Today's Reading: John 1:1-5, 18John's gospel account doesn't give us any of the physical details regarding the birth of Jesus, like Matthew and Luke do. But He does reveal the purpose and meaning of the birth of Jesus. As "the Word", Jesus is God's final and most complete revelation of Himself - though no on has seen God, when we see Jesus, we understand the nature and character of God more comple...  Read More

Today's Reading: Luke 2:22-40What really strikes me here is how God continues to reveal the Messiah to common people rather than the religious or government leaders. We don't know anything of Simeon or Anna other than what we read here. They both seem to be just ordinary people who loved God and were seeking Him. Are you seeking God like that in your life?...  Read More

Today's Reading: Luke 2:8-21Ryan covered this passage in detail last Sunday so if you missed that you'll want to watch or listen to it.I want to focus on what this passage teaches us about evangelism. These shepherds weren't well educated. They hadn't been to seminary and probably didn't attend the synagogue each week. But when they encountered Jesus, it was their natural response to go and tell o...  Read More

Today's Reading: Luke 2:1-7A lot of our ideas about the Christmas story have been shaped by our own traditions as well as familiarity with the story. For instance, how many of us haven't been to a Christmas pageant or heard a sermon about the innkeeper who didn't have a vacancy and been exhorted to make sure we have room for Jesus in our lives? (By the way that is an important principle, just not ...  Read More

Today's Reading: Luke 1:67-80This song of Zechariah is often called the Benedictus, which is based on the first words of the song in Latin. The song is filled with Old Testament references that confirm that both the birth and ministry of John and the birth and ministry of Jesus are the fulfillment of God's promises that had been made centuries earlier. This means that the incarnation of Jesus was ...  Read More

Today's Reading: Luke 1:57-66It took a while, but Zechariah finally believed what God had revealed to him 9 months earlier. He demonstrated that belief by confirming that the child was to be named John, and not Zechariah after him. Throughout the Christmas narrative, we are reminded that the kind of belief that God is looking for always requires action on our part. It is always more than just an i...  Read More

Today's Reading: Luke 1:46-56This beautiful song of Mary is known as the Magnificat, which is Latin for "magnify". What is important to note here is that Mary magnifies God, and not herself. In spite of the fact that she has found favor with God and has received Elizabeth's blessing, she acknowledges that she is a sinner who needs a savior (see verse 47).I think that Mary would be appalled at some...  Read More

Today's Reading: Luke 1:39-45When Mary heard from the angel Gabriel that her relative Elizabeth was pregnant, she made the long  journey from Galilees to Judea - probably close to 100 miles - for a visit. I think Mary probably thought that if there was anyone who could understand her experience it had to be Elizabeth, who was also going to have a miraculous birth.Filled with the Holy Spirt, Elizab...  Read More

Today's Reading: Luke 1:26-38Ryan covered this passage in his message last Sunday, so if you want to dig into this some more, take some time to watch or listen to that message.Among the many things that fascinates me about this passage is what a great job Mary's parents must have done in order to develop such maturity and faith in a teenage girl. That challenges me to be doing the same thing in th...  Read More

Today's Reading: Luke 1:5-25There is another miraculous birth that precedes the birth of Jesus. Zechariah and Elizabeth have been barren all their lives and are now beyond child-bearing years (some hints of Abraham and Sarah here). In that culture, not being able to have children was considered to be a curse, which we see clearly in verse 25. But God was about to intervene supernaturally so that t...  Read More

Today's Reading: Matthew 2:19-23Verse 23 is interesting because there is no direct prophecy in the Old Testament that indicates the Messiah would come from Nazareth. In fact, there is some evidence in the New Testament that the people weren't expecting him to come form there. There are several possible explanations, but the most likely, in my opinion, is that Matthew is using Nazareth as a picture...  Read More

Today's Reading: Matthew 2:16-18This passage helps us determine the timing of the visit of the magi. Herod orders all the babies two years old and younger be killed, which was in accordance with the timeline the magi had given him.There is such a contrast between the kind of king that Herod was and Jesus. Herod was so afraid of losing his power that he was willing to murder innocent babies. Contra...  Read More