“For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, ‘Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles, and I will sing […]

“‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked. ‘Come and see,’ said Philip.” (John 1:46, NIV) Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” With these dismissive words Nathanael shrugged off Philip’s excited announcement that the Messiah, announced by Moses and the Old Testament prophets, at long last had come and was now in their

“Blessed is the KING who comes in the name of the LORD; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38, NASB) At Christmas we focus on Jesus’ birth, and rightly so. Nothing that He did would be possible had He not come to earth and taken on humanity. However, sometimes it is valuable

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29–32, NIV) The day after Christmas, 2001, upon news

“To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, through the mercy of our God, whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:77–79,

“And behold, you will conceive . . . and bear a son, and . . . name Him Jesus. He will be great . . . called the Son of the Most High . . . the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David . . . He will reign over

“God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’” (Luke 1:26–28, NIV) When I

“And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’” (Matthew 2:14–15, ESV) Taking a trip to a foreign country with a

“AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.” (Matt. 2:6, NASB) Imbedded in the memory of many of us who regularly celebrate Christmas is Matthew’s quotation of Micah 5:2. “AND YOU, BETHLEHEM,

“And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the