Advent 2023

Dec. 25 – 12 Days of Christmas to Epiphany

Devotional After Christmas, the church calendar enters twelve days of Epiphany – from Dec. 26 to Jan. 6. The dictionary defines an...

Dec. 24 – Jesus, Our Savior God

Devotional If you are a parent, you no doubt have had times when you wished you could read your child’s mind – to know what they were...

Dec. 23 – Lessons from Advent Devotionals

Devotional So far we've spent the month of December trying to see Christmas through the eyes of the people who actually lived it, and...

Dec. 22 – Isaiah, the Messianic Prophet

Devotional The story of Jesus saturates the Bible narrative and prophecies of His first Advent are found throughout the Old Testament....

Dec. 21 – John, a Voice Crying in the Wilderness

Devotional Why include John the Baptist in the characters of Christmas? Think back to the beginning of the Christmas story in Luke – it...

Dec. 20 – Who Trained the Wise Men?

Devotional Before we leave this story of the Wise Men, the horror in Bethlehem and the escape to Egypt, I have one question for you – how...

Dec. 19 – Angel Gabriel, God’s Protection

Devotional Gabriel, the angel sent by God to be His messenger and coordinator of all His plans, had one more task to complete the...

Dec. 18 – Men Wise Beyond Their Years and Culture

Devotional The story of the Star of Bethlehem appears only in the Book of Matthew. The Gospel tells us that a bright star appeared in the...

Dec. 17 – King Herod, the Monster of Christmas

Devotional Every story needs a villain, and the Master storyteller doesn’t hold back in the Christmas story. This one has one doozy of a...

Dec. 16 – Anna, the Faithful Widow

Devotional Soon after Simeon appears in the Temple to meet Jesus, we are told of an enigmatic prophetess named Anna (Greek form of...

Dec. 15 – Simeon, the Elder

Devotional Unlike most popular versions of the Nativity story, Luke’s doesn’t end at the manger, and the three Magi do not appear....

Dec. 14 – Luke, the Doctor of Details

Devotional Every year on Christmas Eve my father would grab the family Bible, open it to the Gospel of Luke, and read the Christmas story...

Dec. 13 – Christmas Prophecies Come True

Devotional Prophecy is an indispensable part of the Nativity story – with good reason. God has always spoken and acted in real history,...

Dec. 12 – Shepherds, Humble Evangelists

Devotional Stop for a minute and think – you have great news, the best news ever. Who do you want to tell? Who do you go to first? I...

Dec. 11 – Angels, God’s Announcers

Devotional Angels serve a variety of roles in Scripture: they advocate, they protect, they make war, they announce, they teach, they...

Dec. 10 – Manger Animals, the First Witnesses

Devotional In his book, An Angel’s Story, Max Lucado sets the scene for the animals. “I’ve heated the water!” ”No need to yell, Joseph. I...

Dec. 9 – Innkeeper, the Unlikely Host

Devotional In his book, An Angel’s Story, Max Lucado imagines the scene at the Inn in Bethany when Mary and Joseph arrive. “But don’t you...

Dec. 8 – Caesar Augustus, the Arrogant Ruler

Devotional The prophet Micah prophesied 700 years before the birth of Christ that he would be born in Bethlehem. Have you ever thought...

Dec. 7 – Joseph, the Earthly Father of Jesus

Devotional To understand Joseph’s perspective of the Christmas narrative, we need to understand the customs surrounding...

Dec. 6 – Angel Gabriel Reassures Joseph

Devotional Gabriel shows up a third time in the Christmas narrative, this time to reassure Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, that she was not...