Special Christmas Article
This season marks the birth of our dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The One whom His Father, in His incomprehensible goodness, mercy, and generosity, gave to us so that whosoever believes in His Son should not perish but have eternal life.
God, in the person of His one and only Son Jesus Christ, came down to live as the perfect Man among us on a mission to save us from our sins and from the eternal condemnation in hell that we all deserve. This Jesus did by living a sinless life, fulfilling all the commandments of His Father, thus, uniquely qualifying Him to be the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
This is the message of John 3:1-16, wherein Nicodemus, the religious leader, paid Jesus a visit at night – perhaps because he was afraid to be seen by his fellow Pharisees who disapproved of Jesus.
In the text, we see Nicodemus’s struggle with the idea of being born again as the prerequisite to be able to gain entrance to the kingdom of heaven. We see this struggle when he asks: “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” But instead of backing down, Jesus doubled down, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
As Nicodemus continues to express his puzzlement, Jesus gently admonishes him for his ignorance by referring to Nicodemus’s status as perhaps the greatest teacher of Israel of that day: “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?”
Some of us, who approach life primarily with our intellect, are content to have an opinion about who Jesus is and don’t see the necessity of pursuing a personal relationship with Him. In fairness to Nicodemus, who was considered to be one of the brightest minds of his generation, he sought out Jesus to test and prove if He really is whom they say that He is.
As Nicodemus approaches Jesus with the words: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” We sense that Nicodemus is a man who is observant about the things of God, always on the alert whenever he catches glimpses of the kingdom of God. But Jesus goes straight to answering the real question deep within his heart: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Jesus addresses Nicodemus as if he were a man who is ever circling around the kingdom of God and always trying to figure out how to get in.
Later on in the text, Jesus elaborates on what He means by comparing Himself to the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness. (Numbers 21:1-9) This was when Israel was rebelling against God once again. They were punished with being bitten by poisonous snakes. Those who looked up at the bronze serpent regained their lives; whereas those who refused to look up suffered death. Jesus was trying to convey to Nicodemus that like the bronze serpent, Jesus would also soon be lifted up on the cross to save men from eternal death. Because only the death of Someone who is absolutely sinless, spotless and pure can satisfy the holy justice of God. For God hates the sins which separate us from Him even as He longs to be reconciled to every one of us.
Before we can appreciate the good news of the gospel, we need to understand the bad news. The bad news is that doing good works, being religious, trying to pay for our own sins – all these things won’t gain us entrance into the kingdom of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). The bad news is that not a single one of us is good enough to enter the kingdom of heaven (Romans 3:23). The bad news is that there’s not a single thing any one of us can do to enter it through our own efforts and merits (Ephesians 2:8-9). The good news is that Jesus has already done it all. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
(Indeed, if there were some other way to save us from our sins then why would God the Father allow His one and only Son to suffer such a brutal, horrible, unimaginably torturous death on the cross? In Isaiah 53:10, we read that it pleased the LORD to bruise Him, to put Him to grief and to make His soul an offering for sin. In other words, the only One who can satisfy God’s justice is God Himself, in the person of His Son Jesus Christ.)
The only thing that can usher us into the presence of the Holy One is by acknowledging all our sins and moral deficiencies and by accepting the finished work of Jesus on the cross on our behalf. This is why He declared “It is finished” when He gave up His Spirit to the Father. We were supposed to be punished for our sins for all eternity. But Jesus took all that punishment upon Himself. Reader, if you accept this and believe this with all your heart and cry out to Jesus to save you from your sins and from hell, then you, too, will be reconciled with God and gain eternal life.
Jesus is the ultimate gift of Christmas: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” He had already been given to us. But the question remains: will you accept The Gift or refuse it?
To wrap up the year, we asked our church leaders and congregants to give us their thoughts on our most recent Christmas celebration.
What are the differences between past Christmas parties and this last one?
JON ANG:
I appreciated how the committee focused more on the pre-christmas party activities, like bowling (which became) a sort of ice-breaker, to get people more familiar with each other before the actual party. So I personally felt the approach of the christmas party this year focused more on human interactions rather than the spectacle of christmas, which i thought was a very good thing.
POPIT ARAGONES:
…another big difference is that after 2 years of meeting online and not being able to hold a live event, the celebration became more heartfelt and personal, giving us the true feel of what a church celebration should be.
JEN MANNONG:
Recent one brought excitement to most of us because of the past two years’ lockdown and safe management measures of not (being allowed) to hold big gatherings. This is the only (CCF) Christmas Party I’ve experienced that gave us instruction on what to wear 😄 … It was a glamorous event though. Plus, it was held in a famous convention hotel. Not so bad at all. But I’d like to be honest that in terms of pa-gimik, or content of the programme, it has no difference. It’s almost the same year by year.
PERSH DELA SERNA:
This year’s Christmas party was the first wherein we had the opportunity to really dress up in semi-formal or elegant attire for the occasion. The number of attendees has also been the highest yet – 420 registrants! Praise God indeed!
The enthusiasm in participating in the games was evident across all tables.
What about the difference between the first Christmas you’ve ever attended versus now?
DANIEL TABLAN
I suppose I know more people and am involved in more than just eating buffet.
BENJO VILLABLANCA
The committee handling is the main difference but the love and faithfulness to the Lord in serving Him is still the same.
ROMMEL PATULOT
Before was a lot busier because we (all) needed to do presentations. So sometimes people care more (about their own) presentation rather than the program itself.
POPIT ARAGONES
There were only a handful of people then, which gives a more intimate feeling. 16 years later, the church has grown much larger, many people have left and new ones have joined. One can literally feel the Lord’s faithfulness and kindness towards the Church, as He has supported us during the many years that have passed.
