Luke 2:1-20, John 1:1-18We can see God’s plan throughout all of the Bible, God’s Word. We can see His plan to rescue His people from sin, His plan to bring a Savior to His people from the promise of Abraham, and His plan to bring a Savior who is also a King from the family of David. Behold, Jesus, our Emmanuel, God with us, has come. The one through whom the world was made was born for our salvati...  Read More

Today is Christmas! A day when the world celebrates with lights, gifts, and gatherings. And yet, amid all the joy and activity, it’s easy to forget the quiet, humble beginning of this celebration. The true wonder of Christmas isn’t found in extravagance; it’s found in a manger.Jesus was born lowly, wrapped in simple cloths, and laid in a feeding trough. Not in a palace, not surrounded by servants,...  Read More

Matthew 2:1-12Some time after Jesus was born there were others who came to worship Him. These wise men were Gentiles, meaning they were not of Jewish descent. They traveled a long distance from their homes in search of the “King of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2). A star in the sky led their way, echoing a prophecy found in the book of Numbers: “A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out...  Read More

As Christmas approaches, it can start to feel dim. After weeks of planning, decorating, and celebrating, the initial excitement often fades, leaving a quiet letdown before the holiday even arrives. In these moments, it can feel as though the light of Christmas has dimmed before it even reaches its brightest day. Many of us try to recapture that wonder through gifts, parties, or traditions. But the...  Read More

Have you ever had to do something so difficult that it cut against every instinct in your gut? Something that would make you look foolish, scandalous, or downright naïve to everyone around you? That’s the kind of situation that the carpenter Joseph found himself in. I imagine him wrestling with how to decide what to do as he works with a saw in his hands.The saw is a simple, ordinary tool. Yet it’...  Read More

Matthew 1:18-25Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph. He was part of King David’s family, the family that God had promised to send His Savior through. Joseph was a humble carpenter, but there was so much more to him. Joseph was chosen by God to be Jesus’ earthly father.When Joseph found out that Mary was going to have a baby, he planned to walk away from her, because the baby wasn’t theirs toge...  Read More

Luke 1:5-25, 1:57-80Zechariah was a priest who loved and believed in God. He had been waiting for God to send the King He had promised. One day, when Zechariah was working in the temple, God sent an angel to Zechariah to tell him he would have a son who would get the people ready for Jesus, God’s promised King.Zechariah told Gabriel he couldn’t believe any of this. As a punishment for his unbelief...  Read More

Do you have a birth story? Of course you do- everyone has been born. But I’m willing to bet that most have never had a birth story quite like John the Baptist’s. And like any good birth story, there are lessons tucked between the cries, the unexpected, and the awkward family moments.Elizabeth gives birth after years of waiting. In her culture, having a son was not merely a personal joy; it was a m...  Read More

The image of a mother and child is powerful. It evokes tenderness, protection, nurturing, and life-giving strength. In Mary and her unborn child, we see the mystery of God’s plan taking human form. Mary is carrying the Savior, and yet she herself is human, afraid, humble, and yet faithful. In the same way, every mother embodies both vulnerability and resilience, offering life and love to the child...  Read More

Luke 1:45-56God sent an angel to Mary. The angel told Mary that she would have a Son, but he would be no ordinary son, she was to name her Son Jesus, and He would be great. God had chosen Mary because she was beautiful inside and out, and loved God. She would carry and care for God’s own Son.Mary rejoiced to be part of God’s great plan to save the world from sin. She was happy that God had chosen ...  Read More

If you’ve ever walked past a white lily in bloom, you know it has a way of making you stop. It’s simple, almost understated, but you can’t help but notice. It doesn’t scream for attention like a neon billboard or the latest viral TikTok dance. Instead, it radiates quiet elegance and life. In the story we find in Luke, Mary herself is a kind of white lily: humble, radiant with God’s promise, and mo...  Read More

Luke 1:39-45Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary was unable to have children, but God did a miracle in her. She was old enough to be a grandma, but God allowed her to become pregnant. She too would have a special baby.Elizabeth never thought she would have a child, but God was so kind to her. And now she was going to have a son. This was too good to be true, but it was true!Her son would have a very impo...  Read More

