I don't know about you but every event I go to, no matter what it is, I try and find the VIP section and ponder the question—how much do those tickets cost? For some of us maybe we have been lucky enough to sit in those VIP seats, with the play or the game happening just inches away! When sitting there you feel a sense of you are a part of it. During my college days I had the privilege to attend m...  Read More

“How will this be?” was Mary’s initial response when the angel told her she was going to bear a child. She was gobsmacked! She knew she was a virgin. Why would she, a simple girl, be found to have favor with God? So much so that she would conceive and give birth to God’s only son, Jesus. Can you imagine all the things that must have been swirling around in her head? So many questions. Why me? Why ...  Read More

Picture it. Nazareth. 9 months BC. You are just a teenager, living your life, engaged…and then suddenly out of nowhere an angel appears, and drops a bomb on you. Now you are a teenager, engaged, but to spice things up, now you are about to have a baby. Not just any ol’baby…THE baby—the one people had been waiting for, the baby that would grow up to die on the cross, to save us from our sins, to gi...  Read More

What makes Christmas so merry and the holidays so happy? Could it be the Christmas carols that are played from November 1st through the end of the year? Is it the traditions shared with family? Perhaps it’s the trip to Bronner's to pick out the annual family ornament? Imaginably it’s a snowy afternoon cutting down a Christmas tree and drinking hot cocoa? Maybe it’s going to watch your children or ...  Read More

What. A. Disaster. At least that’s what it seemed like at first. An unknown and unimportant peasant girl was “betrothed” to be married to a man named Joseph. A Jewish marriage was arranged by the parents with a contract called a betrothal. This ceremonial pledge was legally binding, and only divorce could break it. After the man offered the woman a special gift, both persons would go back to their...  Read More

Main Point and Overview:  Before Emmanuel took on human flesh and came to dwell among me, there was a lot of discouragement in that day. From hypocritical religious leaders using religion as a tool to manipulate others and Roman authorities forcing Jews to submit to their outrageous economic expectations, people were hopeless. Then, Jesus came and reversed the fortunes of the world! What cannot be...  Read More