WWUTT 1585 Q&A Christmas Trees, Christmas Traditions, and Other Christmas Questions

Today, we're answering questions about Christmas, about Christmas trees, about our favorite

Christmas, our favorite gifts, all remembering the reason for the season, Jesus Christ, when we understand the text.

Merry Christmas from your friends at When We Understand The Text, a daily teaching podcast to help encourage your time in the

Word. Tell all your friends about our ministry at www .wtt .com. Here once again is

Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. You're welcome. And Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. You know, I didn't have you on last week.

True. And so I got all my dates mixed up. Oh no. Because you weren't with me, so I couldn't keep my dates right.

Aw. I said that - Well, I'm a good date. No argument there. I said this episode was gonna be on Christmas Day.

Oh dear. But it's Christmas Eve. It is. Merry Christmas Eve, everybody. Merry Christmas Eve. Yeah, and then next week's episode, when we do our year -end review,

I said that was gonna be on New Year's Day. Oh, it'll be New Year's Eve. It will be New Year's Eve. Now, I'm planning on splitting it up, because you know, we've had trouble getting together and committing a full hour to the

Friday program. Yes. So - It's been tough. It's really funny. A husband and wife, we're having real trouble getting together.

Hardly ever see each other. Our schedules and children. As recording, we can't ever get together and record.

Because it can't be quiet for that long. No. It's just tough. We have the child sleeping over here in the corner. He's with us.

Right now. The child. The child, the child, sleeping in his car seat.

And so anyway, we, what was I saying? We have trouble coordinating our schedules.

Yes. Finding something for the kids to do, so that we can sit down and record, which we have to do at the church still.

Like I said, I think we've got the money. And I'm falling asleep about the time that the kids are, so we can't stay up late and do it.

Right. So, you know. Well, not, yeah. I mean, we'd have to leave the house and come down here. That's the thing. So as I was saying,

I think we have the money to be able to build our little studio like we want. It's, you gotta build it.

Next. That's the troubling part. That's next. And we have several options.

We're still juggling. I think we've been talking about this for a full year. It's been a whole year since I have not had a studio at home.

Okay, sure. Yes, it has been. But I was thinking, talking about adding on the studio, that hasn't been.

Well, that's true, because we didn't move into the house till March. Right. So, yeah. It just feels like a year. Yes. All of that to say, we've had trouble getting together to record and even be able to do a full hour.

So we're gonna split up the end of the year program. Last few years we've done it, it's always been an hour and a half.

So we're gonna split it up. We're gonna do half this coming Friday or next week, New Year's Eve.

And then we're gonna do the next half, the week after that. In January. January 7th.

Let's see, Becky just flipped my calendar for me. So it's, yeah, there you go. January 7th,

Friday. Okay. Right. If it was January 1st, then the next Friday would be

January 8th. Yeah, yeah. I'm with you. See how that works? See how the math works there? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, right. For some reason, I was not doing the math well in my head and I'm really lost.

So it's okay. You're supposed to be my calendar. You're the one that keeps me straight on this. It's a long day. Calendars have their off days too.

So we'll do 20 of the biggest news stories of the year. And those things that affected

Christianity the most is really kind of how we narrow down these stories. Right. So we'll do 20 of the biggest on December 31st and then we'll do the next 20 or the next half of the year is basically how that comes out.

Then the next week on January 7th. And hopefully by that time, God willing, I'll actually have the book done.

Woo woo. So I'll have 40 of the year's biggest. What do I call those books?

Year in review. So it's 2021 year in review. 40 of the year's biggest events that.

Affects Christianity. Yeah, affects Christianity. And worldwide. I'm sure there are bigger events that happen outside of the

United States. Most of the things that are in there, of course, are gonna be those things that affected Americans. But I did include some global news in there as well.

It's right in front of our faces. Right. All the time. That's what we're surrounded by all the time. Yeah. Yeah, you folks in Australia, man, the stuff that you've been going through.

Oh, we've been praying for you. We have been. I'm sure it's like it doesn't matter what's going on in the rest of the world because of how tyrannical your government has become there in Australia and in Canada.

I was gonna say that too, yeah. James Coates going to jail and some of the other pastors that have been arrested as well.

