Why talk about the teachings of Jesus at Christmastime? How do his teachings create stories? What stories are Jesus-followers writing in our community?"No manger? No problem." is based on Matthew 6:14-24“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.“And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Tru...
Why talk about the teachings of Jesus at Christmastime? How do his teachings create stories? What stories are Jesus-followers writing in our community?
"No manger? No problem." is based on Matthew 6:14-24
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
“And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
“No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Works Referenced
Boring, M. Eugene. “The Gospel of Matthew.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VII. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.
Case-Winters, Anna. Matthew: A Theological Commentary on the Bible (Belief: a Theological Commentary on the Bible). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015. Kindle edition.
Cooper, Elissa. "Better than Santa: what do we know about the real St. Nicholas?" Christianity Today, Vol. 56, No. 11 (December 2012): 69.
Powell, Mark Allen. Matthew (Interpretation Bible Commentary). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2025. Kindle edition.
Smedes, Louis B. Quoted on BrainyQuote.com. Accessed December 19, 2025. https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/lewis-b-smedes-quotes
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. (n.d). 3126 mamonás: Mammon, wealth, riches. In Bible Hub.com. Retrieved December 19, 2025, from https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3126.htm
Zoba, Wendy Murray. "Reclaiming Santa." Christianity Today, Vol 44, No. 14 (December 4, 2000): 42-46.
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