As we get ready for a new year, remember the new command: love others as Jesus has loved you.

Do that, and you’ll have a wonderful new year.

…yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. (Habakkuk 3:19) by Steve Ridgell on Dec.30, 2013, under Messages

Christians find joy in the midst of a hard world because we know that God has saved us.  Rejoice and be glad in the Lord.

The Year of Our Lord by Tim Archer on Dec.29, 2013, under Hope His coming divided history into two parts: before his time and after his time. The Western world marks the years as B.C. (before Christ) and A.D. (anno domini, Latin for “the year of our Lord”). Some use C.E., meaning “common era,” but the years are still counted from the time when he came.

John, the writer of the fourth book of the New Testament, describes it this way: “The Word became flesh.” (John 1:14) The Word, the unique Son of God who was with God and was God and created everything… that Word became a human being. And nothing has been the same since.

Every man’s life is divided into “Before Christ” and “After Christ.” We come to know of him, we learn about him, then we decide. We decide to reject him and all that he stands for. Or we believe in him, and receive all that he has to offer.

It’s a new year. It’s the right time for making a decision. Make this year a true “year of our Lord.” by Tim Archer on Dec.28, 2013, under Messages

God didn’t rest because he was tired. He stopped his work to set an example for mankind. We live in a world that admires the workaholic, that prides itself on skipping days off and eschewing vacations.

God says we need rest. At least one day a week. We need that time to focus on him and focus on what’s important.

Work can wait. Rest needs to have a place in our lives.

How great is God–beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out. (Job 36:26) by Steve Ridgell on Dec.27, 2013, under Messages

God is so much greater than we can ever understand.  So let him be God.  He is much better at it than we are. by Tim Archer on Dec.26, 2013, under Messages

In Jesus, God was revealing himself to the world in a new way, taking human flesh and living as a man. The Incarnation is a wondrous thing: God with us, the Word made flesh, God the One and Only becoming a man. by Steve Ridgell on Dec.25, 2013, under Messages

Celebrate Jesus today.  He is not just the reason for the season, he is the reason for life. by Tim Archer on Dec.24, 2013, under Messages

Wow! Read over those words slowly and let them sink in. The angel is speaking to a young girl named Mary. Mary is a virgin. The angel tells her one thing after another, each more amazing.

If it was amazing for Mary, it’s just as amazing for us. We too have God’s favor. We too received God’s Son. We too have him as king. by Steve Ridgell on Dec.23, 2013, under Messages

Jesus came to this earth so we could be restored to a relationship with God.  The baby Jesus grew up so he could die on the cross for our sins.

A Son Was Born To Us by Steve Ridgell on Dec.22, 2013, under Hope There are many ways to announce an upcoming birth.  Rarely is it done before the mother has conceived.  Certainly not centuries before it was to happen.  And it was odd language.  “A child will be born to you.”  A child for everyone.  Not just a child born into his immediate family, but a child born for mankind.

It was announced again when it happened.  Not just the birth of a child, but the birth of a Savior.  A child born to mankind.  A child born to save us.  God’s own son born to a woman.  So he could live like us.  So he could live among us.  He would be unique because he never did the wrong thing, always did the right thing.  The devil tried to get him to make wrong choices but he did not.  He did, however, experience what it was like to live in a messed-up world.

He was born to fix it.  He was born to save us from our bad choices, our sin.  He was born to die.  The perfect person died for the imperfections of all of us.  He paid the price for our sins.  And after he died, he rose from the dead.  God raised him back to life.  He went home to heaven and left his followers here to keep telling this story.  Someday he will come back to take those who believe in him home to heaven.  So they too will be raised from the dead to live with God forever.

The child who came to die was Jesus.  He lives.  He invites you to believe.

That is an amazing story.  It sounds too good to be true:  a Savior born, a Savior died, a Savior raised to life.  And then we are invited to do the same:  be born again by dying with him so we can live a new life now and forever.

So you really only have to decide one thing.  Do you believe in this Jesus?
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