That's gonna be one of the stories that'll be in next week. So you gotta come back and here as we run down, we review the biggest events from 2021.

Sending out 2020 and welcoming in 2022. 2022. That's hard to say.

It's 2022. It's 2022. Yes. 2020 also.

We're still stuck in 2020. We are. That's really what it comes down to. It's just expanded.

Well, wasn't it like, see last year we kept talking about how long March was. Yes. So we're still in.

Yes, we're still in March. We're still in March 2020. That's where we are. Still with the two weeks.

Yeah, two weeks to slow the spread. Yes. We're still doing that. We're still doing the two weeks. On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and you can submit those questions to whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com.

These three questions that we have here are all Christmas themed. The last question actually has 10 questions attached to it.

Wow. So we have somebody who's asking 10 more questions. Are you ready? Are you ready to answer 10 questions, babe? Sure.

Just like we did a few weeks ago? I think you actually gave me a heads up on these. Yeah, this time I'm not surprising you with the questions.

Right, but I still haven't decided on my answers yet. So it'll be like she's spontaneously responding to them.

Which is why I don't lead a podcast. This first question comes from Daniel.

He says, dear Pastor Gabe, thank you so much for your book, 25 Christmas Myths. My family loves it and it has sparked many great discussions.

My question is actually one that you answer in the book, but maybe you can talk about it on the podcast too.

A lot of people use Jeremiah 10, four through five as a proof text forbidding the use of Christmas trees.

Can you elaborate on the context of that verse and is there a right and a wrong way

Christians can use Christmas trees? Thank you for your ministry and Merry Christmas.

That's really two questions. So elaborate on Jeremiah 10 and then also is there a right and a wrong way that Christians can use

Christmas trees? So here's what we have in Jeremiah 10. This is the

Lord speaking to Israel through the prophet Jeremiah. And I'm gonna start at the beginning of the chapter. Hear the word that the

Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord, learn not the ways of the nations nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them.

For the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an ax by the hands of a craftsman.

They decorate it with silver and gold. They fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move.

Now let me stop there for a minute. That's verses three and four. Okay. What else could that be describing but a

Christmas tree, right? A tree from the forest is cut down. They decorate it with silver and gold.

Yeah. That's gotta be Christmas trees. Sure. Verse five says, their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field and they cannot speak.

They have to be carried for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them. Neither is it in them to do good.

So what are we talking about here? Idols. Yeah, we're talking about idols. It says idols. Yeah, it says idols.

Exactly. I thought you were asking for a different answer. Right, you're going, is this a trick question?

I know, that's why I'm kind of drawing a blank. It seems so obvious. Yeah. It is, right. It's talking about idols.

Okay. So when you just narrow out three and four, you just take those verses out by themselves. They cut down a tree.

They decorate it with silver and gold. This is what the pagans do. Right. So you're like, yeah, Christmas trees.

We shouldn't have Christmas trees. We shouldn't cut down a tree and put it in our home and decorate it with silver and gold. Okay. No, what's being described here is.

An idol. Cutting down a tree, shaping it into an idol and covering it with silver and gold. Right.

It's not solid silver and gold. They make it out of wood and then they cover it with metal. Because it'd be too heavy.

Well, number one. It's too much metal on top of that. I don't want to waste that much gold and silver. Well, of course not. Yeah, right.

I got to make more idols with this stuff. So this is what the people do. And the Israelites were following the ways of the pagans who were around them.

When they were being conquered by the Babylonians, they would fear the Babylonian gods.

Maybe the reason why these Babylonians are so successful in coming against us is because their gods are stronger than our

God. And so this is the Lord saying to Israel, don't be afraid of their gods. The reason why this is happening to you is because I'm doing it.

This is a punishment that is happening to Israel because they did worship the false gods.

Right. Or fear them. Right, instead of worshiping the one true God. So that's the context of Jeremiah 10.

It has nothing to do with a Christmas tree. Right. And as I say in the book, 25 Christmas Myths, Christmas trees are not symbols of paganism.

They're symbols that remind us that we used to be pagans. So the way the story goes is that in the eighth century, there was this monk named

Boniface. And you've probably heard this story. It's a very popular story, even outside Christendom.

