“ Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth to Bethlehem. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them” (Luke 2:4–7).   The pregnant virgin (yes, that’s an oxymoron!) and her fiancé traveled the ninety miles of rough road from Nazareth to their ancestral home in Bethlehem. It wasn’t a honeymoon or a ple

His name wasn’t Harold.   He was a herald. He and his buddies were messengers, the announcers and proclaimers of good news… the best news ever!   Hark! the herald angels sing,“Glory to the newborn King: peace on earth, and mercy mild,God and sinners reconciled … Christ is born in Bethlehem!”   Sent from Heaven’s throne, the angel choir appeared in the moonlit sky over Bethlehem’s hills, the same hills travelled and traversed by David, the shepherd-boy/king.   The symphonic so

It would be difficult to envision the interaction between Gabriel and Mary. Gabrial was a trusted angel, a messenger sent from Heaven’s glorious throne room. Mary was a simple Hebrew girl, virtuous, chaste, pure… maybe fourteen or fifteen.    “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him

Israel, God’s chosen people, had once been the world’s superpower, but the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians had ransacked, ruined, and robbed them of their glory. Now, in the first century AD, the Romans ruled.   A thousand years after David’s celebrated reign, the nation clung to the promise of restoration. They believed the promise given to their ancestral king: “I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom… M

Standing by the hospital bed of my friend, I watched his cancer-ridden frame gasp his final breathe. It was over. His lifeless body was motionless. I stood still with my friend's family, our hands clasped, fully encircling the bed. Not a word, not a whisper, until softly, slowly, my friend's family began to sing. In perfect harmony... Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind but now I see. "Twas grace that

Happy Thanksgiving … the day we imagine pilgrims celebrating a bountiful harvest in the new American homeland … the day we watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade followed by non-stop football … the day we gluttonously consume turkey and cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.    Might we take a few minutes to reflect on the goodness, greatness, and graciousness of God…   Great is thy faithfulness, O God, my Father; There is no shadow of turning with thee. Thou

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,Count your many blessings, name them one by one,And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. Count your blessings, name them one by one;Count your blessings, see what God hath done;Count your blessings, name them one by one,And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.   I’m thankful for the cross and the empty grave, that Jesus paid the price for my doubts and denials and

The Psalmist sang with joyful thanksgiving because of God’s greatness and grace!   “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name. For the Lord is good, and his faithful love endures forever; his faithfulness, through all generations” (Psalm 100:4–5). “Give thanks!”   “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart celebrates, and I give thanks to him with my song” (Psa

While Jesus had compassion for the Samaritan woman and encouraged her to worship “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24), He chastised the “Pharisees and scribes” (Matthew 15:1).   Quoting the Old Testament prophet (Isaiah 29:13), Jesus said: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines human commands” (Matthew 15:8–9).   The Samaritan woman, known to most of us as the “Woman at the Well,” was a despised h

I worship on Sundays at South Georgia Baptist Church. Maybe you worship somewhere else. Our church has a building with a large room especially equipped for our worship. Pulpit, piano, and pews… We call it the auditorium, the sanctuary, or the worship center.   Jesus had a discussion with a woman who was confused about the proper location for worship. “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem” (John 4:20).   Ten cent