Devotional After Christmas, the church calendar enters twelve days of Epiphany – from Dec. 26 to Jan. 6. The dictionary defines an epiphany as “a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something, an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking or an
Devotional If you are a parent, you no doubt have had times when you wished you could read your child’s mind – to know what they were thinking, to get a glimpse into their heart. We used to play a game where we would ask, “If you could have one wish, what would it be?”
Devotional So far we’ve spent the month of December trying to see Christmas through the eyes of the people who actually lived it, and we’ve learned a lot about God in the process. We see: It is always better to obey God, even when it doesn’t make sense. We can trust God. Even when we’re
Devotional The story of Jesus saturates the Bible narrative and prophecies of His first Advent are found throughout the Old Testament. One scholar, J. Barton Payne, found as many as 574 verses in the Old Testament that somehow point to or describe or reference the coming Messiah. Alfred Edersheim found 456 Old Testament verses referring
Devotional Why include John the Baptist in the characters of Christmas? Think back to the beginning of the Christmas story in Luke – it starts with the birth of John the Baptist. The two were cousins. No doubt they spent a lot of time together growing up; their mothers were close after all. And the
Devotional Before we leave this story of the Wise Men, the horror in Bethlehem and the escape to Egypt, I have one question for you – how did the Wise Men know to look for the star and follow it to the Messiah? They were from the East; Scripture tells us, they were not fully
Devotional Gabriel, the angel sent by God to be His messenger and coordinator of all His plans, had one more task to complete the Christmas season. An angel appears to Joseph, again in a dream, letting him know his family was in danger and he needed to get out of town. Gabriel isn’t specifically mentioned,
Devotional The story of the Star of Bethlehem appears only in the Book of Matthew. The Gospel tells us that a bright star appeared in the eastern sky when Jesus was born, famously seen by a group of Wise Men. Although the Wise Men are a prominent part of the Christmas story – in nativity
Devotional Every story needs a villain, and the Master storyteller doesn’t hold back in the Christmas story. This one has one doozy of a villain – enter King Herod. Pretty sure your Nativity set doesn’t include King Herod. But to ignore him is to not only ignore the world into which Jesus was born, but
Devotional Soon after Simeon appears in the Temple to meet Jesus, we are told of an enigmatic prophetess named Anna (Greek form of Hannah) who also happened to be there to witness these events. Anna is described as a “prophetess,” which tells us she was gifted and unafraid to declare the word of the Lord.
Devotional Unlike most popular versions of the Nativity story, Luke’s doesn’t end at the manger, and the three Magi do not appear. Instead, like any Jewish newborn of the day, Jesus is circumcised eight days later and is presented at the Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:21–22). At this occasion, a devout man named Simeon rejoices
Devotional Every year on Christmas Eve my father would grab the family Bible, open it to the Gospel of Luke, and read the Christmas story to seven young children, wide-eyed and rapt with attention. Yes, it was a requirement before we were allowed to open our presents, but we couldn’t wait to hear the story
Devotional Prophecy is an indispensable part of the Nativity story – with good reason. God has always spoken and acted in real history, through actual events and real human lives. He has made promises and kept them, and called people to record and remember them. He’s not an obscure deity of myth and legend, but
Devotional Stop for a minute and think – you have great news, the best news ever. Who do you want to tell? Who do you go to first? I don’t know about you, but I’d tell my spouse, my closest friend, someone I trust, someone who would be there to celebrate with me. Who did
Devotional Angels serve a variety of roles in Scripture: they advocate, they protect, they make war, they announce, they teach, they comfort, and they guide. All of those roles can be seen in the Christmas story. They announce to Zechariah, Mary, and Joseph. They flood the earth with a celebration to the shepherds. They warn
Devotional In his book, An Angel’s Story, Max Lucado sets the scene for the animals. “I’ve heated the water!” ”No need to yell, Joseph. I hear you fine.” Mary would have heard had Joseph whispered. The stable was even smaller than Joseph had imagined, but the innkeeper was right – it was clean. I started
Devotional In his book, An Angel’s Story, Max Lucado imagines the scene at the Inn in Bethany when Mary and Joseph arrive. “But don’t you have just one room?” Joseph pleaded “To be honest, I did. But only moments ago a large delegation arrived and took every last bed. I don’t have a place for
Devotional The prophet Micah prophesied 700 years before the birth of Christ that he would be born in Bethlehem. Have you ever thought about the fact that God caused a worldwide census to be taken by the emperor of Rome so that the two people He had foreordained as Jesus’ parents had to travel from
Devotional To understand Joseph’s perspective of the Christmas narrative, we need to understand the customs surrounding betrothals/marriages of the time. In biblical times, people were married in their early youth, and marriages were usually contracted within the narrow circle of the clan and the family. Interpreting their “betrothal” as a modern-day “engagement” would be wrong.
