“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 …
“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham . . .” (Matthew 1:1, NIV) Two Gospels, Matthew’s and Luke’s, include genealogies of Jesus Christ. Luke traces Jesus back through Abraham, while Matthew provides the Messiah’s Davidic lineage. But another key difference between the lists is that Matthew’s, …
“He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him.” (Isaiah 53:2, NET) Christmas, South Texas, 1957. I wanted a Christmas tree—a real one! But we were in …
“A voice is calling, ‘Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. . . . Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together.’” (Isaiah 40:3, 5, NASB) Over six hundred years before the birth of Christ, …
“Then blind eyes will open, deaf ears will hear. Then the lame will leap like a deer, the mute tongue will shout for joy; for water will flow in the desert, streams in the wilderness.” (Isaiah 35:5–6, NET) The days of our Lord’s birth were troubled times for God’s people. A corrupt priesthood and a …
“And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6, NASB) The ancient prophet declared that Jesus Christ was the Prince of Peace. Jesus might have come to bring peace, but it wasn’t in evidence in Bethlehem last year this time. Reuters reported about a brawl in that …
“ . . . The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14, NIV) Tucked away in this prophecy—first spoken by Isaiah and later fulfilled at the birth of Christ—is a special name embodying a vital truth: Even in our darkest moments, God is with us. It …
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son . . . ” (Isaiah 7:14, NIV) Dr. Walter Wilson, a physician and Bible teacher in Kansas City, had just examined a young university student and felt constrained to share Christ with her before she left …
“The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” (Psalm 110:1, ESV) My grandfather, succumbing to Alzheimer’s later in life, lost track of reality and eventually failed to recognize his own wife. And he died. This past spring, grief swept through our Seminary faculty as Prof …
“I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8, NASB) One of the special delights of Christmas is how its true meaning often breaks through to us in unexpected ways in spite of our frantic pace. We glimpse it in the sheer joy on a child’s face, …
“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.” (Deuteronomy 18:15, NIV) It’s always gratifying when a promise is finally made good. It’s an encouragement to faith when a Scripture prophecy comes true! Amazingly, many people often don’t recognize …
“A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel.” (Numbers 24:17, NASB) Let’s go see the lights!” That was the cry of the kids when shortly after Thanksgiving Christmas lights started popping up in the surrounding neighborhoods. I don’t care how old you are, the sight of those lights just ignites …
“See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills.” (Exodus 31:2–3, NIV) Read the passage above carefully. Believe it or not, it’s here toward the …
“I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3, NRSV) Although connected contextually, Genesis 12:1–3 has a stark presence in the biblical text. With the growing problems of humanity after the flood, God intervenes …
“And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15, NKJV) When we think of Christmas, we don’t usually think of snakes—much less “that serpent of old . . . the Devil” (Rev. 12:9). And …
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said . . .” (Genesis 1:1–3, ESV) Revelation of God as Trinity is the …
