Archive for the ‘Christmas’ Category

While no two Christmas lists are ever the exact same, it’s a sure bet that most kids want the hi-tech staples that have come to define our culture: an iPad, a video game or two, and a new cell phone. But a few kids from India had a different list entirely; they just wanted to be set free from slavery.

And thanks to a recent raid, they got just what they wanted. Continue reading

Everybody’s been told that Santa is making a list, that he is checking it twice, and that he’s going to find out who’s naughty or nice. But if the truth be told, no one really cares.

That’s because recent studies show that being on the “naughty list” doesn’t actually lower the number of presents kids get, after all. Continue reading

During the 2011 Christmas season, Patrick Greene, a confessed atheist, drove five hours from his home in San Antonia, TX to protest a nativity scene that was erected on the courthouse square in Henderson County.

Little did he know that the Christians he’d confront would impact his life so deeply. Continue reading

Let’s face it: nobody calls Christmas what we’ve turned it into. Continue reading

The inspirational moments behind the creation of music are often as varied as the music itself. Military victories, movements of God, and even the loss of loved ones, have brought about some of the church’s most beloved music.

But the “inspiration” behind the hymn Silent Night was nothing more than a broken organ. Continue reading

It’s pretty sad that Thanksgiving is being eclipsed by an annual sale, but that’s the state of our holiday mindset. Maybe there’s some wisdom for all of us embedded in the words of Paul from Colossians 3:15. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Continue reading

Let’s be honest. Christmas brings awesome gifts…but Christmas also brings gifts from your Aunt Agnes living in Finland. How do you handle the moment when you tear off the wrapping paper to discover a turtleneck that somehow survived the Cold War?

Here are the five best ways to express yourself in that moment. Continue reading

Joy to the World is the most-recognized and most-published Christmas hymn in America. Since its writing in 1719, Isaac Watts’ tune has become a holiday necessity at sacred – and even secular – gatherings.

But ironically, Watts never intended the song to be about Christ’s birth; in fact, he had a very different occasion in mind. Continue reading

Each Christmas, millions of holiday greeting cards are shared by friends and family members. Those of a spiritual nature usually feature angelic choirs, gift-bearing wise men, a baby in a manger, or some other fond image found in the Christmas stories of Matthew 2 and Luke 2.

But we never see Christmas cards based on Revelation’s version of the Christmas story…and we never will. Continue reading

For many months in 1914, the night sky along the French and German border was filled with the sights and sounds of gunfire, shelling, and explosions. The world was at war with itself and millions were already dead.

But for one night, December 24, 1914, the weapons of destruction would fall silent, so that a Holy Night could be remembered in peace. Continue reading