YEA Lesson Library
Bigger and Better
About This Lesson
This lesson teaches that Christmas is a pagan holiday that Christians should not celebrate.
Scriptures
Exodus 20:2-6
Deuteronomy 12:30-32
2 Kings 16:1-4
Jeremiah 10:2-4
Jeremiah 10:23-25
Romans 12:1-3
Hebrews 11:5-6
Words to Know
PERMEATE - to pass into every part; spread through
EGGNOG - a rich sweet drink made of cream and eggs
IMBIBE - to receive into the mind
WEATHER - to bear up against and come safely through a storm
The Lesson
Have you ever gone to the mall after the Feast and noticed the dramatic transformation? Right after Halloween, Christmas arrives big time at the mall. All stops are pulled. The biggest celebration of the entire year is made ready. Every effort is made to appeal to all your senses – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.
Bells are ringing. Children are singing, “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.” The Salvation Army band is playing, “Joy to the World.” Choirs are singing Christmas carols. Beautiful lights, tinsel, garlands, and red, green, gold and silver bows are everywhere. Christmas trees are beautifully decked with a star or angel on the top and puffy white sparkling cotton around the bottom. Children are sitting on Old St. Nick’s red velvet lap telling him what they want for Christmas.
The aromas are heavenly! The delightful smell of cedar, cinnamon, and rich spices permeates every store as you enter. Fruitcakes, special cookies and candies, bags of nuts, and eggnog are tempting buyers as they pass by. A celebration is at hand!
Christmas is exciting. And the Christmas spirit is real. But is this spirit really something that Christ would have you imbibe in? Is December 25 really the birthday of our Savior? Do the shopkeepers in the mall go to all this effort, time, and expense to honor Christ? Or is it to get you to pull out your cash or sign a credit card charge on the dotted line?
Many years before Christ was born, the 25th of December was celebrated in much the same way as it is today. Does that seem odd to you? Yep, there was a big celebration of this day before Christ was ever born. But it was not to celebrate the birth of the Son of God. Rather it was to celebrate the sun god named Sol Invictus. People even decorated a tree, much the same as they do today. “Do not learn the ways of the nations, or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter” (Jeremiah 10:2b-4, The New Adventure Bible).
People loved this custom. After Jesus was born Christian churches thought it would be a good idea to use the same customs, but use them to worship Christ. Well, do you think God approves of that? Does this really matter? What does the Bible have to say about it?
“Don’t ask questions about their gods. Don’t say, ‘How do these nations serve their gods? We’ll do it in the same way.’ You must not worship the LORD your God the way they worship their gods. . . Be sure you do everything I’m commanding you to do. Don’t add anything to my commands. And don’t take anything away from them” (Deuteronomy 12:30-32, NlrV Kid’s Devotional Bible).
Is God just trying to make you look different to your friends or keep you from having fun by forbidding us to celebrate Christmas? Again, what does the Bible say about it?
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations, of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20: 2-6, The New Adventure Bible).
Did you notice that the Second Commandment carries a punishment if you break it? There is not only punishment for you, but it will extend to your great grandchildren if you hate God. God’s commandments were given to make life better for you – to keep you out of trouble. Notice what verse 6 says: “but showing love to a thousand generations, of those who love me and keep my commandments.” The benefits of keep- ing the commandments extend far beyond any punishment received for not keeping them. God is such a Wonderful God!
God hasn’t left you without days to celebrate. He commands us to keep seven festivals every year. Christmas is only a one day celebration, but the Feast of Tabernacles lasts for seven days. God specifically tells us to rejoice at the Feast of Tabernacles. And He wants you to have a good time. He wants you to see your friends from all over the nation. He wants it to be a big celebration! He wants it to be bigger and better than Christmas.
Student Prayer
Loving God,
Thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who was born as a baby, experienced every temptation that I have, lived a sinless life and died for my sins. What a loving Savior I have! My friends keep Christmas and don’t understand why I don’t. Sometimes it gets a little difficult at this time of the year. Help me to remember how much bigger and better the Feast of Tabernacles is.
In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday - Jeremiah 10:2-4
Monday - Exodus 20:2-6
Tuesday - Deuteronomy 12:30-32
Wednesday - Romans 12:1-3
Thursday - Hebrews I1:5-6
Friday - Jeremiah 10:23-25
Saturday - 2 Kings 16:1-4
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Discuss why God does not want them to keep Christmas
2. Explain the benefits of celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles over keeping Christmas.
3. Draft a plan to keep a smile on their faces and on the faces of others on Christmas day.
Topics & Themes
Christmas
Holidays, Christmas
Holy Days, Feast of Tabernacles
Honor God
Jesus, Birth of
Pagan Traditions
Ten Commandments
Putting God First
No Other Gods (Idolatry)
Materials Needed
Bible, YEA Students’ and Teacher’s books, attendance and memory verse charts, songbook, awards, Dollar Store calculators, large smiley faces, timer, pencils, paper
How to Teach This Lesson
Open with prayer. Begin the class by letting every student express how they feel at Christmas. Listen and do not condemn them if they admit they would really like to keep it. Go over the activity in the Students’ book and get their answers. By asking the following questions, you will meet the objectives and be able to complete every section on time. Questions are in italics, with possible answers in regular type.
