The real Christmas story starts in a stable that smelled like a stable. God chose the last place anyone would look, and He did it on purpose. And that baby was born to die. Christmas doesn't make sense without the cross at the end of it.
I've preached Christmas for more than three decades, and I've never been interested in the greeting-card version. December gets buried faster than any other month. For some people it's the happiest season of the year. For some it's the hardest. Both are true, and both belong here.
These Advent devotionals are one passage a day through the season. Start December 1, or start wherever you find them. Read them out loud at the table before the wrapping paper takes over.
All Devotionals
Questions
About five minutes. One passage, a short reflection from Ed, and one thing to do or say that day.
Start on December 1 and read one a day, or start whenever you find this and read what's here. There's no wrong week to begin.
Yes. Most work read aloud at the table, and the closing line gives a family something to talk about before the wrapping paper takes over.