Posts with the category “advent”

Read: John 6:51 (NIV) “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”ReflectMerry Christmas! Today, we celebrate the greatest gift: Jesus—the eternal Son of God—became flesh and moved into our world. John’s Gospel doesn’t tell the Christmas story with shepherds or angels, bu...  Read More

Read: Micah 5:2–4 (NIV) “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times… He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.”ReflectOn that holy night in Bethlehem, God was doing more than just s...  Read More

Read: Micah 5:4–5 (NIV) “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be our peace.”ReflectAt Christmas, we talk a lot about peace—peace on earth, goodwill toward men. But what kind of peace do we really need most?Micah points us ...  Read More

Read: Hebrews 8:4–10 (NIV) “There are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. … But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. … ‘This is the covenant I will establish … I will put...  Read More

Read: Matthew 16:15–17 (NIV) “‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.’”ReflectAs Christmas draws near, are your eyes ready to see Jesus for who He truly is? When Peter declared, “Y...  Read More

Read: Romans 5:11 (NIV) “More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”ReflectChristmas is about more than gifts and gatherings—it’s about restoration. In Christ, God has done the impossible: He’s brought us back to Himself. We call this reconciliation. It’s not just a theological word; it’s the heart of the gospel. We were ...  Read More

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Read: Romans 3:25–26 (NIV) “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement… to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”ReflectSometimes God’s greatest gift isn’t immediate peace, but a holy frustration—a deep sense that nothing in this world can truly satisfy our hearts. That was Martin Luther’s story. He tried ...  Read More

Read: Mark 10:44 (NIV) “Whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.”ReflectWhen Jesus calls us to greatness, He flips the world’s idea of it upside down. He says, “If you want to be first, become the servant of all.” That’s not what we’re used to hearing—and honestly, serving others, especially when it costs us something, isn’t easy.But here’s where the gospel is radically different from every...  Read More

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