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The First Christmas

First Christmas Nativity Scene

The First Christmas

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.

Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.

“Don’t be frightened, Mary,” the angel told her, “for God has decided to bless you! You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

Mary asked the angel, “But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin.”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby born to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”

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How God Changes Lives: Part 3

 An indestructible life

Today we will look at a subject many Christians are interested in: how to bring about positive life change and experience the joy and freedom Jesus promised his followers. I have talked with many frustrated Christians who said, “I know the Bible says Jesus sets us free, but I don’t feel free, and I don’t know what I can do to turn that around.”

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How God Changes Lives: Part 2

The Last Supper- Jesus and his disciples

The myth of the overnight disciple

Our culture is obsessed with the notion of instant success. Millions of us buy lottery tickets each week, and when the American Idol tryouts come to cities across America, the line of hopefuls wraps around the block. Many of us also believe immediate success can be attained in the spiritual realm. We read stories of great spiritual leaders and think they became heroes of the faith because of how they responded at a decisive moment, but when we look a little deeper into their story, we discover God had been working in their hearts long before they exhibited any sort of spiritual boldness.

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How God changes lives: Part 1

Jesus Saves sign in the city

What everybody ought to know about salvation

Salvation. We often hear that term in Christian circles, but do we understand what the word means? If someone were to ask you to define salvation, what would you say? If you are part of the 74% of Americans who check the “Christian” box when filling out forms, you would probably say something like, “salvation is about believing in Jesus and assuring ourselves a spot in heaven after we die.”

Most Christians understand salvation to be about preparing for the afterlife. It’s often explained like this: God the Father and God the Son made an arrangement (Jesus’s death on the cross) that would make it possible for our sins to be forgiven. Our part is to say “Yes” to God’s invitation by believing in Jesus. Our faith results in the forgiveness of our sins and guarantees us a home in heaven after we die.