An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and...

An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Why in the world does Matthew start his story this way? With a genealogy of all things? I mean, talk about an archaic literary device! If you’ve ever heard this passage read from the King James Version,...

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they...

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 
”Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” I wonder how many of us tie God’s glory to our peace. I think that many Christians – and perhaps...

Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who...

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Of all the characters in the Christmas story, I suspect it’s the shepherds we have most misunderstood. I don’t know if it’s all the cute kids who have worn their dad’s bathrobes in...