You know, at Christmas time, you think about how grateful you are for the past year. And I share a letter that we just got. A teenage girl that was in one of our camps, she said, Mr. McFarlane, I've never read a book for more than five minutes, but since going to your biblical worldview camp last summer, I read my Bible 45 minutes every day. Praise God.
And as Christmas time comes, I want to say thank you to all the people who pray and financially support our ministry as we call people to Christ and youth to serve God and country. But what about you? Do you know Christ? You know, Jesus is as close by as a prayer. And if you need help in your walk with the Lord or encouragement, you can go to my website, which is alexmcfarlane.com, and there's a tab there.
What does God say about my relationship with Him? In the meantime, Stand strong, be bold, thank you for your prayers and support, and in the new year, let's do great things for the sake of the gospel. The Spiritual Condition of America, Politics, Culture, and Current Events Analyzed Through the Lens of Scripture. Welcome to the Alex McFarland Show. Merry Christmas, everybody.
Alex McFarland here, and we've got a great program because for the next few moments, I'm going to talk about the Christmas story being the timeless good news for every generation. And I want to talk a little bit about something published in December of 1843, December 19, 1843, that has been cherished the world over. There is an absolute timelessness to this work, and we'll talk about it for a few moments. And what am I speaking of? Of course, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
I love this work. It's an amazing work. Dickens was a Christian, by the way, and in addition to his most famous work, I mean, there are so many, you know, Nicholas, Nickleby, and others, but a Christmas Carol, no doubt, is the one for which Dickens is most well known. But I would encourage you to look at another less known book he wrote, actually for his children, called The Life of Our Lord. And it's the story of Jesus.
But a movie, and I think you can stream it online, you really need to see this movie. It's called The Man Who Invented Christmas. And it came out a few years ago. I went to see it in the theater. It didn't do so well.
It was only in the theater a couple of weeks. But it's the story of how Dickens' writing career had just about. run out. And his publisher was frustrated with him, and Dickens really owed his publisher money, and family life was stressful, so he prayed. And he locked himself in a room for about a week.
And didn't sleep, and he wrote What has become one of the best-selling works of all time. And I want to give you some backstory on A Christmas Carol. By the way, all of my friends that I've recommended to see that film, The Man Who Invented Christmas, they all come back to me and they say, oh my goodness, it's a fantastic film. But A Christmas Carol is a unique work. And it's almost a perfect Literary work, and it so wonderfully gives us the story of Christmas.
And there are a lot of gospel themes. In a Christmas Carol, one that redemption is possible and that we really ought to turn to Christ while we have opportunity. One of the tragic figures in A Christmas Carol is Jacob Marley. And Jacob Marley was Scrooge's dead business partner. And Marley, the ghost of Marley, famously tells Scrooge, why did I walk through the crowds of my fellow human beings with eyes turned down?
Why did I never raise my eyes to that blessed star? What was that, the star of Bethlehem? And of course Marley famously says, as a ghost, he says, I wear the chains I forged in life. And that's very biblical that our earthly lives really have eternal implications. And we are called to know Jesus, to serve God, serve others, not just accumulate wealth.
And Marley's lament to Scrooge and his warning to Scrooge: look, in eternity. This is very true. You will wear the chains you forged in life. Let me give you a little bit of back story, because Dickens wrote a Christmas carol in Staves, S-D-A-V-E-S, and that's a musical term for verses, really the five lines of the staff. Of music, not just chapters.
And that's really a play on words because this is a carol, a Christmas carol. And of course, it's the story of the journey to redemption.
Now, in Stave 1, Scrooge meets with Marley's ghost. Stave two, the ghost of Christmas past, and he goes back and he sees how young he was. And Scrooge laments how quickly the years have gone by. Stave three, which is, I'm going to spend a fair amount of time explaining that, the ghost of Christmas present. Stave four, the ghost of Christmas yet to come, and then stave five, the the resolution and the end of all things, where Scrooge goes from being a a greedy miser into a generous, joyful man, And he learns the true spirit of Christmas.
Now, what's very interesting is this: that the naming of the chapters. as staves. Suggests that the story is really a carol, like a song meant to be shared out loud. And it is very musical. I mentioned a staff, the five-line staff, the plural of staff.
Is staves.
Now in a symphony, or a work of music. In general, there's a theme. a variation on the theme, Codera and Coda.
Now, in a Christmas Carol, we've got five parts, and the multiple parts and This is a story, but it is like a musical composition. There's a basic theme. the theme of a a joyless, unhappy miserly man at the end of the road. And Because Scrooge is yet in the land of the living, there is still time potentially to change. And that's true for all of us.
If you're alive, it doesn't matter how old you are, the grace of God is still as close by as a prayer.
So there's a variation on a theme.
