Advent is both a season of celebration and waiting. In homes, the Advent calendar (with its daily allotment of chocolates) and in churches, the Advent evergreen wreath (with its coloured candles) are dusted off and set in their hallowed places. These heart-warming symbols telegraph the approaching Christmas Day and also invite us to a period of waiting…
Advent
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:2–3, ESV). Psalm 103 is David’s expression…
“What do you think about putting a sword in the display at the front of the church on Christmas Eve?” One of the decorators at church asked me a…
My heart longs to come away, from the clamour that crowds this time of year, into a spacious place of hope, peace, joy, and…
The prophet Isaiah appreciates breathtaking mountaintop views. In his vision, he sees the mountain of the Lord as the highest of elevations, with the nations walking up to the summit—together.
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Spiral ever deeper into Christ
by ContributorPilgrim Year (series) Steve Bell Novalis In the Worship Arts program at Columbia Bible College, students often encounter the practice of the liturgical year for the first time. Although they…
The hectic Christmas season is upon us. It’s a season of contradictions: canned music blares sentimentally on the most awesome of themes, the incarnation of God; we seek for gifts to celebrate love
O Eve! My mother, my daughter, life-giving Eve, Do not be ashamed, do not grieve. The former things have passed away, Our God has brought us to a New Day.…
There is something about a rooster that senses a turning before colour smudges the bleak horizon. There is something about a rooster that shrieks a turning before my snug body…
Watching my grandchild, I look forward to the stage when she’ll ask “why” 10 times, and then once more. She’ll be laying essential foundations for life. Adults also ask “why.”…
Reading Christmas through Revelation Glorious angels, wise guys, starry skies and shepherds gathered around the manger: the picture of Christmas? I’ve got major issues with how we illustrate the Christmas…
As Ler La told us his story of freedom and faith in broken English, we all felt the presence of God come near. Ler La’s family lived in a refugee…
The closer we get to December 25th, the louder Christmas gets. Bing Crosby paints a picture-perfect holiday season. His deep timbre rouses images of glistening snow, jingling sleigh bells and…