We began reading through a harmony of Matthew and Luke birth accounts of Jesus. We looked at a few debated issues, like whether Mary and Joseph wanted to stay in an "inn" but were turned away; whether December 25 was really the date of Jesus's birth, Christmas trees, the abbreviation Xmas, and who the "three kings of orient" are.

Why Christmas? Because of the incarnation. And why the incarnation? Because Christ came to reveal God to us, to die for us and rise again, and to call us to repent and receive life instead of judgment. The whole Christian faith is the reason for Christmas. Do not be a grinch that steals the real meaning of Christmas. And do not let the secular society define your belief and practice of Christmas!

The Bible has a lot to say about friends and brotherly kindness. Over 100 verses use the word friend. Being friendly and maintaining friendships are character traits of a mature Christian. A friend is someone attached to you with whom you have some affection or esteem. In this message we look at many examples of how the idea of friends is used in the Bible and remind ourselves along the way how we should be like those friendly souls. Jesus considered certain people as friends, and so whatever characteristics it takes to maintain good friendships, those should be ours as well.

Pastor Lorch encourages us to trust entirely in the Lord, to acknowledge God in all of our life, and enjoy the promise that God will direct our life.

This is the recording of our annual Christmas Program with Christmas music, narration, and preaching about why Jesus came.

We extend our "Perspectives on Christmas" series over the years with another one: Christmas from the perspective of God the Father. God the Father’s perspective on Christmas must be ascertained from His revelation recorded for us in Scripture. Join us as we examine one example of this in Luke 1:26–38. This text tells us that God the Father was setting into motion His long foretold plan to provider a redeemer and ruler in the birth of Jesus.

Someone who is peaceful is untroubled by an ongoing conflict, agitation, or commotion. They are “at ease,” in a state of well-being. The work of the gospel results in peace in the life of a Christian, but we make a mistake, however, if we hear “gospel of peace” and think only of a tranquil feeling of inner calm. That is not the peace of the gospel. A tranquil spirit is one side-effect of the gospel, but gospel peace is peace with God through Christ which extracts us from the status of being “enemies of God” (Romans 5:10, James 4:4).

The book of Jeremiah is the record of Jeremiah’s prophecies about the southern kingdom and surrounding nations, as well as some narrative about what happened during those days with Jeremiah himself and Jeremiah’s interactions with King Zedekiah and other officials in the royal court. The book is focused on judgment as well as future restoration. It is a call to repentance, like many of the other prophets.

Missionary Benjamin Green and his wife Meredith, sent by Inter-City Baptist Church, share their desire to serve the Lord in Finland, followed by a message of worship to God. He teaches us that we who love the Lord must spread his praise and worship to the ends of the earth, because only God is worthy of worship, because only proclamation of His greatness will bring the nations to join in our worship, and only universal praise throughout the world is good enough to offer the Lord.