Articles for tag: Incarnation

March 7, 2016

Christian Standard

I Look to Stay

By Casey Tygrett In 2007, I encountered a book that changed my life. The book was Hannah Coulter, a novel by Wendell Berry. I had previously read a Berry poem called “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.” With a title like that, how could you forget? In fact, one line stays with me even today: “Praise ignorance, for what man has not encountered he has not destroyed.” Even with that poem in mind, I wasn”t prepared for Hannah Coulter. The characters, the life, the unspoken but ever present faith””Berry”s book drew me in, and I couldn”t put it down. Once

January 1, 2016

Christian Standard

Meditating on Love: January 1

By Becky Ahlberg Friday, January 1, 2016 Read Hebrews 1:1-3.  This passage brings the story of the incarnation full circle. We have come through another year to remember Jesus” birth with calls to hope, peace, joy, and love. I hope your Christmas celebration was meaningful. And now as you head into the new year, clean up the leftovers, return gifts, and put away the decorations, never forget that his coming, though a gift to you, was a sacrifice for him. I pray that the depth of that sacrifice moves you beyond the quaint story of a manger and hay. Never

December 29, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Four Days Later””Still Time to Ponder

By Mark A. Taylor Today, just four days after Christmas, some of us are ready for the celebration to be over. We”re tired of travel (or worn out by our houseguests), we”ve exchanged or returned gifts that weren”t right, and we”re looking forward to a little rest or maybe even getting back to work. And even if we loved every minute of our family Christmas, we may still pause to wonder whether the impact of the incarnation penetrated our celebration. And so, today, here”s a word of inspiration. The following is adapted from a column first posted here two years

December 26, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Joy: December 26

By Becky Ahlberg Saturday, December 26 Read 1 Peter 1:3-9. We ended our thoughts yesterday with the first verse of today”s Scripture. The phrase “inexpressible and glorious joy” (v. 8) is the one that always jumps out at me. It”s the day after Christmas and these may not be your first thoughts! However, Christmas can bless us every year by allowing us to embrace anew the incarnation and the sheer joy of belonging to God””and it”s all because of his willingness to move first. Emily E. S. Elliott captures it in her carol, “Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne”: Thou didst

December 20, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Joy: December 20

By Becky Ahlberg For many, especially church leaders, Christmas is more chaos than celebration. Besides the extra programs and parties, family responsibilities and expectations also expand. These short meditations (which started December 6 and will continue with a new, early morning post each day through January 1) are designed with leaders in mind. Take a few minutes each day to ponder these thoughts designed to help you find the wonder of the incarnation in the midst of your responsibilities. Advent is simply a time to prepare for the celebration of Christ”s birth. In liturgical settings, Advent begins four Sundays before

December 14, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for December 20, 2015: Dedication of the Firstborn (Exodus 13:13″“15; Luke 2:22″“32)

Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri, and has held preaching ministries in Missouri, Illinois, and Colorado. This lesson treatment is published in the December 13 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott  There is an old downward spiral to sin that goes like this: If you hesitate, you will contemplate; if you contemplate, you will negotiate; if you negotiate, you will participate; and if you participate, you will desecrate. But maybe we could say that with the coming

December 12, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Hope: December 12

By Becky Ahlberg Saturday, December 12 An interesting juxtaposition today: Read Philippians 2:3-11 through the lens of Christmas. The phrase he “emptied Himself” (v. 7, New American Standard Bible) describes Jesus” perfect Christmas gift to us. Then read (or better yet, sing!) the words to “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and imagine yourself in the midst of that unheralded event. His ways are not our ways. O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, The silent stars go by. Yet in the dark street Shinto The everlasting Light; The hopes and

December 11, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Hope: December 11

By Becky Ahlberg Friday, December 11 Read 1 Timothy 4.  In this well-known passage, the apostle Paul shares his wisdom with young Timothy and reminds him his behavior is critical to his credibility as a leader. It”s always good for leaders to remind themselves of these important truths. And right in the middle of it is this nugget, “That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God” (v. 10). Ours is not hope built on quaint stories or wishful thinking. The incarnation wasn”t magic. It was the purposeful, powerful behavior of the

December 10, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Hope: December 10

By Becky Ahlberg Thursday, December 10 Today brings another atypical Christmas passage, 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, 16-18. This “jars of clay” passage is one of my favorites for lots of reasons, but maybe never more so than today as I ponder a new thought: Jesus chose to become a jar of clay himself! Fully man, fully God. Now that is a treasure in a jar of clay! What could illustrate the fragility of the life Jesus embarked upon more poignantly than a newborn baby? What life on earth ever embodied the images in this passage more than Jesus? “Pressed . .

