If we relied on Mark, we would have to stretch to get a story worth a Christmas carol. Mark has no shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night, no Mary, no Joseph, no manger, no wise men, no Herod.
Light the Candles and Push Back the Darkness
November 29, 2023 by
During Advent, in churches and private homes around the world, candles are lighted and the stages of the journey to Bethlehem are observed. It is the time when we sing familiar hymns commemorating the birth of the Christ child.
A View from the Pew: Who Is the Christmas Program For?
November 28, 2023 by
It’s that time of year when the church sanctuary is transformed into downtown Bethlehem circa first century AD, and the parking lot may or may not host some sheep.
Helping Each Other Grieve
June 21, 2023 by
As well as being a joyous time, Christmas can be difficult for people touched by tragedy or loss in the past year. Grief is isolating. While the rest of the world seems to be celebrating, tragedies years and decades old resurface.
Catching a Glimpse
December 27, 2022 by
The first Christmas comes and goes, and most people don’t notice. Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and a few others catch a glimpse of what is happening, but they’re just a handful.
Finding the Child for Ourselves
December 22, 2022 by
My nephew Connor was born nearly a month early. My husband and I had just visited the weekend before to help my brother and sister-in-law assemble the crib, wash onesies, and set up the changing station.
Pass the Parcel Nativity Story
December 20, 2022 by
I wanted a simple, interactive way of telling the Nativity story, as my Sunday group can be a bit lively, so I decided that we would use some of our leftover Christmas cards.
Formations 12.25.2022: Of Course, She Knew
December 18, 2022 by
If you grew up in a particular kind of Christian subculture, you can’t beat Mark Lowry for quirky humor and good old-fashioned Southern Gospel music.
Connections 12.25.2022: Pondering Traditions
December 18, 2022 by
The other day I saw a social media post aimed at newly married folks. It said, in effect, whatever you do, you do not question your spouse’s family’s Christmas traditions.
A View from the Pew: Dilemmas of Christmas on Sunday
December 14, 2022 by
Every five to 11 years, depending on leap years, Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, and church-going folks, especially those with small children, face tough decisions.
How Does Christmas Feel?
December 13, 2022 by
When I was a high school student, I did not compile a particularly enviable record as an athlete or as a scholar. I did, however, achieve a fleeting measure of notoriety as an Elvis impersonator.
Connections 12.18.2022: What is Love?
December 11, 2022 by
In this final week of Advent, our wait for Christmas Day is in single digits. The winter solstice, the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, is here.
We Need the Hope of Christmas Now
December 7, 2022 by
Simply and directly, our world is not what it should be. And the Advent and Christmas season offer the expectancy of what should be.
Waiting During Advent
December 6, 2022 by
In the Advent/Christmas season, let me encourage you to learn how to wait. I know we don’t want to do that.
Formations 12.11.2022: The Idolatry of the Tribe
December 4, 2022 by
According to Deuteronomy 23:3, “No Ammonite or Moabite shall come into the assembly of the LORD even to the tenth generation. None of their descendants shall come into the assembly of the LORD forever.”
Connections 12.11.2022: Having Patience
December 4, 2022 by
We are often a backward-looking or forward-looking society. It’s hard to stay in the present. Many of us spend lots of time thinking about past decisions, memories, or events that we wish we could do over.
Facing Grief, at Christmas and Always
November 30, 2022 by
I am neither a nihilist nor a pessimist. For heaven’s sake, I am pastor of America’s home of Positive Thinking. I am, however, a realist. And as such, I have a theory about life. Here it is: Life is not the last five minutes of the movie.
Connections 12.04.2022: Seeking Peace
November 27, 2022 by
There are several different ways to “name” the four traditional weeks of Advent as we move closer to the celebration of Jesus’s birth. The most familiar is probably the quartet of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.
Christmas Card Boxes and Advent Calendar
December 22, 2021 by
I always keep my Nativity themed Christmas cards because the children, especially at our school, love to look at them and talk about the Nativity story.
Formations 12.26.2021: The Word Became Flesh
December 19, 2021 by
Our favorite Christmas Bible stories usually involve angels, Mary and Joseph, shepherds, a stable behind an inn, animals, a tiny baby in a feeding trough, and wise men visiting from afar. This passage in the Gospel of John has none of those, and yet it is probably the most important Christmas story of all.
Connections 12.26.2021: Christmas Clothes
December 19, 2021 by
When I was a boy, my parents had a Christmas routine. My father would go to one of the department stores in our small town, where he would engage the help of the wife of the couple that owned the store in selecting a dress as a Christmas gift for my mother.
Formations 12.19.2021: Angels from the Realms of Glory
December 12, 2021 by
Angels are everywhere. That’s not a theological statement; it’s just an observation of life in a modern, Western culture in December.
Connections 12.19.2021: A Friend in Pregnancy
December 12, 2021 by
Soon after I became pregnant with our first daughter in 2004, I learned that my best friend—already the mother of two—was pregnant as well.
As Slow as Christmas
December 8, 2021 by
It was late on Christmas Day; the sun had set and my parents and I were somewhere between Yatesville and Barnesville on our way back home after the day-long celebration of Christ’s birth through the eating of food and the exchanging of gifts.
Formations 12.12.2021: God Will Be Our Shepherd
December 5, 2021 by
I’ve met—and am related to—a bunch of farmers and others who live in rural communities. But I don’t think I’ve ever met a shepherd.
