I was in Starbucks a few hours ago, getting coffee for the weekend and getting some beans, and I heard something that I guess I didn’t expect. It was busy, …
Tag:
Birth of Jesus
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The Festival of Lights For many people in the diaspora – both Jews celebrating Hanukkah and Gentiles observing this celebration – Hanukkah is all about dreidels and latkes. However, if …
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Every Christian loves the story of Christmas. We love to hear about the angels and the shepherds. We love the think about noble Joseph and humble Mary. We love the …
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The angels must have been stunned to see the second member of the triune God become a human being! The baby of Bethlehem was Creator of the universe, pitching His …
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The Advent Season is a time of reflection as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus! This year at Hope, we’ll also have weekly artwork that helps us immerse …
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Imagine how Mary must have felt when she was told by an angel that she would be the parent of the long-awaited Messiah—that she’d be responsible for raising and nurturing …
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We are going to be in Philippians chapter 2 today, as we talk about this great story, the Christmas story. You know, normally you think about Matthew. You think about …
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Dear Roger, I seldom hear Christmas carols anymore. Lyrics are adjusted to leave out Jesus, manger, even the word “Christmas.” Is it important to teach these songs to our children? …
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The Hebrew word for peace is SHALOM. Shalom is RELATIONAL HARMONY and it’s four-dimensional. It’s right relationship with God, Self, Others, and Creation. How do we experience the peace …
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Christmas is filled with images of angels atop our trees and lighting our front yards. But very few of us know how amazing and powerful they are. Most people …
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A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.” In 1977 these blue words scrolled across black screens in theaters across America, introducing an unsuspecting audience to the world …
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Leave your baggage behind. In a crowded, busy holiday season, it’s common for people to feel weighed down by family relationships, financial pressure, regret, or failure. This series will help …
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When we first meet Mary in Luke’s gospel, it is on the occasion when an archangel appeared to her suddenly and without fanfare to disclose to her God’s wonderful plan. …
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As we shop, look up, seek out or ask for gifts in this season of the year — let’s do ourselves a favor and REMEMBER the GIFT of the Savior …
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Names matter in the Bible, because names are used descriptively to describe something or somebody, and one name that, we’ll look at other names a little bit later, but …
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Dr. Randy Carlson and our friends at Family Life Radio share a message of hope in Jesus. Support their ministry today! www.theintentionallife.com.
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Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born! He is a light to reveal GOD to the nations, and he …
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Lots of people make a lot of fuss about Christmas. Some love this time of year (myself included). Others hate it or are opposed to its celebration. Some couch their …
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As you know, we’ve been in a series in Galatians, and we’ll hold off on that until next Lord’s Day. And this morning, just to think a little bit about …
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A great author tells the beginning of the story to prepare the hearer for the end of the story. Charles Dickens famously starts A Tale of Two Cities with the …
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The end of Jesus’ story is found in the beginning. Every detail of God-made-flesh in the manger points to the crucified Savior on the cross. Today, we consider Herod and …
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As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, may God give us eyes to see the beauty of the Christmas story in a fresh way. Every figure we meet at Jesus’ birth …
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Jesus’ story begins with shepherds coming to him, the lamb of God. It ends with the Shepherd being struck down and the sheep scattering. And then there is a final …
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Did you know that one of the biggest challenges to Christianity comes during the Christmas season? It is centered on who Jesus’ family was. In our day when people challenge …
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Christmas is full of cozy thoughts: a sleeping Jesus, wide-eyed shepherds, a soft-faced Mary. The nativity sentiment is warm, the emotion is joy, and the feeling is peace. Such is …
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Introduction Favorite Christmas Song “White Christmas” – best-selling Christmas song of all time Guinness Book of World Records – over 50 million sales Written in 1940 by Irving Berlin Popularized …
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A great author tells the beginning of the story to prepare the hearer for the end of the story. Charles Dickens famously starts A Tale of Two Cities with the …
