Many people look forward to the Christmas season with great expectations. But for some, Christmas comes and goes and leaves them feeling empty and disappointed. So how do we avoid this? How do we avoid missing Christmas? One reason Christmas disappoints is that people keep Jesus as an “appetizer” rather than making him the “main…
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“Born of the virgin Mary,” so goes many an ancient creed. Modern people can sometimes snicker at the idea, but God thought it important enough to make it a point of emphasis in the Christmas story (See Matthew 1:18-25). Why is Jesus’ birth from the womb of a virgin so important? If Jesus is just the…
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Often times, we look forward to Christmas with great expectations. But frequently, Christmas comes and goes and leaves us feeling empty; like we missed out on it. Part of the reason for that stems from what we’re looking for and how we’re trying to obtain what we want at Christmas. Imagine being the first readers…
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By most accounts, the apostle Paul seemed to be a pretty passionate guy. He was willing to endure lashings, stonings, and verbal abuse for the sake of the gospel. He traveled the Mediterranean world planting churches. He wasn’t afraid to go the extra mile. But there is only one thing he himself said he “strenuously…
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Remember Joseph and the technicolor dream coat? Joseph was betrayed by his own brothers and sold as a slave in a foreign land. Years later Joseph finds himself sitting at the King of Egypt’s right hand; second in command of that great nation with incredible power to wield as he sees fit. On a seemingly…
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Picture yourself sitting in your living room one day. God comes to you and speaks to you audibly and says, “Brian, pack up a few things and leave the Fox Cities. I’m sending you to a country you know nothing about. Its culture, language, food, and people will all be foreign to you. I want…
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The Old Testament ultimately points forward to Jesus Christ. Learning to read the Bible this way is incredibly heart-warming and it stirs me to worship Christ all the more. Let’s take a look at another Old Testament story: Noah and the flood. Do you remember why God sent a flood in the first place? “The Lord saw…
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In Joshua 1:7-9, God instructs Joshua, the new leader of the people of Israel, twice to “be strong and courageous.” They were about to cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land God had promised Abraham centuries earlier. In the middle of this bookend to “be strong and courageous” is the exhortation to…
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The gospel is: “Jesus lived the life I should have lived and died the death I should have died.” Salvation comes to those who believe this. A question often asked is: “Now that I’ve ‘crossed over’, what should I do? Now that I believe the gospel, what’s next?” God wants us to make forward progress…
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“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 Imagine going on a hike through the forest and getting lost. What was supposed to be a 2-hour…
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