biblical narrative – TGN https://tgnghana.org United For The Gospel Wed, 04 Jan 2023 07:18:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 https://tgnghana.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/cropped-TGN-logo-1-32x32.png biblical narrative – TGN https://tgnghana.org 32 32 WHAT DO YOU KNOW? (CHRISTMAS QUIZ) https://tgnghana.org/what-do-you-know-christmas-quiz/ https://tgnghana.org/what-do-you-know-christmas-quiz/#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2022 16:34:17 +0000 https://tgnghana.org/?p=5408 How well do you know the Christmas narrative? Here's a short quiz to refresh your knowledge of what the Bible says versus what we might have picked up from tradition (or the movies!).

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One of the things we all enjoy about Christmas is the opportunity to spend time with family and loved ones. I have just had the most delicious “omo tuo and nkatse nkwan” (rice balls and peanut butter soup) with my family and some Christian friends after Lord’s Day cum Christmas service before writing this. In the small group that meets at our house, we included a quiz on the Christmas narrative during our Christmas social to refresh our knowledge of what the Bible says versus what we might have picked up from tradition (or the movies!). It was both fun and revealing—None of us got them all correct!

This motivated me to put them out here for you to try with your family or small group. So, why don’t you and your loved ones find out what you know about Christmas? The questions require a True or False answer.  Give them a try and you can look up the answers God willing tomorrow in a follow up post.

Questions

1. There are no records of Joseph speaking in the Christmas story.

2. The wise men were three kings from the orient.

3. The little drummer boy came to the manger after the other shepherds.

4. The star did not appear above the manger.

5. Jesus’ ancestors include a prostitute, an adulterer, a woman who committed incest, and a non-Israelite.

6. Both Joseph and Mary were descendants of Levi.

7. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary first and then to Joseph.

8. Mary rode a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

9. Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem because of a decree by Caesar Augustus.

10. The wise men followed a star as it moved from their eastern land to Israel.

11. The wise men did not arrive on the night of Jesus’ birth.

12. God sent a choir of chubby angels to announce Jesus’ birth to the shepherds.

13. Shepherding was considered a very noble occupation.

14. Both Joseph and Mary were told the baby was to be named “Jesus”.

15. When Herod heard about Jesus, he was the only one concerned about this new King.

16. The wise men found Jesus lying in a manger in the town of Bethlehem.

17. After the angels’ announcement, the shepherds went straight to Bethlehem to see Jesus.

18. Joseph married Mary immediately after the angel appeared to him.

19. Some of the shepherds doubted and refused to believe the message they heard from the angels.

20. There is no record of angels singing at Jesus’ birth in the Bible.

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]]> https://tgnghana.org/what-do-you-know-christmas-quiz/feed/ 6 Christmas: The Greatest Gift https://tgnghana.org/christmas-the-greatest-gift/ https://tgnghana.org/christmas-the-greatest-gift/#respond Sun, 25 Dec 2022 13:51:16 +0000 https://tgnghana.org/?p=5375   For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Arguably, this is the most popular Scripture of Christianity and many people know it. Even non-Christians. Also, I believe we all know the essence of the season we […]

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For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Arguably, this is the most popular Scripture of Christianity and many people know it. Even non-Christians. Also, I believe we all know the essence of the season we have entered into. And this Scripture captures the essence of the season succinctly. This season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a season that is universally marked by showing love and the exchange of gifts. Friends share gifts with friends, families exchange gifts with one another, and society at large reaches out to the less privileged.

And rightly, it is a season of love and  giving because the greatest love and gift of all human history was given by God through the birth of Christ: “For God so love the world…” So Christmas is a display of God’s love to humanity. And we know that love gives. Love shares. In displaying his love, therefore,  God gave Jesus for the world: “that he gave his only Son”.

And that is the greatest gift in view. But what necessitated this display of love towards humanity one may ask. The text further says: “that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” This phrase points us to the reason Jesus was born. To save through faith those who are perishing.

But another question arises. Who are those perishing? The answer: all of humanity.

You see, the Bible paints a certain picture of all human beings.  And that picture is that we are all sinners. Indeed there’s no single one person who can plead innocence. The biblical verdict is truly that “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This simply means because of sin, we are all separated from God and stand condemned in judgement  before God. The verses that follow John 3:16 explains this

17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

This is what makes Jesus the Greatest Gift from God. He came to restore our broken relationship with God, so that through him sinners will be reconciled to God.

What then is required of sinners?

When a gift is given, we have to receive it: “whoever believes in him.” This is what we are to do with this Greatest Gift.. Believe in Jesus. Surrender your life to him. This is the reason for the season. That Jesus came to reconcile sinful humanity to God through faith. This is why we celebrate Christmas. And one day we will all stand before God in judgement. What we do with Jesus now will determine whether we will stand justified before God or will be condemned. Every gift we will  receive here on earth  is temporal. But the gift of God of salvation  is eternal. We receive life when we believe. And condemnation if we reject this gift.

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