us. They all meant the same to us or more importantly to Joyce.

You all can argue the rest.

Merry Christmas!!

Cheers
Jim

I am a christian but I believe that christians and muslims or any of the other religions must learn to live together. The problem is the fanatics in each camp.

Jim my friend
I did not see any arguing, but discussion.
Christmas is about the birth of our savior Christ, hence the name.
Man has turned it into many things to many people, but that does not change what it's original intent was.
Merry Christmas & all the best to you & Joyce.

I was in the Qatar airport the other day and watched a woman wearing the niqab buy a bunch of Christmas themed toys and decorations. After reading this thread, I can't help but think she has a lot more class and brains than a few of those posting here.

I was standing around on a job site once many years ago just before we quit for Christmas eve when something was said about Christmas being just an old bible story by a young guy to my boss who was in his sixties at that time.

The old man said yes that is true, and whether you believe it or not changes nothing. The fact is even if the whole bible is fiction, if one lives by it's tenants he will be a pretty good person, because true or false it only tells the reader to respect all people, as you would like to be respected.

I believe that is reason enough to live by it!

Of course everyone is free to believe what he wants, but with that said, his freedom to swing, ends at the tip of the other man's nose!

.........................................................Marry Christmas

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:
I was standing around on a job site once many years ago just before we quit for Christmas eve when something was said about Christmas being just an old bible story by a young guy to my boss who was in his sixties at that time.

The old man said yes that is true, and whether you believe it or not changes nothing. The fact is even if the whole bible is fiction, if one lives by it's tenants he will be a pretty good person, because true or false it only tells the reader to respect all people, as you would like to be respected.

I believe that is reason enough to live by it!

Of course everyone is free to believe what he wants, but with that said, his freedom to swing, ends at the tip of the other man's nose!

.........................................................Marry Christmas

I agree, I am not a fundamentalist but you can't go wrong in life if you live by the basic tenants of the book.

Excellent discussion
In the end, everyone answers to what they have lived up to in their whole lives.
Merry Christmas to everyone

Praise the Lord for Christmas! Enjoying the day-eating leftovers and shooting clay targets off the front porch. With both of my kids and their spouses. Great day.

quote:

Originally posted by bwana cecil:
Jim my friend
I did not see any arguing, but discussion.
Christmas is about the birth of our savior Christ, hence the name.
Man has turned it into many things to many people, but that does not change what it's original intent was.
Merry Christmas & all the best to you & Joyce.

Agreed! No bitterness here, just discussion. Shootaway is on another forum right now!

Praise God on the birth of our Lord and Savior. He has blessed us to be able to hunt the animals He created.

quote:

Can you imagine what they saw!

as a devout Christian, I believe they saw a routine birth. if the heavens has opened and the angels had sung, and it was a miraculous event, then belief would not be a matter of faith - which is the whole point.

sorry to be a wet blanket, but Jesus was not remarkable to look upon at the time. at least I don't think so.

quote:

Originally posted by Pondoro:
The problem is the fanatics in each camp.

that goes for everything. Amen!

Amen and Merry Christmas! I to enjoyed the discussion. Merry Christmas and may God bless everyone's New Year!

Thanks Dogcat for posting!

quote:

Originally posted by delloro:

quote:

Can you imagine what they saw!

as a devout Christian, I believe they saw a routine birth. if the heavens has opened and the angels had sung, and it was a miraculous event, then belief would not be a matter of faith - which is the whole point.



sorry to be a wet blanket, but Jesus was not remarkable to look upon at the time. at least I don't think so.

Del,
Another thought, the Hebrew slaves in Egypt saw at least 15 monster miracles (10 plagues, pillar in f fire and cloud, manna from heaven, quail, water from a rock, etc) prior to entering the promised land, yet still struggled when with unbelief and built an idol. So, I would like to think I would not waver having seen the angelic host singing, but I suspect I would.

Faith and grace make belief is n Christ unique in all of the universe.

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:

quote:

Originally posted by delloro:

quote:

Can you imagine what they saw!

as a devout Christian, I believe they saw a routine birth. if the heavens has opened and the angels had sung, and it was a miraculous event, then belief would not be a matter of faith - which is the whole point.



sorry to be a wet blanket, but Jesus was not remarkable to look upon at the time. at least I don't think so.

Del,
Another thought, the Hebrew slaves in Egypt saw at least 15 monster miracles (10 plagues, pillar in f fire and cloud, manna from heaven, quail, water from a rock, etc) prior to entering the promised land, yet still struggled when with unbelief and built an idol....

they did seem quite hard-headed, didn't they?