Gifts

On April 16th, the phone rang at First Baptist Church in downtown Glendale. When Pastor Jefferson answered the phone, a member of the IRS introduced himself and said he had a few questions for the pastor.

“This can’t be good,” thought the pastor….

While no two Christmas lists are ever the exact same, it’s a sure bet that most kids want the hi-tech staples that have come to define our culture: an iPad, a video game or two, and a new cell phone. But a few kids from India had a different list entirely; they just wanted to be set free from slavery.

And thanks to a recent raid, they got just what they wanted.

Everybody’s been told that Santa is making a list, that he is checking it twice, and that he’s going to find out who’s naughty or nice. But if the truth be told, no one really cares.

That’s because recent studies show that being on the “naughty list” doesn’t actually lower the number of presents kids get, after all.

During the 2011 Christmas season, Patrick Greene, a confessed atheist, drove five hours from his home in San Antonia, TX to protest a nativity scene that was erected on the courthouse square in Henderson County.

Little did he know that the Christians he’d confront would impact his life so deeply.

There are lots of people who like what Jesus has to offer…but don’t like Jesus. For instance, they want salvation but find His teachings on the subject intolerable. But Jesus can’t be picked apart; He and His gifts are a package deal.

That’s the lesson a thirsting Jill Pole learned when a lion blocked her path to a life-saving stream.

England’s Hudson Taylor, the missionary God used to transform China, was consumed with leading the lost into God’s Kingdom. In spite of the unfathomable challenges he would face – a lack of money, support, translators, and supplies – he never once asked anyone for money. Instead, he simply prayed.

Why not? That strategy paid off time and time again….

Let’s be honest. Christmas brings awesome gifts…but Christmas also brings gifts from your Aunt Agnes living in Finland. How do you handle the moment when you tear off the wrapping paper to discover a turtleneck that somehow survived the Cold War?

Here are the five best ways to express yourself in that moment.

For many months in 1914, the night sky along the French and German border was filled with the sights and sounds of gunfire, shelling, and explosions. The world was at war with itself and millions were already dead.

But for one night, December 24, 1914, the weapons of destruction would fall silent, so that a Holy Night could be remembered in peace.