Christmas TV Schedule, Countdown and Quick Thought – Friday, December 22, 2023

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: “A Christmas Prince,”“A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding” and “A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby”
Amazon Prime Movie: “The Man Who Invented Christmas”
Disney+ Movie: “While You Were Sleeping”
Hulu Movie: “A Christmas Carol (1984)
Max Movie: “Elf”
Hallmark Movie: “Pictures of Hollis Woods”

On TV:
New programming in bold
• “The Polar Express,” 11 a.m., AMC
• “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” 11:40 a.m., Freeform
• “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas,” noon, Disney Jr.
• “B&B Merry,” noon, GAC
• “Hanukkah on the Rocks,” noon, Hallmark
• “Long Lost Christmas,” noon, HMM
• “The Christmas Aunt,” noon, Lifetime
• “Christmas Cupcakes,” noon, Ovation
• “Three Godfathers,” noon, TCM
• “Four Christmases,” 1 p.m., AMC
• “24-Karat Christmas,” 1 p.m., Sundance
• “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” 1:20 p.m., Freeform
• “Almost Christmas,” 1:30 p.m., Lifetime
• “A Cinderella Christmas Ball,” 2 p.m., GAC
• “Magic in Mistletoe,” 2 p.m., Hallmark
• “A Bramble House Christmas,” 2 p.m., HMM
• “The Search for Secret Santa,” 2 p.m., Ovation
• “The Holly and the Ivy,” 2 p.m., TCM
• “Frosty the Snowman,” 2:25 p.m., Freeform
• “Christmas With the Kranks,” 3 p.m., AMC
• “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” 3 p.m., Freeform
• NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship: Louisville vs. Penn State, 3 p.m., ABC
• “Going My Way,” 3:30 p.m., TCM
• “Christmas on Windmill Way,” 4 p.m., GAC
• “My Norwegian Holiday,” 4 p.m., Hallmark
• “A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas,” 4 p.m., HMM
• “The Flight Before Christmas,” 4 p.m., Lifetime
• “Shoelaces for Christmas,” 4 p.m., Ovation
• “Friends: The One With the Holiday Armadillo,” 4 p.m., TBS
• “Home Alone,” 4:05 p.m., Freeform
• “Elf,” 5 p.m., AMC
• “Friends: The One Christmas in Tulsa,” 5:30 p.m., TBS
• “The Bells of St. Mary’s,” 5:45 p.m., TCM
• “A Christmas Blessing,” 6 p.m., GAC
• “Happy Howlidays,” 6 p.m., Hallmark
• “A Veterans Christmas,” 6 p.m., HMM
• “A Carpenter Christmas Romance,” 6 p.m., Lifetime
• “A Prince and Pauper Christmas,” 6 p.m., Ovation
• “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” 6:35 p.m., Freeform
• “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., AMC
• “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” 7 p.m., ABC
• “A Royal Christmas Ballet,” 8 p.m., GAC
• “Three Wiser Men and a Boy (Extended Cut),” 8 p.m., Hallmark
• “A Christmas Melody,” 8 p.m., HMM
• “Engaged By Christmas,” 8 p.m., Lifetime
• “A Christmas Witness,” 8 p.m., Ovation
• “Christmas in Connecticut,” 8 p.m., TCM
• “The Santa Clause,” 8 p.m., ABC
• Sunday Night Football: Tampa Bay at Dallas, 8:15 p.m., NBC
• “The 47th Annual Kennedy Center Honors,” 8:30 p.m., CBS
• “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000),” 9:15 p.m., Freeform
• “Good Luck Charlie: It’s Christmas!,” 9:55 p.m., Disney
• “Once Upon a Christmas Wish,” 10 p.m., GAC
• “Trading Up Christmas,” 10 p.m., HMM
• “The Christmas Thief,” 10 p.m., Ovation
• “Remember the Night,” 10 p.m., TCM
• “CMA Country Christmas,” 10 p.m., ABC
• “A Fiancé for Christmas,” 10:03 p.m., Lifetime
• “Sealed With a List,” 10:15 p.m., Hallmark
Recipe: Roasted Chestnut Sausage Dressing

Quick Thought for Christmas

Read

Luke 2:8-15

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.

The Grand Canyon .

The Northern Lights.

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.