December 10, 2025 • 25 mins
What is the real menaing of Christmas? We abound in faith, goodwill, the star that lead the wisemen and all that signifies waht is the season of Christ in Christmas
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Love that free.
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From Studio A in Sunny Florida.
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Welcome to Beauty.
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And the Beach Radio. It's all about Who's beautifying Vero Beach.
Today's show is brought to you by Dale Sawrence in
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Speaker 6 (01:12):
Hey guys, Welcome back to Beating the Beach Radio.
Speaker 7 (01:14):
Cindy gets your host were it's all about his beautifying
beer beach and oh my gosh, you guys Christmas is
right around.
Speaker 6 (01:21):
The corner, one of my favorite times of the year.
Speaker 7 (01:24):
You're probably out shopping, maybe you're listening to this podcast
on your earbuds or in the car or at your computer,
and you're just counting down the days to Christmas. And
we are two right here in the studio, and guys, listen.
If you grew up like me, Christmas was all about
Santa lights, presents, and family traditions.
Speaker 6 (01:45):
Like you know, bacon cookies. We did that last week.
Speaker 7 (01:48):
But at the same time, I was also taught, okay,
that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Now,
as a kid, those two worlds blended together. I never
really separated the magic from the meaning. Now today I
wanted to step outside the believer's perspective and look at
Christmas through the eyes of someone who may not fully
(02:11):
understand the.
Speaker 6 (02:12):
Christian side at all.
Speaker 7 (02:15):
So, because whether you believe it or not, you've seen
the symbols, the baby and the mange are the Star,
the wise men, the Nativity scene on the front lawns,
all of that you guys were going to talk about,
I know you've seen them, right. Your neighbor might have
that Nativity scene right in their front lawn right now.
So today's episode is built around curiosity, you guys, not assumptions,
(02:38):
all right, not preaching, just honest questions. So I've placed
four of those questions, okay, into little presence and my guests,
all right, Pastors Derek and Biz, will open each one
and help us understand what these Christian symbols really mean
(03:00):
through the faith of.
Speaker 6 (03:02):
A Christian on Christmas. So here we go. This is
Christmas unwrapped. Are you ready?
Speaker 7 (03:08):
You're gonna watch two pastors unwrapped presence answer or actually
we'll actually read and answer the questions.
Speaker 6 (03:15):
So here we go.
Speaker 7 (03:16):
We have a Derek West and he is pastor at
the Genesis Church of your beach.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
Hey, Derek, how are you. That's a lot of pressure
you just put on.
Speaker 6 (03:25):
Oh totally, I love it. I love seeing you guys
sweat a little bit.
Speaker 5 (03:28):
And that's right, the head's gonna be sweating profusely.
Speaker 7 (03:34):
We also have another guest pastor at Pillar Community Church,
Biz Gainey, Hey, Bill.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
Hey Cindy.
Speaker 8 (03:40):
He's great to be here.
Speaker 5 (03:42):
Just here, promise promise me.
Speaker 8 (03:44):
Derek gets all the hard questions.
Speaker 7 (03:47):
So disclaimer, they are going to select the gifts so
they don't know what question is in the box. Okay,
so I'm going to start off because Derek's been with
me the longest, so I'm gonna let him kick off.
So you get to pick one of the presents and
open it up and ask the question that's in it.
As he's opening, I told the boys this good guy.
Speaker 6 (04:13):
There's no toys in here, so don't get too excited. Okay,
here he goes. This is the first present, the first question.
Speaker 7 (04:22):
Derek West is opening and oh, by the way, there's
candy in there for you.
Speaker 6 (04:26):
I did that just for you, Derek nice.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
Yeah, all right, here we go.
Speaker 6 (04:31):
First question.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
Every Christmas, I see a baby in a wooden box.
Why is the most important figure in Christianity introduced as
a helpless baby and a fitting trough instead of a
powerful leader? And why is this baby so important? Every
year we sing a song at church away in a manger,
no crib or a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid
(04:58):
down his sweethead. And for me, when I think of
the Christmas story outside of the academic and the theological training,
when you see a way in a manger, there's something
about the humility of God himself. The Lord became flesh.
He's our Emanuel. He became flesh and dwelt among us.
But when I look at the manger scene, there's the
(05:19):
essence of humility in a manger scene. You know, when
we go through things in life where we deal with
family issues or anything or wounding in some sort of fashion,
that manger scene tells me that there's nothing that we
could ever go through in life that Jesus hasn't already
been there. And so when we talk about the baby
being born in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes
(05:40):
and lying in a manger, it not only tells us
something about the humility of God to become flesh and
dwelt among us, but it tells him that he's our Manuel,
that he really is there for us, and he cares
for us, and he is with us in truly every
sense of the word. And so to me, that's what
the manger represents with regard to Christmas, a lay in
(06:02):
a manger, no crib or a bed. The little Lord
Jesus laid down his sweet head. In the Bible, you
can't ever become a great without becoming the least of these,
Jesus talks about that over and over and over, and
he's the essence of the very least of these, particularly
in that scene.
