In Matthew 1:18-25, we find the most extraordinary birth narrative in all of Scripture. Nothing else even comes close. As we'll see in just a moment, whenever God gets involved, things get a lot more interesting; stuff starts happening that otherwise wouldn't; people's destinies are altered; their plans are changed; their hopes and dreams become

Remember the first time you had a broken heart — the first time something or someone hurt you so badly that it felt like your world was falling apart? Maybe it was a breakup that left you heartbroken for the first time. My first middle school breakup was brutal. I thought my life was over. I was wrecked. I remember my mom saying,

I've been around the biblical story my whole life. I feel fortunate to say that, blessed and thankful to have grown up in a home where the Bible was treasured and taught. My parents had me quoting Scripture before I could even read — I was singing “Jesus Loves Me” before I knew if I loved Him back. And that early exposure to

Our faith doesn't have to be perfect (without defect) in order for God to miraculously intervene in our lives. In fact, just the hint of faith, the smallest indication of trust, is enough to get God's attention. According to Jesus, colossal faith is not a prerequisite to move mountains; a tiny kernel of faith is sufficient — faith as small

Jesus never doubts the provision of God. He never worries that there won't be enough. He always pushes us to trust God completely. One of the ways he does that is by teaching us who God is and how God acts. In Matthew 6:24-34 — which is an excerpt from Jesus's longest recorded sermon, the Sermon on the Mount — Jesus goes to great

In late 2008, terrorists attacked India's most populous city, Mumbai, unleashing a cavalcade of murder and mayhem that struck fear in the hearts of the citizenry and resulted in a significant loss of human life. As reports of these attacks began to appear on cable news outlets here in the United States, I was riveted, and also deeply troubled.

For more than a decade, pastor and author David Hansen has been helping me close the gap between what I practice and what I preach. (Perhaps it could go without saying, but we all need someone like David in our lives.) Not too long ago I spent some time reading one of his books — it was a book about prayer. In it, David said something like

Jesus never avoided the people that needed Him the most. His habit of associating with sinners was considered scandalous by those who kept a close eye on that sort of thing (Matthew 9:10-13). But Jesus didn't seem to mind. Love compelled Him to do what He did. He never seemed to have any hesitancy to keep company with those who might sully His

In the aftermath of Pentecost, the church was unabashedly generous. Luke, the author of Acts, tells us, “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” Some have suggested that an early form of socialism was being practiced in Jerusalem, but