1. The early biblical stories about Bethlehem are dark and violent. They wreck us. They frighten us. In this little town, we see a microcosm of the vast and mangled mass of humanity, each individual thirsty for even a single bead of light to be dropped into the blackened depths of their souls. He who is born in Bethlehem is that Light.
  2. This is an excerpt from Chapter 27 in “Pastor Craft: Essays and Sermons” written by John T. Pless (1517 Publishing, 2021). Now Available for Preorder
  3. The thought of losing even one of those for whom his Son died pains God beyond belief, and the angels rejoice when even one of his children repents.
  4. Jesus is both the image bearer and the image giver. In Jesus’ incarnation we are redeemed and re-imaged.
  5. Getting ready for Christ’s coming is a practice in humility.
  6. Each week during this year’s Advent series, we will take a look at a specific implication of Christ’s incarnation. This week, we will discover how God reaffirms the goodness of his creation by making all things new in the incarnation.
  7. “The days are coming,” and God said it. God, who kept his promise that Christ would come at Christmas.
  8. There is no other transitionary event in human history that warrants three full months of focused attention and persistent acknowledgment than the incarnation of the Son of God.
  9. If Jesus is indeed the same yesterday, today, and forever, everything his enfleshment brings is already assured: life, salvation, and forgiveness.
  10. In Advent we wait, in Christmas we rejoice over the coming of Christ in the fulfillment of the promises, and in Epiphany we celebrate the surprise, the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.
  11. In Genesis 1-2, the Lord reveals—or, at a bare minimum, starts dropping some big hints—that he will be quite comfortable becoming a human being himself someday.
  12. What do Habakkuk and Israel have? Nothing but the word of God. Nothing but the promise of God. Nothing but God himself.