This is the last week of 2012. And this is the last passage we will memorize together this year. I think it’s a fitting passage for the end of a year and the beginning of the next. This week’s passage is found in Ephesians 3:20-21:

This week, we focus on new beginnings. Out with the old, in with the new. We write New Year’s resolutions. We celebrate a fresh start.

But our celebration of a New Year pales in comparison of what Christ can do, has done, and will do. In fact, we can’t even imagine it!

And it goes beyond a New Year celebration; this is cause for celebration eternally!

Thanks for joining me in memorizing several important and inspiring passages this year. I hope you’ll join me as I memorize the book of 1 Timothy in 2013.

Happy New Year!

What was your favorite passage we memorized this year? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

This week’s passage contains some of the best news ever spoken. On the day of Christ’s birth, an angel appeared to the shepherds and announced that the long awaited Messiah had finally come.

Take a look at the passage. It’s found in Luke 2:10-12:

The message was delivered. It was simple. It was quiet. It was unexpected. And it was unassuming.

And yet is was the greatest news ever, profound beyond comprehension. And the effects have rippled through the generations, and even now more than ever, these words offer the hope and peace that the world needs to hear.

We have a Savior. God’s promise has been realized.

Merry Christmas!

What aspect of this greatest news ever stand out to you the most? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

Christmas is only nine days away. The season is upon us. It’s been hard for me to grasp that fact this year. Living in Florida, with much warmer temperatures than I’m used to, has made it tough to grasp the fact that Christmas is upon us. I think I’ll decorate a palm tree next year to help out with this.

But it’s here. And it’s just as crucial to remember this event as it ever was, especially in light of recent events in our nation.

This week, let’s memorize Matthew 21:1:

Our world is a tough one to live in today. Tragedy seems to be all around us. Difficulty and strife are rampant. Our world seems to be headed further and further away from God and Christ.

But, in the Old Testament, God continually uses difficult circumstances, and godless nations, to bring the Israelites back to him. What seemed to be terrible, God used for good.

And then, in a small barn near Bethlehem, a baby was born among very difficult circumstances. There was a census where everyone had to return to their family home to register. Mary was young, scared, and very pregnant. And then to top it all off, she delivered this child in a dirty barn!

Our son is due to arrive in this world on January 8th. If we were faced with having to travel back to Missouri in the next couple of weeks to register for a government census, and our son was born in the stall of a barn on the way, I can just about guarantee that the stress levels of both my wife and myself would be through the roof!

But the angel told Joseph, this child “will save his people from their sins.”

That must have given these young parents hope.

That still gives us hope, even today.

Merry Christmas!

Will you share the Christmas passages on Christmas day with your family this year? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

One of my favorite passages that speaks of Christmas isn’t normally thought of as a Christmas passage.

Take a look at John 1:1:

This pretty much sums up what John has to say about the birth of Christ. He doesn’t go into detail like Matthew and Luke do concerning the birth of Jesus as a human being.

John simply says that Jesus was there at the beginning, and is one and the same as God, which he reiterates several times throughout his Gospel.

A few verses after our passage for this week, he gives one final detail about the birth of Christ. He says,

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

In my opinion, John does an excellent job summarizing God’s mission to save us. Jesus is God. God came.

And that gives us plenty of reason to celebrate the season.

Merry Christmas!

What is your favorite Christmas passage? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

We’ve entered the month of December, and the Christmas season. Since we will be spending a lot of the season looking at the birth narratives, I figured we’d begin by looking at the end goal, and the why behind Jesus’ birth.

Take a look at how Paul describes it in Philippians 3:20-21:

Christ came once, and will come again, as Savior and Lord, and those who are his will be transformed to be like him. How’s that for the ultimate Christmas present?

Even though we don’t know when or how this will happen, we do know that it will happen. As a result, we can live as citizens of a heavenly kingdom, looking forward in anticipation of the day that will come when Jesus will return.

That makes the season seem especially bright!

What is your favorite part of the Christmas season? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.