Archives for December 2019

Wonderful. Counselor. Mighty God. Everlasting Father. Prince of Peace. Grand Arsonist? No. Jesus did not come to set fire to the Roman Empire. He was concerned with stoking the flames in our hearts. He does this by being Immanuel when we read God's word. This Advent season we have focused on what Immanuel, God with us, means for us. Immanuel means hope, peace, joy, and l...

We've heard of the three wise men, but have you heard of the three wise women? Check out this post from Canon J. John to find out who they are. In any sort of drama production lighting is important, with the spotlight falling on the important characters and everybody else hidden in the shadows. Modern life is a little bit like that. Some people are never out of the spotli...

Jesus coming to earth means that God is both truthful and trustworthy. Jesus is literally living proof that God can be trusted. Romans 15:8 tells us that Christ came "to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs". In these first two weeks of Advent we've looked at two different prophecies in the book of Isaiah. Both of them were ulti...

Last week's blog post mentioned that the Advent season was not practiced by the church until well into the 4th century and that the date of Christ's birth is impossible to identify with sufficient accuracy.Paul didn't celebrate the birth of Jesus. Peter didn't celebrate the birth of Jesus. The question that comes to mind, then, iswhycelebrate Christmas today? For over 200...