Let's Start Before the Beginning
Keep this familiar story from losing its wonder by pondering the incredulity of the God of the universe arriving on earth as a newborn infant. Oh, what a glorious night!
Keep this familiar story from losing its wonder by pondering the incredulity of the God of the universe arriving on earth as a newborn infant. Oh, what a glorious night!
Buckle up and keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times, because you’re about to go on the wildest ride of your life. This ride will involve time travel, taking you all the way past human history, the creation of Adam and Eve, and the beginning of the universe. This ride—this journey—will transport you to eternity past, to a time before time began. Are you ready? It’ll require you to use your imagination and think, but it’s a trip worth making.
Nostalgia. That abnormal yearning within us to step into the time tunnel and recover the irrecoverable. That wistful dream, that sentimental journey taken within the mind—always travelled alone and therefore seldom discussed.
Every Christmas we all receive two amazing gifts from the Creator. First, we receive a reminder of God’s astonishing, unconditional love. Second, we receive a reminder of Jesus Christ’s audacious grace. In this message, let’s focus on the grace Christ demonstrated on the first Christmas day so long ago.
The Gospel of John takes a unique approach to the Christmas story. It makes no mention of the angels, shepherds, or wise men. Rather, John describes Jesus as the eternal Word that became flesh.
If we lived in that first century and met someone like Jesus, it would take our breath away. As Christmas arrives, we think of the great blessing that is ours because of Jesus. This charming grace.
What does it really mean to be called “a man or woman of God”? Chuck Swindoll answers that question by describing a most unusual man named John the Baptist.
In this world of habitual lying, false stories, and deceitful people, there is nothing that will give you the security you need like God’s Word and the Son of God Himself. Stay committed to the Bible and by doing so, you learn more and more what’s true.
When was the last time you gave a gift to a loved one expecting a payment in return? Probably never because if you receive payment for a gift, it ceases to be a gift! Likewise, God’s gift of salvation has been freely given. We can’t earn it and He doesn’t expect payment for it. God wrapped His indescribable gift in eternity, equality, deity, and humility. Open it today!
When most of us think of the Apostles, we picture a sacred group of holy men who upheld remarkable standards. But Chuck Swindoll suggests otherwise! The Apostles were just ordinary men who followed an extraordinary Saviour. And we can do the same!