Creative Christians
Creative Christians
Creativity & Christmas
Embark on a festive odyssey where the rich tapestry of Christmas and the stirring narrative of God's incarnation are interwoven in a celebration of creativity and faith. This episode is an open invitation to rediscover the holiday's deep roots through artistic expression and intentional practices. As our homes transform with decorations and our hearts warm with family traditions, we delve into meaningful customs that draw us nearer to the story of Jesus. We'll reminisce over personal Christmas memories that have shaped our spiritual journeys and discuss how these experiences fuel our present-day expressions of worship.
Steering away from the clamor of commercialism, we approach Christmas with a fresh mindfulness, fostering traditions that cultivate a closer relationship with Christ. The simple act of lighting an Advent candle can become a profound ritual, and family devotionals can turn into cherished conversations. By transforming occasional acts of charity into ongoing acts of compassion, we follow in the footsteps of Jesus more closely. This episode also encourages embracing an inclusive spirit during our celebrations, ensuring that our joy reaches those who may be spending the holidays in solitude.
Creativity shines brightest when it serves a purpose greater than itself, and what better purpose than sharing the story of Jesus's birth? I share how personal traditions like gifting devotional books can become legacies of faith, and we explore how the power of social media can be harnessed to spread hope. Whether you're a photographer capturing daily Advent themes or a filmmaker seeking to tell the Christmas story through a fresh lens, this episode is a testament to the inventive ways we can keep the true essence of Christmas alive. So, don your headphones for a dramatized reading that reimagines the nativity with the vividness of a golden age radio drama and may the Holy Spirit inspire you with the words of scripture.
Merry Christmas!
How Christ Inspires a Creative Christmas Celebration
https://in.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-christ-inspires-a-creative-christmas-celebration/
Christmas Devotion Countdown
https://www.creativebiblestudy.com/Christmas-devotion-countdown.html
Luke 2:1-40 (NIV)
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+2%3A1-40&version=NIV
Today on Creative Christians. It's a celebration of the coming of our Savior. In this special Christmas-themed episode, we're going to take a peek into how creativity and Christmas go so well together, while examining the most creative moment ever in history the birth of Jesus Christ in a manger in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. Creativity and Christmas today on Creative Christians Creativity, faith, inspiration. As Christian creatives, how is our creativity different? Because of our faith? You've got to believe in what you're doing, listen and let the Holy Spirit lead you To be in Christ and have an identity in Him above anything else.
Speaker 2:I think it's extraordinary. If you believe, God's called you, you can't walk away from that.
Tim Ristow:These are stories of creative Christians. Welcome to another episode of Creative Christians, the podcast series that explores Christian creatives, their talents, their faith and what they're doing at the intersection of both. I'm your host, tim Risto. Merry Christmas to you and your family during this wonderful Advent and Christmas season. In this episode, we're exploring creativity and Christmas. My hope is that this is the first of what will become an annual tradition for this podcast in celebrating Christmas.
Tim Ristow:Have you ever thought much about the creativity of Christmas? In many ways, christmas is one of the most creative times of the year. Of course, there's the whole creativity of how people decorate their homes with the display of a Christmas tree and how they decorate it inside. Many people focus on creating these advanced light displays on the outside of their homes. Some people have very creative recipes for various meals and treats for the holiday. Many of you have your own traditions that are often very creative, as families gather and take part in annual activities that only happen together at this one time of the year. There's the creativity that goes into different crafts for Christmas, whether it's decorations, creating your own family Christmas cards or even scrapbooking your Christmas memories each year. Christmas worship services are often the most creative and interesting services of the church. Here they're inviting animals into live nativity displays and using acting or drama to help tell the story, the creative use of music, things like that, and there's many, many, many more ways in which this time of year is incredibly creative. But there's also the ways in which we, as Christian creatives, are inspired this time of year to use our talents and gifts from God to create things or works that enhance the meaning of the season.
