Before the New Testament was completed, God’s people lacked direction for their daily lives. For that reason, God sometimes gave them direction through dreams and angels. Now that we have the complete Bible, God uses it to direct our lives. As we study the Bible and pray, the Holy Spirit will use His word to […]
Preparing for a long trip is always stressful. Thankful it is rare that we must take such a trip with just a minutes’ notice. That is exactly what happened with Joseph and Mary. Transition In this section of the Christmas Story we learn about a sudden move and a sicking murder, yet even in this […]
Did the wise men travel by camel? Were they kings? What was their home country? How many of them came? Did the star they followed move? How did they know about the Messiah? We do not know the answers to these questions. We do know that they came to worship Jesus and travelled from the […]
We all enjoy encouragement. When we face difficult circumstances, a word of encouragement can be a huge uplift. A wise person has said that we ought to give ten complements for every one criticism. That is good advice, but not always easy to follow. Joseph and Mary were going to face difficult circumstances in the […]
Picture with me what it might have been like for the shepherds in the field the night Jesus was born. They probably had their sheep inside of a simple sheepfold, perhaps made of a stone fence with thorn bushes on top. They may have been sitting near the entrance around a small fire trying to […]
The hymn writer Emily Ellicott penned the following words to the hymn “thou Didst Leave Thy Throne” Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown, When Thou camest to earth for me; But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room For Thy holy nativity. This evening’s portion of the Christmas Story is about […]
I would guess that Joseph had been counting the days until his marriage to Mary. It appears that the date was very close. Mary had just returned from a three-month trip to the south of Israel to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Suddenly he dreams were shattered with the shocking news that Mary was expecting a […]
These days we normally do not travel long distances by walking. Many people have never walked for hours at a time. I will never forget how tiring it was to hike for eight hours over the mountains in PNG to reach a remote village where a small group of Christians lived. Compared to travel in […]
Years ago when we lived in jungles of PNG, I was on a walk and suddenly spotted a snake in the path very close to me. The sudden start made my heart race. I wisely backed away and the snake slithered off. We have all been startled by an unexpected event. It may have been […]
As we near the time of year that we remember the birth of Christ, this year I want to take you on a chronological journey through the events leading up to and following the birth of Christ. For the next five weeks on Sunday evenings and Wednesday evenings we will examine ten major events of […]