INSIGHTS MAGAZINE CANADA
Looking at the Big Picture & Finding Hope
by Chuck Swindoll
The Christmas story has been so sanitized and romanticized over the centuries that even Hollywood—as jaded a culture as can be found anywhere—fails to capture the gritty pathos that surrounded Jesus' arrival. Truth be told, even some churches annually idealize the birth of our Saviour. Yet it was anything but ideal.
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The Pageant
by Rob Perry
It was Sunday, two days before Christmas, and I was standing in the middle of a gymnasium—the chaotic centre of a Christmas pageant rehearsal. At the back of the gym, kids workers frantically tried to gather children to rehearse dance moves for the grand finale. At the front, musicians set up instruments and fought with the decorations team over extension cords. Along the wall, people arranged tables with all kinds of Christmas baking. All the while, the friendly hulk of a janitor methodically wheeled in rack upon rack of folded chairs to set up for the expected audience.
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Good but not Nice
by Steve Johnson
Recently, I was in our local Canadian Tire. I picked up some items and was proceeding through the checkout. The clerk, a young lady, was polite, pleasant, smiled and laughed easily, and was generally quite chatty. As I left I thought, “She was nice.”
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Details Doubts, & Discoveries
by Robyn Roste
It all started (maybe) in my headboard. My headboard has great bookshelves and little reading lights. My books and journals and other related paraphernalia are on the shelves for easy nighttime access. It is a fantastic set up. One book in particular had a special place in that headboard. A red, pocket-sized Gideon New Testament, which never moved. I looked at it every night, before going to sleep. But I'm getting ahead of myself. This story needs a bit of background.
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Christmas Quiz II
by Phil Callaway
According to the Bible, Jacob Marley was: The third wise man in the book of Hezekiah: Go to 5. The Innkeeper: Go to 5. Nowhere to be found: Go to 3. From where did the Grinch steal Christmas and where did he try and take it? From Atlantic to Pacific: Go to 11. From Who-ville to the mountain: Go to 7. Good start. But things will get tougher.
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The Great God Behind the Great Gift
by Ben Lowell
Did you know the game show Let's Make a Deal is back on TV? You remember, Monty Hall made deals and offered contestants the chance to select a prize behind one of three doors. It was always fun to see whether what the contestant chose was a delight or a dud. Well, there is no concealing of the prize when it comes to Christmas. Right there, for whosoever to see, is the gift more valuable than any gift imaginable—God's Son. What a time for celebration, gratitude, and homage.
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