Speaker 7 (06:19):
So what you're saying for those that don't don't quite
get it, like Jesus is supposed to be God. Absolutely,
so that's the big deal. And he came here for us, right.
So every year my niece has a birthday party for Jesus.
So that is you know, really, if we had to, really,
(06:40):
that is the birth of Christ.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
Absolutely.
Speaker 6 (06:44):
It is so special.
Speaker 7 (06:45):
That little baby and that little manger is so special.
Speaker 5 (06:49):
Absolutely birth it is.
Speaker 6 (06:51):
Then the birth is Christmas.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
The reality is seven hundred years before Jesus wrought the
face of the earth, the prophet Isaiah said, the Virgin
will cons eve and we'll give birth to a child,
and we shall call him Emmanuel, which means God with us.
So the New Testament really says, yes, Jesus and a
manger that's God, the Sun becoming flesh and dwelling among us.
Speaker 9 (07:14):
Love that love that so much.
Speaker 6 (07:15):
Okay, biz, which one do you want?
Speaker 8 (07:17):
We want Derry Henry that square box right there in here.
Speaker 9 (07:21):
Okay, here we go.
Speaker 6 (07:22):
So bis Guiney, he's going to open his first question.
Speaker 5 (07:25):
This is going to be like a softball.
Speaker 6 (07:27):
You can eat your candy while while he's.
Speaker 5 (07:29):
At It's going to be like a softball. Question, what
is your name? All right? Here we go?
Speaker 8 (07:37):
All right? So the Nativity scene, A lot of churches
display a small outdoor scene that looks frozen in time.
There's a man and a woman dressed in old fashioned
robes standing behind a newborn baby and what looks like
a wooden feeding feeding.
Speaker 5 (07:56):
Box for animals.
Speaker 8 (07:58):
Around them are sheep, maybe a donkey, and sometimes a cow,
like a little farm in the middle of winter. What
is this and what's the deeper meaning behind all of
these figures together? Well, the Nativity scene, you're right, is
central to the story. And there just talked about the
baby being born in a manger, and part of the
(08:19):
real joy of this is to see the real human
element again in what's going on now you have Mary
and you have Joseph, and so they are part of
the divendic line that prophesizes Derek referred to earlier as
the birth of the child coming in human form. And
(08:39):
in this Nativity scene you just have really the world
in some form or another, gathering around the Christ Child.
And again, humble means, you know, the scriptures teach that
there was no room for him, and so they found
room for him.
Speaker 7 (08:53):
And why was that so important biz to be coming
into the world humble versus coming in with you know,
with fanfare and you know, trumpets, and why so humble?
Speaker 8 (09:06):
Well, I think too part of it's the prophetic word
we have that tells us, connects us to this, But
also it's that connective tissue of what it means to
be human, you know, just to be able to receive
a baby in that form in Christ, coming in that humility,
and then the opportunity to receive this child as God
and to allow the life of this child to grow
(09:27):
up in us. There's kind of this real power of
I'm becoming human and going through all of human life,
the suffering, the sacrifice, even this entrant birth as a
divine mystery, so that you'll know that me as King
is Hebrews talks about can empathize in every way with
what you've gone through, and sympathized in every way of
(09:48):
what you've gone through. So I think the whole story
tells the story of human weakness and humility from the
point of redemption and God bringing all of that unto
himself through Christ kind.
Speaker 7 (10:00):
Of comforting, knowing he understands, absolutely know that we're not.
You know, people say, send you're happy all the time,
I'm like, well ninety nine percent, but I have, you know,
down days, and.
Speaker 9 (10:10):
And he understands those.
Speaker 7 (10:11):
He understands when you know, we have heartache and hurt.
And because he came as that humble child, so awesome.
Speaker 6 (10:21):
All right, Derek, which one are you going to choose?
Speaker 8 (10:22):
I see the candy in that box, and I overlooked
the all right, I have to get it in the
next box.
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Here we go.
Speaker 7 (10:32):
It's really cute watching adult men open presence to turn.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Are there the question fell out?
Speaker 8 (10:42):
There we go.
Speaker 5 (10:43):
That's just perfect West nice, you got it. There is
a Christmas song I hear every holiday on the radio
called We Three Kings? Who were the three Kings? Really?
And why do there three strange gifts? Gold and frankincense
(11:06):
and myrr why do they really matter?
Speaker 6 (11:10):
And it's just one of my favorite Christmas songs.
Speaker 5 (11:11):
By the way, We Three Kings absolutely well. In Matthew's Gospel,
ultimately the question assumes there's this aspect of three magi
from the East, and in the Old Testament, I think
is the numbers twenty four, verse seventeen. There's a prophecy
that there will be a star that comes out of
(11:33):
the east that will hold the key to the scepter
of the King of Israel. And so when you look
at it from that perspective, you have these individuals that
were east, that were wise men, that were magi, that
were essentially taking their bibles in one hand, and then
they were looking as astronomers for this Bethlehem star in
(11:54):
the east. And so when it comes you have these
three wise men, by all indications, probably were in in
some of that area coming down into essentially where the
stars stopped, which is Bethlehem. And then they're presented having
gold and franken sense and mirr. All right, those three
(12:14):
gifts represent the three key offices of the Old Testament.
