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Sunday School: 2025-12-21 Christmas story in John
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1. Photos for 2025-12-21
2. Welcome - Christmas tree
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Wesley Friendship Class
Sunday School
9:45 to 10:30
Come join us!
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3. The big-big jazz band 2022
4. Masonic Homes band from 2023
5. Wesley Friendship party from January 2024
6. Sharing the joy of Christmas
About 1996, done for several years. December 8-11, 1994, was Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
Grandma's Kitchen
Mother's Parlor
Uncle Roy's Star Shed
Jimmy's Toy Room
Aunt Catherine's Story Parlor
7. Sharing Joy of Christmas: scenery
8. Sharing Joy of Christmas: scenery
9. Sharing Joy of Christmas
10. Sharing Joy of Christmas: Christmas Apple
11. Christmas party in January 2023
12. Christmas party in January 2023
13. Christmas story in John
14. Christmas story links
15. Past weeks
16. Christmas Eve
In Hebrew and Germanic cultures, a day started the evening, or
eve, before.
Christmas Eve
New Years Eve
Halloween (Hallows/Saints Eve)
What did Adam say on the day before Christmas?
It's Christmas, Eve. How do we know? There was no one there to eavesdrop.
17. Song: Hark the herald angels sing
Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, [kjv]
και εξαιφνης εγενετο συν τω αγγελω πληθος στρατιας ουρανιου αινουντων τον θεον και λεγοντων [gnt]
Charles Wesley (1707-1788) wrote: "Hark the herald welkins ring".
George Whitefield (1714-1770) changed it to: "Hark the herald angels sing".
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) wrote music, also "Wedding march".
Ever since, angels have been singing at Christmas in songs, devotionals, etc.
The German word
"die Wolke" ≈ "the cloud" which is related to the Old English word
"welcan" ≈ "cloud".
[Elizabeth Hughes and Elizabethtown]
18. Verse 1
Hark! the herald angels sing , Glory to the new-born King
Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled
Joyful, all ye nations, rise, Join the triumph of the skies
With angelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem
Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the new-born King
19. Matthew 17:5
At the transfiguration, the following is recorded.
Matthew 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. [kjv]
ετι αυτου λαλουντος ιδου νεφελη φωτεινη επεσκιασεν αυτους και ιδου φωνη εκ της νεφελης λεγουσα ουτος εστιν ο υιος μου ο αγαπητος εν ω ευδοκησα ακουετε αυτου [gnt]
… nubes … nube … [v]
…welcan … wolcne … [wes]
… Wolke… Wolke … [lu]
The "
welkin" is the heaven or sky or cloud.
George Whitfield, a co-founder of Methodism, changed the words that Charles Wesley, a co-founder of Methodism, had written.
Wesley: "Hark the herald welkins ring"
Whitfield: "Hark the herald angels sing"
20. The year without a summer: 1816
The year 1816: "
year without a summer", "
poverty year", "
eighteen hundred and froze to death". Due to April 1815 volcanic eruption of Mount
Tambora. There was an immediate impact on world weather and on
Napoleon at the Battle of
Waterloo two months later (abnormal wet weather making it hard to maneuver troops in battle).
April 24: 74 degrees. 30 hours later 21 degrees.
June 6: 6 inches of snow, 18 inches of snow on the ground in Cabot, VT.
June: Temperatures from 101 degrees to 30 degrees.
August: Hard frost in NH.
Many events thereafter, such as songs and books, reflected some of those experiences.
There were major food shortages in the northern hemisphere. New England:
21. Song: Angels from the realms of glory
James Montgomery, a revolutionary converted to Christianity, wrote "
Angels from the realms of glory" on Christmas Eve, 1816.
Angels, from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o'er all the earth;
Ye who sang creation's story,
Now proclaim Messiah's birth:
Come and worship, come and worship
Worship Christ, the newborn King.
This was the year without a summer, a cold long year and a half.
22. Song: Silent night
Psalms 150:3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. [kjv]
αινειτε αυτον εν ηχω σαλπιγγος αινειτε αυτον εν ψαλτηριω και κιθαρα [lxx]
Christmas Eve in 1818, in a little village in Austria, in a snowstorm, the organ was broken.
The ancient Greek word
"κιθαρα" ≈ "stringed instrument".
Winters were still cold and snowy from the "
Year without a summer" in 1816. That's snow joke! So a song was composed to be played on a
guitar, written in German as "
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht".
[Sound of Music, Over hill, over dale, Neander valley, Praise to the Lord]
This Geek word is the source of the English word "
guitar" through Spanish through Arabic through Latin through Greek. In the Bible, the word means a string instrument, which can be a harp, lyre or other instrument.
23. Verse 1
Silent Night, Holy Night
All is calm, All is bright
Round yon virgin, Mother and child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
24. Verse 1 - German
Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht!
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute hoch heilige Paar.
Holder Knab' im lockigen Haar,
Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!
Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!
25. Song: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
The song "
God rest ye merry gentlemen" was written in England in 1833 by William Sandys.
"rest" means "keep" or "maintain" as in "not moving" or "resting". Rest assured!
