Christmas: A Woman Without Family

The prophet Anna is often missing from the Christmas story, which focuses on Jesus's birth, the wonder of the shepherds and the worship of the wise men.

Advent: A People Under Occupation

The story of Christmas honors people who are experiencing oppression, and people who feel despair over their government.

Advent: A Marriage in Jeopardy

Only Matthew's Gospel captures something of Joseph's heartache when he received the news concerning Mary's unexpected pregnancy.

“Happy Holidays”

Tomorrow many of us will be sitting at a table laden with traditional Thanksgiving foods and offering up ways we are grateful. Perhaps it is only one thing we can be thankful for, perhaps many. But, some of us will not have a place to go, or a table spread for us.

HER STORY: The Birth of Christ, Anna the Prophet

How long have you been waiting for the longing you have been praying about to be fulfilled? A longing you have felt certain God has invited you to pray about, that you feel certain God has indicated will be fulfilled? Anna's story can be told in three stages: There was tragedy early in her life, … Continue reading HER STORY: The Birth of Christ, Anna the Prophet

HER STORY: The Birth of Christ, Virgin Mary

As the most written about woman in the whole Bible, what is your impression of Mary? There are thousands upon thousands of images of her, the beatific and holy Madonna, mother and child, otherworldly in her serenity; and the grieving mother holding her crucified son, again beatific, serene, otherworldly.We might get the impression that as … Continue reading HER STORY: The Birth of Christ, Virgin Mary

December Advent Devotional

As you and I meditate on these words, let us think about the names all heaven and earth gave to this tiny, vulnerable baby, Who is God the Son.

Guilt

Not all the guilt we feel is ours. Often enough, we feel guilt because it gives us some sense of control over something that seems terrible to us. Then, if can only atone in some way....

The Virgin Mary

In each succeeding story, a picture emerges of a woman of great faith, spiritual wisdom, a scriptural scholar in her own right, one who believed in the power, provision, and promise of Almighty God.

Elizabeth

In one of the more remarkable moments in the Christian Testament, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and God could not have been more fully present in that amazing moment.