2013-12-20T06:00:03-05:00 GCI info@gospel.com /feeds/topics/advent/ http://faithgateway.com/humility/ 2013-12-20T06:00:03-05:00 Have you ever celebrated a holiday named Memas? Some people observe it every December 25. For them, the Christ of Christmas has been replaced by a me-centered worldview. This is a celebrity generation in which everyone wants little flashes of fame and fortune. One of the reasons the average wedding costs almost thirty thousand dollars […] http://faithgateway.com/heaven-earth-rejoice/ 2013-12-19T06:00:03-05:00 Imagine the scene in Bethlehem. It was the night of nights, and yet it had begun as every other night had before it. In Bethlehem’s houses mothers lay their children down to sleep. In the courtyards of the inn some camels lay down to rest. In the fields the sheep lay down while the shepherds sat near their fires. In the heavens […] http://faithgateway.com/north-pole-or-manger/ 2013-12-18T06:00:04-05:00 Some call him Sinterklaas. Others Pere Noel or Papa Noel. He’s been known as Hoteiosho, Sonnerklaas, Father Christmas, Jelly Belly, and to most English speakers, Santa Claus. His original name was Nicholas, which means victorious. He was born in AD 280 in what is now Turkey. He was orphaned at age nine when his parents died of a plague. Though many […] http://faithgateway.com/god-will-provide/ 2013-12-17T06:00:03-05:00 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were […] http://faithgateway.com/jesus-completely-human-completely-divine/ 2013-12-15T06:00:03-05:00 She will bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Jesus In the four gospels of the New Testament, it’s His most common name — used almost six hundred times. And a common name it was. Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, Jeshua, and Jehoshua — […] http://faithgateway.com/josephs-prayer/ 2013-12-13T06:00:05-05:00 Joseph… did what the Lord’s angel had told him to do. — Matthew 1:24 The white space between Bible verses is fertile soil for questions. One can hardly read Scripture without whispering, “I wonder…” “I wonder if Eve ever ate any more fruit.” “I wonder if Noah slept well during storms.” “I wonder if Jonah liked fish or if Jeremiah […] http://faithgateway.com/immanuel-god-with-us/ 2013-12-12T06:00:03-05:00 The Name The name Immanuel appears twice in the Hebrew Scriptures and once in the New Testament. In Greek, it is rendered Emmanouel. One of the most comforting of all the names and titles of Jesus, it is literally translated with us is God or, as Matthew’s Gospel puts it, God with us. When our sins made it impossible […] http://faithgateway.com/simeon-watching-waiting/ 2013-12-11T06:00:04-05:00 Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. — Luke 2:25 Let’s imagine a white-headed, wizened fellow working his way down the streets of Jerusalem. People in the market call his name, and he waves but doesn’t […] http://faithgateway.com/that-first-christmas/ 2013-12-09T06:00:04-05:00 So [the shepherds] hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. — Luke 2:16 It would have been logical to expect God to tear open the Heavens and descend to Earth in majesty and power on that first Christmas night — but He didn’t. Instead, on that quiet night in Bethlehem, […] http://faithgateway.com/keeping-christ-in-christmas/ 2013-12-07T06:00:05-05:00 I was just telling a friend today how I haven’t been in a very festive mood this December. It’s not that I don’t like celebrating, it’s just that my kids have come down with a pretty hefty case of what I like to call “The Christmas Gimmies” and it’s making me both sad and worried. […]