Today we conclude our season of Advent and light the fifth and final candle, the Christ Candle. Our Advent theme this year is “A Stained Glass Baby Book.” Many of our mothers kept a baby book with details and highlights from our first few years of life. In our Advent season, we have walked through…
At the center of this and every Christian season is the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. This mysterious bundle of joy is none other than the eternal Son of God who took on flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). That’s the very thing we celebrate here at Christmas—the enfleshing of the Son of God, the incarnation. He was sent on a mission from the Father to save sinners, and one of the absolutely necessary things Jesus had to do to complete His mission was take on a flesh and blood body just like we have. But, why was that so crucial? Why did Jesus take on flesh? The Bible gives us at least ten reasons.
O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie; Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, The silent stars go by. Every year the city of Bethlehem plays center-stage again to the most wonderful story ever told. We read in Luke 2 that a census was being taken of the entire Roman Empire of which Israel was a part. Each person…
Yesterday I had an experience that nobody likes to have. I was running my mouth on the phone while driving, which distracted me enough to not realize how fast I was going. We’ve all been there, right? To my great shame, I was doing about 18mph over the speed limit—63mph in a 45mph zone. And you’ve probably already guessed how I know…
This week we conclude the season of Advent by focusing on Christ. Our 2009 Advent theme has been “The Songs of Christmas,” and each week we’ve been looking at a song from the gospel of Luke surrounding the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Our final song this week comes from Luke 3:4-6. Luke takes this prophetic psalm which was delivered originally…