It’s that time of the year again – making your New Year’s Resolutions. According to Globe Newswire, the 18- to 34-year old crowd led the way in making New Year’s resolutions in 2015.  In a survey, the millennials were twice as likely to make a resolution than the general population.  Of course, making resolutions are easy,...

  The Nativity is the story of an ordinary miracle. Look closely at the tapestry of Christmas, and you will notice it has been woven with common thread and shining strands of gold. First, consider the utter humanness of this story: JESUS WAS BORN Jesus was a human infant. He didn’t mythically spring, fully-formed, from the...

  Santa wants you to skip church this Christmas. Or, at least, a billboard Santa does in an ad campaign sponsored by the American Atheists. Running in Colorado Springs, CO, and Winston-Salem, NC, St. Nick beams, “Go ahead and skip church! Just be good for goodness sake. Happy Holidays!”  David...

  “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy down in my heart!” Remember that camp song from way back when? It perfectly summarizes the third Sunday of Advent, called “Gaudete Sunday” in Roman Catholic and Anglican circles. “Gaudete” (pronounced “Gow-DAY-tay”) is a Latin word meaning “rejoice,” marking a shift from the...

  We hear a lot about preparations during the season of Advent. Many people prepare for Christmas Day by trimming the tree, shopping, wrapping presents and throwing parties. I knew a pastor who dreaded the holidays as a kid because his mother would make him scrub the baseboards before family arrived. I’m...

  Many years ago, I remember reading a sermon with the title, “Hallowthankmas.” The preacher was making the point that the commercial world has merged Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas into one, big, fat three-month shopping come-on. The Urban Dictionary defines Hallowthankmas as a holiday “celebrating the most wonderful time of the year,...

  Have you ever found it difficult to give thanks? I have. I know others have, too. A few Novembers ago, a good friend died of a heart attack in his sleep. His nine-year old daughter discovered him in his bed. He was in his mid-50s, active and happy, a...

The Christmas Wars have started early this year. An Arizona evangelist and social-media personality is upset that Starbucks has removed traditional holiday symbols of snowflakes and ornaments from their coffee cups, switching to solid red. “Starbucks REMOVED CHRISTMAS from their cups because they hate Jesus,” claims Joshua Feuerstein on his Facebook page....

  I recently visited a couple at an independent living community in Ft. Worth. They had been a member of a church where I had served for several years. The man has leukemia, but he’s facing it down with a buoyant faith and active lifestyle. In fact, he and his wife just returned...

  It’s that time of the year again! The annual “should Christians celebrate Halloween?” debate is in full force, with believers on both sides of the fence gleefully attacking each other. Articles defending or condemning this observance are always followed by comments with lots of exclamation points and ALL CAPS to put a...