Obviously gold. When you think of gold, you think of kingship, right,
you think of the aspect of a king, in which
David in the Old Testament was the greatest. Okay, then
you also have frankencense. If you'll remember, in the Old Testament,
Aaron is the priest of Israel responsible for making sacrifices
(12:39):
for Israel and on the altar and after the sacrifice,
there was a fragrance frankincense that was burned on the altar,
and the eroma smelt was pleasing to the Lord. And
then you have murr, which is used as a form
of burial. Right, And so when you take those offices
(13:01):
of the Old Testament, the greatest offices are prophet, priest,
and king. Okay, and so gold represents the kingship of Christ.
Right the priest, he would be the idea of the frankincense.
And then you have murr used for burial long ago
in the Old Testament, and even in the New there
(13:22):
there is this movement towards the cross of Jesus and
the tomb of Jesus. So right there, those three gifts
by the wise men are saying to the world that
Jesus is the prophet, he is the priest, and he
is the King and his very life and what is
going to conclude is going to be symbolized in those
(13:44):
three gifts, including in MRR and so pretty powerful story.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Wow, Yeah, taught that one, buddy, Derek.
Speaker 9 (13:53):
That was amazing.
Speaker 7 (13:54):
All right, well, there's one gift left business. Go to
open the final question question number four. We are unwrapping Christmas.
Right here, I beating the beach radio with Biz and Derek.
Speaker 9 (14:06):
Here we go.
Speaker 5 (14:08):
All right, he want us to get into probably gonna
be what is your name?
Speaker 9 (14:13):
I should I should have done that, but.
Speaker 8 (14:15):
I have some all right, don't eat it all?
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Ah.
Speaker 8 (14:25):
Many Christmas cards or trees have a big, bright star
on it. Why is the star such a big part
of the Christmas story and what does it actually symbolize
beyond just being decorative. Well, Derek answered a little bit
of this earlier, but it's very important. You know, the
Old Testament prophets and stories telling us that there will
(14:46):
be a star rise in the east, and this star
was central to the story. As the magi come closer,
they find the star resting over the christ Child. And
one of my favorite symbols of the Christmas season is
the star. I mean, every year we put an activity
scene up in our home, and the biggest thing we
have is a star. And in so many ways it
(15:08):
represents and to me, the way the heavens light up
and show the glory of God. And we know Jesus
is often referred to as the Way, the Truth, and
the life, and he's the light of the world. And
so when you combine all these images. You see literally
heaven exploding proclaiming God has come to Earth, and the
(15:29):
heavenly host when they are introduced to the shepherds, they
burst out from the heavens and they say, a child
is born to you, A child is born for you
this day. A child has come to redeem the world.
And to me, the light of the star has always
symbolized that there is a God into heavens proclaiming the
(15:52):
glory of his own self and displaying that through the
birth of this child, so that we can always have hope.
There's always light in the darkness. And to me, even
lights period are my favorite symbol of Christmas because it
symbolizes the light of the world, and it's always been
in my mind. When the world see it feels dark
(16:12):
and darkening, the light of Christ is most pervasive, and
I think in a lot of people's life it's a
dark world. It's filled with chaos, and Christmas season is
this time under the light is entering in again and
breaking into all the pain, all the hardship, all the darkness,
to bring salvation, to bring true light and true life.
(16:34):
And these are what these images you know, symbolize for
us in a very modern world, but they were also
prophesied as part of this story, so we could believe
it's truth. It's verifiable. Literally, this prophecy has existed hundreds
and hundreds of years before the birth of his child,
and to see them come into fulfillment and to fruition,
(16:57):
this helps us understand. Oh, God has always been desired
to shine his light into the world, and so at
the Star to me is one of the most meaningful
parts of the whole Christmas story that we get to
celebrate year in and year out.
Speaker 7 (17:11):
So what I'm hearing is how the star has two purposes.
Speaker 6 (17:16):
One it was like a floodlight for the wise man.
Is that right?
Speaker 7 (17:19):
Like, Okay, here's where you're going, right, Am I understanding symbols?
Speaker 5 (17:25):
Yeah, that dynamic, follow that.
Speaker 6 (17:27):
Light, follow that light.
Speaker 7 (17:28):
And then the other is just more of a figurative
that you know, God's light is going to shine through
us all through this baby.
Speaker 9 (17:37):
Is Is that what I'm hearing?
Speaker 8 (17:39):
Yeah? Yeah, I think too. Like if you look at
the advent season right every time, even dare it refer
to the prophecy. You know, seven hundred years before Christ
that happened in a very bleak time. It was a
dark time. And I think God has always been saying,
there's a glimmer of hope, there's a glimmer of light.
And in the Advent season you lighted another candle each week,
(17:59):
showing that it gets its brighter and gets brighter and
gets brighter. At the fulfillment of that light is the
heavens opening up in this star shining forth into the world, saying,
the brightest light to ever have come is now come.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
And one of the greatest pursuits of the Bible is light.