Tim Ristow:Beyond all the trappings of the holiday season, the story of Christmas itself, the birth of the Christ child, the reason for the season, as we often say, is more creative than any of the holiday decorations, meals or traditions we choose to participate in this time of year. I mean this is the story of God coming to earth in the form of the perfect baby Jesus, true God and true man, as John 1.14 says. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory as of the only son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Part of this episode will include a reading of the Christmas story a little bit later. That story is Christmas, jesus is the story, and it's a wonderful story of life and hope, of death and resurrection of love and new life. Nothing else matters but the child at the center of the story. Nothing else matters at Christmas but Jesus. In fact, nothing else matters year round but Jesus. Why have I described Jesus' birth earlier as one of, if not, the most creative event in history? Simple, because God came to earth in the form of a child, born of a virgin through the Holy Spirit, and for thirty-three years he physically and spiritually lived among his people and died in humiliation and despicably on a rugged cross, only to be resurrected three days later in another amazing and creative event. But all that couldn't have happened if not for the humble birth of our Savior in a manger. Who of us could have created such a rich, compelling, creative story of love and hope, a story that's still going on today, a history that is still unfolding today as we live out our days looking forward to the return of Christ in glory. Before we go on, let's take a moment to look back. One of my favorite books is Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and one of my favorite parts of that story is when the spirit of Christmas past takes scrooge on a tour of his past life and how that made him who he was. Sometimes it's good to look back just long enough to reflect on some cherished memories that help make us who we are creatively and spiritually. Join me now beside my virtual fireplace here in Texas and let me share with you some personal fond memories of Christmas past.
Tim Ristow:Growing up, I remember Christmas around our home as a simple time centered around church and worship and family. We lived in a small rural town in southern Minnesota, largely a farming community and small businesses, lots of mom-and-pop shops small town Americana at its finest. In the 1970s I spent the first decade of my life there. My father was the pastor at the LCMS Lutheran Church in town. We lived in the Parsonage right next door to the church. On Christmas Eve my father would head over early, of course, to prep for Christmas worship. The rest of the family would get all dressed up in our best clothes. Being the 70s, I remember one year sporting one of those green velour turtleneck shirts and dress pants for Christmas We'd gather together in the front hallway of our house heavy coats, mittens, scarves and caps on, and then head out and brave the cold for our brief 20-second walk over to the church. And even though it was brief, I still remember the bitter cold of those walks in those December Minnesota nights. Once we entered the church, however, the chill disappeared and I entered a world filled with Christmas wonder.
Tim Ristow:People arriving gathered in the narthex, greeting one another with warm wishes of Merry Christmas. There was an excited spirit among everyone. A miniature nativity was on display on a table near the sanctuary entrance. Peering in through the open sanctuary doors, I saw huge Christmas tree inside at the front, fully decorated with Christmas, made out of styrofoam and covered in glitter or sequins. I was always fascinated by those symbols. I recall the shapes like a star, a crown, shell, different crosses, a fish, an A for alpha and O for omega and, of course, the Cairo, the P symbol with an X superimposed over it. I remember learning that the X was the first letter in the name of Christ, in Greek Cai, and the P was the second letter, ro, cairo. That's actually how the shortened word exmus came about. The front of the church was covered in red poinsettia flowers.
Tim Ristow:Everyone would gather in the sanctuary as the organ started playing the opening hymn, usually a classic rendition of O come all, ye faithful, or something similar. The choir would sing, someone would read the Gospel story of Jesus', birth from Matthew or Luke. My father would preach a rousing and often emotional sermon on the birth of Christ and the congregation would sing favorite Christmas hymns. But at the end of the service was always my favorite, the candlelight service. Everyone would get a thin white candle encircled by a cardboard disc drip tray to catch the dripping wax. Usher's would move to the front and light their candles off of my dad's candle, which he lit from the Christ candle at the front, and then they would move to each aisle lighting the candles of everyone in the congregation. On the ends of the aisles they would pass their light down the row. Until everyone had their candles lit, we would begin singing different Christmas hymns.
