Every Christmas, we encounter the familiar stories of the archangel Gabriel delivering his message to Mary, choirs of angels singing, and the angel of the Lord warning Joseph to flee to Egypt. These stories are so familiar that we don’t often stop to think about their strangeness. Why are angels so involved in the Christmas story? After all, we encounter angels throughout the Bible, but they are...
The birth of Jesus is truly the best news of all. The angel’s good news of the arrival of the Savior told to the shepherds long ago is still good news for us today. It’s the reason why we celebrate Christmas each year! In her new book, The Best News of All, Sally Michael helps preschoolers to remember the angel’s announcement to the shepherds in Luke 2:10–11: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you...
My husband and I knew this day was coming; like a hurricane that gives a few days warning, we had prepared for this. But are you ever really prepared for that day? My family of 19, with daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren, will not be with us this Thanksgiving. It sounds a little depressing admitting it out loud. But this will be our new normal for a season, what we call our “little”...
Advent, a season of hope and anticipation, can often become a whirlwind of activity for us, even when we have the best intentions to keep it simple and focus on Christ. With all of the additional expectations, meeting invites, and traditions, sometimes mixed with heaviness and hurt, it’s easy to take our eyes off Christ and miss the awe-inspiring truth of His birth altogether. And let’s be...
Charles H. Spurgeon, who was considered by many to be the greatest preacher of his generation, lived during the nineteenth-century revival of the celebration of Christmas in the US and England. He loved Christmas and welcomed the holiday season as an opportunity for reflection, rest, and reunion with friends and family. In A Wondrous Mystery: Daily Advent Devotionals, Geoffrey Chang, curator of...