And God said, let there be light, and the light
shines in the darkness. In the Old Testament, when Israel
was going to the Promised Land, God led them with
a pillar of fire by day, or excuse me, a
pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud
(18:31):
by day. Well, symbolically in the New Testament, the same
thing is happening as the wise men are going to Israel.
What's leading them the pillar of fire, the light of
the Gospel of God that's going to rest over in Bethlehem.
So a lot of imagery, a lot of to takeaway.
Speaker 9 (18:50):
I love that.
Speaker 7 (18:52):
I love the light that you are sharing on Christmas.
Derek and Biz we have to go to a station breakfast.
Stay with us, We'll be right back.
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Speaker 7 (21:13):
Hey guys, welcome back to meeting with the Radio Sindy
gets your hosts where it's all about who's beautifying Vera Beach.
We want to thank Dale Sorenson for making sure that
we're on the air and sharing the true true meaning
of Christmas and all the wonderful holiday goodness that goes
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real Estate dot com and Merry Christmas.
Speaker 9 (21:36):
Del Sorenson.
Speaker 7 (21:37):
All right, you guys, we are back with Derek and Biz.
We are talking about the true meaning of Christmas. And
we talked about the Four Questions, the Baby and the Manger,
the Star, the wise men, the Nativity scene.
Speaker 6 (21:52):
You know, if people want to know more.
Speaker 7 (21:55):
Both of you have wonderful churches. I've been to them both.
I love them. Let's start with you, Derek. When is
your Christmas service? When do you have a Christmas Eve service?
And do you invite anyone to come?
Speaker 5 (22:08):
Anybody's welcome to come. We actually have been in our
building a year from Christmas, so we just purchased it,
don't think on December the eighteenth of last year. So
every Christmas. We're really excited about it. But we're located
at three six six zero sixteenth Street in Vero Beach
and our services on Sunday mornings or at ten fifteen,
(22:29):
and our Christmas Eve service this year is going to
be at four o'clock, so we would love. What you
see is obviously when you're talking about me, what you
see is what you get, right, and so that's kind
of who we are.
Speaker 6 (22:40):
Are you wearing a Santatto?
Speaker 5 (22:41):
I don't think I'll have the Santa cat, Bizmie, that's
kind of stuffy.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (22:47):
And by the way, your church is right across from
Leisure Square just for people have a you know, landmark
to go by.
Speaker 6 (22:52):
So and Biz, what about you? What winter? Are you
having a Christmas service Christmas Eve?
Speaker 9 (22:58):
And where you located?
Speaker 8 (23:00):
Yes, thanks Cindy. Well, our regular Sunday morning services are
at ten thirty. We do have a Christmas Eve service,
we start at five thirty pm. Anybody, as in Derek's case,
is welcome to come and ours is a pretty traditional service,
candles and carols, and weous retell the Christmas story through
(23:20):
the scripture narrative. So it's a fantastic time. One of
my favorite services, and we are located on sixty sixth
Avenue literally just north of Peterson's Grove, So if you're
familiar with that area where the church just north of them.
Speaker 9 (23:34):
Wonderful and very beautiful.
Speaker 7 (23:36):
By the way, both of you, I'm so thrilled for
your places, both of them.
Speaker 9 (23:39):
Fairly news.
Speaker 6 (23:41):
How exciting. You know.
Speaker 7 (23:43):
We both kind of finished up your questions with light,
and I will share one of my favorite favorite Christmas
traditions is going with my family to the church to
Christmas Eve service and at the very end, they turn
the lights down and the Christmas tree lights are on
and were always white, and we all had candles and
we started singing Silent Night, and you know, one person
(24:07):
lights and then you just pass it off, pass it off,
and by the end of the song, the whole church
is dark and it's only candles and we are to
leave without talking, and it is it is so beautiful.
Speaker 6 (24:19):
I mean, it makes me cry every time.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
Yeah, it's a sweet time, very meaningful.
Speaker 8 (24:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (24:24):
Absolutely.
Speaker 7 (24:26):
We have about thirty seconds. What is your favorite tradition?
I'm going to ask you both, Derek, what is your
favorite Christmas tradition?
Speaker 5 (24:34):
I think for me, my family and I we talk
about the Christmas story pretty regularly, you know. Some of
the questions that you talked about, Yeah, sure are things
that we talk about because very early my wife and
I decided, you know, in the midst of the present
swapping and all the good things that come with Christmas,
we don't want our kids to lose one. We call
it Christmas in the first place, the Christ's story, and
(24:55):
so that's really my favorite tradition, you know, having my
kids ask me questions about Jesus on Christmas, it just
means a lot.
Speaker 9 (25:04):
That's awesome, biz favorite.
Speaker 8 (25:05):
Almost ditto on Christmas morning, our family has always woke
up and read the Luke story the crypt before he
did anything else, and so we continue very similar to
what Derek's talking about, just sharing that story.
Speaker 5 (25:16):
You can read.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Us.
Speaker 7 (25:20):
Oh my gosh, Viz Derek, Merry Christmas. Thank you for
sharing the true meaning of Christmas. It warms my heart.
You guys, have a very merry Christmas. We'll see you
next week.
Love that free.
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Speaker 4 (00:54):
From Studio A in Sunny Florida.
