Christmas wouldn’t be the same without the waiting. The cookies need baking, the decorations need hanging, and those shipping delays—ugh! Similarly, God’s timing often feels slow, but Peter reminds us: “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise.” I’m not the most patient person in the world. Actually I’m not very patient at all….
Mary’s song, known by many as the Magnificat, is a joyful shout of hope! Imagine a teenager singing her heart out because she was chosen for an extraordinary role. This song is filled with praise as she praises God for lifting up the humble and keeping His promises. Her song is like a favorite Christmas…
Imagine the darkest night you’ve ever experienced. The sun has set. The moon isn’t shining. The stars are mysteriously absent. Now picture a sunrise bursting across the horizon, chasing away every shadow. Not just any sunrise either. This is the fastest, most complete sunrise you can imagine. Dark to full sunshine in the blink of…
The very first Christmas promise wasn’t made to Mary or Joseph—it was whispered in Eden’s garden! Right after Adam and Eve ate that one fruit they were told not to eat, God declared war on the serpent, saying the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent’s head. That promise planted a seed of hope…
Twas the night before Christmas, when Mary and JoIn a manger were resting for their baby to showA stable was where they would make up their bedsAnd straw was the pillow they’d use for their heads. The evening was ending, the time was at handA baby named Jesus was born in that land.She wrapped him…
Our final stop on this Advent journey is most certainly an unexpected place. Before we can really understand the events of the next couple of days, we need to see their unexpected end. We take it for granted mostly because we know the end of the story, but hit the pause button today and think…
An unexpected word as we sit just days before Christmas is the word sacrifice. We don’t think of sacrifice during a season of light and joy and peace and hope and love. Sacrifice is for other holidays. It’s for other times of year. We talk about sacrifice during Lent and the time when Jesus died…
If we stay in Isaiah 9 for another day, we see that Isaiah is inviting us to have an unexpected response. Normally when we think of Jesus, we have thoughts of warmth and compassion. We see him as a baby in a manger. We think we need to accept him into our hearts. We talk…
If you remember from yesterday, we were surprised by the unexpected light that God brought into the darkness of the war torn regions of Galilee. It was into that very place, Nazareth of Galilee, that Jesus would shine the light of his glory. Such an unexpected response to all the destruction. But he doesn’t end…
A war torn village. A land that is the center of invasions and destruction. A people that have fallen to their own folly. To a people in deep darkness a great light has come. This comes from Isaiah 9. It’s one of those famous passages we use around Christmas and really don’t spend a ton…
