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…
There he was minding his own business. He had lived a long life and really didn’t have much to show for it. I mean he had possessions and a lovely wife, but in his day if you’re name didn’t pass to a son none of that really meant much. We’re looking at Isaac today, one…
Another example of an unexpected person used by God to save His people is found in Joshua 2. This is the story of a woman who lived a life that did not line up with God’s desire for healthy relationships. She found herself looking for approval and love from any man who came by. She…
Have you ever thought there’s no way I could do that? When we’re met with an obstacle we just are not qualified to tackle, that’s one very common answer. We say it when we’re overwhelmed. We say it when we’re scared. We say it when we lack confidence or focus. We say it when it…
Have you ever received one of those calls in the middle of the night? You’re sound asleep and the phone rings and startles you to a half awake state? You know in your heart that nothing good happens at 2 o’clock in the morning! And yet there you are, half awake and listening to the…
No one likes to be blindsided. Something coming out of nowhere and knocking you off course is not fun. Maybe it’s an unexpected car repair or a leak in your roof. Maybe it’s a bill you just didn’t see coming or hospital stay you weren’t planning on having to pay. Sometimes these unexpected blindside moments…
