My wife always prepares a scrumptious dinner on Christmas day. Our children have always lived close to us, so we have been blessed to enjoy wonderful Christmas days together.

On a few occasions my wife has forgotten one or two items to prepare the meal, and so I've had to journey out to find a store that wasn't closed for Christmas. If my memory serves me correctly, which is questionable, I've always been able to find a store open with the necessary items.

Now, I appreciate the fact that most stores are closed on Christmas. I think it's a good thing, even though busniess owners may not celebrate Christmas or even know the true meaning of it. It gives their employees who celebrate and understand Christmas an opportunity to celebrate the miraculous, virgin birth of mankind's Savior.

This year there is something happening that truly troubles me. I have discovered that there are churches that are "Closed for Christmas." I don't know for certain if this is true of most churches or just a few, but it troubles me. I have often been accused of being old fashioned or even a dinosaur in my thinking, but if not having worship services on Christmas day is an example of modern thinking, then, I'm proud to be a dinosaur.

I'm trying to remember if we ever cancelled worship services on Easter Sunday, when we celebrate the glorious resurrection of our Lord. I don't think we have. Then, why not celebrate when we have a Christmas Sunday? Oh, I know, we have family coming to visit; we have gifts to open; we have dinner to prepare; it's just too difficult to schedule all of that around going to a worship service. Furthermore, even if we had a service only a few would come. Well, hallelujah for the few that would come.

Now, I realize this is only one day, and we can worship God anywhere and at anytime. It is far more important to live out the Christian life daily, and not just a few days a year. However, here is the point I would make:

We Christians balk when we see a sign on a store that reads "Merry X-mas," we are offended when a store clerk says "Happy Holidays," and we are even outraged when we learn someone wants to call the nation's "Christmas Tree" a "Holiday Tree." Really, they don't know any better; they're just doing what the secular world does. The real question is: What kind of message are Christians sending when their places of worship are "Closed for Christams."

Claude English is a retired pastor and member of Time For Truth Ministries' Board of Directors.