"merry" meant "strong" as in "good health" or "good spirit".
Meaning: God keep you strong and in good spirits, gentlemen. Why? Because "
Christ our Savior Was born on Christmas Day".
In 1843,
Charles Dickens, wrote the novel "
A Christmas Carol" (Scrooge, Tiny Tim, etc.), evoking nostalgia from some 30 years before.
Song: "God rest you merry, gentlemen".
Book: "God bless you, merry gentlemen".
26. Verse 1
God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas Day
To save us all from Satan's pow'r
When we were gone astray
Oh tidings of comfort and joy, Comfort and joy
Oh tidings of comfort and joy.
27. Song: Angels we have heard on high
The song "
Angels we have heard on high" came from a French carol from about 1850. Songwriter: Sufjan Stevens
Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o'er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
Gloria, in excelsis Deo
28. Song: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem "
I heard the bells on Christmas day" (later put to music) on Christmas Day, 1864, in a small town in Massachusetts.
He had endured several family tragedies. He saw many seriously wounded young men, including his son, and, like many, wondered why.
Wadsworth and many others were unaware that Lincoln and Grant, with the help of Sherman and Sheridan, had decided to reintroduce total war (war on civilians as well as soldiers) to the world and a war of attrition.
Cold Harbor (June 12, 1864): 1,500 dead, 3,000 wounded in 20 minutes.
80 years after the poem: Battle of the Bulge (and after) in World War II.
Missionary Ridge (November 25, 1863)
29. Verse 1
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
and wild and sweet The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
30. Verse 4
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound , The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
31. Verse 6
And in despair I bowed my head;
There is no peace on earth, I said;
For hate is strong, And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
32. Luke 2:14 Paraphrase
Luke 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. [kjv]
δοξα εν υψιστοις θεω και επι γης ειρηνη εν ανθρωποις ευδοκιας [gnt]
The Greek for "glory" is that of "opinion" or "expectation".
The Greek for "good will" is that of "good opinion" or "good expectation".
Paraphrase: Expectation/opinion in the highest (from earth) to God and on the earth peace in men of a good expectation.
God has a high opinion and a good expectation that men will be peaceful on earth. To support the
KJV (King James Version) translation, the
second Greek
"in" is to the English
"towards". To support the Greek
"in", translations like the
NIV (New International Version) use the following.
NIV: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.
33. Verse 7
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
*The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.
[Nietche]
*Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right. Abraham Lincoln
Fast forward 80 years to the day on December 25, 1944 (and the eve the night before).
34. Before and after
Historian
Shelby Foote (1916-2005) makes the following observation.
Before the Civil War, the (united) states are a country.
After the Civil War, the united states is a country.
35. Song: Caissons go rolling along
What might the official song of the U.S. Army, "The caissons go rolling along", written in 1908, have to do with Christmas?
The song was written by Colonel Edmund "Snitz" Gruber, a descendant of Franz Gruber, who composed "Silent Night" in 1818, 90 years earlier.
Over hill, over dale, as we hit the dusty trail,
And those caissons go rolling along.
In and out, hear them shout,
Counter march and right about,
And those caissons go rolling along.
36. The belt buckle
In high school, Uncle Donny gave me a German belt buckle from his service in World War II. The Nazi swastika is surrounded by the words
"Gott mit uns", or
"God with us", from the Luther Bible 400 years earlier. The verse is often read at Christmas.
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1:23.
German: … Emanuel … Gott mit uns.
Russian: … Еммануил, … с нами Бог.
Latin: … Emmanuhel … Nobiscum Deus
Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. Psalms 16:1
Discuss: What does it mean to put "
In God we trust" on currency?
The Waffen SS used the motto "
Meine Ehre heißt Treue" meaning "
My honor is loyalty".
37. Verse 1
O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
38. Verse 7
O come, O King of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease
and be yourself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
39. Song: I'll be Home for Christmas
Following "
White Christmas" from 1941 and again in 1942, Bing Crosby released "
I'll be Home for Christmas" in October 1943.
Some soldiers never made it home.
Will you be home for Christmas?
Where exactly is your home?
The simple words and melody were an instant hit with anyone, such as soldiers in World War II, who were away from home. It was an ever present hope to be home with friends and loved ones during the holidays.
40. Malmedy massacre survivors
Many soldiers fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Some did not make it home for Christmas. Some 120 were massacred at Malmedy on December 17, 1944. There were some survivors.
PFC William F Reem (1923-2003) from Elizabethtown PA. His daughter was in the EAHS class of 1974.
PFC Harold Billow (1923-2022) from Marietta, PA, later living and working in Mount Joy, PA. He was known for flags every Memorial Day.
I met Harold Billow (1923-2022) at a restaurant in Mount Joy on December 13, 2016, and talked to him for a while. At the time, he was the only living survivor of the Malmedy massacre.
James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. [kjv]
οιτινες ουκ επιστασθε το της αυριον ποια η ζωη υμων ατμις γαρ εστε προς ολιγον φαινομενη επειτα αφανιζομενη [gnt]
41. Wilbur Jack Myers
Wilbur Jackson "Jack" Myers, Anti-Tank Gunner, 104th ID, European theater, World War II. Same United Methodist church for 99+ years.