Boniface goes into Germania and he goes preaching the gospel. And Germania, by the way, this was the area of the world that Paul had referred to as where the barbarians lived.

So when he talks in Corinthians chapter three about in Christ, there is not

Greek and Jew, there's not barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, right? The barbarians were non -Greek speakers.

Anybody who did not speak Greek or follow in the ways of the Roman empire, they were considered barbarians.

Although there was kind of a particular portion of the map where you would have said, there's where the barbarians live.

Well, that was Germania. Okay. And that's the Germanic barbarians. Germanic, yeah,

Germanic barbarians. Correct. Yes. Right. And so these were ruthless people.

So it was very dangerous for Boniface to go into that area. Now this of course is 800 years after Paul, but it's still a very hostile region.

And he's going in to a very paganized part of the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ, knowing that he's putting his life on the line to preach

Christ. Right. Well, he comes to an area where a bunch of pagans are sacrificing babies to Thor.

Yes, the same Thor who is a Marvel character. It's, of course that story is spun a different way, but it still has -

It does seem a little more family friendly. Yeah, that's right, yeah. They are considered to be like magic beings or something like that in the

Marvel universe rather than, which, yeah, what's the difference? But anyway. Yeah, it's a good question.

But yeah, in this culture, so they had this tree that's referred to as the Thunder Oak.

We've also called it Donner's Oak or Jove's Oak. And this is where those babies would be sacrificed.

And Boniface sees this. He's horrified by the barbarism that's going on there.

So he chops the tree down. This massive tree, he cuts it down. And the people are amazed when he cuts the tree down that Thor doesn't strike him dead.

And Boniface stands on the stump of the felled oak. And he says that your gods are fake.

They don't exist. They're not real. Here I am standing on the stump of Donner's Oak.

Where's Thor? And he declares Jesus Christ is the true God, not these false gods that you've been worshiping.

And he tells them to repent and to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says to them that your worship will no longer be in the wild wood, like coming out to Donner's Oak and committing human sacrifice to these false gods.

Rather, you will be worshiping the one true God and you will worship in your home. And he gives to them a symbol of their former paganism.

This is not unusual. We see this throughout the Old Testament. Here's a symbol of who you used to be.

And even in the New Testament, you see things that are pagan that are refashioned into something that is glorifying of God.

Like Caesar riding into the arena on a white horse. What do we see Christ doing in Revelation 19?

He's returning on a white horse. So it was Caesar that would ride on a white horse to show that he is

Lord, but Jesus Christ is Lord of lords. So he returns on a white horse.

According to the vision that John has in Revelation 19. So anyway, a repurposed symbol here.

Boniface takes a small fir tree and says, you put this in your home. And this reminds you that you used to be pagan, but now you've been won by Jesus Christ.

The tree points to heaven, which is where we should look. Its leaves are evergreen, just like the everlasting life that we've been given in Christ.

And that becomes the first Christmas tree. So Christmas trees are not a symbol of paganism. They're a symbol that we used to be pagan.

Right. Now in the book, I mentioned Acts chapter 17. And I said that the message that Boniface preached might've sounded something like Paul preached at the

Areopagus in Acts 17. He says, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed.

And of this, he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. Therefore, our testimony needs to be something like what

Paul said of the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 1 .9. They report concerning us the kind of reception that we had among you and how you turn to God from idols to serve the living and the true

God and to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

So we've all been one out of our paganism and unbelief and we've come to worship the one true God. So may it be said of us, we've turned from gods, from false gods.

Right. To the one true God and worship Jesus Christ who is returning soon to judge the living and the dead.

Even if it wasn't an idol, technically, you could still worship yourself by making yourself more important.

Right, I mean, anything you put in the place of God, which we talked about on the podcast this week when

I was in 1 Corinthians 11 and 12. Anything that you think that you have to have in order to be satisfied.

I can't be happy in life. Unless I have this. Exactly, I can't be fulfilled unless I get this.

That's something that you put in the place of God. Paul equates covetousness to idolatry in Colossians chapter three.

Right. So now we must put these things away. We must look to Christ and we must be fully fulfilled in him.

Now, if you're still convinced that a Christmas tree is something pagan, then don't have it in your home. Right.

But don't think of a Christmas tree as something pagan. It's rather a reminder of our former paganism.