Speaker 5 (00:57):
Welcome to Beauty.
Speaker 4 (00:58):
And the Beach Radio. It's all about Who's beautifying Vero Beach.
Today's show is brought to you by Dale Sawrence in
Real Estate and here's your host and Glamour Girl makeup
artists and Cindy gets.
Speaker 6 (01:12):
Hey guys, Welcome back to Beating the Beach Radio.
Speaker 7 (01:14):
Cindy gets your host were it's all about his beautifying
beer beach and oh my gosh, you guys Christmas is
right around.
Speaker 6 (01:21):
The corner, one of my favorite times of the year.
Speaker 7 (01:24):
You're probably out shopping, maybe you're listening to this podcast
on your earbuds or in the car or at your computer,
and you're just counting down the days to Christmas. And
we are two right here in the studio, and guys, listen.
If you grew up like me, Christmas was all about
Santa lights, presents, and family traditions.
Speaker 6 (01:45):
Like you know, bacon cookies. We did that last week.
Speaker 7 (01:48):
But at the same time, I was also taught, okay,
that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Now,
as a kid, those two worlds blended together. I never
really separated the magic from the meaning. Now today I
wanted to step outside the believer's perspective and look at
Christmas through the eyes of someone who may not fully
(02:11):
understand the.
Speaker 6 (02:12):
Christian side at all.
Speaker 7 (02:15):
So, because whether you believe it or not, you've seen
the symbols, the baby and the mange are the Star,
the wise men, the Nativity scene on the front lawns,
all of that you guys were going to talk about,
I know you've seen them, right. Your neighbor might have
that Nativity scene right in their front lawn right now.
So today's episode is built around curiosity, you guys, not assumptions,
(02:38):
all right, not preaching, just honest questions. So I've placed
four of those questions, okay, into little presence and my guests,
all right, Pastors Derek and Biz, will open each one
and help us understand what these Christian symbols really mean
(03:00):
through the faith of.
Speaker 6 (03:02):
A Christian on Christmas. So here we go. This is
Christmas unwrapped. Are you ready?
Speaker 7 (03:08):
You're gonna watch two pastors unwrapped presence answer or actually
we'll actually read and answer the questions.
Speaker 6 (03:15):
So here we go.
Speaker 7 (03:16):
We have a Derek West and he is pastor at
the Genesis Church of your beach.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
Hey, Derek, how are you. That's a lot of pressure
you just put on.
Speaker 6 (03:25):
Oh totally, I love it. I love seeing you guys
sweat a little bit.
Speaker 5 (03:28):
And that's right, the head's gonna be sweating profusely.
Speaker 7 (03:34):
We also have another guest pastor at Pillar Community Church,
Biz Gainey, Hey, Bill.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
Hey Cindy.
Speaker 8 (03:40):
He's great to be here.
Speaker 5 (03:42):
Just here, promise promise me.
Speaker 8 (03:44):
Derek gets all the hard questions.
Speaker 7 (03:47):
So disclaimer, they are going to select the gifts so
they don't know what question is in the box. Okay,
so I'm going to start off because Derek's been with
me the longest, so I'm gonna let him kick off.
So you get to pick one of the presents and
open it up and ask the question that's in it.
As he's opening, I told the boys this good guy.
Speaker 6 (04:13):
There's no toys in here, so don't get too excited. Okay,
here he goes. This is the first present, the first question.
Speaker 7 (04:22):
Derek West is opening and oh, by the way, there's
candy in there for you.
Speaker 6 (04:26):
I did that just for you, Derek nice.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
Yeah, all right, here we go.
Speaker 6 (04:31):
First question.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
Every Christmas, I see a baby in a wooden box.
Why is the most important figure in Christianity introduced as
a helpless baby and a fitting trough instead of a
powerful leader? And why is this baby so important? Every
year we sing a song at church away in a manger,
no crib or a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid
(04:58):
down his sweethead. And for me, when I think of
the Christmas story outside of the academic and the theological training,
when you see a way in a manger, there's something
about the humility of God himself. The Lord became flesh.
He's our Emanuel. He became flesh and dwelt among us.
But when I look at the manger scene, there's the
(05:19):
essence of humility in a manger scene. You know, when
we go through things in life where we deal with
family issues or anything or wounding in some sort of fashion,
that manger scene tells me that there's nothing that we
could ever go through in life that Jesus hasn't already
been there. And so when we talk about the baby
being born in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes
(05:40):
and lying in a manger, it not only tells us
something about the humility of God to become flesh and
dwelt among us, but it tells him that he's our Manuel,
that he really is there for us, and he cares
for us, and he is with us in truly every
sense of the word. And so to me, that's what
the manger represents with regard to Christmas, a lay in
(06:02):
a manger, no crib or a bed. The little Lord
Jesus laid down his sweet head. In the Bible, you
can't ever become a great without becoming the least of these,
Jesus talks about that over and over and over, and
he's the essence of the very least of these, particularly
in that scene.
Speaker 7 (06:19):
So what you're saying for those that don't don't quite
get it, like Jesus is supposed to be God. Absolutely,
so that's the big deal. And he came here for us, right.