What is it about the Christmas season that makes you want to keep it? All of their friends keep it. They seem like they are having a good time. Everything looks so pretty and smells and sounds so good. If no one says, “To honor God,” ask if they noticed that no one wanted to keep it to honor God. Why do you think Christmas is such a big thing in this country and mer- chants go to all the trouble and expense to decorate? Because it puts big bucks in their pockets – most make more money during the Christmas shopping season than the rest of the year. Why should you allow merchants to get your do re me?
Do you think your parents are better off financially if they don’t keep Christmas? How much do you think the average family spends on Christmas? Give each student a calculator. Use incomes of $40,000, $50,000, and $60,000 and let the kids multiply each by .08, .09, .10, and .12. Write these figures on a piece of paper.
Could you and your family have a good time at the Feast of Tabernacles with those amounts of money?
How many days do people usually celebrate Christmas? One day. How many days do you get to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles? Seven days plus the Last Great Day.
What do you do at the Feast of Tabernacles that your classmates don’t get to do at Christmas?
What else makes celebrating the Feast better than celebrating Christmas? Ask one of the students to read Exodus 20:2-6. What does it say will happen to you if you put another god before the true God? God will punish the sins of the father to the third and fourth generation. What will happen to you if you keep God’s Commandment? He will show love to 1000 generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
Why do you think God doesn’t want you to keep Christmas? He doesn’t want you to get hurt. He wants to bless your family for 1000 generations.
How is the Feast of Tabernacles bigger and better than Christmas?
Teacher-Directed Activity
Divide the class into groups of three. Give each group a pencil and paper. Explain that they are to plan something fun to do on Christmas day that will put a smile on their faces and on others who don’t keep Christmas. It can be a lock-in, a pizza party with games, or making the day of a widow, elderly church member, or a sick child better by what they do. Give them five minutes to write out a plan that includes the activity, menu, games, and the people with whom they will share this day. When the timer rings, bring the groups back together and let them share their plans. Give all of them a big smiley face to remind them to keep a smile on their faces on Christmas day.
REACH Activity
Memory Verse Spotlight
Look up the word “worthless” from Jeremiah 10:3. Write down the Hebrew word and its meaning. Then find three other Scriptures where this word is used. Then write a reaction to this word and the things that are described as “worthless.” Record this all in your Bible notebook.
Where in the World?
The many customs of Christmas are gathered from all over the world and from many different cultures. Do some research. Where did Christmas trees come from? What about the yule log? What about putting coal in stockings? Who is Saint Nicholas and what does he have to do with Santa Claus and what do either of them have to do with Christmas? Where did the Christmas ornaments come from? What is wassail and where did it originate? As you are researching all of these elements, keep an eye out for any mention of Christian origins. (Hint: There aren’t any. People may try to say that they are now, but they didn’t start out that way.)
They Did What Back Then?
Do you know what one of the scariest things for pagan peoples was? Watching the days getting shorter and shorter and the weather getting colder and colder as the earth moved closer to the winter solstice. They believed they needed to do something to make the sun come back and start shining longer. Their crops depended upon sunlight, so their very survival depended upon the warmth of the Sun. So once the winter solstice was past, and the days started getting longer, the pagans celebrated in wild fashion. Research for yourself the pagan origins of Christmas so that you will know its roots. Write down what you find in your Bible notebook.
Making It Mine
Your YEA lesson and daily devotionals do a great job of pointing out the verses which warn God’s people not to participate in pagan customs. God is not pleased when His people adopt these pagan customs into worship of Him. If you’re not convinced that this is true, talk with your parents or pastor. Read Exodus 32. It gives an example of taking pagan practices and putting God’s name on them.
What do you think? Do you think Christmas is ok to celebrate? Why or why not? What will you tell your friends when they ask you to participate in a Secret Santa? Why? Who do you want to please the most? Spend some time thinking about these things. Then write about them in your Bible notebook.
Then add a paragraph about your experiences of not celebrating Christmas when everyone else does. It might help to get your feelings down on paper. Share all of these thoughts with your family. You might be surprised that they are feeling many of the same things you do.
Worldview Collisions
A false Christian worldview says that God doesn’t really care what we do or what the origins of Christmas are. God knows our heart and just wants us to have fun and love everybody.
An authentic Biblical worldview states that God does care what we do. He doesn’t want us to worship Him with customs that are pagan. God does know our heart - but that doesn’t excuse us to sin in any way we want. God does want us to have fun, to have life and more abundantly. He does want us to love people. However, God also says that we show our love for Him by obeying His commandments. Showing love to others does not mean condoning their sinful conduct.
Think about this and how it relates to not celebrating Christmas. Write about it in your Bible notebook and share with your family.
Questions
As you’re working through the YEA lesson, Daily Devotionals, doing the activity, or reading the Bible, be sure to write down any questions you have. That way you’ll remember to ask someone. Also remember to share the really interesting things you’re learning with family and friends.
Song
“I Will Celebrate” is on page 49 of The Group Songbook.
Closing Prayer
Ask the students to form a circle and join hands. Have a volunteer lead in prayer thanking God for so graciously giving us days to celebrate that show us more about His plan. Ask Him to give us the grace not to condemn people who keep Christmas and to weather the season with a smile on our faces as Jesus would do.
Printable Pages