Tim Ristow:The lights in the sanctuary were slowly extinguished, the organ and instruments faded away and my favorite moment came at the end when we all sang Silent Night acapella. A glow in the darkness by the lights of those candles. Silent Night, holy Night, son of God, loves pure light, radiant beams from Thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace. Jesus, lord at Thy birth. Jesus, lord at Thy birth. This moment was the pinnacle of the service for me, even as a young boy. After worship everyone would recess out, buzzing about the service and sharing about their plans for the Eve when they got home. Once again, wishes of Merry Christmas filled the air, and I always looked forward to us young children being given the brown bag filled with apples, oranges, peanuts in the shells, piece of candy and other assorted goodies that the church handed out. It was a treat. Then we would head back home, me sprinting across the lawn back to the house, excited by the warmth of what I'd experienced in worship, but probably a little more excited for the opening of gifts that was to come as soon as my dad finished up at church. But that's the story for next year.
Tim Ristow:Do you have fond memories of a Christmas worship, maybe one that was especially creative? What traditions stand out for you from your church Christmas, and how was Christ a central part of that worship? How can we, as Christian creatives, help to tell the Christmas story Through our gifts, and how can we just be more creative at Christmas time? I'm going to start a little broadly here and looking at how we can create opportunities to be inspired at Christmas that leads us to be more open to God's leading in our lives and in the things that we do, and then I'll dig a little deeper into how we, as creatives can specifically use our gifts and talents in creative ways. I'd like to start with this article titled how Christ Inspires a Creative Christmas Celebration. It's by Susan Narjala, from December 2022. So this isn't just about being a Christian creative per se, but this is a really neat lead in, I think, to that, because this talks all about how to live out our lives in a creative way at Christmas time. All right, here we go.
Tim Ristow:When you ponder on Jesus' entrance into the world, that first Christmas does a sense of wonder envelop you. What an unlikely cast of characters to play the lead roles. What an obscure location for the world's most life-changing event to unfold. What an odd menagerie to surround the newborn king. What a bedraggled group of first visitors to kneel before the manger. And yet that was how God sent his one and only son to make his dwelling among us.
Tim Ristow:God's script for the entry of his son and our savior was full of purpose and low on pomp. It was high on meaning and unbothered about glamour. Salvation came without flashlights and carpets. God wrote a far more creative and endearing story than any of us could conjure up. It was warm and ingenious, a narrative that invited the lowly and excluded the proud.
Tim Ristow:But our culture has traded meaning for noise purpose for glamour, and worship for shopping. It has transformed Christmas into a commercial holiday. The focus is more on presence under the tree than the presence of God, who made his dwelling among us. But what would it look like if we choose to celebrate every Christmas like the very first one? What if God's simple and creative script for the first Christmas shapes our sensibilities and our festivities more than unabashed commerce? Here are three things we could do to enjoy the true spirit of Christmas.
Tim Ristow:This season, whether we are single, married or have kids, can we resolve to clear the clutter in order to cultivate intimacy with Christ? It may mean taking a long, hard look at our schedules and simply letting some things slide in order to make room for the important. Ask a creative God for ideas that you can weave into the rhythm of your daily life, but here are some thoughts to get you started and she lists some good ones here, like light and advent candle and read from a Christmas devotional. Play Christmas music during dinner. Read through the nativity story as a family. Memorize a verse or two that speaks of the Messiah. Instead of letters to Santa, encourage your kids to write a letter to Jesus, write down an attribute of God for every day of Advent and thank Him for who he is. I really like that one.
