Biblical Insight Today

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to god in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:13- 14 One of America’s best known poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) contributed to the wealth of carols sung each Christmas.   One such carol is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. This carol was originally a poem based on Luke 2:14 which written during the American Civil War. When it was originally written it contained seven stanzas, containing reference to that conflict. Christmas Bells   I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good will to men!   And thought how, as the day had come The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along The unbroken song Of Peace on earth good-will to men!   Then from each black accursed mouth The can...

Written by: Pastor Ed Andrews (my brother) In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob, forever; his kingdom will never end. Luke 1:26-33 When most people think of the greatest sacrifice ever made for mankind, they think of the cross and everything it entails. They think of Good Friday and Easter, they think of the death and re...

Everyone loves to see the Nativity set. Each year, like many people, you may pull yours out of storage, dust it off and set it somewhere in your home. The decorative Nativity Scene has become one of the staples of Christmas. No scene would be complete without the three figures at the center. Obviously, Jesus Christ is front and center, in a manger. But two other indispensable figures are those of Mary and Joseph. As we look at a Nativity scene, it’s hard to ignore that the Christmas story is wrapped around people – around real life men and women we think we know, but who have never taken on much of a life of their own. How well do we really know Joseph and Mary? Our aim today is to get to know Mary and Joseph more personally so that we can see Christmas from their point of view. When Mary was born, the golden age of Israel’s proud history was past. No king of David’s family had ruled in Jerusalem for over 500 years. But the Jews were still waiting for the Messiah, the ruler p...