So every year my niece has a birthday party for Jesus.
So that is you know, really, if we had to, really,
(06:40):
that is the birth of Christ.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
Absolutely.
Speaker 6 (06:44):
It is so special.
Speaker 7 (06:45):
That little baby and that little manger is so special.
Speaker 5 (06:49):
Absolutely birth it is.
Speaker 6 (06:51):
Then the birth is Christmas.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
The reality is seven hundred years before Jesus wrought the
face of the earth, the prophet Isaiah said, the Virgin
will cons eve and we'll give birth to a child,
and we shall call him Emmanuel, which means God with us.
So the New Testament really says, yes, Jesus and a
manger that's God, the Sun becoming flesh and dwelling among us.
Speaker 9 (07:14):
Love that love that so much.
Speaker 6 (07:15):
Okay, biz, which one do you want?
Speaker 8 (07:17):
We want Derry Henry that square box right there in here.
Speaker 9 (07:21):
Okay, here we go.
Speaker 6 (07:22):
So bis Guiney, he's going to open his first question.
Speaker 5 (07:25):
This is going to be like a softball.
Speaker 6 (07:27):
You can eat your candy while while he's.
Speaker 5 (07:29):
At It's going to be like a softball. Question, what
is your name? All right? Here we go?
Speaker 8 (07:37):
All right? So the Nativity scene, A lot of churches
display a small outdoor scene that looks frozen in time.
There's a man and a woman dressed in old fashioned
robes standing behind a newborn baby and what looks like
a wooden feeding feeding.
Speaker 5 (07:56):
Box for animals.
Speaker 8 (07:58):
Around them are sheep, maybe a donkey, and sometimes a cow,
like a little farm in the middle of winter. What
is this and what's the deeper meaning behind all of
these figures together? Well, the Nativity scene, you're right, is
central to the story. And there just talked about the
baby being born in a manger, and part of the
(08:19):
real joy of this is to see the real human
element again in what's going on now you have Mary
and you have Joseph, and so they are part of
the divendic line that prophesizes Derek referred to earlier as
the birth of the child coming in human form. And
(08:39):
in this Nativity scene you just have really the world
in some form or another, gathering around the Christ Child.
And again, humble means, you know, the scriptures teach that
there was no room for him, and so they found
room for him.
Speaker 7 (08:53):
And why was that so important biz to be coming
into the world humble versus coming in with you know,
with fanfare and you know, trumpets, and why so humble?
Speaker 8 (09:06):
Well, I think too part of it's the prophetic word
we have that tells us, connects us to this, But
also it's that connective tissue of what it means to
be human, you know, just to be able to receive
a baby in that form in Christ, coming in that humility,
and then the opportunity to receive this child as God
and to allow the life of this child to grow
(09:27):
up in us. There's kind of this real power of
I'm becoming human and going through all of human life,
the suffering, the sacrifice, even this entrant birth as a
divine mystery, so that you'll know that me as King
is Hebrews talks about can empathize in every way with
what you've gone through, and sympathized in every way of
(09:48):
what you've gone through. So I think the whole story
tells the story of human weakness and humility from the
point of redemption and God bringing all of that unto
himself through Christ kind.
Speaker 7 (10:00):
Of comforting, knowing he understands, absolutely know that we're not.
You know, people say, send you're happy all the time,
I'm like, well ninety nine percent, but I have, you know,
down days, and.
Speaker 9 (10:10):
And he understands those.
Speaker 7 (10:11):
He understands when you know, we have heartache and hurt.
And because he came as that humble child, so awesome.
Speaker 6 (10:21):
All right, Derek, which one are you going to choose?
Speaker 8 (10:22):
I see the candy in that box, and I overlooked
the all right, I have to get it in the
next box.
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Here we go.
Speaker 7 (10:32):
It's really cute watching adult men open presence to turn.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Are there the question fell out?
Speaker 8 (10:42):
There we go.
Speaker 5 (10:43):
That's just perfect West nice, you got it. There is
a Christmas song I hear every holiday on the radio
called We Three Kings? Who were the three Kings? Really?
And why do there three strange gifts? Gold and frankincense
(11:06):
and myrr why do they really matter?
Speaker 6 (11:10):
And it's just one of my favorite Christmas songs.
Speaker 5 (11:11):
By the way, We Three Kings absolutely well. In Matthew's Gospel,
ultimately the question assumes there's this aspect of three magi
from the East, and in the Old Testament, I think
is the numbers twenty four, verse seventeen. There's a prophecy
that there will be a star that comes out of
(11:33):
the east that will hold the key to the scepter
of the King of Israel. And so when you look
at it from that perspective, you have these individuals that
were east, that were wise men, that were magi, that
were essentially taking their bibles in one hand, and then
they were looking as astronomers for this Bethlehem star in
(11:54):
the east. And so when it comes you have these
three wise men, by all indications, probably were in in
some of that area coming down into essentially where the
stars stopped, which is Bethlehem. And then they're presented having
gold and franken sense and mirr. All right, those three
(12:14):
gifts represent the three key offices of the Old Testament.
