Archives for December 2016

By Jack Graham And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”  Luke 1:41-43 Mary, the mother of Jesus, is one of the most misunderstood persons in all of the Word of God. She is adored by some, even worshiped by many, and often ignored by others. There is a great deal of confusion about this amazing woman. But as we look into the story of Jesus’ birth, we find a woman who loved God and faced an uncertain future with full faith. She worshiped and sang to God for many of the reasons you and I do, even calling Jesus her “Savior” (Luke 1:47). Yes, Mary was a faithful servant of God. But she was born in the same sin and is saved by the same grace that saves you and me. She is not a mediator to Jesus, and she has no special power in heaven. She is what she is by the grace of God – no more and no less. As we look to Mary and her crucial role in the life of Jesus, let’s be quick to thank God for the love that was shown through her. Pray that God would make you a conduit … [Read more...]

By Rebecca Holloway As a child, one of my favorite days of the year was my mom's annual Sunday school Christmas party. I grew up in a very small church. I'm talking a good day was 50 people. However, when I was a small child, the party was just her class of older ladies that she taught. The older I got, more and more of those ladies went on to heaven, and the party started being all the ladies of the church plus some of our family. Now lest you think this was your ordinary Sunday school event, it so was not. It was the biggest happening of my mom's entire year. She spent days and days cleaning and decorating the house. She spent all day the day of the party making cornbread dressing. There were dishes to be brought out that we never used except at Christmas. There were pickles to be placed on just the right slotted tray. There were bottle Cokes to be chilled. There was coffee to be made by my cousin Bobbie. And what to wear? Oh goodness, the right Christmas sweater must be chosen. The candles had to be lit. Everything must be just so. The ladies would arrive, and I would be waiting on them at the back door. Usually, I had been waiting for a while, because, as I mentioned, I was so excited! I would take their coats and … [Read more...]