Monthly Archives: December 2009

12 posts

Each Morning Brings a New Year

New Year’s Day–it is supposed to be a time of new beginnings. It is marked by celebrations, parties, football,  and resolutions–and for some, hangovers. Culturally, compared to Christmas, New Year’s Day is also less stressful. One does not hear declarations of “Keep Christ in the New Year” bandied about on talk shows. No one speaks of New Year’s Day as a religious holiday. However, for most people New Year’s Day is a deeply religious holiday. It is the holiday of self-worship. It is a day when people believe that if they make specific resolutions and determine to turn over a new leaf, they can change the things about themselves that they don’t like. It is a day on which people […]

The Holy Spirit’s Christmas Story – part 2

Dr. Al Mohler made this statement in his post “Where does the Story of Christmas Begin?”: “A closer look at the narratives in both Matthew and Luke reveals a richness that familiarity may hide from us. Matthew begins with the genealogy of Christ….” Dr. Mohler makes an excellent point. We tend to put aside verses in the biblical text that don’t appear to be of particular interest–like genealogies. However, skipping over such pasages is not wise. The Holy Spirit included these names for a reason. His version of the Christmas story includes more detail than we have become accustomed to thinking about. Each of the names in the genealogy represents a story within the larger story of Christmas. In the […]

Joy and Christmas

Isaac Watts wrote “Joy to the World” based upon Psalm 98. The psalm speaks of God’s power in winning a great victory. And, of course, the advent of Jesus Christ marks the beginning of this victory that culminated in the triumph of this same Christ on the cross. God fulfilled the promise he offered to Eve and all of mankind in the Garden. Jesus is the One who would crush the serpent’s head and give joy to a broken world.

The Holy Spirit’s Christmas Story

I enjoyed reading Al Mohler’s post “Where does the Story of Christmas Begin?” This thought in particular caught my attention: “A closer look at the narratives in both Matthew and Luke reveals a richness that familiarity may hide from us. Matthew begins with the genealogy of Christ….” Dr. Mohler, as usual, is on target. We tend to put aside verses in the biblical text that don’t appear to be of particular interest– like genealogies. However, this is not wise. The Holy Spirit included these names for a reason. His version of the Christmas Story includes more detail than we have become accustomed to thinking about. Each of the names in the genealogy represents a story within the larger story of […]

God with Us

Matthew quotes the Prophet Isaiah and in so doing he brings to us perhaps the most amazing reality of the  Advent. This wonderful truth is that in person of Jesus Christ, God is continually with his people. People often say they wish Christmas could last all year long. Well, for those whom God has called, the reason for Christmas will be with us for eternity. Once the presents are opened and the tree is taken down the world’s thoughts of Christmas fade into the New Year celebrations. But for you, God’s child, the person of Immanuel lives on. He is with you. Praise God, he is with you! All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through […]

The Glorious Deeds of Christ

This is a busy time of year. Yet we should never be so busy that the wonder of Jesus becomes ordinary to us. Read these two passages of scripture slowly. Think deliberately about them. Then read them to your children. Ask God to overwhelm you with the glorious deeds of Jesus Christ.

Blog Special Offer!

Purchase either the Shepherding a Child’s Heart DVD or the Instructing a Child’s Heart DVD at the Christmas discount price of $49.95 each and receive 3 free copies of the corresponding book. This offer is available only through this blog and will last until December 24th. The books cost $13.95 each, so you will receive over $40 of additional savings. Here’s how to take advantage of this offer when you purchase the DVD set: For Shepherding a Child’s Heart enter the coupon code JY001SCH at checkout. For Instructing a Child’s Heart enter the coupon code JY001ICH at checkout. This is our way of saying thank you for being a reader of this blog!

Faith and Darkness

It takes faith to believe in darkness. I know these words may seem foolish. Many would say that the darkness of the world is the one thing that we don’t need faith to believe in. It is all too obvious that we live in a dark world! True enough–but without biblical faith it is impossible to grasp just how dark this world is. While many may agree that the world is dominated by darkness, they also believe that somewhere is a glimmer of light that man can find by himself. They have an ongoing belief that as our eyes adjust to the darkness we will be able to see a tiny crack of light spilling out from under a doorway, […]

Tiger, the Mayor and the Church

News headlines are the most immediate indicators of cultural drift. While they are inconclusive in themselves, they provide insight as to what issues make an impact on people’s thinking. Headlines become the topic of water cooler and even playground discussions. That is why it is important for Christian parents to pay attention to headlines. Media headlines are written to attract attention, and they do. Your children will be exposed to headlines and sound bites because these are what people catch on the run as they rush through their day. Children will hear people asking what do you think you think about Tiger? And, of course, they will begin to find out about what people think from their friends at church, […]

Are You Santa’s Helper?

Your children know everything about you. They see when you are sleeping, they know when you have been good or bad, they know when you pout and when you shout. Your kids know all of this without your ever having to say a word. When you stumble and ask God for help — they learn. When you stumble and snap or make excuses — they learn from that, too. If you value your relationship with God above all else, your children will know that as well. What does this have to do with being Santa’s helper? Just this: in Psalm 72:18 we read that “God alone does marvelous things.” However, at Christmas time, for little children someone else is portrayed […]