Tim Ristow:Without Jesus at the center, no matter how busy the season, christmas will be empty and joyless this year. Be intentional about creating quiet. Be still moments to reflect on the beauty and wonder of that first Christmas. Okay, she goes on. When we look back at the nativity story, we see that God chose obscurity over attention. He chose poverty over pomp. He chose to announce the birth of His Son to a group of disheveled and startled shepherds rather than kings and princes. Throughout His life, jesus valued those on the margins. He commands us to do the same, and we do as churches. At Christmas time, we visit orphanages and shelter homes, donate blankets and biryani lunches. We give gifts to those who serve us in our apartment buildings and offices. Those are undoubtedly good things, but when we reflect on Christ's commitment to us, perhaps as image bearers, we ought to commit to serving others more consistently than one event once a year.
Tim Ristow:Perhaps our quote unquote creative Christmas could include how to make our outreach a sustainable effort. Is there some way to give of our time and resources every week or every month, while how we reach out differs widely based on specific situations. Here are some practical ideas that you can implement consistently. Just a few here, like could you get a group of young people to play a football game with the kids at an orphanage every month? Could you spend an hour a week tutoring a child or teaching art or music for a year, or even a quarter? Could you commit as a small group to providing a meal a month for the charity that you want to support? Could you write the communications material, take photographs or help with social media for an organization that might not have resources to do so?
Tim Ristow:At Christmas, we celebrate the forever covenant that Christ made possible because he reached out to us when we had nothing to offer him. May our commitment to others have a lasting impact where we begin to see people as people and not merely as Christmas projects. But what are your tried and true traditions? Is there room for doing the things you love, absolutely, as long as those traditions drive us toward God and not away from him? In sticking to our Christmas traditions, can we also creatively welcome others into them? Can we widen our arms enough to unfold those on the margins with the love of Christ? Perhaps it is as simple as thinking outside the box about who our guest list might include this year.
Tim Ristow:Here are some scenarios for you to consider Invite your neighbors to help you trim the Christmas tree. Include a young person who is far from family for Christmas lunch. Gather the children in your apartment building for carol singing practice and pizza. Host an open house event where neighbors and colleagues can drop in for cookies and coffee. Remember those who might have lost loved ones this year. Invite them to bake with you or help you make Christmas goodie bags.
Tim Ristow:While we reach out with the love of Christ, may we be prepared to share the reason for our hope. She references 1 Peter 15. May we be grounded in the truth of what Jesus has done for us and yet always stand amazed at the spectacular scene of that very first Noel. May we share that good news with great joy and creativity this Christmas, thanks to Susan Narjala, freelance writer writing for the Gospel Coalitionorg, this wonderful article that helps us to refocus back to that first Christmas. So let's take this renewed perspective of recapturing the scene of that first Noel and talk about how we, as creatives, can use our God-given talents to help convey that through our creative works and in turn, enhance the meaning of Christmas for others.
Tim Ristow:I'm going to go ahead and list some specific things you can create that I find kind of interesting as they apply to some different creative fields, maybe writing, podcasting, visual media, whatever the case may be, and these are just a few suggestions and ideas. I can't represent every creative field, of course, in this single podcast, so hopefully in the few that I list here today, there will be something in here that sparks interest for you, maybe at the least inspires you, even if they don't directly apply to your specific creative talent or field of interest. And I plan to do this every Christmas in the podcast episode. So if I don't find you in this year's list, hey, there's always next year. Let's start with one I've shared with you before, although perhaps not in this detail.
Tim Ristow:Every Christmas I gift my two sons and I a new devotional book for men that we use together all year long. Once a month, throughout the 12 months of the year, we each share via a text chat which devotion touched us the most and why. Then, at the end of the year, I create a printed book of that chat, including related photos that we may have shared in the chat or related church and family events from throughout the year or even past years, and I gift one to each of us as a physical, tangible memento of our year long chat and spiritual conversations and growth. I'm at work finishing up the third printed book now and we're getting ready to start the fourth year of our devotions together, starting in the new year. I love doing this every year and my boys seem to respond very positively to this as well. The chat has been a great way to foster a devotional life for each of us, helping train us all into the habit of doing them more routinely, as well as helping to generate discussions of a spiritual nature and ones that are not so direct and intimidating as a face-to-face sharing can often be, especially for teenagers.
