Category: Christmas
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Dickens, Death, and the Christian Christmas
Read more: Dickens, Death, and the Christian ChristmasThis week, a woman at my church faces the harrowing decision between two Christmases. On the one hand, she could join a few friends and the son from which she has been estranged, risking the possibility of running into the guy who things “didn’t work out with.” It would be too uncomfortable for her to ask…
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Advent and Jerusalem
Read more: Advent and JerusalemO come! O come! Emmanuel! And ransom captive Israel; That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear. Advent is a time of mournful waiting. Participants in this season undergo a theatrical embodiment of the struggles of the people of God. In this drama, the Church relives, in a sense, a time…
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Advent, Betrothal, and a whole lot of waiting
Read more: Advent, Betrothal, and a whole lot of waitingFor those who don’t know, I am getting married in about 30 days from now. The prospect of this fills me with such joy, primarily because my wife-to-be is my best friend and someone I choose not to live without. There will be so many practical benefits to our marriage: Cutting commute time in half,…
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Why is the bush not burned?
Read more: Why is the bush not burned?Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it saved Israel. As he unwittingly proto-typed Jesus, the Good Shepherd, Moses was distracted by a curious phenomenon: “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” (Ex. 3:3) Read the rest of the story here. Why is the bush not burned?…
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Christmas Presence
Read more: Christmas PresenceWe just finished watching Home Alone, a Christmas tradition. If you haven’t seen it in a while, please allow me to refresh your memory. Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin, is a pint-sized troublemaker, the youngest of five children in a house teeming with relatives all preparing to leave the country in the morning and…
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Anxiously Advent-ly Waiting
Read more: Anxiously Advent-ly WaitingI appreciate the season of Advent – not just for the joy of Christmas parties, decorations, carols, eggnog, gift-giving and receiving, and celebrating the holiday with family and friends, but also for the longing and anticipation that comes with the Advent season. I’m grateful being reminded that the joy of Christmas and the reality of…
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Don’t Kill the Baby Jesus
Read more: Don’t Kill the Baby JesusMy uncle is a pastor. A few years ago, on Christmas day after sharing an enormous meal and opening all our presents, I asked him what he had thought of our Christmas service. His reply stuck with me. “It was good, other than the fact that they crucified the baby Jesus. You don’t kill the baby Jesus.”…
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A Dinosaur and Baby Jesus
Read more: A Dinosaur and Baby JesusThis year, my wife and I had the pleasure of participating in the Christmas Eve services for the first time at our new church in Berkeley. We were originally planning on attending just one service, until one the pastors asked me if I was willing to be crowd control for the Family Service. I was…
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Ten Reasons Why I HATE Santa and You Should Too
Read more: Ten Reasons Why I HATE Santa and You Should TooAbout the author: Lindsey has a BA in Sociology from Cedarville University and a MA in Education (math) from the University of Colorado. After having taught 5th grade for four years, she currently stays at home and spends her days wrangling three toddlers while anxiously waiting for the sound of the garage door. Growing up, we…
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The Word Became Baby
Read more: The Word Became Baby“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” (Luke 2:6-7 NIV) “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us….