And it's not like you're worshiping the Christmas tree. I mean, we put memories on there. We don't like, oh, let's make this the most expensive

Christmas tree ever. Right, who does that? Who worships a Christmas tree? I don't know. I've not ever encountered anything like that.

But I have noticed that people are replacing, well, the magazines anyway, are replacing the star on top with like a mailbox for Santa.

A mailbox for Santa. Yeah. I haven't seen that. And I was like, oh, well, that's where our economy is going.

I mean, like not economy, but society is going. Where our economy is going. Yeah, well, that too.

He's making a list and checking it twice. And he bringing in the bank. Yeah, that's right. Well, you think about the cross that we use as a symbol of our

Christianity. Yeah, there goes the baby. Becky's gonna go get the baby. I'm gonna go get the baby. Well, we talk about Christ being crucified on a tree.

So that cross that used to be a symbol of death and punishment, according to the

Romans, that we now look upon as the symbol of our new life that we have in Christ.

That we are dead to our sin and we're alive to God through faith in Jesus Christ, our

Lord. Well, to summarize that and to kind of segue into the next thing, since the baby's getting picked up,

I'm gonna play the what video that I just did on Christmas trees. Awesome. Welcome back, babe.

Thanks. Did you know

Christmas trees are forbidden in the Bible? Jeremiah 10, three to four says, for the customs of the people are vanity.

A tree is cut down and worked by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold.

What could that be but a Christmas tree? Well, verse five says it's describing an idol and Christmas trees symbolize that we don't worship idols.

The story goes that in the eighth century, a man named Boniface went throughout Germania sharing the gospel, a very dangerous mission.

He came upon a group of heathens who sacrificed babies to Thor under the thunder oak. Grieved by such barbarism,

Boniface chopped down the tree and put an end to human sacrifice. The people were amazed Thor did not strike him down.

Upon the stump, Boniface declared that Jesus Christ is God and their pagan gods did not exist.

He pointed to a small fir tree that pointed up to heaven, its leaves evergreen like the everlasting life we have in Christ.

No longer worship the false gods in the wild wood, he said, but worship the true God at home with family.

That was the meaning of the first Christmas tree. So again, a Christmas tree is not pagan, it's a reminder that we used to be pagan.

Besides, there's no difference between having a Christmas tree and any other kind of plant. Whether you have a

Christmas tree or not, let your testimony be that of 1 Thessalonians 1, 9 -10, how you turn to God from idols to serve the living and the true

God and to wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come when we understand the text.

Okay, so to save time now. He jumped. Yeah, he couldn't hear the video, so when

I started talking, he was like, whoa, tone it down, dad. That was funny.

Since he's awake earlier than I expected him to be, we're gonna go ahead and skip to this last thing here.

So here's the 10 questions. Are you ready? Sure. 10 Christmas questions. Ready as I'll ever be.

Neil from South Carolina writes in and says, hello, Hughes household. That's three

Hs. Hello. The 10 questions episode was very entertaining. So I have 10

Christmas questions for you both. You can read them in any order. Awesome. What is the, and he spells, you know,

W -W -U -T -T. So it's what is the, number one, one thing you wanted for Christmas, but you never received as a kid?

I don't know. Was there just a toy you just had to have as a kid and you never got it?

I had to have all of them. So none of them were really important. They were all important.

We went through the Sears catalog and circled the things you wanted. Yes, that's right, exactly. Everything. I want pages 988, 999, 1 ,000, 1 ,100.

And then my sister would pick her pages. Yeah. Yeah. I wanted everything my brother got.

I don't know why. I just wanted them. That's covetousness. Yeah. We're going back to covetousness again. Yeah, I was a sinner. Yeah.

Just, I want it because I don't have it. That's why I want it. No, I wanted it because it looked neat and I could use that too.

I could be good at that. Until he started getting all the computer stuff and then I was like, eh. Yeah, you weren't interested in that.

I'm not interested in that now. I can't remember anything that I wanted that I didn't get. I mean, we were not a wealthy family at all, but my parents did seem to get for me everything that I wanted.

Aw. I guess I just, I guess I was a cheap kid. You know, just didn't want all those really expensive things.

