3 Days Until Christmas!
Song: “Welcome to Our World,” by Chris Rice
Christmas Album: “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” by the Vince Guaraldi Trio
Christmas DVD: “A Christmas Story”
Netflix Movie: “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey”
Amazon Prime Movie: “Christmas With the Kranks”
Disney+ Movie: “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York”
Hulu Movie: “Snow 2: Brain Freeze”
Hallmark Movie: “A Dog Named Christmas”
On TV:
New programming in bold
• “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas,” 1:30 p.m., Freeform
• “My Christmas Family Tree,” 2 p.m., Hallmark
• “Christmas Reservations,” 2 p.m., Lifetime
• “Soul Santa,” 2 p.m., BET
• “Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas,” 3 p.m., Freeform
• “Reindeer in Here,” 3 p.m., Nickelodeon
• “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” 4 p.m., AMC
• “Making Spirits Bright,” 4 p.m., Hallmark
• “Santa’s Boots,” 4 p.m., Lifetime
• “The Jenkins Family Christmas,” 4:20 p.m., BET
• “The Star,” 4:30 p.m., Freeform
• “Four Christmases,” 6 p.m., AMC
• “Hanukkah on Rye,” 6 p.m., Hallmark
• “The Dog Days of Christmas,” 6 p.m., Lifetime
• “A Rich Christmas,” 6:30 p.m., BET
• “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” 6:30 p.m., Freeform
• College Football: Armed Forces Bowl, Baylor vs. Air Force, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
• “Frosty the Snowman,” 7:30 p.m., Freeform
• “A Saturday Night Live Christmas Special,” 8 p.m., NBC
• “iHeart Radio Jingle Ball 2022,” 8 p.m., CW
• “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” 8 p.m., AMC
• “A H0liday Chance,” 8 p.m., BET
• “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” 8 p.m., Freeform
• “Last Christmas,” 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., FX
• “A Very Merry Christmas Village,” 8 p.m., Hallmark
• “A Country Christmas Harmony,” 8 p.m., Lifetime
• “It Happened on Fifth Avenue,” 8 p.m., TCM
• NFL Football: Jacksonville at New York Jets, 8:15 p.m., Amazon Prime
• “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch,” 9 p.m., Freeform
• “O Holy Night: Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir,” 10 p.m., PBS
• “Christmas Made to Order,” 10 p.m., Hallmark
• “Cloudy With a Chance of Christmas,” 10:03 p.m., Lifetime
• “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” 10:15 p.m., AMC
• “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” 10:15 p.m., TCM
Recipe: Roasted Chestnut Sausage Dressing
Quick Thought for Christmas
Read
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Luke 2:13-14
Reflect
From the beginning of creation, God knew how things would turn out. He could see to the end of time, and so He was fully aware that mankind would need a Savior – His Son, Jesus Christ. So Christmas Day was something that was in the works for thousands of years, a day that all of Heaven was anticipating.
The host of angels had to have been preparing for this day, waiting eagerly to come to Earth to proclaim the King’s birth. And when that day came, it had to have been a true honor to be in the choir that sang out, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
There are a lot of earthly things that we might say are awe-inspiring and wonderful.
A sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean.
A sunset over the Pacific Ocean.
And there are times that we have heard glorious things that stir our souls, like Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or a more soulful version from the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.
Honestly, nothing we can imagine could possibly compare to the worship provided by the angelic host that first Christmas Eve. (But the good news is that same worship is in store for us one day when we arrive in Heaven.)
The real lesson here is that the first act of Christmas was worship. God sent the angels to worship. They instructed the shepherds to go and worship, and the shepherds did. The wise men traveled hundreds of miles to worship. But today, too many of us worship at a commercial altar each Christmas, and not a spiritual one. On Christmas Eve, stores will be filled with people making last-minute purchases, while churches will have far too many unfilled seats.
Don’t let that be true for you. Make sure your first act of Christmas is worship. Presents are wonderful, and Christmas wouldn’t seem complete without them. But a Christmas centered around gifts is just as empty as the leftover boxes once everything is opened. And a Christmas centered around Jesus is not only fulfilling for that day but for every one after it as well.
Reflection copyright © 2022 by Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
