As a boy, Charles Dickens knew poverty from bitter experience. He never forgot what he had learned. Many of his novels deal with the huge gap between wealth and poverty.Perhaps the most unforgettable is A Christmas Carol. Its main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, is a “grasping, clutching, covetous old sinner” who can squeeze blood out of a stone. Bob Cratchit, his underpaid bookkeeper, shivers in his...  Read More

“25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.”Have you ever waited so long for something that it caused you to lose hope? How did that time of waiting ma...  Read More

“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” - Luke 2:20The birth of Jesus was amazing news. But who were the first to hear this great news? Lowly, stinky shepherds.Because shepherds were out with their flocks for months at a time, they often did not take part in religious ceremonies or worship. They were r...  Read More

Some things in life can take us completely by surprise. Some­times things happen that seem to turn our world upside down. That happened to a man named Joseph, a builder living in the town of Nazareth in Galilee about 2,000 years ago.Engaged to be married to a young woman named Mary, he was looking forward to when they would become husband and wife, have children, and make a home together, surround...  Read More

“’I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her.”-Luke 1:38For Mary, the news came too soon. Unlike her relative Elizabeth, who was married, far along in years, and said to be barren, Mary was a young, unmarried woman. She had a future. Her whole life was ahead of her. Still, like her uncle Zechariah, she was greatly troubled when the angel Ga...  Read More

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “What does God want from me, and what does he want for me?” These two big questions nag us throughout life. We try to decide on a career, a school, a souse - or even smaller things, like what book to read, film to see, or game to play. And we may wonder, “What does God want?” Well, one thing is clear: G...  Read More