From Fleming Rutledge’s Advent: “I wonder what you are confronting in your life. Very rarely are we called upon to perform deeds so astonishing that they become legendary. But all of us, every single Christian and every Christian community, are engaged in the struggle with the enemies of God. Each one of you is placed on the battleground somewhere. Are you under pressure from forces outside your control? Are you being called upon for patience that you do not think... Read more

From John Piper’s The Dawning of Indestructible Joy: “John 3:16  – ‘God so loved . . .’ The ‘so’ here doesn’t mean an amount of love, but a way of loving. He doesn’t mean, God loved so much, but God loved this way. ‘God so loved’ means ‘God thus loved.’ ”How? What is the way God loved? He loved such ‘that he gave his only Son.’ And we know that this giving was a giving up to rejection and death.... Read more

From Paul Tripp’s Come, Let Us Adore Him: “The baby in the manger came to be King, and he would not settle for anything else. That infant was the King of kings and Lord of lords. He would grow to be a man, a perfect man, who would talk again and again about the kingdom he came to establish; but he would do much, much more than just talk. The King would die as a criminal, so that criminals against... Read more

From Jon Bloom’s Not By Sight: “And in that is a Christmas word to us. There are times, while seeking to follow God faithfully, we find ourselves in a desperate moment, forced to a place we would not choose to go. It’s then we must remember: our lives and circumstances are not ultimately about us (1 Cor. 6:19–20). They are about Jesus Christ. . .You see, real freedom is not liberty to do what we want or the absence of... Read more

From Tim Keller’s Hidden Christmas: Whenever you see Jesus acting in the Gospels, you see him putting people into motion. He is like a giant billiard ball. Wherever he goes he breaks up old patterns, he sends people off in new directions. As we observed briefly in chapter 1, Jesus evokes extreme reactions. Some are so furious with him they try to throw him off a cliff and kill him. Others are so terrified they cry out, “Depart. . .... Read more

From Nancy Guthrie’s (editor) Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus: “It was love, mere love; it was free love that brought the Lord Jesus Christ into our world. What, shall we not remember the birth of our Jesus? Shall we yearly celebrate the birth of our temporal king, and shall that of the King of kings be quite forgotten? Shall that only, which ought to be had chiefly in remembrance, be quite forgotten? God forbid! No, my dear brethren, let us... Read more

From Fleming Rutledge in Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ: “Even the tiniest sign of reconciliation, the smallest hint of forgiveness, the most minuscule glimmer of kindness is a sign that God is with us, our Lord Emmanuel. In even our most seemingly insignificant moments of fellowship and renewal, God is at work. He can use you to make a little piece of heaven come, if only for a moment, for someone, this very night. Never underestimate the... Read more

From Louie Giglio’s Waiting Here for You: “God has not forgotten you or His promise. If you feel like you can’t make it one more step, or if you’ve already stumbled and hit the deck, He is holding out His hand. Even when you are falling, hope in the Lord, stand on His promise, no matter what the circumstance, and you will find new strength—His strength—to carry on.” Read more

From John Piper’s The Dawning of Indestructible Joy: “Make this personal and love him for it. Take the very personal words of the apostle Paul and make them your own. ‘The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me’ (Gal. 2: 20). This is how he destroyed the works of the Devil and rescued us from our sin. Don’t leave Christmas in the abstract.... Read more

“A Light Bulb Moment” Isaiah 9:6 – “For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” In the movie Toy Story 4, viewers are introduced to a new toy. Forky. Forky is made on the first day of kindergarten by Bonnie, the young girl who owns all the other toys we have come... Read more