Jesus’ birth narrative is described in Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-12 and Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-20. Around this time, Caesar Augustus made the decree that every person within Rome’s domain had to participate in a census. This meant that everyone had to return to their hometown to be accurately surveyed and recorded.Why is Bethlehem relevant?Just like any good

While the Bible has plenty of clear-cut teaching on many questions that enter our minds, the question of whether or not our pets will be waiting for us in Heaven is unfortunately one that is not so apparent. However, we can take what the Bible is clear on to add some clarity while we tackle this question.In Genesis, God says that both man (Genesis

Sleeping is essential to life, and we can’t go very long without it. If we're operating on little to no sleep, our moods will grow erratic, we'll lose focus, have more difficulty thinking, and maybe even get sick. In cases of extreme sleep deprivation, people have even recorded suffering from hallucinations. The current record holder for sleep depr

There's a lot of confusion as to who the Holy Spirit is. The simplest answer is: The Holy Spirit is God. Our God is one divine being, yet He is also three unique individuals. There is God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). The Holy Spirit is the third person in what has been understood as "the Trinity," a triune

With all the commercialism and pressure and stress that the world has wrapped around December 25, it's sometimes hard to remember what Christmas is all about. We have one word for you to answer this question: LOVE. The Bible tells us that "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but ha

When we think of worshiping God, we often default to thoughts of music played at a church service or on the Christian radio station, singing, raising hands, and praising God with our voices. While these are all good things and expressions of worship, they are not all there is to true worship. John 4:24 instructs us to worship in "spirit and in trut

We find the spiritual gift of prophecy listed as one of the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:10 and Romans 12:6. As used in the Old Testament, the Greek word propheteia means to "speak forth" the divine will of God and to interpret His purposes. The Old Testament has 17 books of prophecy from which we can learn the global implications of Jes

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." —Galatians 5:22-23 What does it mean if I don't show the fruit of the Spirit in my life? I have asked myself the same question countless times over the course of my walk with the Lord. So many times I have questioned

To start off: You are not a loser. I can practically hear you going, "Yeah, but you don't know how I feel." So I'm going to switch to the second part: you are not a failure. How do I know that? Here's how I know that: you are here and you haven't given up.Life is messy. Even when we try our absolute hardest and plow ahead toward our goals, sometim

It's the weekend. You're tired. You have school tomorrow. Why would you want to drag yourself out of bed and go to church on a Sunday morning? What if you find your church boring or you don't get along with the kids at youth group? What's the point of going to church anyway?The Bible tells us that all believers need to attend church so that we can

Sometimes there's this image of God floating around that portrays Him as some kind of cosmic killjoy. Joy and laughter get labeled as irreverent and thrown out as shallow and immature at best, or sinful at worst. After all, He's God, right? He rules the universe. We are nothing compared to Him. Maybe, just maybe, if we balance our lives right, pray

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” —Genesis 1:1It's hard to imagine how anything could have happened before the creation of the universe. We can kinda grasp it because everything has a beginning, right? (Except God, but that's a different article.) But to think of before the beginning—that's just mind-blowing. Also, remember

CW: suffering, depression, abuse, death, griefBeing a human being, you may be familiar with suffering to some degree. You may have experienced financial insecurity, a natural disaster, bullying/abuse, the death of a loved one, or another kind of loss. I suffered through the death of my mother when I was only 18. It’s heartbreaking and can make you

"Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison..." —1 Peter 3:18-19When we look at 1 Peter 3:18-19, we find a few key words that give us hints as to Jesus' spiritual activity

As growing followers of Christ, we're told, "Spend quiet time with God," but what does that mean? And how does it work practically when we have 10 million other things demanding our attention every day? Teens have school, friends, family, and extracurriculars. Adults are stretched in the same way with work, family, and other obligations. Yet our bi

The quick answer to this question is, "Friday the 13th is NOT unlucky." ☺ Friday the 13th happens when the 13th day of the month falls on a Friday; the date happens anywhere from one to three times a year. For centuries and centuries, superstitious people have lived in dread of the date, believing that it would somehow bring them terrible mis

Does it seem like every year there’s more church abuse/Christian ministry scandals hitting the news? These "falls from grace" are always a shock. Every time the messy, ugly truths from organizations that should be bastions of love and safety are revealed, the Christian community as a whole is rocked.Unfortunately, division often occurs between beli

Because Jesus says to talk about our faith everywhere! Yeah, even in gym class if the opportunity comes up. ☺ There are lots of reasons why followers of Jesus should want to share their faith wherever they go—including classrooms and school in general. As Christian students, we have to make a commitment to respect our teachers and the school

What comes to mind when you think of Valentine's Day? Chocolate? Flowers? Hearts? Pretty pieces of paper? Almost one billion Valentine's Day cards are sent to loved ones on this holiday, second only to the number of Christmas cards sent. There's no doubt that this is a major commercialized holiday in many countries around the world, but the origin

First things first, we need to clarify that, biblically, homosexual acts are seen as an equal sin to any other sexual sin, such as adultery, lust, etc. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). All sin is offensive to God, so whether it's cheating on a test, stealing, or having sex outside of marriage, it's all the same to God. Of course, the consequences we experie