Perhaps no Christmas figure is more maligned that Saint Nicholas.
The man who began as a generous church leader, trying to inspire others to care for the poor, evolved into a magical sprite in a reindeer-drawn sled used by parents to bribe children into obedience.
My uncle, my father’s baby brother, died suddenly before the holidays.
At 28 years old, he had moved back in with the family and was working his way through some personal issues, when a complication with a hereditary illness caused his heart to stop one night.
In 1480, Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint an altarpiece for the Augustinian monks of San Donato. He completed detailed drawings of the painting’s figures and scene, but then he left the city.
The painting would be finished years later by an unknown artist.
Philippians 4:4 could be considered the anthem of the third Sunday in Advent. “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4 NLT).
The claim that Jesus rose from the dead is the reason the church still stands.
When Jesus’ followers witnessed him die on a cross, they were utterly defeated. Yet, only three days later, the triumphant news, “I have seen the Lord!” would begin to rapidly spread (John 20:18).
The World Surf League’s open off of South Africa’s Jeffreys Bay was just one more major competition for Mick Fanning. Little did he know it was about to become the event of a lifetime.
Malachi’s an odd little book, only four chapters long and at the tail end of the Old Testament. It’s not much fun to read, to be quite honest. There’s lots of rebelling, judgment and general unhappiness.
“I’ll never forget the feelings I experienced when two shiny new keys were pressed firmly into my trembling hands,” Gary Richmond recalled in his book A View from the Zoo. “They weren’t just any keys. These keys gave me access to all the cages at the Los Angeles Zoo.”
A great deal of ink has been spilled by those insisting that all Christmas traditions have pagan roots and ought not be celebrated by “real” Christians.