Now, there can be variation on a theme, part A, part B, and there can be more. And in this case, it's and by the way, odd numbers, if you're writing a speech or a sermon or a story. You know, three or five movements generally work very well. There's a codera. And the word codetta actually means little tail.
It's not quite the end, and then coda, the resolution, the conclusion. and all plot lines are resolved.
Now, I want to talk to you about Stave 3 and Stave 4 and point out something, well, two things really that are very powerful about the gospel that very often are missed. And then we'll have a final challenge about Christmas. But the second of the three spirits appears in. The third movement. And it's the ghost of Christmas present.
Scrooge has experienced a restless night. And it says, kind of humorous, it says that when the clock strikes one, quote, nothing between a baby and a rhinoceros would have astonished him very much. But there's a light coming from another room, and Scrooge gets up and touches the door, and instantly he's brought into this room, and the ghost of Christmas present. calls him by name. And this ghost is very, very large and very, very tall.
And there's this beautiful display of abundance. Which is a very sharp contrast to the life Scrooge has lived. Scrooge has been tight and miserly and cheap and just not generous with anybody. But this ghost of Christmas present sits on a mountain of food, and there's holiday greenery, and there's a cornucopia in his hand. It's a torch, but it's the cornucopia, and there's a roaring fireplace.
And the ghost says, Come in. And know me better, man, but Because Scrooge previously has not known him at all.
So, when we come back, we're going to talk about the generosity of the ghost of Christmas Present, and we're going to speculate about who this really, really is in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Alex McFarland here, a very special edition of the program. Stay tuned. We're back after this brief break. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland, a religion and culture expert.
Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this. Hi, Alex McFarland here, and this Christmas, I want to say to each and everyone listening. We love you. We thank God for you. We wish you a very joyous, Jesus-filled Christmas.
But make this the focal point of your Christmas: that Christ the King. resides in your heart and in your life. and you've put your faith in him. And that every day you truly do feel his presence because you've invited him in. and he's a welcome guest.
in your heart, your life, your soul. That's the most important part of Christmas. But really it's the most important part of life itself. May God bless you. May God be glorified.
And Merry Christmas. He's been called trusted, truthful, and timely. Welcome back to the Alex McFarlane Show. Welcome back to the program. We're talking about Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, and we're in the part where Scrooge is visiting with the ghost of Christmas present.
And so it says, depending on which edition of Dickens' book you've got, around page 83, this is quote the ancient patriarch of the English holiday. Is it Father Christmas? Is it Santa Claus? I would submit ultimately it represents Jesus. There's all this abundance, and uh Scrooge sees, quote, his long and free, genial face.
His hand is open. As a manner unconstrained.
So, this ghost of Christmas present, even though there's longing and there's absence. in the life of Scrooge and the heart of Scrooge. And the ghost is big and imposing. Scrooge enters the room with his head hung in shame. This is not just Marley's ghost to frighten him.
This is really the grace of God being represented. And I'm going to come back in just a little bit and talk about something present in this scene. But I want to talk about some other things because there's so much symbolism that should not be missed here.
So they go to see the Cratchit family, Bob Cratchit.
Now, in the first stave, Cratchit was unnamed, but now they go and they're going to see that the anonymous clerk. really is a human being. with feelings and a family. And Scrooge is going to, for the first time, begin to be transformed because he's going to see. Cratch it.
as a real human being. to be valued. And in spite of their poverty, the Cratchit family is very happy on Christmas Day. They have joy.
Now, this is fascinating. Many scholars of Dickens believe Cratchit. C R A T C H I T is kind of a a word play on the word creche. C R E C H E, what is crash? It's the manger scene, the nativity.
The Cretch. The Cratchit family, that surname is a wordplay on Creche.
Now, the Holy family. in the major scene. Joseph and Mary and the baby Jesus, and all gather round. Oh, my goodness, this is so powerful. because God is all about family.
And God wants you to be a part of His family. And he sent his son on a rescue mission to pay your sin debt and make you part of the family. And of course, when Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present are looking in on the Cratchit family, they're a Christian family. They represent the church. Part of the family of God.
And of course, Scrooge notices Tiny Tim. And he is very moved by the joy they have. Even though They're poor. They don't have what Scrooge defines as happiness and fulfillment, money, and And yet they have a different kind of joy beyond price. They have each other, nav love.
And they have God. And they pray, bless Mr. Scrooge.
So then the ghost takes Scrooge all over different places of London, even the lone lamplighter. has joy in his heart. They go to the very poorest part of town where miners live in mud huts, but yet they're singing joyful Christmas worship songs. People all over at the shipyard and everywhere they're wishing everybody. Merry Christmas.