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Do we choose to be Herod, cling to our power, and our glory, and our sin, and ourselves? Or do we willingly humble ourselves before Jesus and find that in …
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Peter Stoner, in his classic book Science Speaks, calculated the chance of any man fulfilling these prophecies, even down to the present time, to be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (10 to the …
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Introduction Gold: emblematic of Jesus coming to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Matthew 2:2 A metal fit for a king Frankincense: emblematic of the priesthood and …
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God’s glory shows us who we are in relation to a glorious God. His glory drives out fear and replaces it with joy. God’s glory reassures us of the power …
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A conscience is that pressing sense that unerringly guides our choices and pricks us when we don’t heed it’s prompting. It’s that mysteriously universal compass that relentlessly points true north …
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Christmas presents piled high….how many toys do our children need? How do we make our Christmas less about money and more about Jesus? Randy Alcorn writes: “An alarming number of …
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Dear Roger, How could Herod miss Christmas? How could he hear the Wise Men coming so far to find this baby, and not recognize the signs? I don’t want to …
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Most times the reason we don’t let go of worldly things is that we don’t seem to realize that there is something better and more important than what the world …
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A war will be waged again this Christmas, a battle far more pressing than whether to say “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas.” For believers, the real challenge is something entirely …
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Who was the Innkeeper in Bethlehem who cruelly turned Mary and Joseph away? We’ll never know his name. Pastor John Beeson decries him as one of the Christmas villains: “Every …
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King David had no reason to invite Saul’s crippled grandson, Mephibosheth, to sit at his royal table. But David had made a covenant with Jonathan. Jesus has made a permanent …
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Christmas may be celebrated around the world, but many people find it a lonely time. Dr. Deb Waterbury suggests ten ways you can avoid loneliness this Christmas: “It’s simply amazing …
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The majority of people in the world will miss the next Christmas. But how can that be? How can anyone miss Christmas, given the amount of advertising, publicity, and promotion …
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Grace really is, relationally speaking, it really is the unsettling solution for just about everything. Jesus was full of grace. He extended it to people who were nothing like him, …
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Dear Roger, I hear people talking about praise and worship. Are they the same? If not, how are they related? What is the difference between them? Sincerely, Liz …
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Evidence does, indeed, show that Jesus lived. The question is, will you believe it? At this point we’re not even addressing the question of whether Jesus was God in human …
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According to Luke 1:1–4, the Gospel of Luke and its sequel the Acts of the Apostles were written to help Theophilus (and all subsequent readers) know the truth of the Christian …
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One wonders why there are so many people in America who seem so offended at a simple greeting like, “Merry Christmas.” While talk show hosts rant about the “Attack on Christmas,” by …
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God is above but He is not pushed up; He is beneath but He is not pressed down. He is outside but He is not excluded. He is inside but …
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Merry Christmas! Oh, excuse me! Seasons Greetings. Happy Holidays. Finding Jesus at Christmas is just like playing “Where’s Waldo.” Look hard. He’s nowhere to be found! I attended a middle school “Christmas” …
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God has blessings for you in categories that you don’t even know exist. Preached at National Community Church.
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A perverse man spreads strife, and a slanderer separates intimate friends. —Proverbs 16:28 Jesus made a remarkable statement concerning Judas. He said, “‘Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, …
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Are you a control freak? It’s easy to do, whether you are a leader of a large organization or the mother of small children. It’s amazing to me how many …
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Wise Men followed the star. They jumped for joy, and they came bringing gifts. Mary and Joseph needed a miracle and it was provided by someone that God sent from …
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Man’s condition before Christ came was hopeless. Jesus, Son of Man and Son of God came to save mankind. Nicodemus, the curious Jewish leader, was told by Christ to be …
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Here’s a creative way to help your children participate in a week of prayer! Make a chart with a big square for every day of the week. Choose a category …
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What was the Star of Bethlehem and what did it signify? Nine points of the star’s meaning are revealed in Matthew 2. The light of God’s glory not only appeared …