The Four Gifts of Three Wise Men "And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." (Matthew 2:11) As we celebrate God's…

What are we afraid of? According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll our two greatest fears are a major terrorist attack and someone in our family getting Ebola (71% & 43%). A Gallup poll thinks we are afraid of cybercriminals, 69% worry our credit card information will be stolen while 62% fear they…

A California man, who was lost out of bounds at a ski area, says he credits the ski patrol and his faith in God for his rescue. Michael Nessi said that after he became lost, he had intermittent cell service and was finally able to text his wife, but no one knew exactly where he was. While waiting in…

We never find Adam afraid of God or of any manifestation of Deity while he was in Paradise an obedient creature. But no sooner had he touched the fatal fruit than he found that he was naked, and hid himself. When he heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, Adam was…

Woody Allen does not like getting old. “It’s a bad business,” he says. “It’s a confirmation that the anxieties and terrors I’ve had all my life were accurate. There’s no advantage to aging. You don’t get wiser, you don’t get more mellow, you don’t see life in a more glowing way. You have to fight your…

JOINING GOD Sources in the entertainment industry say actor Jim Carrey will star in a new movie called, “Bruce Almighty.” The premise of the movie revolves around Carrey’s character, Bruce—a television reporter who is constantly complaining about the way things are going in his life. Eventually God gets…

In Facing Your Giants, Max Lucado writes, “How long since you ran toward your challenge? We tend to retreat behind a desk of work or crawl into a nightclub of distraction or a bed of forbidden love. For a moment, a day, or a year, we feel safe, insulated, anesthetized, but then the work runs out, the…

Eric Maddox, author and former Army Interrogation specialist who led the hunt of Saddam Hussein told an audience in Oakland, California that it was Saddam’s craving for a favorite fish dish that resulted in his capture. In a story reported by an Oakland, California newspaper, Maddox said he interrogated…

The Wonder of it All Standing above the tree line, I looked down upon God's creation with a sense of awe and wonder. Beneath my feet was the mountain tundra in full bloom. The clouds overhead swirled and darted from place to place as the chilling wind dared to push me from my observation post. While…

Because of the low attendance in services at British Anglican congregations, and the fact that many un-churched parents still desire for their children to be baptized, the church has downgraded the language and symbolism of baptism. Some critics have accused the church of “dumbing down” Christian teaching…

Do you have Paraskevidekatriaphobia? If you do, 2012 is a bad year for you. Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th. In most years, two Fridays fall on the 13th. In 2012 and again in 2015 there will be three. Tom Fernsler is a University of Delaware math professor who has studied Friday…

Enemies I liked Church fellowships when I was a boy. After the meal, the kids always ran outside to play in the backyard of the church. It adjoined cotton fields to the south and east. We waited until it was pitch dark, then we started playing "hide and go seek." The cotton fields were "out of bounds,"…

Gillian Bayford worked nights in a hospital. Her husband worked days at his second-hand record shop. Then they won 148 million pounds in a British lottery. 15 months later, their marriage has “broken down irretrievably.” The divorce is final. In addition, Ms. Bayford, wept as she told how the windfall…

GOD'S PRESENCE At the beginning of your sermon, pass out golf balls to everyone in the audience. Ask them to examine the ball closely, squeeze it, smell it, feel the dimples on it, and notice the variety of colors of balls people received, and the different brand names printed on the balls. Now ask everyone…

Select all the text in this box and paste your illustration here... Source: Magazine Name, January 1, 2006 The next time you sing “Now Thank We All Our God,” try to remember that Martin Rinkhart wrote it during the Thirty Years’ War when his pastoral duties were most difficult. He conducted as many as…

MYSTERY Ever since Carly Simon topped the music charts in 1972 with “You’re So Vain”, she has been quizzed about the person mentioned in the lyrics. The song tells the story of a lover who is as attractive as he is faithless and arrogant. Simon has always said she would never tell who the lyrics, “You’re…

In an interview on CNN with Piers Morgan, Morgan challenged Pastor Rick Warren’s stand on Gay marriage. Warren’s reply was one all Christians could take to heart. “I fear the disapproval of God more than I fear your disapproval or the disapproval of society.” --Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell. World,…

Over 100 years ago, doctors first noticed that people, who could not speak after an injury to the speech center in the left side of their brains, could still sing. In the 1970s, researcher in Boston started using what they termed “singing therapy” to help stroke survivors regain the power to speak. The…

PARENTING A survey by a British Magazine for teenagers suggests teens may not be as rebellious as most people think. Bliss magazine asked 5,000 young people, with an average age of 15, to take part in a study examining social and political attitudes of teenagers across the country. The survey found the…

HELL According to a recent Gallop Poll, the number of Americans that believe in hell is up from 54% in 1965 to 73% today. The problem isn't that postmodern people don't believe it hell, it is that they don't think they will go there. In 1965, 17% thought they were headed there, today only 6% see it as…

An Idaho man says a rock formation that appeared in his backyard while he was going through hard times reminded him of the ever-present hand of God in his life. Now he is auctioning exclusive rights to use the rock formation in movies, books, and other media on the Internet. Paul Grayhek says the 9-foot…

GOD'S HANDIWORK In the book, The Heart Of Worship, compiled by Matt Redman, Louie Giglio writes, "Recently, I was stunned by a photograph in USA Today of what astronomers say is the perfect spiral galaxy. Taken with the help of a new telescope on the Big Island of Hawaii, the photo shows a breathtaking…

“Greed is a basic part of animal nature. Being against it is like being against breathing or eating.” Ben Stein, quoted in FoxBusiness.com While Mr. Stein may be correct about it being a part of our animal nature, the Word of God calls us to rise above the animal nature to the image of God in which we…

Scientists studying the sense of smell have concluded that the nose can discern far more than the 10,000 different odors long thought to be the limit. Researchers with the laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior at Rockefeller University in New York say their work has led them to conclude that differentiate…

ART I recently ran across an interview that Calvin Miller gave to the Wittenburg Door that was published in August-September 1985 that has caused me to think about the usefulness of art to communicate the gospel. Miller said, “I’ve always agreed with James that ‘every perfect gift comes down from the…