And finally, Scrooge and the ghost of Christmas present go to the home of Scrooge's nephew. His name is Fred, by the way, and there's a big Christmas party going on. And so they talk about inviting Scrooge to Christmas dinner, but he never accepts. And so uh Scrooge begins to think about What he's missed out on, and he overhears people, you know, making fun of him. And it's very convicting.
But At the end of the stave three, we have With the ghost of Christmas present, there's kind of an odd thing happening here. And if you've ever watched, and I would recommend you watch the George C. Scott rendering. of a Christmas story. It is fantastic.
Scrooge is before the ghost of Christmas present. And something very strange happens underneath the ghosts. Garment is a foot or a claw.
Now this is very interesting folks because in stave three, the ghost of Christmas present. Ages.
Now we know the Lord doesn't age, but what is it? As they get closer and closer to Christmas, You know, the Christmas spirit, there's an arc. There's the anticipation, there's the excitement, the climax as Christmas comes. And then it ebbs away as we start a new year. And the aging of the ghost of Christmas present is depicted in that.
But the ghost near the end of the visit opens its robes and under its robes a or quote two children wretched, abject. frightful, hideous, miserable.
Now, these two children are a boy and a girl. They're classic London urchins, poor. and they look horrible. And Scrooge, of course, recoils from this. And Scrooge wants to know what this is, and the ghost informs Scrooge that they are the children of men.
He says the boy is ignorance, the girl is want. The ghost warned Scrooge to beware of them both, but the boy most of all Because in ignorance you're doomed. And the ghost reminds Scrooge of his own words. Because earlier in the play, Scrooge had been encouraged to help the poor. You know, and Scrooge had retorted: Are there no prisons?
Are there no workhouses? As the clock strikes twelve midnight, the Uh Scrooge is alone. in bed. Alone to ponder what he has seen and what he has experienced.
Now, when we come back, I'm going to go back to something many, many people miss. in a Christmas carol. And I'm gonna Tie it to the gospel. Because this is so important. And even if you're a born-again believer, it's important to revisit these things, because life is not all about the stuff.
Life is about the Saviour. Christmas is such a great reminder, and isn't it wonderful that our most beloved songs, images, The manger scene, to so many things. are depicted In Christmas. We even set the calendar by the arrival of Christ Jesus the Lord. the Saviour, the lover of your soul, Christmas is proof of how much God loves us.
Stay tuned. We'll conclude with our look at a Christmas carol and our reflection on the things that absolutely matter most here at Christmas. Stay tuned. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland, a religion and culture expert. Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this.
Hi, Alex McFarland here. You know, I was at a college speaking, and I guess we ministers get too wordy.
Somebody said, Can you describe Christianity in only two words? And instantly, this came to me, and I said it: loving substitution. And students raised their hand, and they said, What does that mean? Loving substitution. Here's the thing: because Jesus Christ loves you, He was our substitute on Calvary's cross.
The appropriate measure of God's wrath that you and I deserved was put onto Jesus. You don't have to die and suffer for your sins because He was the substitute who died for you.
So, if you call out to Christ, He will save you, He will forgive you. I urge you to do that today because Jesus Christ has a plan for your life, and it begins with you putting your faith in Him. Thank you for listening. Thank you for your support. Learn more about this at alexmacfarland.com.
Uh He's been called trusted, truthful, and timely. Welcome back to the Alex McFarlane Show. Welcome back to the program. Merry Christmas to one and all. Alex McFarland here.
And let me say, before we resume our look at the Christmas story and a Christmas Carol by Dickens, please go to alexmacfarland.com and look at our schedule for 26. I'll be traveling all over the country, major citywide events in a number of places, our conferences, our youth camps. It's all going on to evangelize and equip. And I hope you'll please keep us in prayer and consider financially supporting the work that God's called us to do. But also the Cove, the Billy Graham Training Center in Western North Carolina.
I'll be there July 17 through 19, teaching Bible prophecy, our brand new book on 100 Bible questions on prophecy in the end times. Then July 27 through 31. With the world-renowned expert on the resurrection, Gary Habermas. We'll be doing a deep dive on apologetics. You will not be disappointed.
Regarding the Cove, and Angie and I have been there for 21 consecutive summers. Invest a weekend that will count for a lifetime, and you can learn more about that at thecove.org. We hope to see you there. But, you know, we've been talking about the Christmas Carol by Dickens and how the gospel is so much in there. And I want to revisit that story.
And just talk about the gospel message of redemption and renewal. You know, how through a look at himself honestly and a look at the future. And we'll see this in really Stave 4, The Ghost of Christmas Future, which Dickens called it the last of the spirits.
