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Welcome to the 10th Day of Christmas! If you only notice the 12 days of Christmas on sales fliers and email promotions, then you might have thought that the 12 days of Christmas were a countdown to the celebration of the birth of Jesus. But if you’ve reminded yourselves about what I share most years,…

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. They fell down and worshiped him. 1. _They…

Magi? Who Are These Wise Guys? The Priests of Zoroastrianism Astrologers and Philosophers Students of Ancient Texts Seekers of Truth Advisors to the King of Babylon Worshipers of Jesus Carriers of 3 Important Gifts The Magi or “Wise Guys” Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of…

Beginning of advent.

One of the first message I ever spoke was about the Christmas Star. Now this may seem like an unusual topic, but hear me out. I believe that the star plays a critical role and has a lot to teach us about how we need to conduct our lives. Stars are mentioned in the Bible nearly 70 times. They first appear…

Mysterious visitors from the east travel to Bethlehem seeking the King of the Jews.

In Matthew's gospel account, we come across two kings. One lives in a comfortable palace in Jerusalem, while the other king lives in a little town named Bethlehem. A group of wise men from the East spots the star signifying the king of the Jews has been born! They wish to worship and give expensive gifts to him in honor of his coming. In this message, we discover who we are in this Christmas story - are we the wise men or Herod? This question is answered by how we respond to the newborn king.

Nativity Scenes St Francis of Assisi AD 1223 - Italy Not all present at one place at one time on the night Jesus was born. A beautiful tradition and teaching tool, but not accurate. No record of animals, angels, nor a star.... Few Bible characters are as well know, yet so clouded by myth and tradition…

One of the most common areas of scandals is the area of politics--both in history and presently. Politics is also one of the most heated areas of debate and division in our culture. In today's passage, we see a powerful ruler, King Herod, flexing his political muscles against King Jesus. His response is actually a picture of our hearts' response to King Jesus' authority; today's passage challenges our view of politics as well as the misplaced hope we put into it. It reminds us of the hope of Jesus' kingdom.

Epiphany: God’s Self-Manifestation Today’s feast of the Epiphany gets its name from the Greek word ep-i-PHA-neia, which means “appearance” or “manifestation.” It’s about the Lord making himself known to the nations in fulfillment of… well, a whole bunch of Old Testament prophesies, like the one from…

God fills us with joy so that our hope increases. What if you don’t have joy? You might be tempted to think that you have to have it all together first and then you will experience joy. But just the opposite is true- joy comes first and increases our hope. True joy is rooted in our relationship with God and his constant presence which brings hope and renewal. We are going to take a look at some mentions of joy in the Christmas story and discuss how this kind of joy restores us back to God as the source of joy.

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed,…

When I mention Mona Lisa , The Scream , and Impression, Sunrise , what comes to mind? If you thought, “They’re all famous paintings,” you’re correct. They actually have a couple of other things in common. The first is that they’re all considered to be tremendously valuable—you might even call them treasures…

As we are celebrating the Christmas season, we want to look at an event that took place that is commonly associated with the Christmas story: the visit of the Wise Men (Magi). The truth is that this event took place a year or two after the birth of Christ, but it is still one that holds a special place…

Purpose of Matthew. Throughout his gospel, Matthew desires to display to the Jewish people, how Christ is the fulfillment of the OT promises and the rightful heir to the Abrahamic and Davidic covenant. Matthew accomplishes this purpose by referencing more Old Testament prophecies than any other of the…

Raise your hand this morning if movies are your thing. I don’t mean going to the theater to see a movie. I mean those of you who would say, “My home is my movie theater.” So, let’s see who the real movie fans are. Raise your hand if you have over 100 DVDs. Does anybody have 200 or more DVDs? Anybody…

Jesus Christ is the King who God promised would reign forever to bless His people with every spiritual blessing.

Jesus is the the joy of all nations who gives salvation to everyone who believes in Him.

This Isn’t a Christmas Cantata I really like Nativity Scenes, they are probably one of my favorite decorations we put up every year. But Nativity scenes and Christmas cantatas aren’t the most accurate retellings of the Christmas Story. The shepherds Luke tells us came to visit Jesus after the angelic…

The salvation of Christ is the fulfillment of God's promise to bless all the families of the earth.

Every page of the Old Testament is about Jesus. That might sound like a strange thing to say, since the birth of Jesus doesn’t happen until the New Testament. But from the third chapter of Genesis, where the first promise of the Savior is given, to the last prophet, Malachi, the central theme of the…

Advent teaches us about learning to search like you’re gonna find what you’re looking for. Seeking (in the Bible) is the sure-fire way to find God, and while some of us are incredibly resistant to look, he promises that is where we will find him. In the kingdom of God, it isn’t about the kind of search you’re on- but if your search leads you to the incarnated love of God- to incarnating the love of God in palpable acts of waiting and searching for him.