Best gift I got was the NES. I think I was, how old was I when I got the Nintendo? Eight or nine.

It was one of those two Christmases. It was before I turned 10. It wasn't when I was seven. So somewhere around eight or nine that Christmas, I got the

Nintendo. My uncle actually found that picture not long ago and had emailed it to me.

He was like, hey, look at this. It's me jumping up and down with my Nintendo. But yeah,

I mean, other than that, I can't remember there ever being a time when I wanted a particular gift from mom and dad and I didn't get it.

Seems like I always got it. Yeah, I could see that. And I was a pretty happy kid. So now there would be like one year there was, oh,

I can remember one. Wasn't that I wanted it at Christmas, but then afterward, I wish

I had gotten it for Christmas. So my neighbor friend had a remote control Lamborghini and I got a remote control tractor, which was exactly what

I wanted. I wanted to push dirt with my big bulldozer, you know, and stuff like that. I had a remote control bulldozer.

I loved it, but I couldn't go fast. So my friend's racing up down the street with the

Lamborghini and I'm putting along my bulldozer. So yeah, that was one time where it was like, man,

I wish I had asked for the sports car, remote control car instead of the bulldozer.

Okay, next question. What is the number two worst gift you received from one another?

Yeah, I still don't recall anything that I didn't like from you. I can't either. I can't think of anything that I didn't like.

Hang in there. We're good. You want me to hold him? Usually when I hold him up, he's a little happier.

Let's try this. He's not happy with me. Come here, guy. Here you go. Oh, he's wet, that's why. Oh, he's wet.

Yes, that'll definitely do it. But I don't want to change him yet. Why not?

Because then he'll want to eat. Well, that's true, but he won't want to eat for another 10 to 15 minutes and by then we'll be done.

If you give a mouse a cookie. Yeah. Well, maybe if I hold him up right, he won't feel like he's all squishy.

There you go. Sitting in his own stuff. You don't have to be that. There goes the passy.

I said stuff. No, you still don't have to. Everybody knows. I can't remember being unhappy with a gift that you got me.

I do remember though that at the end of, let's see, end of 2020, which was just a bad year for everybody.

Was it 2020? No, it was end of 2019. Okay. I was really hoping you were going to get me a

Switch. I know, but you know I don't buy those things. I don't buy games. Video games are not for me to buy because every time that I go there and I'm thinking,

I'm going to get the wrong one and I'm going to spend all this money on it. So I just,

I know. I remember that one. So it wasn't that I was disappointed with what you got me. Every year we talk about how we're not going to spend a lot of money on each other.

Yeah, I'm pretty content with like, you don't have to buy me anything this year. Every time. So you cannot be that disappointed.

I can't, but I was still, I still thought you were going to give me one that year. And then she didn't. So I bought one in February. I bought one right before COVID hit and everything went into lockdown.

So I was glad I had that for the kids. All of our game systems had broken by that time. So we were actually due for another game.

I hadn't, We were due for it. I had not bought one, our whole marriage. I had never bought a game system.

So that was the first time, right? Okay, number three.

What is the best gift you have received from one another? What's the best gift we got from each other?

I like all the practical gifts that you give me that I ask for. You don't really surprise me with anything.

Not really, but I buy you stuff all the time. True. Most of it's food. It's really not a, it's not a mother's day or birthday or Christmas day thing.

I just, I see something. I'm like, Becky would like this. So I just get it for her. It's usually food. Well, food, because you're so hard to buy food for.

This is true. So when I find a special food item, I know you're going to like, it's like, hey.

I got it. Like the pie. Well, we all, I mean, not pie, cheesecake.

The cheesecake. We all benefit from the cheesecake. That is true. Let's see. I've got to answer this too, right.

Best gift I receive from you. That one year you got me the iPod shuffle. Feels like we're dating ourselves with that.

Oh yeah. That was neat. Because didn't you personalize the back of it? Yes. Yes, you did. It was a quote from Leonardo from one of the

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. I don't remember. Yes, I do.

I remember that exactly. Funny. We don't ever talk about movies.

And yeah, here I am. But hey, it was the quote. It was where the quote came from. But that was great. That was a great gift.

I used that for a long time. Yeah. I think it was finally until either the battery was dying in it.

