Chapter 1: What is the significance of the Christmas season for Christians?
We're living in tumultuous times, yet amid growing hostility in the world, there's a renewed hunger for truth. The question for Christians is how will we respond? Hi, Nathan W. Bingham here, and before we get to today's episode, I wanted to let you know about a special event taking place on November 18th.
Join Ligonier Ministries for an online event as we consider what it means to fight the good fight of faith in our day and how your support is helping to bring God's truth to a world that so desperately needs it. You can learn more and register at Ligonier.org.
Well, here's today's episode. For some, you know, they can articulate that Jesus is the God-man. But once you try to get into how those two natures combine, some Christians, I think, can feel this might be a little out of my depth. And so they don't venture too far into Christology. And I want to encourage people to definitely go out into the deep end of Christology.
Chapter 2: How does the book 'Peace' encourage reflection during Advent?
You know, read the Nicene Creed. Read the Chalcedonian Creed. Go back then. to Paul's teaching on who Jesus is in his epistles, go back to putting together that composite as we see Jesus in the gospels and have this rich, truly rich understanding of Jesus as the God-man. And as we think on that, and as we meditate on that, now we marvel at who Christ is and what he has done.
Chapter 3: What was the author's goal in writing 'Peace'?
As Christians, do we marvel at the wonder of Christ and the Incarnation as much as we could? Sadly, even during the Christmas season, it can be all too easy to get distracted by the busyness, the travel, and even the gift-giving that we can neglect the real meaning behind the season.
Welcome to the Monday edition of Renewing Your Mind, and today you'll hear about a unique book that was crafted to encourage Christians and Christian families to pause and reflect during Advent, and a book that was designed to be passed down to future generations. You can learn more and request a copy at renewingyourmind.org.
But to tell us more is its author, the president of Reformation Bible College and Ligonier Teaching Fellow, Stephen Nichols. Dr. Nichols, welcome once again to the Renewing Your Mind studio. It's great to be with you, Nathan. Thanks for having me.
Well, as we start to look around the corner to the Christmas and Advent season, I wanted to take some time to talk about a book that you wrote that you pulled together that is designed for this season. And it's called Peace, Classic Readings for Christmas.
Chapter 4: How does the book explore the biblical narrative of Christmas?
And I love this title, but I wanted to begin by asking you, what was your goal in writing this book?
Hmm. Nathan, you know, at Christmas time, everybody likes to read the traditional texts and different traditions. We'll read Luke 2 or some of the other gospel texts. And we did that in our family. But one Christmas, I remember thinking, you know, what if we expanded this a little bit and expanded?
Start thinking about how we could pull in some Old Testament texts that prophesy of the incarnation, prophesy of the coming of Christ. Then move to the Gospels and even add some texts from the epistles that just pull it all together. And so I actually began writing out these biblical texts that I wanted to include.
And then I started to think, well, there's sort of a story that can be told here to walk somebody through not just this moment of Christmas morning, which is this miracle of the virgin birth and just this wonderful moment in the history of redemption, but to really capture what is the whole story of Christmas, of the Old Testament promises, of Jesus's fulfillment in his earthly life and ministry.
Chapter 5: Why is it important to understand the Incarnation?
And then as he is resurrected and in his ascended state, the epistles reflection. So out of that came the book.
Well, I have to say that this is a very handsome book. The illustrations, the creative direction, they're excellent. And it's a hardcover book, cloth bound. It is clear to me that your desire was for this to remain in families and to be passed down. And there's a lot in this book, as you just alluded to. It has quotes on Christmas and the Incarnation from Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, R.C.
Sproul, of course, quotes from Christmas carols. You retell the Christmas story as you trace the seed through the Old Testament.
Chapter 6: What emotional challenges can arise during the Christmas season?
And you include scripture readings covering the Christmas story in three acts, promise, fulfillment, and reflection. There is more which we'll get to. But how do you describe this book when someone asks you?
Well, I can't take any credit for the design that you lauded. And I entirely agree with you. And so thankful to Ligonier and the creative team and the artists that they use to design this because it is a coffee table book. I do believe in Scott Ligonier.
gravitas to it it's the kind of book that you can bring out each year it was intended to have families use it each year in fact there's pages in the back where families can write their own Christmas traditions and have a story to tell for future children grandchildren so very grateful for Ligonier and how they wrapped such a beautiful book around the text
But again, it goes back to that central idea of we need to be reminded of the whole story of Christmas. And another way of saying that is this is actually the whole story of the Bible.
Chapter 7: How does Jesus bring peace between God and humanity?
We talk about biblical theology. And this is biblical theology on the person and work of Christ, which really is the story. And Christmas is just such that flashpoint moment in the story that from the time we were children, this season just almost magically captures our imagination.
You mentioned children, and there's a lot of nostalgia when it comes to Christmas. It's easy for us to think of Christmas as the most wonderful time of the year. But why can Christmas be a sad time for some people, whether Christian or an unbeliever?
Nathan, I'm so glad you mentioned this. For some people, it is a very intense time of anxiety and anxiety. You know, as folks know, and so tragically, that Christmas season can be a time of increase in suicides. And so it forces us to think about this.
Chapter 8: What traditions can families incorporate from church history for Christmas?
And in the beginning of the book, I start off with a story that's a wonderful story that comes out of the trenches of World War I, of the Christmas truce. Of 1914. And these were soldiers on the Western Front realizing that the next day was Christmas and they decided to put the guns away.
And the next thing you know, they're in no man's land and they're exchanging soccer balls and cigarettes and showing pictures of their family. And many called it a miracle, this Christmas truce. But it approaches midnight, Christmas, and they all make their way back into the trenches. And at 12 o'clock, once again, the rat-tat-tat of the gunfire and the exploding of bombs fills the air again.
And I think it's symbolic of how people really want peace. But the way this world presents the solution to peace, it's a band-aid. It's not going to be a true solution because it doesn't get to the true problem. And we need peace not because we're at war with each other or nations are at war. We ultimately need peace because we are at war with God.
And that's where the Christmas story needs to start. And it needs to acknowledge the anxiety and the tension and the conflict and the strife that is in life, not whitewash it. It's there because of who we are as sinners before God. And now, now we have Christmas. And now we have the gift of this precious God-man, Jesus Christ, God's beloved Son. And that's the solution.
That's the path to true peace.
So just explain for our listeners, how does Jesus, the Son of God, bring peace between God and man?
We can go back to the Old Testament here. So you had mentioned the book has three parts. There's promise, there's fulfillment, and there's reflections. And essentially, promise is the Old Testament. Fulfillment is the gospels. This is the coming of the seed.
And then reflection is acts in the epistles as they reflect on that first generation and the apostolic work of codifying the message of Christ in the writing of the epistles. So back in the Old Testament, what do we find? We find not peace. We find conflict between Adam and Eve. And they turn on each other.
And imagine this, Nathan, there was never a bitter, harsh, insincere word passed between Adam and Eve. until the fall. And then immediately they turn on each other. And of course, they're hiding from God. So now there's conflict with God. But while Adam and Eve turn on each other, Cain turns around and slays Abel. So what is impressed upon us is our utter need for a Redeemer.
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