As we’ve said throughout this study, advent is about waiting. But it’s not a passive waiting. It’s living in the tension between what is and what is coming; between the world as it is and the world God promises. In Luke 3, John the Baptist stands at the river, calling people to prepare the way for the King. He doesn’t call for moral perfection, but repentance, a turning of our hearts toward God.To...  Read More

Luke 3:1-20, 7:18-30John’s coming marked the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of one who would prepare the way for Jesus (Isaiah 40:3). He came “in the spirit and power of Elijah” and preached a message of repentance, calling the Israelites to humble themselves before God and to turn away from their sin (Luke 1:17).We too must humble ourselves and magnify the goodness of God through our own repent...  Read More

Imagine walking into a home and seeing holes in the drywall, a front door hanging by one hinge, and a Ring camera that is clearly not connected to anything…That’s the feeling Nehemiah had when he heard the report from Jerusalem. God’s people had returned, but the walls were rubble. The gates were charred. The city that once proudly declared God’s glory now groaned in vulnerability.Nehemiah sat dow...  Read More

Nehemiah 1:1-2:8, 13:15-22Nehemiah lived among strangers in a faraway place. He became very sad and wept when he heard about the destruction of Jerusalem and longed for peace and safety of his home.So, he began praying that God would provide a way home and rebuild the city of his fathers, the home of the Israelites. God’s hand was on Nehemiah when he asked the king he served if he could return hom...  Read More

Jeremiah 7:1-15; 29:1-14Throughout their history, the Israelites turned from God and worshipped other idols. In his mercy, God gave them many chances to turn back.God sent Jeremiah, his last try, to call out for change one more time before he brought bad things upon His people. Jeremiah loved the people, and so he cried out to them, begging them to clean themselves up and return to God’s ways. But...  Read More

There is a weight that comes when you read Jeremiah, the kind of heaviness you feel in your chest before you even know why. It is the sound of a prophet weeping. It is the ache of a God who has loved His people deeply and watched them walk away. And it is the echo of a watchtower standing alone in a field, built to protect a vineyard that no longer cares to be protected.In Jeremiah 11, God reminds...  Read More

Isaiah 6:1-7; 11:1-9Isaiah found himself in a smoke-filled room with trembling floors and flying angels shouting about God’s holiness and glory, he was in the throne room of God. And God was sitting on the throne. With all of this happening, Isaiah was overwhelmed.His response to being so near to God’s holiness was, “Woe is me!” As he stood before the perfect holiness of God, his own sin so clear ...  Read More

Advent isn’t just about warm lights and gentle carols. Advent is also about awakening, about God confronting the darkness in us so He can redeem us. And that’s exactly what Isaiah experiences.Israel had drifted far from God, and Isaiah 1 sounds like a divine intervention nobody wants to attend. God tells His people that their sacrifices are meaningless because their hearts are far from Him. They w...  Read More

1 Kings 18There was a new king in Israel, Ahab. And this was anything but good news. He was an evil king, who built an altar for Baal, the Canaanite god, promoting worship of this false god throughout the kingdom and turning people away from the True God.So God called the prophet Elijah to bring them back. He challenged the priests of Baal to a contest, seeing whose god can set the offering on an ...  Read More

Most of us love the idea of specialists. You’ve got a legal issue, you want the lawyer who only does that one thing. You’ve got mysterious back pain, you want the chiropractor who adjusts exactly three vertebrae and calls it a day. We’re trained to think the world works best with specialists. And in the ancient world, religion worked the same way. Every nation had a whole roster of gods. A god for...  Read More

Psalm 23, I Samuel 16: 1-13, 2 Samuel 5: 1-5David was a shepherd when he was a boy. He would use a cane to gently herd his sheep and keep them safe from wild animals. He learned to trust God from his dad Jesse. David often sang songs to show his love for God.David was also just a humble shepherd who protected his sheep well. When it came to appearances, his older brothers were the obvious choices ...  Read More

Some kings rise through power, others through politics, but David’s story begins with a song. Not the triumphant kind sung in courts, but the simple melody of a shepherd boy playing his harp under the open sky. While his brothers trained for battle, David learned to listen, first to the rustling of sheep, then to the whisper of God.When Samuel came to anoint Israel’s next king, no one even thought...  Read More