God’s grace and genealogies

If you haven’t heard it already, probably within the next couple of weeks you will hear read (or read yourself) the genealogy of Jesus. What is one to do with such passages? We are to hear the grace of Christ, as Martyn Lloyd-Jones has noted: The Lord Jesus Christ has manifested his Father, and has […]

Just what is the Advent wreath?

On Sunday mornings during the Christmas season, as part of our worship service, we light Advent wreath candles in conjunction with a Scripture reading. You may be wondering about the origin of this practice, and just what an advent wreath is. As one writer notes, “For four weeks, it’s as if we’re re-enacting, remembering the […]

Advent Devotionals

The next few weeks will produce many kinds of temptations to forget about Christ. Busy with Christmas, we might ignore the meaning of these days. Here are a few of resources to help keep you and your family focused on Christ during these days. The Village Church. has provided an Advent Guide (PDF) that provides […]

The Innkeeper

For years, John Piper would write four poems each advent season to commemorate the coming of Christ. One of my personal favorite — and evidently the favorite of many others as well — is called, “The Innkeeper”. You can listen to it here, as well as hear about the two influences that motivated him to […]

It’s Christmas Day

Another poem from Christina Rossetti to stimulate your thoughts toward Christ this Christmas morn: Christmas Day A baby is a harmless thing And wins our hearts with one accord, And Flower of Babies was their King, Jesus Christ our Lord: Lily of lilies He Upon His Mother’s knee; Rose of roses, soon to be Crowned […]

Since Christ has been born…

A few years ago, pastor Sam Crabtree filled in the blanks to the statement, “What Would Not Be if Jesus Had Not Been.” Reading that contemplation and pondering some additional related thoughts then led me to consider the statement, “Since Christ has been born…” Here are the Biblical realities that we, as believers, experience because […]

Book Review: The Case for Christmas

Title: The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger Author: Lee Strobel Publisher: Zondervan, 2005; 96 pp. $9.99 (print), $1.99 (e-book) Recommendation (4-star scale): Lee Strobel was a journalist who rejected Christ. His hatred was such that he decided to prove once-and-for-all that Christ was not who He […]

It’s Christmas Eve

Christina Rossetti wrote some wonderful Christian poetry. Here is one that is fitting for this day: Christmas Eve Christmas hath a darkness Brighter than the blazing noon, Christmas hath a chillness Warmer than the heat of June Christmas hath a beauty Lovelier than the world can show: For Christmas bringeth Jesus, Brought for us so […]

A retro Christmas

My family has long questioned my propensity for saving items past what seems to be the life of usefulness of the item(s) in question. My “collections” of ties, sweaters, t-shirts, cassette tapes, school papers, magazines, screws and the like have all been questioned. But this evening, one assortment of saved items has turned into a […]

The meaning of Christmas

Looking for a way to introduce the topic of Christmas to your unbelieving family and friends? This video may be a good conversation starter: [HT: Justin Taylor] You might also consider a list of questions that Don Whitney has provided to stimulate spiritual discussion at Christmas gatherings.

Sunday Leftovers (12/19/10)

There is a tendency, both culturally and in the church, to disconnect the infant Jesus from the crucified Christ. Too many want to insulate the babe in the manger from the God-Man who cried from the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” Yet there is no meaning in Christmas without a […]

The preciousness of Christ

I am now reading Octavius Winslow’s 18th century work, The Precious Things of God. Yesterday I came across this statement, which is a fitting reminder for the Christmas season: Other objects often lose their attraction, their desire to interest, or their power to charm us, by the lapse of years; but Jesus is that glorious […]

Sunday Leftovers (12/12/10)

After preaching on the story of the angel’s appearance to Zecharias (Luke 1:5-25), I came across two resources about that story. The first is Jon Bloom’s contemplation of what the first conversation between Zecharias and Elizabeth might have been when his tongue was finally loosed to speak again. Jon also notes the theme of grace […]

The redemption of the worst Christmas song ever

One church has redeemed what is (in my estimation) the worst Christmas song ever written: HT: Tim Challies.

Do we need to put Christ back into Christmas?

R. C. Sproul has written what I have said many times in answering the objection that using the short-hand “X-mas” is not actually an attempt to remove Christ from the word “Christmas,” but is in fact part of an ancient tradition of Christians. First of all, you have to understand that it is not the […]