Isaiah prophesied that the coming Messiah would be for his people both priest and victim. But this sacrifice won’t be for Israel alone, since we’re told that his blood will sprinkle many nations.
Father Jerzy Popieluszko was a young pastor who once delivered the dynamic messages that stirred the Polish people to overthrow their Communist oppressors.
Today's Nativity Scene decorations are not historically accurate, but still should draw us close to Jesus Christ. Mary, Joseph and Jesus were in a cave when Jesus was born, the Magi didn't visit the infant Jesus, and there were no cows in Bethlehem.
In Isaiah 52-53, written over half a millennium before the time of Christ, Israel’s Messiah is not described as a life coach, or social transformer, but as a sacrificial lamb whose role it is to bear our sins and to credit us with his righteousness.
All of our gift giving should seek to form a mindset that helps to (1) rejoice in God as the great and first giver of the greatest gift, (2) seek a mindset of trust, hope, admiration, joy, and affection, and (3) seek the mindset that overflows with joy in giving to others.
If you care for your homosexual friends, the loving thing to do would be to tell them to repent and follow Jesus. Don't be flippant about behavior God has promised He will judge.