It wouldn't hold a charge anymore or the software wouldn't update anymore. It was one of those two things. Something, yeah.

So, but I did, I used that iPod. Even when I had an iPhone and I didn't even really need the shuffle anymore,

I would use the shuffle because it was just easier to listen to things on that than it was to carry a big phone around.

And it's light. Yeah. It was just tiny. Carrying a big phone around. But I'd go out and mow the grass or something.

I didn't want to get. Yeah. Didn't want to get it all dirty. So it was better to have the shuffle. Number four, what is the family or personal favorite

Christmas tradition? What's our favorite family? Okay, he just worded this funny.

What is the family or personal favorite Christmas tradition? Family favorite or personal favorite?

Family favorite, I would have to say searching for lights, for Christmas lights. Oh yeah, going around and looking for Christmas lights.

Yeah, we do that. My favorite is the Christmas movies, watching like Christmas movies.

I can't draw points. Oh yes, of course. The old ones. But you do that all the time. Not the old ones.

Yes, even the old ones. I haven't had a DVD player hooked up in how long now? It's only been about a month.

Yeah, exactly, Christmas time. But you've been watching Christmas movies. We've all been watching Christmas movies.

Just not your usual DVD movies. I don't like this a lot. Your favorite movie is available for streaming right now.

Is it really? Oh yes, it's been on there. I thought you've been watching it. No. Okay, we'll get to that in a moment because that's on the questions here.

Okay. A number, well, I didn't answer this. My favorite family or personal tradition,

I don't know. A Christmas lights is a favorite for me. I like the Christmas Eve service. I know it seems like I'm working then because I'm always part of the

Christmas Eve service, but I like doing that with my family. That's always a good. It's nice, I like it too. I enjoy it a lot.

Number five, what is the Christmas carol you would choose if you had to listen to it on repeat for an entire day?

What did we sing this last Sunday? I was gonna write it down. What Child is This? Did we sing

Hark the Herald Angels Sing? I think it was What Child is This? What child is this? No, it was the other one.

Well, we sang one that's modern. Are you talking about? No, not that one. Hang on. I think

I have a bulletin. Well, she's actually going after this. Becky's determined. Well, I'll mention mine then.

O Come O Come Emmanuel is probably my favorite or O Come All Ye Faithful. I really liked that one too.

It came upon a midnight clear. There you go. It came upon a midnight clear. That's a good one. I could listen to that one all day.

Good Christian men rejoice. God rest ye merry gentlemen. While shepherds watch their flocks by night.

All of those are favorite. I really liked those carols. I love Christmas songs. Christmas carols are not a, this is not a season where we get around to this and I'm like, oh, the

Christmas music. No. No, I love it. Yeah. Except for. We've been listening to Christmas music since like August.

No, it was Christmas in July is what started it. It was, yeah. And then I took August off. So we've been listening to it straight since September.

The kids were listening to Reliant K, Let It Snow Baby, Let It Reindeer. Yep. And then

I made a mix CD for everybody. They've listened to Michael W. Smith Christmas. There's been quite a few of them. We've had in the

CD player well before Thanksgiving. I was trying to think of, what else have we been listening to see?

Christmas carol. Oh, well, I was just gonna say, yeah, the typical stuff that plays in the department stores,

Walmart, the mall, anywhere else. I can't stand that stuff. It's like they've got five

Christmas songs that they have on repeat. I know. And one of them is Mariah Carey, All I Want For Christmas Is You.

I think that's every other song. Occasionally I'll hear Evie's Come On, Ring Those Bells.

It might be like a more updated. Come on, ring those bells, everybody sing.

Jesus is the king, born for you and me. Really, you don't know that song? No. Oh my goodness, babe, that's older than you are.

Okay. I can't believe you've never heard that song. Maybe I have. All right, we're popping that one in when we get home.

All right. I'm gonna play. That's even right up your alley, that's your style. Okay. I can't believe you haven't heard that one.

Maybe I have, I don't know. It's not ringing a bell. It's not ringing a bell.

Number five, or that was number five. Number six, what is the favorite tree ornament or decoration that you have currently?

I don't know, I like all the kids' first Christmas ornaments. Yeah, I tried really hard to get everybody, well, all the kids to have their first Christmas with the picture and the year.

