Christ or Culture?

Posted by on December 13, 2009 under Sermons

TIME

  • Is it sacred or secular?
  • How do we order our time?
  • How do we use it?

Holidays

  1. Embrace them
  2. Reject them
  3. Selective:
      – By what standard?
      – Sacred or Secular Observance?
      – What is the cultural situation?

Cultural Calendar

“Christian Calendar”

SAINTS DAYS, SPECIAL FEASTS, FULL CALENDAR

Martin Luther

  • Celebrate only on Lord’s Days and festivals of the Lord
  • Abrogate Saints days
  • Moved Feast of St. Nick to December 24

Church of Scotland

  • 1560 Book of Discipline
  • Made all holidays and festivals illegal
  • John Knox

John Wesley

  • Holy days had no valuable end
  • Pragmatic
  • Kept most major holidays and seasons

Civic Holidays

  • What is the current, popular understanding of any of our holiday seasons?
  • How do we engage that as disciples?
  • Can we transform the holidays?

Christmas

  • Christ came into this world
  • Christ is in this world
  • Christ is coming into this world again
  • Advent = Latin adventus, coming