CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE Logic Problem William T. Pelletier

The First Christmas

Luke 2:1-21; Matt 2:1-11

Six large homeschool families gathered together for a Christmas party to commemorate the birth of their Savior, Jesus of Nazareth. Each family brought a gallon of their favorite Christmas beverage and a special Christmas treat to share; for example, one family brought cherry strudel. Each family also brought Christmas ornaments they had crafted as gifts for the other families. There were 6 different types of ornaments, but each family only brought one type; for example, one family made little mangers to give to the other families.

After enjoying the refreshments and exchanging the ornament gifts, the families participated in a festive Christmas program. It began with a reading of the historical record of the First Christmas from Luke 2:1-21 and Matthew 2:1-11. Then each family in turn sang their favorite Christmas carol and told the other families about one Biblical character trait which they as a family had focused on during the past year; for example, one family had worked on learning to forgive each other. Each father concluded his family's presentation with a few comments on a Bible passage; the fathers had agreed among themselves to discuss challenging verses and not simply choose "comfortable" verses.

Use the clues and the table below to determine the order in which the families made their presentations and each family's Christmas treat, Christmas drink, ornament, favorite Christmas carol, character trait, and Bible verse.

1. The family that brought wassail sang Once in Royal David's City immediately before or immediately after another family sang Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

2. The family that brought mince pie and Star ornaments presented next to the family that brought cranberry juice to drink.

3. The father of the family that brought cider and Lamb ornaments spoke on

   For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time. (1 Tim 2:5,6)

   He exhorted his hearers to boldly proclaim the "reason for the season," despite the disapproval of a culture which is so intolerant it even tries to suppress the word "Christmas." He emphasized that since Jesus is the only way for man to be reconciled with God, it is crucial to proclaim this news, as all other religions are false and lead people badly astray.

4. The family that brought fudge and sang Down From His Glory presented next to the family that brought pecan logs.

5. The father of the family that brought punch used

   The sum of Thy word is truth, and every one of Thy righteous ordinances is everlasting. (Psalm 119:160)

   as the basis for his encouragement to study the Scriptures as the only completely reliable, trustworthy source of absolute truth, since it is the literal word of Almighty God, the Creator, Ruler, and Sustainer of the universe. As such, he said, the Bible is without error on everything about which it speaks, and it speaks either directly or indirectly about everything.
   This family's presentation was sometime before that of the family that brought Angel ornaments, and the latter's presentation was next to that of the family that brought cocoa to drink.

6. Joy to the World was sung immediately before or immediately after Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne, and next to the family that distributed the Lamb ornaments.

7. One father addressed the other fathers using

   And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Eph 6:4)

   He pointed out that God gave the responsibility for raising and teaching children to fathers, and not to the government or its schools. He called on the families to fulfill their God-given responsibilities of raising, training, and educating their children themselves and to resist society's attempts to take over this function through ever-expanding day care and school hours.
   The family that brought golden Crown ornaments presented next to this family. The family that brought eggnog presented next to the Eph 6:4 family.

8. The family that brought gingerbread sang either Hark the Herald Angels Sing or O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

9. One father used

   Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. (Psalm 127:3-5)

   to emphasize that God wants families to have lots of children as he asked, "What warrior wants to go into battle with only a few arrows?" He called on the families present to oppose as unbiblical the current cultural view that families should restrict themselves to only 1 or 2 children.
   The family that distributed Lamb ornaments presented next to the Psalm 127:3-5 family. The family that discussed Honesty presented next to the Psalm 127:3-5 family.

10. One family sang Hark the Herald Angels Sing right before or right after another family spoke at length about how much difficulty they experienced learning Patience.

11. One father, basing his comments on

    Encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored. (Titus 2:4,5)

    praised the mothers for their obedience to God by choosing to stay home and raise their children rather than have a career outside the home.
    This was the middle one of 3 consecutive presentations (in some order) which also included those made by the family that brought fruit cake and the family that sang Once in Royal David's City.

12. The family that brought Shepherd ornaments explained that they had been working on Diligence. They gave their presentation earlier than the family that had worked on Gratitude.

13. One father used the words of Jesus,

    "But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh; consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. . . . Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery." (Mark 10:6-12)

    to address the fundamental social problem of our day -- divorce and remarriage. He said Jesus taught that marriage is one man and one woman joined together for life, that divorce rebelliously breaks the marital bond God forged, and that any remarriage after divorce constitutes adultery.
    Purity was the character trait this family had emphasized as they taught their children to look for spouses who had also grown up in faithful first-marriage families and who adhered to similar Biblical convictions. Mark 10:6-12 was discussed before Eph 6:4.

14. The only presentation between those by the family whose father discussed Titus 2:4,5 and the family that brought Shepherd ornaments was given by the family whose father commented on 1 Timothy 2:5,6.

	FAMILY 1	FAMILY 2	FAMILY 3	FAMILY 4	FAMILY 5	FAMILY 6
Treat
Drink
Ornament
Carol
Character Trait
Bible Verse

If you get stuck, then Tips for Solving Logic Problems may be helpful.

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This is the December 1997 Logic Problem of the Month for the Logic Problems Page.
(http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/4484/logic.htm)
This problem has had visitors since 12/11/97.

Christmas: NOT a Silent Night is a provocative Christmas challenge.
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Copyright © 1997 William T. Pelletier. All rights reserved.

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the sea and all that is in them." Exodus 20:11

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