And so, yeah, we need to get one for this guy then. Yeah, we do, we don't have his yet. No. Born September 1.

Yeah. We don't have a first Christmas ornament for you yet. Sorry, guy. Do you forgive us? This is airing on Christmas Eve, maybe we'll have one by then.

Maybe, I don't know, they're slim picking by this time of year. That's true. I have to order it. Number seven, what is the

Christmas treat or candy that is the one you cannot stop eating?

The puppy chow, for me. Yeah, that one's hard to stop. I'd have to say fudge.

Yeah, you do like your fudge. A close second, or it might be more of a distant second, because I would definitely take the puppy chow every time.

But those real sugar candy cane peppermint sticks. Oh yeah, the real peppermint?

Yeah, the real peppermint ones, those are really good. Those are really good. I like that too. I like that. But a second for me would be the butter cookies, the ones that you get in the blue tins.

Oh yeah, those are real good too. Yeah. Any of those Christmas cookie assortment tins. I mean, they're like five bucks at the store or something, but oh,

I could eat all those. Yep, me too. In one sitting. They're always really, really good. Yeah. Not as big on the popcorn,

I'm not as big a fan. I'll make it for the kids and then I'll eat some, but I'm just not a popcorn guy. I like the popcorn, I just hate picking it out of my teeth.

Yeah, I think that's the thing. I feel it back here in my throat, so I got it.

He spit up right into the burp rag, it did not go anywhere. Just so you know. Yes, I got it. While I was talking, and I caught it perfectly.

He's got more. He's got more. Yeah, he's drooling. Just be glad, folks, that you only hear this being described and you can't see it.

I'm not describing it. Number eight, what is the typical

Christmas Eve and morning like in the Hughes house? Well, we go to the Christmas Eve service.

We do the Christmas Eve service and usually go drive around for lights and then.

On Christmas Eve? Usually. I mean, I know we do it pretty much like seven times between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but.

Very true. I didn't remember if that was a regular Christmas Eve thing. Because usually we drive together. You hop in the car and we go.

Yeah, that's right, usually we drive together. I'm like, why would we drive separate? Because you're there early.

Oh yeah, okay, because I'm already there at the. I got it, I got it. So we take the vehicle back or we leave it at the church and then we go drive around, is that what it is?

Yeah. I don't remember. Anyway. That's one I don't remember. It's fine. We've done it for 11 years,

I don't remember. Well, I don't know if it's every year. And then at our old church, we would hang around for cookies and punch.

Yeah, that's right, we would do that afterward. So that used to be a thing. What are you saying?

But we're, so we're kind of replacing that with some new things of going and hanging out with friends.

Yeah, what's the Christmas land thing down on the south end of Lindale? What's that called?

Santa Land. Santa Land, that's what it is. Yeah, so they have a big, huge light. They have them all over.

It's everywhere. But this one here in town is really big. It's big, there's people that come from everywhere.

Yeah. In East Texas to drive through the Christmas light thing. Let's see, number nine, what is the.

Hold on, you didn't describe Christmas Day. Oh, Christmas Day. Oh, we open up like the stockings or something on Christmas Eve.

Yeah, we'll do the stockings Christmas Eve. Kids will wake us up on Christmas morning. And then we wait for daddy to get out of bed about an hour later.

That's right, I'll hang out in bed for a little bit longer. I don't think I go back to sleep, I just lay there. We'll do waffles and I'll make my bacon waffles.

Bacon waffles. You want some bacon waffles this year? Yeah, what you think?

You gonna try some bacon waffles? Not until you talk. And then we open up presents and we just kind of veg out.

Yeah, we just hang out Christmas Day. We do. We don't have family over, we don't go anywhere. Because usually you have to be around town for work and so it restricts us from driving anywhere, so.

Yeah. Number nine, what is the worst modern

Christmas song and why is it the Christmas shoes? I don't even know if I can tell you the

Christmas shoes song. Yeah, you can, you know it. Just be glad that you've blocked it out.

Okay, I'm happy. When I was in Christian Radio, I had to play that all the time. There wasn't anybody I've ever worked with in Christian Radio who liked that song.

So why, why is it not your favorite? It's just a terrible song. It's just a silly song.

