Hello, this is pastor gary from first baptist church of laplata. There’s nothing like warming up around a fire at Christmastime—unless the fire happens to be your Christmas tree! That’s what happened on Wednesday to Fox News in New York City. In an attempt to compete with NBC’s famous and iconic Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, Fox News decided to put up an impressive tree of their own. The tree had only been up and lit for a few days when a man intentionally caught it on fire. Christmas trees are intended to give off light, but not like this! I’m no fan of Fox News any longer, but I am sure that if NBC’s tree had been burned down by a conservative, this is all we would be hearing. I like Christmas trees. At one time, our home had seven full-size trees. Now that our older children have moved away, we are down to three. Christmas trees are neither sacred or secular—they are neutral. Ancient pagans decorated—but did not worship—trees to celebrate Winter Solstice; evergreen trees were used to show the hope of coming Spring. Even so, the Puritans banned Christmas trees in New England. In 1851, a preacher in Ohio set up a Christmas tree in his church and almost lost his job! The cross of Christ was a tree: never was a tree made more beautiful; never was an ornament more precious. You see, without the cross of Christ, the birth of Christ is irrelevant.
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