Tim Ristow:This allows for a sharing of spiritual thoughts of a more personal nature without having someone staring back at you while doing so. It's also a lot of fun to create the book itself using software and online design tools. I've been using Mimeo, via Apple Photos, to create ours. It's not necessarily the best tool out there and it can be frustrating at times to use, but it does allow me direct access to our entire photo library in Apple Photos without me having to pre-select all the photos and then upload them first to some online tool before I can begin designing it, so I do like that aspect. Now, doing the layout, copying the text from the chat, selecting photos and graphics can be a lot of work to pull together, but it does create a great final product that is personal and comes from the heart.
Tim Ristow:To be fair, this may not be a gift that we look at as much right after receiving it, you know, after having completed the year of devotional share, but I'm hoping, as the years go by, we'll look back at each of these as a collection of books that help chart the progress of at least some of our spiritual journey each year and that will be a helpful and hopefully treasured memento of our spiritual life in years to come, perhaps especially most for my boys. This gift has helped to reinforce the meaning of Christmas gifting something that combines all of our devotional text, writing, spiritual thoughts, reflections, even prayers over the year, and a one book reminds us each the importance of reading God's word all year, trains us to build a dependence upon His word as well as keeps the Christ in Christmas by focusing on Him as being at the center of our lives at Christmas and all year long.
Tim Ristow:So even if you're not doing a devotional share like my boys and I, consider producing printed books, either through a Mimeo-like photo service or a short order printing through Amazon or some other book printing service, as a way to produce your own creative content that you can share with family or friends as a gift at Christmas, perhaps even share with your clients. For writers or bloggers or poets, use this as an opportunity to share your writing with others in a more packaged, professional format. As you reflect on the Christmas season, perhaps you share memories of family Christmas's past. As a photographer or artist, you can gift a book of some of your favorite photos or artwork that help tell the Christmas story in unique ways and, indirectly, perhaps even boost your visibility as a photographer or artist in your work.
Tim Ristow:Many of you may have already been doing this or have done it in the past, but if you haven't, or if you've gotten away from doing it, reconsider it again. It's a great way to produce something tangible, looks nice and is a good way to kind of represent your creative work, either as a writer, photographer or artist Producing these books, most of them printed. Most of these printing places do a really good job, and it's neat to have that final product in your hand. All right, let's talk social media. Social media is often a graveyard of self-indulgent posts and anxiety-ridden, fear-filled predictions of the future by influencers looking for likes and clicks. So, as a Christian creative, at Christmas, consider how you can contribute in positive ways to shaping the social media landscape by sharing hopeful posts that emphasize Jesus as the reason for the season. From the simplest things, such as making it a point to wish people a merry Christmas in your posts instead of happy holidays, to the more complex of integrating the story of Jesus birth into your graphics or your videos.
Tim Ristow:These are all ways to help emphasize Christ as the reason for the season. Here's a wonderful idea from creativebiblestudycom for creating a Christmas countdown To help celebrate the 25-day journey to Christmas. According to the website, here are 25 Christmas countdown on the go Active object lesson devotions with Bible verses to help us keep our focus on the true reason for the season. Each day, snap a photo of each item for a visual and use as a photo challenge on social media or with your family, small group friends or just for yourself. It's a fun way to enjoy the presence of Christ each and every day as we look towards celebrating his birthday.
Tim Ristow:I think this is just a wonderful idea and has a lot of potential. I'll include a link to the daily outline and devotions that they provide at creativebiblestudycom In the description of this podcast episode. But just briefly. It has things like for December 1st, a road and uses John 14-6. Jesus said to him I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father but through me, and that's the theme verse for the day. They also include a link to a devotion for that day that you can read and go through. But just imagine the creative photos of different roads you will get from people sharing on social media for this challenge. I can see everything from people stuck in traffic on the highway to country roads, to Vacation photos of roads to you know unique roads people encountered In other countries on a trip to, perhaps even roads that represent something very personal to someone.