Connections 12.12.2021: How to Live
December 5, 2021 by
Who knows what people expect to hear when they go out to listen to John the Baptist preach. We do know what they hear.
A View from the Pew: Pancho and the Christmas Play
December 22, 2020 by
If you’ve ever performed in a Christmas drama you know the truth of the old show business maxim attributed to W.C. Fields: “Never work with children or animals.”
Formations 12.27.2020: Blue Christmas
December 20, 2020 by
It’s always good to remember that the Christmas season isn’t always joyful for some of us. Those folks ringing the bells and collecting donations outside your favorite grocery store?
Connections 12.20.2020: Faithful to Send Jesus
December 13, 2020 by
I thought about opening with these words: “Put yourself in Mary’s place.” But then I realized that we can’t do that.
Skipping Christmas
December 1, 2020 by
For centuries, Christians have celebrated the birth of Jesus by coming to church to sing, pray, remember, give thanks, and recommit our lives to Christ. What were we thinking?
Lent. The Ugly Step-Sister Season.
March 11, 2020 by
Lent… It’s not Christmas, that’s for sure. It’s not a season when we’re hanging the holly and lighting the tree, twinkling and throwing gifts around like confetti and singing carols to strangers. It’s not a season that glitters.
A View from the Pew: Family vs. Faith Traditions on Christmas Eve
December 24, 2019 by
There are two kinds of families in this world: those who open gifts on Christmas Eve and those who wait until Christmas morning. I have been blessed to have been a part of both.
Connections 12.22.2019: A Righteous Man
December 15, 2019 by
Our lesson text says that Joseph was “a righteous man” (v. 19). We could use more righteous men these days. I say that as a man. I’m allowed to talk about my own kind.
A View from the Pew: ‘Tis the Season for Missionary Speakers
December 4, 2019 by
Missionary speakers at church are as much a Christmas tradition as Christmas trees, Advent wreaths, and Nativity scenes.
Coming, a Prayer for Advent
December 3, 2019 by
Come to us, Lord Jesus,
in every purple-patterned life,
every wrap of loving arms
in shivering December.
Connections 11.10.2019: Getting and Being Ready
November 3, 2019 by
I try not to think too much about “the real meaning of Christmas”—the incarnation event, the Word made flesh, the baby in the manger—until just after the fourth Sunday of Advent. Don’t freak out on me.
Advent Devotions: Joy
December 25, 2018 by
Merry Christmas! Technically, Advent is over, but as I’ve said before, even though the Christ child has come, in a way, we are still waiting. We wait with hope. We wait with peace. We wait with love. And today, we wait with joy.
A View from the Pew: Hearing the Story
December 19, 2018 by
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” aired in 1965, and a generation formed an indelible association with the passage from Luke 2 and the recitation of the Christmas story by the character Linus Van Pelt. Born in 1970, I am definitely of that generation.
Advent Devotions: Love
December 18, 2018 by
When I was in junior high school I began going on mission trips each summer to New Orleans. Our youth group would break up into teams and lead backyard Bible clubs in neighborhood parks. We always carried Evangecubes—an interactive tract—with us. One day I was sitting at the bottom of a slide with a little boy who was around 8 years old.
Advent Devotions: Peace
December 11, 2018 by
Isaiah tells us of a promise that will be fulfilled. Though he expects to see the promise fulfilled in his lifetime, he is left waiting and faithfully pointing toward the truth. This is the same promise that we are waiting for as we move toward celebrating the birth of the Christ child.
Advent Devotions: Hope
December 4, 2018 by
As I’ve prepared to explore Advent and journey through this season of waiting and watching, I’ve had one song stuck in my head. Well, one line from one song stuck in my head: “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices….”
Meditations on Luke: “Do Not Be Afraid”
December 26, 2017 by
Over Christmas one of my daughters asked me a question. “Daddy, why is it that every time an angel shows up in the Bible, he always says, ‘Do not be afraid’?” I responded, “Well, what would you do if an angel suddenly appeared in your room one night?”
Crossroads: The Angel Candle/Candle of Love
December 25, 2017 by
Today we light the last purple candle. This candle is the angel candle, or the candle of love. This candle reminds us of the love God has shown us through Jesus.
Formations 12.31.2017: Christ(mas) Has Come!
December 24, 2017 by
On the Christian calendar—as opposed to the secular calendar by which stores began decking their halls shortly after Halloween—the Christmas season began on December 25th and will end twelve days later on January 5.
Connections 12.31.2017: Jesus and the Elderly
December 24, 2017 by
I turned forty this year, and I’m grateful to be able to say that I still have one living set of grandparents. My father’s parents, known to me as Mom and Pop, are age eighty-three and ninety-three. They’ve been a huge part of my life since my birth.
Crossroads: The Shepherd Candle/Candle of Joy
December 18, 2017 by
Welcome to the third week of Advent! Advent is a time of preparation, when we wait and prepare for the Christ child. Each week, you will light a new candle as we recognize the things that Christ brings to this world: hope, peace, joy, and love.
Connections 12.17.2017: The Light of Christ
December 10, 2017 by
At this time of year, we marvel at the beauty of Christmas lights. Our family enjoys getting a special treat and riding through our town, admiring neighborhood light displays while we listen to Christmas music. We love to decorate our own house as well.
Prayer is Not Seasonal
December 6, 2017 by
Commercials tell us that it is time for families to gather around the Christmas tree and the television. Jingle the bells. Add snow to the background. Cue smiling families, dressed alternately in red and green, making snowmen and snowballs. “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”