Connecting the Dots at Christmas

Introduction

My professor Haddon Robinson from seminary tells a story about a married woman who decided to go on her own private vacation to Europe. She ...

The Properties of Light

Introduction

At this time of year, many of us find our mailboxes filled with cards, most of them photo cards. Those photo cards are the results of a well-orchestrated ...

The Gift of the Son: Prince of Peace

This sermon is part of “The Gift of the Son” sermon series. See the whole series here.

Introduction

During Advent we've been looking at ...

The Gift of the Son: Everlasting Father

This sermon is part of “The Gift of the Son” sermon series. See the whole series here.

Introduction

We're looking at Isaiah 9—at names ...

Girl Interrupted: The Unmistakable Strength of Mary

Introduction

I never know what to do with Mary. I'm in good company: The archives of history and the echoes of ancient sermons never quite knew what ...

The Gift of the Son: Mighty God

This sermon is part of “The Gift of the Son” sermon series. See the whole series here.

Introduction

For this Advent sermon series leading up ...

The Gift of the Son: Wonderful Counselor

This sermon is part of “The Gift of the Son” sermon series. See the whole series here.

Introduction

The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning ...

The Son and the Dragon

Introduction

Christmas has always had a dark side. Last year, I caught the opening moments of Christmas in Rockefeller Center, aired live from New York ...

How Can I Enjoy Christmas?

Introduction

Christmas can be so chaotic, can't it? I mean, this whole season can be such a disconnect between what we expect and what we end up experiencing. ...

What Do I Do with My Heartache at Christmas?

Introduction

During this Christmas season, we're talking about the "Real Questions of Christmas"—because we all enter into every Christmas season ...

How Can I Be a Gift at Christmas?

Introduction

As we live in the gap between Christmas expectations and Christmas reality, we end up raising really profound questions about this whole deal ...

How Do I Escape the Christmas Traps?

Introduction

Advent is about enjoying and admiring Jesus. It's a season we observe each year at this time, during which we endeavor to do something intentional: ...

What Difference Does Christmas Make

Introduction

Here we are, at the very beginning of the Christmas season. Oh, I know the malls and stores have been playing Christmas music and hanging ...

Estimating the Value of God's Gift

Introduction

Christmas was an exciting time and Joey was excited too; as excited as any 10-year-old boy could be. For him Christmas was still a time ...

Who Is Jesus?

Introduction

Who is Jesus? So this is the time we celebrate Christ's birth. And we have many traditions to commemorate Christ's birth. But the question ...

More Than a Baby

Introduction

We find in Luke 1 the well-known story of the prophecy of the birth of Jesus that comes to Mary. Most of you could give me the details of ...

Have Yourself a Global Little Christmas

Introduction

[The sermon began with a 30-second clip from the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," performed by Michal Bublé.]

I really ...

A Disgraceful Christmas

Introduction

I want to ask us a question: What words do you associate with Christmas? I did that exercise with myself and this is the list of words that ...

God with Skin

Introduction

I don't know if you saw the story in the CBC News about the data from NASA that was recently published. This data shows that in our galaxy, ...

Oh Christmas Three

Introduction

We have been reflecting on the birth of Jesus, and what we found in this season that we celebrate is that when God chose to enter his own ...

Against the Rules

Introduction

People start thinking and doing strange things as the holidays come around. Have you noticed that? I heard about this group of youngsters ...

The Most Shocking Madonna Song Ever

Introduction

Flipping through the radio dial you hear all kinds of Christmas music right now, and one of the songs that seems to be on the loop for most ...

The Forgotten Man of Christmas

Introduction

There was a family which like many of our families has a Nativity set, and each Christmas season they would set that Nativity set up beneath ...

Round Yon Violence

Introduction

I've learned in my life that there are some people who will say just about anything to a pregnant woman. When my wife Maria was pregnant, ...