December 2, 2015

Christian Standard

Christmas: It”s a Heart Thing

By Jim Tune In his excellent book simply titled Preaching, Tim Keller commits an entire chapter to the notion and need for preachers to preach Christ to the heart. “Preaching,” according to Keller, “cannot simply be accurate and sound. It must capture the listeners” interest and imaginations; it must be compelling and penetrate to their hearts. It is possible merely to assert and confront and feel we have been very “˜valiant for truth,” but if you are dry or tedious, people will not repent and believe the right doctrine you present.” Arguing that we should preach “wondrously,” Keller contends that

November 20, 2015

Christian Standard

Condescension that Brought Redemption

By Victor Knowles Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death””even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8). Communion is an incredible story of condescension. The Christ, the Son of the living God and the creator of the cosmos, condescended first to a lowly manger and then to a rugged Roman cross. It never happened

February 13, 2015

Christian Standard

The Lamb of God

By C. Robert Wetzel “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:12). How strange it must have seemed to pagans when Christians described Jesus as the Lamb of God! This would be especially true when they heard Jesus described as the Word who was with God and who was God and who became flesh in Jesus Christ. God, a lamb? If the pagan were to use an animal metaphor to describe God, he would certainly choose some powerful animal whose image would strike terror

December 24, 2014

Christian Standard

Starting at the Bottom

By Jim Tune  Most religions begin “at the top,” but Christianity begins “at the bottom.” The mystery of the incarnation should stir our hearts every day. Much of what we learn about the incarnation we learn as children and revisit annually during the Christmas season. I wonder if we are ever guilty of treating the incarnation as a beginner”s doctrine: a nice opportunity to do something for the children and invite our friends to church. The remarkable union of God and man in the incarnation is no minor point of theology. God the Son took on flesh and dwelt among

October 13, 2014

Christian Standard

Can We Let Artists Be Artists?

By Dan Drage The Christian church doesn”t inspire me. Unless one counts reaction against something to be inspiration. No, overall I find the Christian church quite dull and unimaginative.  If you”re reading this far, I trust you”ll respect me enough to hear me out. I”m an artist. Perhaps that says it all right there. And this is precisely what I”d like to talk about. Being an artist may account for my distaste with the Christian church. I am a part of the Restoration Movement. I have been for 33 years, since I was 3 years old. One could argue that

June 13, 2014

Christian Standard

What”s So Distinctive about the Christian Faith?

By Donald S. Tingle The world is full of religions. If Christianity is just one of many faith traditions, what makes it so special, so distinctive from all other religious claims? The answers Christian have given to that question often fit somewhere between two extremes. But somewhere in the middle lie the answers we need to show followers of other religions why Christianity alone truly leads us to God. On the extreme right some might say, “Christianity is true; therefore all non-Christian religions are false. Non-Christians are so thoroughly blinded by Satan that nothing worthwhile can be found among their

December 21, 2013

Christian Standard

Mondays with Roy

By T.R. Robertson For nearly two years, from the first Monday in September 2004, until the first Monday in June 2006, I made a weekly trip from the Mizzou Christian Campus House to the Missouri state prison for women in Vandalia, Missouri, in the company of campus minister Roy Weece and an ever-changing group of students and CCH alums. Roy was always the driver. No one ever considered asking if he”d rather just ride along and let someone else drive. After decades of driving a succession of white Volkswagen beetles for hundreds of thousands of miles to hundreds of speaking

December 19, 2013

Christian Standard

Incarnation

By Tom Lawson Stephen and Ian stood together talking, while they braved the crisp breeze of a cold December in downtown Lexington, Kentucky. They had decided to go to a popular local café for lunch. But the people standing outside told them what was confirmed by the hostess at the door, “It will be about 20 to 30 minutes, if you want to wait.” They did. In the eight months between college and graduate school, my son Stephen decided to live and worship with a group of Christians in a depressed section of Lexington. From various denominations, the members of

December 16, 2013

Christian Standard

Making Disciples

By Jeremy Brown Standing on the platform at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, Phil Robertson spoke with conviction as the crowd hung on every word. “I”m not an ordained preacher in the way that you”re thinking””I”m just a guy who makes duck calls.” Much of the world is interested in the thoughts of the “Duck Commander” because this everyday man from the woods has chosen to use every platform afforded him over the last 30 years to introduce people to Jesus Christ””and God has allowed him a significant platform! “I”m just trying to get America and the rest of

December 16, 2013

Shawn McMullen

The Father Was There

By Shawn McMullen We see Jesus Christ as the focal point of the final week, the main character in the drama of redemption. From the triumphal entry to the resurrection, our eyes are fixed on him. We picture him during his last days on earth cleansing the temple, teaching the masses, and warning hypocrites. We follow him as he observes the Passover, prays in the garden, and suffers a friend”s betrayal. Our hearts ache over his abandonment, arrest, trial, and crucifixion. Following Christ in his final week helps us appreciate the scope of his sacrifice and the depth of his

December 14, 2013

Christian Standard

God Enfleshed

By Miriam Y. Perkins Incarnation is not a word we often use in church settings. It has the intimidating look of a complicated theological term that causes more confusion than clarification. Yet the incarnation sums up three of the most important aspects of Christian faith: the nature of God”s love, the shape of salvation, and the spirit of Christian ministry. The incarnation inspires wonder and delight in knowing and worshipping God, who is beyond all we know and understand and yet is as fully present to us in the person of Jesus as we are one to another. I invite

Help Keep Christian Standard Free & Accessible with a Tax Deductible Donation

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Does Your Church Want to Support Christian Standard?

Would your church consider including support for Christian Standard in its annual missions budget? Your support would help us not only continue the 160-year legacy of this unifying ministry, but also expand the free resources, cooperative opportunities, and practical guidance we provide to strengthen churches in the U.S. and around the world.

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Secret Link