100 years old at the time of the talk (October 6, 2023)
Jumped out of a plane at age 95.
Did not talk about the war for more than 40 years.
Tiger tanks were almost impossible to destroy. (October 6, 2023)
Following orders to take out church steeple, later a sniper (captured).
Sang Christmas carols with German soldiers and band across the river, December 24, 1944 (October 6, 2023)
Twin soldier and meeting descendant.
42. Song: Do you hear what I hear?
The song "
Do you hear what I hear?" was written by Noel Regney in
October 1962. The music is by Gloria Shayne.
It is a secular plea for peace in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It has illusions of the Christmas story. [Homestead AFB]
43. Selective hearing
Do you hear what I hear?
You're wrong. It doesn't even go in one ear! Lend me a hear.
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Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy,
do you hear what I hear
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,
do you hear what I hear
A song, a song, high above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the sea
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44. John 1:14,1 Word made flesh
Jesus tells Pilate he was "
born". John tells us that the "
word" became "
flesh" - obviously at the "
birth".
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. [kjv]
και ο λογος σαρξ εγενετο και εσκηνωσεν εν ημιν και εθεασαμεθα την δοξαν αυτου δοξαν ως μονογενους παρα πατρος πληρης χαριτος και αληθειας [gnt]
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [kjv]
εν αρχη ην ο λογος και ο λογος ην προς τον θεον και θεος ην ο λογος [gnt]
The Greek word translated as "
dwelt" is that of "
tenting" as in a temporary abode. Jesus did not come to "
reside" or make a "
home" or "
nest" in the "
law", he came to "
complete".
The ancient Greek word
"λόγος" ≈ "word, logic, reasoning" has a long history in Greek philosophy and meant a logical reasoning or explanation.
45. John 1:14 Word made flesh
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. [kjv]
και ο λογος σαρξ εγενετο και εσκηνωσεν εν ημιν και εθεασαμεθα την δοξαν αυτου δοξαν ως μονογενους παρα πατρος πληρης χαριτος και αληθειας [gnt]
NIV:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
NLT (New Living Translation):
So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
The
NLT changes many of the words to words that have common Greek words not used here. Why might that be? Why would someone use a version with obvious translation deficiencies?
46. The reason for the season
What is the "
reason for the season" at Christmas? Which of the following Gospels talk about the birth of Jesus?
Matthew
Herod, Magi and gifts. How, some hints of why.
Mark
Mark is Peter's Gospel. No clear mention of birth of Jesus.
Luke
Shepherds and angels. How, some hints of why.
John
John tells that Jesus was born and why Jesus was born.
47. Jesus says why he was born
John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. [kjv]
ειπεν ουν αυτω ο πιλατος ουκουν βασιλευς ει συ απεκριθη ο ιησους συ λεγεις οτι βασιλευς ειμι εγω εις τουτο γεγεννημαι και εις τουτο εληλυθα εις τον κοσμον ινα μαρτυρησω τη αληθεια πας ο ων εκ της αληθειας ακουει μου της φωνης [gnt]
Only John tells us
why Jesus was born. Jesus witnesses to Pilate.
Jesus tells Pilate
why he was born in
John 18:37. When Jesus talks of
"truth", as in the Greek and Hebrew words for truth, he is talking about the truth of
reality and
not of a
logical true-false truth system.
Throughout time, there are those who hear the message and have understanding. Jesus tells this to Pilate. The Greek for "
born" means to "
come into being" (in some form).
[philosophy courses, Aristotle final cause]
48. What is truth?
49. Truth shall free you
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. [kjv]
και γνωσεσθε την αληθειαν και η αληθεια ελευθερωσει υμας [gnt]
"ἐλεύθερος" ≈ "free" as in "freedom".
"ἄλευρον " ≈ "ground grain".
"θερίζω" ≈ "reap" as in the "harvest".
Play on words:
You shall know the reality (Jesus) and that reality (Jesus) will (make) wheat/flour harvest (of) you.
50. Merry Christmas
Remember the "
reason for the season"! Ask yourself:
Are you going home (for Christmas)?
In time, each one of us will go to our home.
Where is your home?
Thank you and have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holy Days, and a Happy New Year.
Seasons Greetings! If you prefer to "
read" at Christmas, then "
Seasons Readings". Remember, Rudolph's nose was
well read.
51. We wish you a merry Christmas
The Christmas carol "
We wish you a merry Christmas" dates from December 6, 1935 (variations go back a hundred years or so) and was made popular by organist and composer Arthur Warrell (1883-1939). Often used for caroling. The "
I" was later replaced with "
we".
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year.
52. End of page
John 18:38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. [kjv]
λεγει αυτω ο πιλατος τι εστιν αληθεια και τουτο ειπων παλιν εξηλθεν προς τους ιουδαιους και λεγει αυτοις εγω ουδεμιαν ευρισκω εν αυτω αιτιαν [gnt]
8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. [kjv]
και γνωσεσθε την αληθειαν και η αληθεια ελευθερωσει υμας [gnt]
