[JJ]

Great points made on this thread already!

The community churches I have attended in Bakersfield and Turlock, CA since I left TLR for good in 2015 are very good about using the Christmas and Easter seasons as opportunities to exort attendees to not get lost in the commercial versions of these holidays and take advantage of them to preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

While on one level it always seems somewhat weird to be engaged in various biblical based sermon series (this years’ is on Phillipians and how that letter applies to us today) and “put them on ice” so the topic of Jesus’ first coming and hope of His second coming dominate the preaching and singing for a while. But, I have come to appreciate and enjoy diving deep into how amazing Jesus is in his incarnation, death, and resurrection.

I do see at least a few unbelievers brought to salvation in Jesus in each Christmas and Easter season (and many others hear the good news for the first time or again, so praise the Lord for that).

I use these seasons as a chance to review the gospels’ stories to freshen my own appreciation of Jesus Christ and speak of him as “the reason for the season” to my family, friends, and coworkers.

I get why Christmas can be poo pooed as a pagan holiday, carried over from winter soltice pagan observances. Nevertheless, Jesus’ coming is a really big deal! Worthy of our celebration that overrides that. Similar for Easter. Jesus death and resurrection are an even bigger deal, worthy of our celebration. IMHO