What if you were in Bethlehem the night Jesus was born? Here’s what I know. You probably would be unaware of anything going on in the city. It was a normal night for you and your family. In fact, if you were able to get a room you would have considered yourself very lucky. It [...]
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the [...]
We focused earlier in the month on the idea of worship being a response to God’s grace in our lives. I really wanted to put it together for you as we look at the complete picture of worship with some of the key people in the Christmas story. We’ll look at Elizabeth, Mary, the angels, [...]
12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” [...]
Have you ever felt really insignificant? You know, like you didn’t matter. Maybe you have a job where you feel like you don’t make a difference. Maybe you struggle with your chosen profession or even your self-esteem. I think we all struggle with self-esteem. Either we think too lowly of ourselves or we think too [...]
A story is told of a furry green creature who was mistreated as a child. One Christmas, he was ridiculed for bringing a homemade quirky gift to school for the gift exchange. Children laughed at him and he became the center of all jokes. Yes, he was different and didn’t look the same as the [...]
I wonder what Mary and Joseph were doing about this time 2000 or so years ago only 7 days before Jesus’ birth. It is somewhere around 80-90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. This means that Mary and Joseph were doing one of two things. First, they were either packing their clothes and feeding the donkey, [...]
A singing fish whose tail flaps to the song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” may have been the worst gift of all time. What at first seemed like a great idea flapped on the office wall, eventually moved to the garage, and then one day died in a large steel green dumpster only to be buried [...]
Watch out! Hey, you took my place! I can’t believe that guy cut me off like that! Can you believe she took the last Kitchen Aid Mixer! I wanted the purple one to match my kitchen and she took it. Uggh! That was MY PARKING PLACE! I can’t believe there are only two registers open. [...]
A mass of people gathering in a room too small around a tiny camera balanced on several encyclopedias, families wearing matching tacky sweaters, and we can’t forget about the 9 pound fruitcake that no one eats. Maybe it’s the caroling around your neighborhood in below freezing conditions? Whatever it is, we all have traditions, and [...]