Tim Ristow:But using such a social media challenge as an opportunity to draw our daily travels Back to discovering a sense of direction for our lives in Christ is Such a wonderful way to take that journey Toward Christmas and make it something memorable for you and others. So this the social media challenge. It invites engagement with your audience and Provides potential opportunities for others to highlight their creativity in these posts as well. How cool is that? I would add you could use this in your creative business social media as a way to highlight that you value the importance of Christ in Christmas.
Tim Ristow:Another day in this challenge uses the word light, or lights, and references John 812, where Jesus describes himself as the light of the world. Imagine all the images of different forms of light that people might share and the Opportunities that could open up for sharing Jesus as the light of the world at Christmas. If you're a writer, you could even write your own daily devotions to go with each of the 25 days. If you're a photographer, artist or graphic designer, you could approach this via an Instagram challenge, a strictly visual social media challenge, or I could ask people to share photos or even their own artistic works that center around that word or that even reflect something symbolic of Christ active in their spiritual life. You may get some very interesting responses and posts, while I haven't done a social media challenge at Christmas yet.
Tim Ristow:I'm already planning this specific one for next year. Many of you may have seen the social media post I did centered around the inspiration episode of this podcast. On social media, I held an inspiration week where, multiple times a day that week, I shared posts about Inspiration. I aimed to highlight each of the five takeaways that I presented in that episode with a visual post and Also highlighted Bible verses centered around inspiration, included some inspirational quotes from some Christian creatives and Visuals that highlighted the creativity of God. I wanted to promote the episode, of course, so people knew it existed and what it was about, and Encourage inspiration in their lives. But my real goal was to offer Hope-filled posts and inspire my audience while highlighting the inspiring nature of God himself. Bottom line, find ways to add hope to your social media posts by keeping people focused on why Christmas exists To celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world. Of course, there's all sorts of visual media that can be produced to help tell the Christmas story right, and worship services around Christmas are a time filled with opportunities for producing visual media, in particular, filmmaking. I think that can help enhance the meaning of the season.
Tim Ristow:As a Christian creative filmmaker, what can you do to help add to the meaning of Christmas or the telling of the Christmas story. I mean, the Christmas story has been told in many different ways over the ages. It's hard to find new ways to tell it and yet we still seem to keep finding ways To express the meaning of that story differently. And perhaps one way to stand out in Offering something different, even if it's not totally original, but from a filmmaking perspective or or from other ways as well, but I'm going to talk particularly from a filmmaking perspective is to consider telling the nativity story from a Different point of view, a different perspective.
Tim Ristow:Both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell the birth of Christ Generally from the point of view of one person. So Matthew is kind of from Joseph's point of view and Luke I from Mary's. So what if you told the story in your film or short story or short film from a different point of view? Perhaps tell the story from the perspective of, say, the innkeeper or the shepherds or the wise men or even the animals in the stable. I'm going to do an animated film. I know many of these have been done before, but as you consider it in your own creative storytelling, you could still offer a different angle on this. It's not the traditional way of telling the story or tell the story from the point of view of a new character. I'm watching through several Christian films in preparation for the next topic episode of the podcast, and one of the more noteworthy films in recent years is the movie Risen, which looks at the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ from the point of view of a Roman soldier.
