Scott Rankin
Christian / Nonfiction
Our Lord desires that we become more Christ-like every day (1
Corinthians 11:1). To accomplish this goal, He tells us to renew our
minds (Romans 12:2). But how do the Christmas holidays help accomplish
this goal when all the busyness and stress makes it hard to focus all
our attention on Christ and rest in His peace? In an easy-to-read
format, The Christian Christmas Condition asks the question, “How does
our Lord feel about Christmas today?” encouraging Christians of all ages
to examine Christmas-time traditions from God’s perspective. Filled
with bible references, this study will boost your faith, increase your
knowledge, and strengthen you to fully honor Jesus in the midst of
Christmas, traditions, and busy holiday activities. This powerful book
further encourages all Christians to become more Christ-like in our
thinking and our actions each, and every day of the year… not just in
the winter holidays!
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Merry Christmas! Put your holiday thinking caps on, because we’re warming up with two fun challenges. First, I’m going to give you three sets of lyrics. Your job is to see how much of each song you can remember. If you feel like singing out loud, be my guest. Ready?
When you’re done, we’ll continue on the next page. Ready… Set… Go!
Here are a few popular answers: Jingle Bells, cutting out paper snowflakes, snowball fights, writing letters to Santa Claus, vacation from school, mistletoe, sitting by a warm fireplace on a cold night, trimming the Christmas tree, hanging stockings, setting out cookies and milk for Santa Claus, candlelight mass, Christmas lights on houses, and family reunions… Some of our fondest memories circulate around this time of year!
I once asked a woman named Lisa to do this exercise out loud, and she did an amazing job of listing a large number of family-related activities. However, not one thing she listed had any correlation with Jesus, His birth, worship, angels announcing Jesus’ birth, or a manger scene. Now, Lisa loves the Lord, but I asked her why she had so many other thoughts come to mind before Jesus—and her answer unveiled the perfect premise for this book (thank you, Lisa). She said, “I guess we’re all just conditioned to think that way.” So now I ask, if we’ve really been conditioned… what condition are Christians in during Christmas?
What did your top ten list look like? Did Jesus make the cut? Now, let’s add another layer to this “top 10” list exercise. When you see your kids or any immediate family member today, ask them to take the same challenge. Their answers may astonish you (partly because they do not have the chance to read the introduction of this book beforehand). Their responses should be wonderfully raw.
As you compare other people’s responses, where did Jesus get put in the order? Was He first? Was He in the middle? Was He in the back? Or was He left out altogether? If you found anywhere through the results of your own experiment that Jesus did not dominate or top your list, or those of your friends and family members, then let’s examine why together.
You will find that there are a variety of different views among people about Christmas and its traditions. We’ve all heard phrases like:
So, what is the real reason for the Christmas season? How did Christmas celebrations begin? How does God want us to use Christmas to worship and honor His Son? These are some great questions, and that is what we are going to cover in this book.
When Lisa suggested so appropriately that we have been “conditioned,” it simply implies that your surroundings, history, and family traditions have trained you to think a certain way. Truth be told, you were probably born into family traditions and influenced greatly as a child by your surroundings to put presents, the Christmas tree, or Santa first, all the while letting God and Jesus share the spotlight every now and then. In doing so, you may find that Jesus, over time, inadvertently moved out of the first priority position because of conditioned habits during this season.
But don’t lose heart—conditioned does not mean permanent. God tells us that through Him, we can renew our minds! And with a renewed mind comes an overflow of blessings.
So, sit back and enjoy while we study “The Christian Christmas Condition.”
- Oh, you better watch out, you better not…
- Rudolph the…
- I’m dreaming of a…
When you’re done, we’ll continue on the next page. Ready… Set… Go!
Here are a few popular answers: Jingle Bells, cutting out paper snowflakes, snowball fights, writing letters to Santa Claus, vacation from school, mistletoe, sitting by a warm fireplace on a cold night, trimming the Christmas tree, hanging stockings, setting out cookies and milk for Santa Claus, candlelight mass, Christmas lights on houses, and family reunions… Some of our fondest memories circulate around this time of year!
I once asked a woman named Lisa to do this exercise out loud, and she did an amazing job of listing a large number of family-related activities. However, not one thing she listed had any correlation with Jesus, His birth, worship, angels announcing Jesus’ birth, or a manger scene. Now, Lisa loves the Lord, but I asked her why she had so many other thoughts come to mind before Jesus—and her answer unveiled the perfect premise for this book (thank you, Lisa). She said, “I guess we’re all just conditioned to think that way.” So now I ask, if we’ve really been conditioned… what condition are Christians in during Christmas?
What did your top ten list look like? Did Jesus make the cut? Now, let’s add another layer to this “top 10” list exercise. When you see your kids or any immediate family member today, ask them to take the same challenge. Their answers may astonish you (partly because they do not have the chance to read the introduction of this book beforehand). Their responses should be wonderfully raw.
As you compare other people’s responses, where did Jesus get put in the order? Was He first? Was He in the middle? Was He in the back? Or was He left out altogether? If you found anywhere through the results of your own experiment that Jesus did not dominate or top your list, or those of your friends and family members, then let’s examine why together.
You will find that there are a variety of different views among people about Christmas and its traditions. We’ve all heard phrases like:
- “Jesus… the reason for the season”
- “Let’s put Christ back into Christmas”
- “We need to save Christmas”
- “Happy Holidays” (instead of “Merry Christmas”)
So, what is the real reason for the Christmas season? How did Christmas celebrations begin? How does God want us to use Christmas to worship and honor His Son? These are some great questions, and that is what we are going to cover in this book.
When Lisa suggested so appropriately that we have been “conditioned,” it simply implies that your surroundings, history, and family traditions have trained you to think a certain way. Truth be told, you were probably born into family traditions and influenced greatly as a child by your surroundings to put presents, the Christmas tree, or Santa first, all the while letting God and Jesus share the spotlight every now and then. In doing so, you may find that Jesus, over time, inadvertently moved out of the first priority position because of conditioned habits during this season.
But don’t lose heart—conditioned does not mean permanent. God tells us that through Him, we can renew our minds! And with a renewed mind comes an overflow of blessings.
So, sit back and enjoy while we study “The Christian Christmas Condition.”
Scott Rankin graduated with a degree in music education and spent his
20’s and 30’s as a successful music director, visual designer for
marching groups, and a professional clinician for high school and
college music programs.
In 2009 he was injured in a bicycle accident where he was instantly
paralyzed. Today as a healing quadriplegic, Scott’s passion for teaching
has been re-focused from music to writing Christian books and public
speaking.
Scott Rankin is a gifted educator and effective public speaker. His
ability to take complex subject matter, break it into bite-size pieces,
and re-assemble those through simple, logical, and enjoyable teaching
techniques makes his material easy to understand and hard to forget!
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChristianCondition
20’s and 30’s as a successful music director, visual designer for
marching groups, and a professional clinician for high school and
college music programs.
In 2009 he was injured in a bicycle accident where he was instantly
paralyzed. Today as a healing quadriplegic, Scott’s passion for teaching
has been re-focused from music to writing Christian books and public
speaking.
Scott Rankin is a gifted educator and effective public speaker. His
ability to take complex subject matter, break it into bite-size pieces,
and re-assemble those through simple, logical, and enjoyable teaching
techniques makes his material easy to understand and hard to forget!
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: https://www.ScottRankin.comFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChristianCondition
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