JOY TO THE WORLD! I admit it. I'm an old fuddy- duddy. I'm not into the emotionally driven music of today. As an old-school, Bible-believing Christian, I want music to minister to my soul and point me to Biblical truth and the Lord Jesus Christ. That's one reason why 'Joy to the World' is one of my favorite Christmas carols. The first verse starts, 'Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her King!' The third verse states, in part, 'He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found.' This song, written in the 1700s, gives us two reasons why Jesus came to earth. Even more important are the reasons that Jesus Himself gave for His coming to earth. We see the following four reasons in John's Gospel. (1) In John 6:38, Jesus said, 'For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.' In this context, He came to raise to eternal life all who trust Him. (2) In John 9:39, Jesus said, 'For judgment, I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.' In other words, He came to divide the sheep from the goats. He will judge true believers to be forgiven but will judge and sentence unbelievers to eternal judgment. (3) In John 10:10, Jesus said, 'The thief does not come except to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.' He came to give those who trust Him an abundantly blessed and joyful life here on earth and through all eternity. (4) In John 12:46, Jesus said, 'I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.' He came to deliver people from groping around in the darkness of sin so that they can walk in the light of His truth. In short, Jesus came to give spiritual and eternal 'Joy to the world!' including you. May Jesus be your joy throughout 2024!

During this Christmas week, we continued our look at Matthew 2 and the verses relating to the Magi and King Herod. As we left off last week, King Herod was supposedly seeking the location of Jesus’ birth so he could go and worship, too.

The sixth through twelfth-grade music students of Stockton Junior High and High School held their Christmas Concert on Tuesday, December 19th, under the direction of vocal teacher Megan Riener and band teacher Laura Jameson.

This issue of the Stockton Sentinel features our twenty-seventh edition of our special holiday section, “Santa’s ‘Deer Ones.” Our readers look forward to this special feature each, which contains children’s “Letters to Santa” from grades one through four, Christmas greeting ads from local merchants and sponsors, and all the 132 wonderful pictures which our readers have submitted. Each year, we never know how many pictures we’ll end up with, but we have always gotten a great response.

THE STOCKTON STUDENTS.

As we enter the Christmas season, Christ’s birth is our focus. Pastor Matt had us look at part of that story on Sunday, with a deeper discussion of the Magi (Wise Men) that visited after the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Who were the Magi, and why was King Herod so deeply troubled with the reason for their visit?

CHRISTMAS CONTRASTS. It's probably an overused cliche, but time certainly does seem to fly by. In case you've blinked, Christmas is just a few days away. For many, this is a nostalgic time of year. Families often have various Christmas traditions, whether the opening of presents, the lunch menu, desserts, or even competing for the ugliest sweater. Many will watch football or binge-watch some favorite Christmas movies. Some might even start the day reading the accounts of Christ's birth. What a novel idea! One thing that's fascinated me since the Lord opened my heart 40 years ago to the actual 'Reason for the Season' is the stark contrast between Santa Claus's mythical nature and the realities found in Jesus Christ. Here are just a few thoughts. First of all, Santa is purported to know whether boys and girls worldwide have been 'naughty or nice' throughout the year. This is, of course, beyond farcical. However, the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, is all-knowing, even being aware when a bird falls to the ground or how many hairs are on our heads (Matt. 10:29-30). Santa also purportedly takes gifts to people worldwide wearing his red suit. But in stark contrast, the Lord Jesus gave Himself as a gift to the world when He willingly died on the cross for our sins. And now He's dressed in red, wearing 'a robe dipped in blood' (Rev. 19:13). Santa, of course, enters houses through chimneys to deliver his gifts under Christmas trees.

Don Wilcox: “The only problem with being semi-retired is you have more time to spend money.”.

Santa, is that really you?