The way into a positive future may appear blocked, as firmly as the way was blocked for the people of Israel as they hoped to go to the Promised Land. But God can open the way.

God’s healing power can restore us, and that power can be at work in unexpected ways!

There is a “river of life” that flows through the Scripture – a powerful image of God’s power to refresh, cleanse, and enliven our spirits.

The story of the visit of the wise men portrays Jesus as a direct challenge to political authority. The wise men come to honor “the king of the Jews,” and it is not Herod. Herod responds with violence, but the power of God is stronger. The story proclaims that above all political authority

We live in frightening times. But at the center of the Christmas story is the proclamation: “Fear not!”

It is now traditional that the Christmas story and nativity scenes include shepherds. It can be easy to forget the role of shepherds in the society of the day, and exactly what it meant that God included them in the celebration of the birth of Jesus.