Preparing for the Gift

Introduction

December is a month that raises all kinds of feelings for us. Some really look forward to this time. For others there are things that we dread ...

The Promise of the Ages

Introduction

Our generation has witnessed a new and compelling interest in the study of genealogy. Perhaps this is because every five years more than twenty ...

What Child Is This?

Introduction

I want to wish you a very blessed and Merry Christmas.

We just finished singing "What Child Is This?" and I think it's an appropriate ...

Zechariah's Song

Introduction

Starting last week, this week, and next week, we are taking some time in our preparation for and anticipation of the holiday season to look ...

Simeon's Song

Introduction

I've been reading a gift somebody got for me. It's a fascinating book called Medieval Views of the Cosmos. When I say it's fascinating, ...

The Life Was Made Manifest

Introduction

Christmas is definitely a wonderful time of year. But it's also a bit of a production, right? On average there will be $800 spent for every ...

Later On, We'll Conspire

Introduction

There's something subversive about Christmas. To subvert something is to overthrow it, usually by indirect means. Subversion isn't a frontal ...

When God Came to the BBC

Introduction

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us."

Dorothy Sayers is known ...

The Three Gifts of Christmas

Introduction

I'd like to begin by reading the entire passage of Hebrews 2:5-18 this morning, and then we're going to talk about how this passage helps ...

A View from the Choir

The story behind the sermon (Bryan Wilkerson)

After doing first person narratives at Christmastime for many years, I was running out of characters—the ...

God's Favor

Introduction

It is so good to gather on this special Christmas morning and welcome our Lord Jesus Christ into the world to celebrate his birth together. ...

Rachel Weeping

The story behind the sermon (by Ken Langley)

Pastors struggle to find a fresh word at Christmas. We also struggle with expressing authentic sermonic lament ...

A God Who Redeems

Introduction

Today, we're not only talking about a God who is with us, but also a God who redeems us. I want to talk to those who feel helpless and hopeless ...

The "Unbelievable" True Story of Christmas

Introduction

One of the ironies of modern history is that the majority of people who celebrate around Christmas have never really heard the real Christmas ...

The Great Polarizer

Introduction

Few events change the lives of a married couple more than the birth of a child. You take a stable relationship of a husband and wife and suddenly ...

Down Lower, Up Higher

Introduction

There was no question he loved her. He was absolutely bedazzled by her. It was surprising, really, because she was quite plain. But ...

The Larger Story of Christmas

Introduction

It's just after ten o'clock on Christmas Eve, which means there are a handful of questions floating around this room: Did I remember ...

The Gloria in Excelsis Deo

Introduction

Today we're going to look at Luke chapter 2. There is a Christmas song tucked within this Christmas story that I want to uncover—a song ...

Christmas in the City of Jerusalem

Introduction

We're going to do something a little different this year in December. We want to focus on a "Hometown Christmas." Typically we tend to think ...

Waiting for the Fullness of Time

Introduction

Last Saturday I wrote these words:

I'm at the airport—waiting. I arrived at 7:15 A.M. It's now 9:40. My 8:38 flight was canceled and ...

What Christmas Love Always Does

From the editor:

Every year at Christmastime, news stations run video segments of crazy shoppers pushing and shoving each other to get their hands on the ...

God in Our Sorrows

The Advent is where God meets us in our sorrow.

The word advent means an arriving or an appearing. It's the arrival of something we hoped for, something ...

Recognizing Divine Interruptions

Matthew 1:18-25:

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, ...

The Neglected Joseph Davidson

Introduction

I think I had better introduce myself. My name is Joseph Davidson. Many of you already know me. I've been hanging around Christmas for a long ...

If Christ Had Not Come

Several years ago, a group of historians met and asked a number of intriguing questions. What if the Moors had won in the great historic battle in Spain? ...

The Hard Side of Epiphany

From the editor:

January 6th is Epiphany—the day that many Western Christians commemorate the visitation of the Magi to Jesus. With that date just ...