JEN MANNONG
The first Christmas party I attended, (2016) I was a “baby”. So it was fun meeting and making more friends from our church. Now, I am no longer a “baby” but the excitement to celebrate this kind of gathering together with our bros and sisters, has not changed.
HANSEL CANLAS
Past Christmas parties (had) more production numbers. Almost everyone was performing (so) people were very busy with preparations and last minute coordination. (This) led to “performers and committee” having limited time for meaningful table conversations. This year we had lesser production.
KYTIN CANLAS
1st experience was very intimate. Enough worship time and more time for meaningful table conversations AND getting to know other members due to a smaller church size back then.
PERSH DELA SERNA
Being able to sing Christmas songs at the end of the party and to form a snake of people walking and dancing all around the big hall brought back memories of past Christmases together! It was also a great reminder that with even more people getting to join in this tradition that we are all part of one big family in Christ. And though we may be far from home, we are all in that moment joined closely together in celebrating Christ as our Saviour, the True Gift of Christmas.
What blessing/ encouragement did you receive from the last Christmas party?
DANIEL TABLAN
I was blessed to be cared for by people and know that there are people in church watching out for me.
ROMMEL PATULOT
We are so blessed to see everyone F2F again celebrating Christmas!
POPIT ARAGONES
What encouraged me are the people themselves (both the committee and the participants). From the preparations to the program, (to) the intimate moments, the fun games and the various numbers, you can really see how people celebrated in unity as a church. Everyone contributed to make the event a success.
JEN MANNONG
It’s encouraging to see everyone who continue to praise and glorify Jesus Christ. And the amount of effort that the working committee had put into making this event happen— inspiring that they can dedicate their time for God’s glory.
HANSEL CANLAS
Church as one body was given the time and space to pause and reflect (on) what gift we want to give Jesus.
PERSH DELA SERNA
The timely reminder and opportunity to reflect on Jesus Christ. That in the midst of the rush of December, we had this opportunity to reflect and thank God for the costly gift He lovingly gave that we may have great joy, peace and forgiveness. The True Gift of Christmas is Jesus Christ Himself.
For you, what’s the best thing about the last Christmas party?
DANIEL TABLAN
The best thing about the last Christmas party was definitely the tiramisu. Just kidding, it was definitely getting to film the games as a camera guy and hearing the announcers commenting on what I was showing them. Or maybe that’s the second best thing. The best thing would be the feeling of getting to have an important part in making this event happen.
BENJO VILLABLANCA
– Seeing our TSP sisters gladly participating, serving and singing to the Lord.
ROMMEL PATULOT
The message from Pastor Jay, the Good planning and schedule of the entire program and no need to perform on stage😊
POPIT ARAGONES
Apart from the main message itself, the best thing for me is the way we were able to celebrate it live as a church. The warmth of each participant gave us the meaning of what the church is all about.
JEN MANNONG
This is the first year I attended our church’s Christmas Party with the man I have deeply prayed for since the last Christmas Party in 2018 (when) I first noticed him (Kris)… (mahaba kwento😄).
HANSEL CANLAS
Finally, a major in person Christmas celebration of CCF as one big family after 2 Christmases!
PERSH DELA SERNA
Another milestone is being able to have Pastor Dennis & Evelyn Legaspi, Pastor Jay Jackson, Dave & Bethany Jackson, and Joseph & Len Tan Chi travel from afar just to join us for our Christmas celebration!
TOMAS VERDUGO
I think it was really nice, the food and the place were great and there was time for everything, eating talking and having fun with the activities that were made.
What’s your Christmas message to the church?
DANIEL TABLAN
We may all serve different functions as parts of the body of Christ, but worship is a continuous act that involves the whole body. May you worship Christ with your entire being this season. Merry Christmas!
BENJO VILLABLANCA
Thank you CCF SG leaders, 2022 Christmas committee, and volunteers for making it possible to have a face-to-face gathering this year. May God continue to bless the church to be able to share His gift to others. To God be all the glory!
ROMMEL PATULOT
Merry Christmas CCF Singapore! We are so blessed to be part of this congregation.
Thank you for all the volunteers. Let’s continue to reach out to others – new and old CCFers.
POPIT ARAGONES
God, by His grace and love, gave us His Son and called Him Emmanuel “God with us”. Each one of us who are called to be His children should live this in our lives, and the same love He has given us is the love we should share with each other as a Church, no matter how great our individual differences are. May the Spirit of God be manifest to each one of us all the days of our lives.
JAY SINGSON
Our family’s message is that we hope and pray that the whole church will continue to show love, care and concern to everyone specially to all of the new ones. May we never forget the true spirit of this season. God bless!
JEN MANNONG
Thank you for always looking after us and making sure we continue to remember God our Saviour who never changes His love towards us even when at times we stumble and forget the time when Jesus Christ sacrificed His life for us to be saved.
HANSEL CANLAS
Thank you, everyone, for serving one another in different forms and capacities – be it in big gatherings such as this or even during our weekly Sunday Worship Services or life-on-life meetings. The church thrives especially in this time of pandemic primarily by God’s grace and because of everyone’s selflessness in giving away time, talents, and treasures. May we not grow tired (of) loving one another. Let’s continue supporting and praying for our leaders and make their journey of leading us very encouraging.
PERSH DELA SERNA
Remembering the first Christmas through the account of Scripture reminds us that the good tidings the angels spoke about still remains the greatest encouragement for us – God with us, Immanuel. Jesus was born, our Saviour. This brings great joy to ALL people ALL over the world! For in Him we have hope, in Him we have salvation, in Him we have the Greatest Gift! Christmas is truly a time of great rejoicing!