Tim Ristow:So, it was a little controversial, but it's a very well done film and I realize if you start telling the birth of Jesus in this way, you know you leave the biblical narrative. It is not strictly scriptural anymore but if done properly and carefully, with respect for the source and the biblical narrative in God's word, this can be a great way to help inspire and encourage others today who may not have read the Bible to want to dig deeper and read about the birth of Jesus as written and dig into God's word. And it may also provide you with a renewed perspective yourself of Jesus' birth as you work through and consider how those who experienced it firsthand must have felt. No matter what, in telling the story from a new point of view, be sure to go through the biblical narrative and imagine how it feels from your particular perspective. Finally, to close out, my suggestions. I know I don't have a lot here in this episode. We'll offer more next year, but consider the ways in which sound music, voice sound effects and the like, how audio productions can be utilized to add meaning to the telling of the Christmas story. Rather than list a bunch of ways here, I'm offering up this entire episode of the podcast as an example and to that end, as previously mentioned, I'm including my own dramatized reading of the Christmas story of Jesus' birth as a way to conclude this episode coming up in just a bit.
Tim Ristow:Storytelling, in particular oral storytelling, is a tradition that goes back a very long time, early in history. This was an important way to preserve the past, along with writing, of course, and oral storytelling is a very creative art form and actually a really flexible process. When you start thinking about it, it has the potential to create a personal bond between the storyteller and the audience, because typically the storyteller and audience are physically close to one another as the story is being told, and that helps to build this connection of intimacy between the two. The audience also experiences the creative process unfolding right there before them, in real time. They feel a part of that creative process. So today, in this episode, I'll be reading the birth of Christ as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, luke 2.1-35. And even though this is a recording, this is kind of my own version of following the oral tradition of storytelling and, in particular, you know, a reading of the birth of Christ. Now, I'm sure you've heard many such readings over the years, performed in many different ways and you probably have your own favorite version Now. I didn't want to do a dramatic performance version with voice actors. Maybe I'll do that in next year's episode, who knows but I did want to enhance my reading a bit, without taking away from the power of the words of Scripture. One of the reasons I wanted to do this was because this is simply one way in which I can illustrate how we can share the Christmas story in creative ways, in this case in an audio podcast.
Tim Ristow:A couple of quick stories of some personal influences on me and some reasons as to why I wanted to do this dramatized Christmas reading the way that I am. They're not Christmas related, but they lead up to my reading of the Christmas story. First, my dad grew up listening to a lot of old-time radio programs in the 30s and 40s because that's what they had for entertainment. They didn't have TV, they didn't have internet, they had the radio, and the family typically gathered around that radio at night or in the evenings and listened to different programming. And so he passed on to me a passion for listening to some of those old-time radio programs and stories. I still remember borrowing his cassette tapes of many of the old-time radio programs that he purchased later in life, and I would go in my room, turn the lights out and listen to some of the classic horror programs in particular, like Lights Out, suspense and Hermit's Cave.
Tim Ristow:I'll never forget first hearing the story Sorry, wrong Number and playing it over and over again in the dark. It was such a suspenseful, well-done tale and it's one of the popular ones from old-time radio programs a very famous one. If you're unfamiliar with it, do an online search. It is a classic episode and a great use of this format. These days you can find most of those programs on the internet. There are also many podcasts dedicated to old-time radio programs and its history, and there's also a lot of new podcasts that use that same storytelling format in a much more modern way and telling modern-day stories through that dramatized audio storytelling format.
Tim Ristow:Some great stuff out there. So that was an influence on me in my younger years. Then we move ahead to my teenage years and one day I discovered my oldest sister's vinyl LP copy of Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds. For those of you unfamiliar with this, it's a dramatized and musical version of HG Wells' classic novel War of the Worlds. Richard Burton was the narrator and they had various actors and actresses voicing and singing other character parts throughout. There were sound effects enhancing the story and it was all based around these long stretches of usually progressive rock music that painted this aural as in a-u-r-a-l. Aural audio picture of the unfolding story, and I love that album. I still own a vinyl copy today. I played a bit of it for my youngest son years ago. He ended up listening to the entire album digitally on his iPhone, of course, and he loves it now too.
