“A voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord.” (Isaiah 40:3 NIV) “With the season of Advent upon us (Dec 3-24, 2023), we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ first coming as a baby in Bethlehem. The term advent comes from the Latin adventus, meaning coming or arrival, and marks theContinue Reading
You probably know that the Christian year begins with the first Sunday of Advent (the fourth Sunday before Christmas) and that Christmas is the second season in this year. Did you know that the “liturgical” season of Christmas is only twelve days long – lasting from Christmas through Epiphany whenContinue Reading
Some parts of the Bible come with questions and assumptions. The story of the visitors from the East is one. “Jesus was born in Bethlehem near Jerusalem during the reign of King Herod. After Jesus’ birth a group of spiritual priests from the East came to Jerusalem and inquired of the people, “Where is theContinue Reading
Have you ever found yourself DONE with Christmas as of December 25? You’ve spent weeks (maybe months) doing parties, presents, decorating, cooking, more presents, more gatherings, then church services and you are just done, Done, DONE! with Christmas? Or you’ve studied the Matthew 1 & 2 and Luke 1 &Continue Reading
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV) Let’s look again at the people in our Christmas story. Zechariah and Mary and Joseph – and later the Magi – each received messages from Gabriel, some inContinue Reading