Luke 1 sets the stage for the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. It begins with the angel Gabriel telling Zechariah the priest that his wife, Elizabeth, will have a son. They are to name their son John and he will be a prophet who will bring many of the people in Israel back to the Lord their God. He will also prepare the people for the coming of their Savior.

The story continues in Luke 1:26-45: In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (more…)

Let’s start out by doing a little exercise (no – not that kind of exercise). In the next 20 seconds, please write down on a sheet of paper 3 things God is doing right now in your life, family, community or church.

Could you list 3 things? 2 things? or even 1 thing God is doing? If we can’t list 3 things God is doing, then we’re missing what’s happening right in front of us. Unfortunately, this isn’t an uncommon occurrence among God’s people. The same thing happened when Jesus was born. (more…)

The first Sunday of Advent focuses on hope. As followers of Jesus Christ, we understand our hope is to be in him and not in our own abilities or in our circumstances. Even though we understand this is what the Bible teaches us, we’re still faced with a serious question: What exactly does “hope” in Jesus look like? Is the hope we have in Jesus the same as when we hope to do a good job or when we hope to find something we’ve lost? The New International Dictionary of the Bible says hope in Jesus is much deeper than this. It states “the biblical concept of hope is not mere expectation and desire… but includes trust, confidence, and refuge in the God of hope (Rom. 15:13).” (more…)