Christmas Countdown, TV Schedule and Quick Thought – Saturday, December 7, 2024

18 Days Until Christmas!

(Note: This is also Pearl Harbor Day.)

Song: “Deck the Halls,” by Tenth Avenue North
Christmas Album: “Following Yonder Star,” by Skip Ewing
Christmas DVD: “The Bishop’s Wife”
Netflix Movie: “Christmas Inheritance”
Amazon Prime Movie: “Crazy for Christmas”
Disney+ Movie: “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas”
Hulu Movie: “A Kismet Christmas”
Hallmark Movie: “A Bride for Christmas”
On TV:
New Programming in Bold
• Big 12 Championship Game, Iowa State vs. Arizona State at Arlington, Texas, noon, ABC
• MAC Championship Game, Ohio vs. Miami, Ohio at Detroit, noon, ESPN
• “The Finnish Line,” noon, Hallmark
• “The Christmas Detective,” noon, OWN
• “Four Christmases and a Wedding,” 12:30 p.m., Lifetime
• “Jack Frost,” 1 p.m., BBC
• “Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups,” 1:20 p.m., Freeform
• “Deck the Halls,” 1:30 p.m., TBS
• SWAC Championship Game, Southern at Jackson State, 2 p.m., ESPN2
• “Deck the Walls,” 2 p.m., Hallmark
• “Yes Chef! Christmas,” 2 p.m., Lifetime
• “A Christmas Serenade,” 2 p.m ., OWN
• “Home Alone,” 3:25 p.m., Freeform
• “Fred Claus,” 3:30 p.m., BBC
• SEC Championship Game, Georgia vs. Texas at Atlanta, 4 p.m., ABC and ESPN
• “The Perfect Christmas,” 4 p.m.., BET
• “A Maple Valley Christmas,” 4 p.m., Hallmark
• “BeBe Winans’ We Three Kings,” 4 p.m., Lifetime
• “Christmas Revisited,” 4 p.m ., OWN
• “It Happened on Fifth Avenue,” 4 p.m., TCM
• “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” 5:55 p.m., Freeform
• “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” 6 p.m., AMC
• “Four Christmases,” 6 p.m., BBC
• “Private Princess Christmas,” 6 p.m., Hallmark
• “Make or Break Christmas,” 6 p.m., Lifetime
• “Christmas of Yes,” 6 p.m., OWN
• “Holiday Affair,” 6:15 p.m., TCM
• “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” 6:25 p.m., TMC
• Sun Belt Championship Game, Marshall at Louisiana, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
• “Pearl Harbor,” 7:35 p.m. and 11:20 p.m., FXM
• Big Ten Championship Game, Penn State vs. Oregon at Indianapolis, 8 p.m., CBS
• ACC Championship Game, Clemson vs. SMU at Charlotte, N.C., 8 p.m., ABC
• “A California Christmas,” 8 p.m., CW
• “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” 8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m., AMC
• “Elf,” 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., BBC
• “Sugarplummed,” 8 p.m., Hallmark
• “A Very Merry Beauty Salon,” 8 p.m., Lifetime
• “A Christmas Story,” 8 p.m., TBS
• “Scrooged,” 8 p.m., TMC
• “Frosty the Snowman,” 8:35 p.m., Freeform
• “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” 9:10 p.m., Freeform
• “The Christmas Quest,” 10:01 p.m., Hallmark
• “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000),” 10:15 p.m., Freeform
• “Christmas Unwrapped,” 10:03 p.m., OWN
• “The Wizard of Oz,” 10:03 p.m., TBS
Recipe: The Best Bread Pudding

Quick Thought for Christmas

Read

Acts 5:27-32

God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 5:31

Reflect

The right hand has always meant something special, not only in scripture but throughout history. In the Middle East, even apart from Israel, we know that the right side of the throne signified strength and power. In Genesis, when Jacob placed his right hand on Manasseh and his left on Ephraim, he followed that by saying that Manasseh would be greater and more powerful than his brother. In medieval times, knights would show their right hand to prove that they weren’t armed and that they could be trusted. Today that has been passed down into our handshakes, and in modern military salutes.

After Jesus died and rose from the dead, we read in Acts that God “exalted” him – basically, raising him to the position of greatest authority – and proved it by placing Jesus at his right hand. Being at the right hand of God allowed Jesus then, and allows him to this day, to give both repentance and forgiveness of sins. This means that Jesus was the means to salvation because repentance – turning from your sins – is necessary before those sins can be truly forgiven.

The amazing thing is that Jesus started out at the right hand of God. He had His place at God’s side from the beginning of time. But when the time came, He gave up that place to walk as a man, die the death of a man and be buried in a man’s tomb. Living a sinless life and dying a horrible death, He earned back that seat at God’s right hand simply by being perfect – something none of us could do. And being there with that sinless track record, He now has even more power and authority to grant us entry into God’s presence.

If you haven’t already done it, the best Christmas gift you can give yourself is to accept Jesus’ sacrifice into your heart so that you can one day walk the path that Jesus paved for all of us — including you. Please don’t let another Christmas go by without fully understanding all of the things He sacrificed for us, and without owning them personally.