Why is Christmas important?

It reminds us that God gave us the gift of his Son Jesus, so that anyone who believes in ("believe in" - meaning to trust, rely upon, depend upon...) Jesus might have eternal life. Whether you believe that or not, it is the greatest example of gift-giving known to man.

Why was Jesus such a BIG gift?

Because Jesus was/is the only begotten Son of God. God, in giving us his only Son, gave Him knowing that He would someday be crucified and put to death. If you were in God's place, and knew that your child would be put to a horrible death at the age of 33, for a crime that they were innocent of committing, and you knew that before you had even conceived that child, would you go ahead and send that child? But God did, WHY?

John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

and

1 John 4:9-10 "By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

propitiation for our sins refers to

1 Corinthians 15:3 "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures"

Why would God allow that to happen to His Son?

The Bible teaches us that all men are sinners, and that sin is abhorrent to God. The Bible also teaches that God cannot accept people who have sinned and God requires a blood sacrifice (payment) for sin. The death of Jesus was the one blood sacrifice that makes people acceptable to God; providing that they personally accept and put their trust in the sacrifice made by Jesus.

Romans 3:21-24 "But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus

and

1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit"

Is there another way for me to pay the debt of sin?

No there isn't. If there was, God would have chosen another route rather than send his Son? Here is what Jesus Himself said:

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.

So the death of Jesus is important - why do we celebrate His birth?

It's a good question because if Christians were to celebrate anything it should be the resurrection of Jesus (Easter). The resurrection of Jesus is VERY important to the Christian faith because His resurrection proved that what He said was true. And the Bible teaches that Christians - who are the adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus - will be raised from the dead just as he was. Here's just how important the resurrection is:

1 Corinthians 15: 12-17 "Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

Is there anything important about the birth of Jesus?

There is one thing about the Christmas story that is central to Christian belief: the virgin birth. Actually it would be better understood as the virgin conception. The Bible teaches that Mary, having had no sex with any human being, was impregnated by the Spirit of God. Therefore, Mary's son was the biological offspring of God. You will notice the Bible sometimes refers to Jesus as the Son of Man (referring to his humanity; from his mother) and sometimes refers to Him as the Son of God (referring to His deity; from his father).

Luke 1: 30-35 "The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."
Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God."

Was it important that Jesus not have a human father?

It is essential. The Bible teaches that ALL men are sinners because they inherit the propensity to sin (often called a sinful nature) through their fathers. Their fathers and mothers inherited it from their fathers, all the way back to the first man Adam. Our sinfulness is best thought of as a genetic defect, a defect which came about as a result of Adam's decision to sin. Because the father of Jesus was God, it broke the transfer of sin.

1 Corinthians 15: 21-22 "For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

and

Romans 5:12 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned"

Was it important that Jesus be sinless?

It was very important that Jesus be born sinless and that he remained sinless; unlike Adam who was born sinless but then chose to sin. The Bible teaches that only a sacrifice without blemish (meaning no defect, ie. sin) could be used as a blood offering to God. And that one time sacrifice by Jesus was good enough, and big enough, that ANYONE placing their trust in Jesus for salvation will have their sins forgiven.

Ephesians 1: 17-18 "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.

and

Hebrews 7: 24-27 "but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

So this year, as I reflect on the coming celebration of Christmas, I want to publicly share with you my thanks to God, who not only gave us Jesus, but who is the source of every good and perfect thing in our lives.

May your Christmas and Holiday celebrations be a time of good cheer and reflection on how blessed we are.

And finally our thoughts continue to be with our troops who will spend their Christmas oversees, in defense of our freedom and liberty, so that we who are here can live and believe as we choose.