Obviously gold. When you think of gold, you think of kingship, right,
you think of the aspect of a king, in which
David in the Old Testament was the greatest. Okay, then
you also have frankencense. If you'll remember, in the Old Testament,
Aaron is the priest of Israel responsible for making sacrifices
(12:39):
for Israel and on the altar and after the sacrifice,
there was a fragrance frankincense that was burned on the altar,
and the eroma smelt was pleasing to the Lord. And
then you have murr, which is used as a form
of burial. Right, And so when you take those offices
(13:01):
of the Old Testament, the greatest offices are prophet, priest,
and king. Okay, and so gold represents the kingship of Christ.
Right the priest, he would be the idea of the frankincense.
And then you have murr used for burial long ago
in the Old Testament, and even in the New there
(13:22):
there is this movement towards the cross of Jesus and
the tomb of Jesus. So right there, those three gifts
by the wise men are saying to the world that
Jesus is the prophet, he is the priest, and he
is the King and his very life and what is
going to conclude is going to be symbolized in those
(13:44):
three gifts, including in MRR and so pretty powerful story.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Wow, Yeah, taught that one, buddy, Derek.
Speaker 9 (13:53):
That was amazing.
Speaker 7 (13:54):
All right, well, there's one gift left business. Go to
open the final question question number four. We are unwrapping Christmas.
Right here, I beating the beach radio with Biz and Derek.
Speaker 9 (14:06):
Here we go.
Speaker 5 (14:08):
All right, he want us to get into probably gonna
be what is your name?
Speaker 9 (14:13):
I should I should have done that, but.
Speaker 8 (14:15):
I have some all right, don't eat it all?
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Ah.
Speaker 8 (14:25):
Many Christmas cards or trees have a big, bright star
on it. Why is the star such a big part
of the Christmas story and what does it actually symbolize
beyond just being decorative. Well, Derek answered a little bit
of this earlier, but it's very important. You know, the
Old Testament prophets and stories telling us that there will
(14:46):
be a star rise in the east, and this star
was central to the story. As the magi come closer,
they find the star resting over the christ Child. And
one of my favorite symbols of the Christmas season is
the star. I mean, every year we put an activity
scene up in our home, and the biggest thing we
have is a star. And in so many ways it
(15:08):
represents and to me, the way the heavens light up
and show the glory of God. And we know Jesus
is often referred to as the Way, the Truth, and
the life, and he's the light of the world. And
so when you combine all these images. You see literally
heaven exploding proclaiming God has come to Earth, and the
(15:29):
heavenly host when they are introduced to the shepherds, they
burst out from the heavens and they say, a child
is born to you, A child is born for you
this day. A child has come to redeem the world.
And to me, the light of the star has always
symbolized that there is a God into heavens proclaiming the
(15:52):
glory of his own self and displaying that through the
birth of this child, so that we can always have hope.
There's always light in the darkness. And to me, even
lights period are my favorite symbol of Christmas because it
symbolizes the light of the world, and it's always been
in my mind. When the world see it feels dark
(16:12):
and darkening, the light of Christ is most pervasive, and
I think in a lot of people's life it's a
dark world. It's filled with chaos, and Christmas season is
this time under the light is entering in again and
breaking into all the pain, all the hardship, all the darkness,
to bring salvation, to bring true light and true life.
(16:34):
And these are what these images you know, symbolize for
us in a very modern world, but they were also
prophesied as part of this story, so we could believe
it's truth. It's verifiable. Literally, this prophecy has existed hundreds
and hundreds of years before the birth of his child,
and to see them come into fulfillment and to fruition,
(16:57):
this helps us understand. Oh, God has always been desired
to shine his light into the world, and so at
the Star to me is one of the most meaningful
parts of the whole Christmas story that we get to
celebrate year in and year out.
Speaker 7 (17:11):
So what I'm hearing is how the star has two purposes.
Speaker 6 (17:16):
One it was like a floodlight for the wise man.
Is that right?
Speaker 7 (17:19):
Like, Okay, here's where you're going, right, Am I understanding symbols?
Speaker 5 (17:25):
Yeah, that dynamic, follow that.
Speaker 6 (17:27):
Light, follow that light.
Speaker 7 (17:28):
And then the other is just more of a figurative
that you know, God's light is going to shine through
us all through this baby.
Speaker 9 (17:37):
Is Is that what I'm hearing?
Speaker 8 (17:39):
Yeah? Yeah, I think too. Like if you look at
the advent season right every time, even dare it refer
to the prophecy. You know, seven hundred years before Christ
that happened in a very bleak time. It was a
dark time. And I think God has always been saying,
there's a glimmer of hope, there's a glimmer of light.
And in the Advent season you lighted another candle each week,
(17:59):
showing that it gets its brighter and gets brighter and
gets brighter. At the fulfillment of that light is the
heavens opening up in this star shining forth into the world, saying,
the brightest light to ever have come is now come.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
And one of the greatest pursuits of the Bible is light.
And God said, let there be light, and the light
shines in the darkness. In the Old Testament, when Israel
was going to the Promised Land, God led them with
a pillar of fire by day, or excuse me, a
pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud
(18:31):
by day. Well, symbolically in the New Testament, the same
thing is happening as the wise men are going to Israel.