Devotional Gabriel shows up a third time in the Christmas narrative, this time to reassure Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, that she was not unfaithful to him but was carrying the Son of God. It was the first of two times Gabriel would reassure Mary’s not-so-sure husband. What’s an angel to do? Joseph was a godly man
Devotional Imagine the delight and joy in the lives of Zechariah and Elizabeth! Not only would they become parents after decades of despair and disbelief, but they would parent the last of the Old Testament prophets and a forerunner of the Messiah. Can you imagine? Elizabeth could have complained that God waited too long. She
Devotional The Old Testament ends with this verse from the book of Malachi: See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents. (Malachi 4:5-6) Why
Devotional The first time we hear about an angel called Gabriel is in the book of Daniel, an angel sent by God in answer to Daniel’s prayer that was delayed for three weeks due to fighting with the devil. It took the Archangel Michael to break him free. Then we don’t hear about him again
Devotional As we celebrate this season looking through the eyes of all the characters of Christmas, there is none so unlikely to be at the center of this divine story as Mary. As a young, poor woman (guesstimates are she was around 14 or 15), she wasn’t looking for prominence. She was simply living out
Devotional Have you ever wondered what the angel who carried God’s message to the world thought about that task? Gabriel was the angel chosen by God to tell: Zechariah that he and his wife would have a son who would prepare the way for God Mary that she would mother Christ Joseph that he should
Every December, we’re surrounded by images of Christmas: lights, trees, cozy drinks, and of course, a big guy in a red suit who somehow knows if every kid has been naughty or nice. Most of it is fun. I’m not anti-tree, anti-lights, or anti–hot cocoa. But if we started with the original Christmas story in
Join us to celebrate Christmas Eve Eve! We’ll have Christmas hymns, Scripture reading, a kids’ story, and refreshments! We’ll also have a photo booth so you can take pictures! Christmas Eve-Eve with Clarity Church Christmas Eve Eve December 23, 2025 6:00-7:00pm LOCATION: RiverLife Church 9000 101st Ave N, Brooklyn Park, MN 55445 🎄 Here’s the
TRANSCRIPT At this time of year, you’ll see the lights go up, the tinsel, the ivy. The calendar fills. The music turns on. You’re going to hear for the thousandth time. Houses are full of people who look rested, and they have tons of money for gifts, and are just having the best time of
GPS Seminar Session 1 Resources | Spiritual Gifts and Passions for Service *time stamps link to full video on youtube Key Takeaways 1. Spiritual gifts are not just talents or skills, but God-given capacities that are meant to be used for the benefit of others and the building up of the church.They are distinct from
Faith When Life Hurts Part 2: Joseph’s Story – Into the Trials Genesis 37 opens the door to a story that is both familiar and deeply unsettling. Joseph’s life, often romanticized in childhood retellings, actually begins in a family marked by dysfunction, favoritism, and rivalry. Jacob’s open preference for Joseph, the son of his beloved
Faith When Life Hurts Part 1: Faith in the Face of the Unknown Faith is not about having all the answers or controlling every outcome; it’s about taking the next right step in obedience to God, even when the path ahead is unclear. Throughout history and in our own lives, we are tempted to believe
Part 5: Being a Gospel Witness – Evangelism (Acts 1:8) Sermon Summary The call to be a gospel witness is not an optional add-on to the Christian life; it is woven into the very fabric of what it means to be rescued by Jesus. When God saves, He also sends. The life that has been
Faith When Life Hurts Part 4: Worship and Fellowship-Life Together Individual faith, when lived in isolation, inevitably cools and loses its vitality. The journey of following Jesus is not a sprint but a long obedience in the same direction, requiring rhythms and habits that sustain us through every season of life. True discipleship is not
Embracing Persistent Prayer: Trusting God Over Self Day 1: Persistent Prayer Moves the Heart of God Persistent prayer is not about annoying God, but about demonstrating our dependence on Him and our belief that He alone can provide what we truly need. Jesus teaches that we are to keep asking, seeking, and knocking—not because God
Embracing Spiritual Disciplines: A Journey of Transformation Devotional Day 1: Spiritual Growth Is a Long Obedience in the Same Direction Spiritual growth is not about quick fixes or dramatic moments, but about showing up day after day, week after week, year after year, walking steadily with God. In a world that craves instant results, true
Faith, Humility, and God’s Unfailing Mercy Devotional Day 1: God Can Be Trusted Even When He Seems Silent When it feels like God is not answering, it can be deeply discouraging and confusing, especially when you are desperate for His help. Yet, what may feel like abandonment is often preparation—God is working behind the scenes
Transforming Hearts: The True Source of Our Actions Devotional Day 1: True Defilement Comes from the Heart, Not External Actions Jesus teaches that what truly defiles a person is not external rituals or what goes into the body, but what comes out of the mouth, which reveals the condition of the heart. When we focus
Finding Jesus in the Storms of Life Devotional Day 1: Jesus Meets Us in the Storm No matter how hard we try or how stuck we feel, Jesus does not leave us alone in our storms. Even when we are doing exactly what He has asked of us and still find ourselves battered by life’s
Embracing God’s Abundance in Our Weakness Life often throws us into moments of grief, uncertainty, and overwhelming demands—times when our plans are upended and our resources feel insufficient. In Matthew 14, Jesus steps into such a moment, marked by the loss of John the Baptist, political threats from Herod, and the relentless needs of the
Embracing True Transformation Through God’s Grace In a world where “fine” has become the default answer to “How are you?”, it’s easy to settle for a life that’s merely functional but not truly flourishing. Many of us live in routines that are familiar, even if they’re not healthy, because change feels risky and uncomfortable. Yet,