It's sappy sentimentality and it's just not a good story.

Yeah. I'm not gonna pick it apart, but it's just like, why? What made you think of that?

I just had to help him out, so I gave him some change. You know, anyway. It's just kind of a ridiculous story.

There you go. I'm holding him over the burp rag, so it. There you go.

He's so drooling. That's a lot of drool, kid. There you go.

My Christmas present came early. The.

I don't really know if I have one. Yeah, favorite. I have some that get old.

Oh, worst, well, I said worst modern Christmas song. Yeah. Well, Christmas shoes, other than the Christmas shoes, all

I want for Christmas is you, Mariah Carey. Yeah, I can hear that one twice. Yeah.

In a season. Best rendition of Oh Holy Night, by the way. Look up David Phelps. Okay. Look up David Phelps rendition of Oh Holy Night.

That's the best version of that song you'll ever hear. All right. Number 10. What is the best

Christmas movie and why is it? And then he mentions a movie that I'm not gonna say. So inside joke between us and Neil.

We'll just leave it at that. But what's your favorite Christmas movie? White Christmas. White Christmas.

Yes, I knew that. Naturally. Mine, I'm not real sure. I like Christmas movies. Maybe a

Mall in the Night Visitors, the opera. Okay. It was actually made for television.

The opera was specifically written to be aired on TV. Oh, neat. And so I really like a

Mall in the Night Visitors, the original, the very original movie that was shown on TV. There's been lots of stage performances of it.

I've always wanted to be in it and I never have been. That's so that's a favorite of mine. Also the more recent

Peanuts movie that came out. Oh yeah, that one's good. What was that four or five years ago? Yeah, about that.

We went and saw it in the theater. I loved it. I thought it perfectly captured the spirit of Peanuts. Yeah, it was great.

I liked it. There's a lot of Christmas in that movie. So I'm gonna go with that one. Over. And it has snow.

Yes, over the Charlie Brown Christmas, but that's not a movie. That was a TV show. True. I'm sticking with the

Peanuts movie is my favorite Christmas movie. Also like Holiday Inn. Right, also being

Crosby. Yes, back in 1942. Yeah. 1942.

Really? What's your favorite? What's your favorite Christmas movie? Do you have one yet? You haven't really seen a lot of them.

He gets fixated on your computer when you hold him up. Yeah, he does. Just like daddy.

Yep. So Neil says, I wish the Hughes family a very merry and God glorifying

Christmas. Peace be with you all. Amen. I think that was it. We answered all of our questions. So yeah, we are grateful for the gift of God's son,

Jesus Christ to this world. Amen. God incarnate for it is by his life and his death on the cross, resurrection from the grave, that we are forgiven our sins.

We are justified and we have everlasting life with God for all who believe in him.

That is a Christmas story that we remember not just at Christmas time, but all year long, obviously since our kids are listening to Christmas CDs starting in July.

So we remember that message always. Well, thank you very much everybody and a merry Christmas to you.

God willing, we'll be back next week with our year in review. Yes. Merry Christmas. Let's finish with prayer.

Heavenly father, we thank you for this time that we have together and I pray that you bless us and everyone's

Christmas, remembering the gift of Jesus Christ. We know that by faith in Christ, we have nothing to fear of this world, of any of these things that change from year to year, day to day, week to week.

But we know as Christ had said, in this world, we will have trouble, but he has overcome the world.

So we put our faith and trust in him who reigns, who is sovereign over all, deliver us from this present evil age and bring us into your heavenly kingdom.

May we have the courage to continue to spread the word about this kingdom while we're alive here on this earth so that others may know the good news of Jesus Christ and so live.

It's in Jesus precious name we pray. Amen. Amen. Good. So we'll do 20 of the biggest news stories of the year.

And those things that affected Christianity the most is really kind of how we narrow down these stories.

So we'll do 20 of the biggest on December 31st and then we'll do the next 20 or the next half of the year is basically how that comes out.

Then the next week on January 7th. And hopefully by that time, God willing, I'll actually have the book done.

Woo woo. So I'll have 40 of the beers, 40 of the beers.

What? And we're gonna cut that one out.

40 of the beers. It's been a long day. It has been a long day.