Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’
The Third Sunday of Christmas: Christ Our Joy
Luke 2:9-11 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before (the shepherds), and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there…
Read MoreThe Prince of Peace
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase ofhis government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of…
Read MoreThe Second Sunday of Christmas: Christ, Our Faith
Matthew 2:1-6 “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” When…
Read MoreThe First Sunday of Christmas: Christ Is Our Hope
Isaiah 11:1-5, There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His…
Read MoreHappy, Holy Days
What comes to your mind when you hear these words: “We wish you a Merry Christmas!” “Happy Holidays!” “Happy New Year!” Each of these expressions portrays happiness and hope. But is this happy hope real? Some people use the politically correct, “Seasons Greetings,” and that way everyone can interpret it any way they wish. After…
Read MoreThe Christmas Story
Luke 2:1 ¶ And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And…
Read MoreChristmas in History and Spirit
The First Christmas Celebration Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. II Corinthians 9:15 Scrooge sternly said to His nephew: You keep Christmas your way, and let me keep it in mine. His nephew responded, But you don’t keep it! To Scrooge, Christmas was only a time for paying bills without money; a time…
Read MoreWorship with the Heavenly Angels
Whatever else we would say about Luke’s story of the angels and the shepherds, it’s very memorable. But less clear is the point. Why did it happen? What does it mean? I’m going to argue that there’s something huge going on here. I’m going to argue that this event was a teaser — a short…
Read MoreThe Annunciation in Matthew (1)
Matthew famously begins his Gospel with a stylized genealogy. Placing a genealogy upfront like that bespoke a narrative rooted in the Jewish heritage. Starting your book off with a genealogy hardly seems to us to be a great attention-grabber, but Matthew’s Gospel certainly didn’t suffer because of it (by all accounts Matthew was the most…
Read MoreWho were the Magi?
One day, out of nowhere, well-dressed men wearing expensive suits and dark sunglasses get out of Mercedes limos in a massive motorcade. They walk up to you asking, “where is he? Show us where he is.” This, recast in 2017 garb is the story of the Magi. We think we know what it’s all about.…
Read More