Free audio book – Handel’s Messiah

This month, Christian audio is making available for free the audio book, Handel’s Messiah. No codes to insert. No promises to make. Just a free book with an easy download process.

Experiencing a post-Christmas let-down?

Each year Christmas night finds members of my family feeling some melancholy. After weeks of anticipation, the Christmas celebrations have flashed by us and are suddenly gone. And we’re left standing, watching the Christmas taillights and music fade into the night. But it’s possible that this moment of melancholy may be the best teaching moment […]

It’s Christmas day…

It’s Christmas day — a time to remember the advent of Christ. A time to remember both the fact that He came and the reason that He came. The circumstances of His arrival were quite remarkable. His birth was singularly unique because of the virgin birth, of course, but Joe Stowell reminds us even more […]

What Jesus thought of His birth

For the past several weeks, children around Granbury and the country and the world have been trying to listen in on the private conversations of their parents, hoping to gather hints about what might show up under the Christmas tree. Mostly, their attempts — I think — have been in vain (at least they always […]

Christmas Eve and Good Friday

There is a clear, unmistakable, and critical link between Christmas and Good Friday (Christ’s death). Celebrate Christmas without meditating on the cross, and you will have a Christmas devoid of meaning — all pretty paper, bows, lights, and tinsel, without any real treasure and joy. Christmas without the cross is a meal without the food, […]

Preach the gospel to yourself today

“Preach the gospel to yourself every day,” Jerry Bridges has written and said in numerous contexts. And he means that literally — each new day demands a fresh rehearsal (through the quotation of Scripture) of the essential components of the gospel so that we are reminded each day of our standing before God. In a […]

Sunday Leftovers (12/20/09)

The story of the birth of Christ is populated by a broad variety of people who — superficially at least — seemed to have no particularly significant qualifications for their involvement in the story. The credentials for Joseph and Mary are humble at best: poor, young, alone, largely ostracized by family and friends. The shepherds […]

They saw Christmas, Pt. 2

[Continued from yesterday.] Consider two more groups of people who saw that first Christmas, and their kindred spirits who still see Christ today. Two oft-forgotten God-believers are Simeon and Anna (their story is told in Luke 2:22-38 if you wish to refresh your memory about them). There were a number of similarities between these two. […]

They saw Christmas

If there were people who, though proximate to Jesus’ birth, missed Christmas, examples also abound of those who celebrated Christmas the Christ way. Consider Mary. Though young in years (she was probably a teenager), she was mature in spirit. Luke tells us that she and Zacharias experienced similar angelic revelations (1:5-38). Yet when Zacharias was […]

They missed Christmas, Pt. 2

(Continued from yesterday) There were others that missed that first Christmas. They were two groups of people that should have known Christ — but still chose to ignore Christ. There were the religious leaders. They knew where Christ was to be born (Micah 5:2), but showed no interest in Him when the wise men showed […]

They missed Christmas

They missed Christmas. Oh, they were there. They saw the baby. They heard the cries of joy from the shepherds. They might have heard the testimonies of Anna and Simeon. They heard the story of angelic visits from Joseph and Mary. But they missed Christmas. Take, for instance, the innkeeper. When a teenage couple in […]

A short grab bag of links

Here are a variety of interesting links that I’ve noted over the past couple of weeks, but haven’t been able to work into a blog: Justin Taylor synthesized a detailed response to Newsweek’s recent article, “Our Mutual Joy,” denigrating the Biblical position that opposes homosexual marriage. Al Mohler has also offered a variety of responses […]

Today’s Quote – Christmas (Lessin)

Roy Lessin (unknown book): The Christmas season gives us something to look back to, to look up to, and look forward to. We look back and see a babe in a manager; we look up and see the Lamb upon His throne; we look ahead and see the King coming in all His glory.

Today’s Quote – Christmas (Rosetti)

Christina Rosetti, in Christianity Today, What can I give Him, Poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb, If I were a wise man, I would do my part, Yet what can I give Him? Give Him my heart.

Today’s Quote – Christmas (Boice)

James Montgomery Boice, The Christ of Christmas, If the story were a fable or even an event that merely had happened 2,000 years ago (or even 100 years ago) and then ended, it would have no hold upon us. What does it really matter that somebody died long ago in a far-off land? I have […]