Twas the Night before Christmas Sermon (The Truth About Christmas!)

 

I. The Sinful Witnesses to Saint Nick’s Arrival

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

A. We’re dealing a rat infested home!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

B. These people are cross dressers – they wear stockings instead of socks

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.

C. The kids are on drugs and having hallucinations

And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

D. These people sleep naked except for their hats-some weird sect of Mennonites

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.

II. The Truth About Saint Nick


With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

“Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

A. There’s No Rudolph! he was an addition to the Text made by the godless communists in the 1950’s

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

A. He’s a dirty old man (covered in ashes and soot) who has to sneak in your house

B. He’s carrying a bag of toys! He’s senile and probably homeless

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

C. He’s a drunk (red nose)

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

D. He wears hippy type beard

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath
.

E. He’s a smoker – and a pipe at that – probably full of pot

He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!

F. He’s overweight – not solid and portly like David Grice

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

G. He winks at little kids – he’s probably a pervert

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.

H. His friend (the jerk) is an idiot

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

I. This is so disgusting I can’t talk about it – Get a handerkerchief!

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”

J. Everyone Knows this should be Merry Christmas!

Many thanks to Dr. Fiddle, D.D. for pulling this from his files and sending it along. I trust it has been a blessing to your bowels and has put you in remembrance of the true reason for the season: being able to judge others for how they celebrate it.

Motivations

For all their posturing about being separated from all other Christian denominations, Independent Baptist Fundamentalists do a fair number of activities which are familiar to other Christians. They have sermons, they sing songs, they memorize Bible verses, and they evangelize in one form or another. But what marks the stark contrast between the fundamentalist and so many others is the internal logic that drives the choice to do these things or do them in a particular way. A thing is not worth doing until it’s worth doing scared.

Most Christians might memorize portions of God’s word so that it will be in their heart and mind for them to meditate upon in times of need or during personal worship. The hardcore fundamentalist, though, is just as likely to memorize God’s word so that when the Communists come to steal and burn his Bible (or possibly replace it with a Good News For Modern Man) he’ll still have a little of it left. It could happen any day now.

Many Christians enjoy playing an instrument or participating in music during worship for no other reason than that it is a pure expression of joy and worship. The fundamentalist, however, might be playing the piano because if she ever stops God will likely make her hands fall off to punish her. He does that kind of thing. I think it’s in Leviticus.

Still other Christians look forward to church services as a respite from the daily struggle, a place of refreshment and of touching a bit of heaven here on earth. The fundamentalist on the the other hand knows that skipping church increases their chances of being decapitated, hit by a car, or becoming a Peace Corps volunteer by about 18,000%. There’s a proof text for that in the Bible somewhere too — but I haven’t memorized it yet.

The call is clear: whether ye eat or drink or whatsoever you do, make sure you’re driven by the purest of motives. And the greatest of these is paranoia.

Being Right (Why You Can’t Ever Win An Argument With A Fundamentalist)

Today on the campus of Bob Jones University there has been planned a silent protest with the motto “Do Right, BJU.” It would hardly seem to be controversial in most places in the free world for students to campaign for the justice for victims of sexual abuse and justice for their abusers but the act of free expression itself is so unusual in fundamentalist circles that (whatever the eventual outcome) fundamentalists and ex-fundamentalists alike are taking a great deal of interest in the events of today. There’s no doubt that the students involved in this silent protest are doing so at great personal risk and chief among the obstacles that the protestors face today is the fact that the slogan of “Do Right” is almost always trumped by the greater commandment of “Be Right” which is the cardinal rule of every fundamentalist.

Rule #1 is after all: “I am right and you are wrong. Always.” And so shall it ever be. For the rightness of any fundamentalist institution or icon will always be assumed by the people who defend it. The reasons can be invented later.

The great stratagem is thus to continually change the terms of the debate until you prove that you are right on some solitary point. Once you have done this then claim that the point on which you are standing is the only one that matters and no other arguments can possibly count.

Has there been a moral failing? Point out that the people involved were legally correct.

Was what was done illegal? Appeal to some higher, biblical authority and decry the corruption of the legal system.

Was the action indefensibly immoral, illegal, and unbiblical? Then use your eternal trump card and claim that to focus on it would be a distraction from The Gospel and that nothing can possibly be more important than seeing souls saved.

And do all of the above while endlessly touting your own innocence and integrity and relentlessly denigrating the character and motives of your accusers. But whatever you do, don’t say you were wrong. Don’t apologize. Don’t make restitution. Don’t for a second doubt that you are right simply by being.

For no matter how many court rulings and media stories and witnesses and blogs and protestors rise up against you, you can be confident that you have never been wrong. This is your birthright. This is your heritage. This is the sacred trust passed down from father to son for generations: the gift of being always and forever right.

So Be Right, BJU. Be right, fundamentalist, wherever you are. But you can only be right until the stars fall. For in that latter day then shall the Judge of all the earth stand and deliver His final verdict on whether you truly did justly and loved mercy and walked humbly. There will be no more reasons or excuses or equivocations then. And unless you repent, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.

But there’s still today. There’s still this moment. You still have time. It’s not too late to do right.

Popcorn Preaching

If you’ve never heard of popcorn preaching it’s sort of like open mic night for young or less talented speakers to get up and “preach” for a few minutes. I’m always fascinated to watch teenage preacher boys develop their yelling style. They’re so earnest. And trying so hard.

You can tell this one is a star pupil by the way he doesn’t even bother to crack his Bible.

Other examples can be seen here and here

A silly blog dedicated to Independent Fundamental Baptists, their standards, their beliefs, and their craziness.