Tim Ristow:That's another example of the influence of that kind of storytelling format, which that one, I think I was more open to because I had listened to my dad's all-time radio programs years before, and then this one, of course, was in a more rock vein, so it was more modern for the time. This was probably the 80s that I discovered it, not sure exactly what year that was produced in, but it's a great album. Zoom ahead now to my college years, freshman year at college and my first roommate at Concordia Lutheran College his name was Brian was a big fan of Pink Floyd, the rock band that recorded in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s. Even he ended up influencing me and I started listening to Pink Floyd and became a big fan. Now I'm sure most of my listeners are aware of Pink Floyd as not a Christian band, but of course, as Christians we can be influenced by lots of non-Christian sources and talents, right, but we end up pulling from those influences things that build our creativity and our interests in different ways.
Tim Ristow:Now, what I loved about their music was that they would take as much time as they needed for a song or track of music. They rarely adhered to a three to four minute radio length track. In some cases they created single songs and tracks of music that took up an entire side of a vinyl record or that went on at length as long as they felt the music needed or demanded. Their creativity wasn't dictated by people's attention span, so much like so many things are today. As a result, their music and even their lyrics allowed for listeners to envision imagery and stories in the listener's own imagination. Now I mention all this because I want to pay homage, as they say, to that style of storytelling a bit and how I approached this dramatic reading of the birth of Christ. I didn't want to do performance like old time radio programs and War of the Worlds did no voice actors or overly dramatic sound effects, nothing over the top, but something where my reading of the scripture is enhanced a bit by voice and music and sound effects that combine to allow your own imagination to help carry the imagery of the story, like the old time radio programs did for me, or like War of the Worlds did for me and my youngest son. To get the most out of this, I'd encourage you to listen to this on a good pair of headphones, not just the little in ear ones, but a good pair of ideally closed cup headphones, or at least listen to this on a good set of speakers. It will make the listening experience that much richer. So as you listen to this, please be patient with the dramatized reading. Allow the words of scripture and the longer passages of music to settle into your mind and imagine what it must have been like to be there and experience the word made flesh, god coming to earth and physically dwelling among his people the reading of the Christmas story the birth of Jesus Christ, as recorded in the book of Luke.
Tim Ristow:In those days, caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Querenius was governor of Syria, and everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths, placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them and there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby keeping watch over their flocks.
Tim Ristow:At night, an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. But the angel said to them Do not be afraid, I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today, in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
Tim Ristow:Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared, with the angel praising God and saying Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth, peace to those on whom his favor.
Tim Ristow:When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherd said to one another let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.
Tim Ristow:So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherd said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart and the Lord said let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened. The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard. And On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. When the time came for the purification rites required by the law of Moses, joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord. They offer a sacrifice, in keeping with what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of doves or two young pigeons.
Tim Ristow:Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. Reached by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required, simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people, israel. The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother this child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. The sword will pierce your own soul too.
Tim Ristow:There was also a prophet, anna, the daughter of Penuel of the tribe of Asher. She was very old. She had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage and then was a widow until she was 84. She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying, coming up to them. At that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth, and the child grew and became strong, he was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was on him.
Speaker 2:He was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was on him, and the child grew and became strong.
Tim Ristow:The child was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was on him, and the child grew and became strong. Thanks for joining us. Go to Apple Podcasts or whatever your favorite podcast distributor is and be sure to subscribe to catch each and every new episode. I'd really appreciate it if, after listening, you'd take a moment to rate the show. Helps me to gauge feedback and rankings for the show and, if you're really feeling generous, I'd love it if you left a brief review as well. Let me and others know what you like about Creative Christians. You can also email me directly with your feedback, comments or questions at tim at timristocom. I'd love to hear from you. I'm Tim Risto. Until next time, stay creative and stay in God's Word Blessings. Creative Christians is produced by yours truly, tim Risto. As always, a shout out to my lovely and supportive wife, tracy Risto. Creative Christians is an audio production of Tim Risto Productions. Visit timristocom to learn more. It's timristocom.