What's leading them the pillar of fire, the light of
the Gospel of God that's going to rest over in Bethlehem.
So a lot of imagery, a lot of to takeaway.
Speaker 9 (18:50):
I love that.
Speaker 7 (18:52):
I love the light that you are sharing on Christmas.
Derek and Biz we have to go to a station breakfast.
Stay with us, We'll be right back.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
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(19:32):
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Speaker 3 (19:42):
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Speaker 7 (21:13):
Hey guys, welcome back to meeting with the Radio Sindy
gets your hosts where it's all about who's beautifying Vera Beach.
We want to thank Dale Sorenson for making sure that
we're on the air and sharing the true true meaning
of Christmas and all the wonderful holiday goodness that goes
with it. So whether you're buying or selling a home,
definitely reach out to Dale Sorenson real Estate at Sorenson
(21:33):
real Estate dot com and Merry Christmas.
Speaker 9 (21:36):
Del Sorenson.
Speaker 7 (21:37):
All right, you guys, we are back with Derek and Biz.
We are talking about the true meaning of Christmas. And
we talked about the Four Questions, the Baby and the Manger,
the Star, the wise men, the Nativity scene.
Speaker 6 (21:52):
You know, if people want to know more.
Speaker 7 (21:55):
Both of you have wonderful churches. I've been to them both.
I love them. Let's start with you, Derek. When is
your Christmas service? When do you have a Christmas Eve service?
And do you invite anyone to come?
Speaker 5 (22:08):
Anybody's welcome to come. We actually have been in our
building a year from Christmas, so we just purchased it,
don't think on December the eighteenth of last year. So
every Christmas. We're really excited about it. But we're located
at three six six zero sixteenth Street in Vero Beach
and our services on Sunday mornings or at ten fifteen,
(22:29):
and our Christmas Eve service this year is going to
be at four o'clock, so we would love. What you
see is obviously when you're talking about me, what you
see is what you get, right, and so that's kind
of who we are.
Speaker 6 (22:40):
Are you wearing a Santatto?
Speaker 5 (22:41):
I don't think I'll have the Santa cat, Bizmie, that's
kind of stuffy.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (22:47):
And by the way, your church is right across from
Leisure Square just for people have a you know, landmark
to go by.
Speaker 6 (22:52):
So and Biz, what about you? What winter? Are you
having a Christmas service Christmas Eve?
Speaker 9 (22:58):
And where you located?
Speaker 8 (23:00):
Yes, thanks Cindy. Well, our regular Sunday morning services are
at ten thirty. We do have a Christmas Eve service,
we start at five thirty pm. Anybody, as in Derek's case,
is welcome to come and ours is a pretty traditional service,
candles and carols, and weous retell the Christmas story through
(23:20):
the scripture narrative. So it's a fantastic time. One of
my favorite services, and we are located on sixty sixth
Avenue literally just north of Peterson's Grove, So if you're
familiar with that area where the church just north of them.
Speaker 9 (23:34):
Wonderful and very beautiful.
Speaker 7 (23:36):
By the way, both of you, I'm so thrilled for
your places, both of them.
Speaker 9 (23:39):
Fairly news.
Speaker 6 (23:41):
How exciting. You know.
Speaker 7 (23:43):
We both kind of finished up your questions with light,
and I will share one of my favorite favorite Christmas
traditions is going with my family to the church to
Christmas Eve service and at the very end, they turn
the lights down and the Christmas tree lights are on
and were always white, and we all had candles and
we started singing Silent Night, and you know, one person
(24:07):
lights and then you just pass it off, pass it off,
and by the end of the song, the whole church
is dark and it's only candles and we are to
leave without talking, and it is it is so beautiful.
Speaker 6 (24:19):
I mean, it makes me cry every time.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
Yeah, it's a sweet time, very meaningful.
Speaker 8 (24:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (24:24):
Absolutely.
Speaker 7 (24:26):
We have about thirty seconds. What is your favorite tradition?
I'm going to ask you both, Derek, what is your
favorite Christmas tradition?
Speaker 5 (24:34):
I think for me, my family and I we talk
about the Christmas story pretty regularly, you know. Some of
the questions that you talked about, Yeah, sure are things
that we talk about because very early my wife and
I decided, you know, in the midst of the present
swapping and all the good things that come with Christmas,
we don't want our kids to lose one. We call
it Christmas in the first place, the Christ's story, and
(24:55):
so that's really my favorite tradition, you know, having my
kids ask me questions about Jesus on Christmas, it just
means a lot.
Speaker 9 (25:04):
That's awesome, biz favorite.
Speaker 8 (25:05):
Almost ditto on Christmas morning, our family has always woke
up and read the Luke story the crypt before he
did anything else, and so we continue very similar to
what Derek's talking about, just sharing that story.
Speaker 5 (25:16):
You can read.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Us.
Speaker 7 (25:20):
Oh my gosh, Viz Derek, Merry Christmas. Thank you for
sharing the true meaning of Christmas. It warms my heart.
You guys, have a very merry Christmas. We'll see you
next week.
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