So you know the story. They go from the financial center of London. First of all, they're at the Royal Exchange, and people are talking about Ebenezer Scrooge has died. And one man just callously says, quote, old Scratch, that is the devil, has finally met his match in Scrooge. And Scrooge, it dawns on him that they're talking about him.
and how he has laid up treasures on earth and has nothing in heaven. And then, of course, the ghost takes Scrooge to a graveyard where he sees his his own tombstone. But Scrooge begs for some mercy and he inquires about has Tiny Tim died and they they do get to look in on the the Cratchit family and It's very sad how Bob Cratchit is walking slowly.
Now, when Bob Cratchit had Tiny Tim on his shoulders, he walked quickly, so the feeble little boy wouldn't be out in the cold. But with Cratchit walking slowly, they know that. Tiny Tim has died and his little chair and cane are lying over in the corner. And Scrooge is broken, he's heartbroken, and he uh laments that the childish essence was from God, Uh meaning a childlike faith. in Tiny Tim's case, had been extinguished, but in Scrooge's case it had almost been snuffed out.
And of course they go to the cemetery and the ghost of Christmas Future points to the headstone which reads Ebenezer Scrooge. And Scrooge says, you know, am I the corpse that we saw laying on the bed? And indeed, he was. And then, but he cries out, is it too late? Is it too late to change?
Well, the Christmas Carol. Is such a wonderful allegory. And it's powerful. It's really not Scrooge having dreams. It's a nightmare.
And I mean, it is, if you've seen it acted out, it's powerful. But it is really on the printed page a real, real nightmare. But I want to go back to the Ghost of Christmas present. Because there's a scene that I don't want you to miss, and I want to kind of land this on the gospel. The Christmas present with all the bounty and the bounty of All that God gives us.
Life loved ones, food, his presence, joy, and cheer. And of course the greatest Offering of all, God offers us salvation. But there's a scene where the ghost of Christmas present is holding up this torch. It's a cornucopia, God's abundance. But you'll see over in the side of the room an old rusted scabbard.
Now, a scabbard is like a sheath for a sword. or a rifle. But in the picture You may miss this. The scabbard is empty. The empty scabbard and the torch of peace.
And God's divinity, and God's abundant grace. These are two symbols. And symbols of this Christmas season celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace, Isaiah 9:6. And in Luke 2:14, the angels sang on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. You see, Scrooge found out that the scabbard was empty because God's sword of judgment for the moment is put aside.
Now, there is coming a day of judgment for this world, but right now, The weapon is not drawn, but God's arms are open, offering you amnesty. forgiveness Peace. just think of not only that empty scabbard, but the empty tomb. The Prince of Peace has risen, and Christmas is a reminder that God offers you Himself.
Now, maybe you've got some Christmas decorations that have been in your family a long time. Maybe Christmas brings. you to kind of a a feeling it's almost impossible to explain. You know, every December it seems like something stirs throughout the culture that softens people. And maybe it's a single familiar carol or the scent of pine.
or the scrape of an ornament box being pulled out of the closet. And suddenly you're somewhere else. And maybe the aroma of cinnamon in the baking aisle at the grocery store triggers a memory. And for a moment, you're back in that living room where you were a child laying under the Christmas tree, staring up through the limbs and the lights. And back then it might have been vague and undefined, but it was very natural as children to wonder.
and to believe And these memories come to us unannounced, but never unwelcome. And that's why I think so many people are. There's just this longing and this appreciation for Christmas because we think about the chipped ceramic village pieces and the glitter-shedding angel who crowned the family tree for years and years. The old decorations aren't pristine anymore. But perfectionism isn't the point.
You see. Your family's old Christmas things hold the finger prints of many years, and the echoes of voices that once laughed and gathered around them. They remind us Of the people we loved, of seasons when life felt simpler, and family traditions that really shaped who we are. And right now, let me just challenge you to think about Christmas as a celebration of history's greatest moment, an event so world-changing that we measure time around it. Dickens did this in the Christmas Carol.
Scrooge was brought under conviction and ultimately conversion. by looking back and looking ahead. And so this month, you know, every nativity scene, Every candlelight service, every recounting of that night in Bethlehem. It invites us to remember not only our childhood wonder. But the wonder of a love given freely to the whole world.
So let your heart soften and enjoy those decorations that might be held together now by a little tape. Hot glue. and a lot of memories. feel the weight of Christmas's past and the warmth they offer. Because you know, like runners carrying a baton for our segment of a marathon, goodness, truth.
Love And the message of Jesus has been momentarily entrusted to our hands. Christmas is a season for remembering. And, you know, if we allow it, the oldest memories can shine the brightest.
So let's rediscover Christmas, the reality of it all. Like Scrooge, a changed man. He was very generous, very joyful. He said, I will keep Christmas in my heart. this day and every day.
For God's glory and in appreciation, we should. On behalf of our family, all of our staff. Volunteers, thousands of people that we interact with across the country. We wish you a very Merry Christmas, every blessing, and may the love of Jesus be the most real thing in your life. This Christmas and always.
