Stories tagged with: christmas

• FIRST-PERSON: What we can learn from the shepherds

  by Milton A. Hollifield Jr., posted Friday, December 13, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  "Most of us would expect that such a message would first be proclaimed to those with status and nobility," says Milton Hollifield, "rather than to lowly shepherds who probably didn't even own the sheep they were tending." Read More

• Church gets creative with 'Lattes for Lottie'

  by Leslie Peacock Caldwell, posted Thursday, December 12, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Photo by Kris Wysong

  KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- If you're heading to Mount Harmony Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tenn., you don't need to stop at a fancy coffee shop on your way to church. Multi-flavored coffees and lattes will be ready for you when you arrive, served by smiling baristas. Donations at the coffee counter raise money for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, but also raise awareness about the offering's namesake.

  "I didn't just want it to be a table with people coming up to give money and get a latte," says Emily Sheddan, who started "Lattes for Lottie" in her church in 2017. "It was on my heart to get them involved and really know who Lottie was." Read More

• CHRISTMAS HYMN: Angels We Have Heard on High

  by Keith Getty, posted Thursday, December 12, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Public Domain/via Wikimedia Commons

  "What must it have been like for the shepherds to witness a sky full of worshiping angels 2,000 years ago?" Keith Getty asks. In "Angels We Have Heard on High," "we are invited to join in with their worship." Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Jingle Some Bells

  by David Jeremiah, posted Wednesday, December 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  David Jeremiah explores some of the bells common to the Christmas season and how they may "announce the reality of Jesus Christ in our lives." Read More

• CHRISTMAS HYMN: Silent Night

  by Keith Getty, posted Wednesday, December 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Submitted photo

  Arguably the best-known Christmas carol in the world, "Silent Night" has been translated into 300 languages and dialects, and in 2011 was included in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. It's clearly a carol that resonates with people everywhere. Read More

• South Carolina Baptists give every inmate a gift

  by Tess Schoonhoven, posted Wednesday, December 11, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  SCBC photo

  COLUMBIA, S.C. (BP) -- Sharing the love of the Christmas season came through individual gifts to every inmate in South Carolina this year, provided by churches and associations in the South Carolina Baptist Convention (SCBC).

  The prisoner packet ministry has been going on for the past 40 years.

  Jon Jamison, serve team leader of South Carolina Baptist Convention, said the point of the ... Read More

• CHRISTMAS HYMN: O Little Town of Bethlehem

  by Keith Getty, posted Tuesday, December 10, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  iStock

  The writers of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" didn't expect it to last much past the Christmas of 1868. "But the powerful simplicity of the carol's lyrics has ensured its longevity," Keith Getty says. Read More

• Quebec students 'have an open heart right now'

  by IMB Staff, posted Tuesday, December 10, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  IMB photo

  QUEBEC, Canada (BP) -- Jacques* had a head full of questions. He had wrestled with them his whole life, and when he joined the soccer team at his university, he brought them with him.

  Robert Pinkston saw them -- and he knew he had answers. Read More

• CHRISTMAS HYMN: Once in Royal David's city

  by Keith Getty, posted Monday, December 09, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  iStock photo

  NASHVILLE, (BP) -- "Once in Royal David's City" is one of my favorite carols. It's the one that makes me think of home, of Ireland, the most. It was written in the 19th century by Irish poet Cecil Francis Alexander, wife of William Alexander, a bishop in the Church of Ireland.

  While many of Ireland's poets and playwrights promoted anything but Christianity, there is a wonderful legacy of Irish hymn writers, like Cecil Francis, who taught profound biblical truths through their poems, songs and hymns. Cecil Frances is one of my song-writing heroes! Read More

• Zimbabwe economy 'dire' but LMCO offers 'safety net'

  by Chip Hutcheson/Western Recorder, posted Friday, December 06, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Submitted photo

  TAYLORSVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- How significant is the Lottie Moon offering to an IMB missionary? Kentucky native and IMB missionary to Zimbabwe Nick Moore explains it well.

  "It's everything -- from the car we drive, to the house we live in, to the salary we make, our insurance," said Moore, who along with his wife Kyndra and their seven children returned to Kentucky in June and will return to Zimbabwe in January. "We've had at least three sets of stitches, a couple of broken arms, a concussion -- numerous trips to the hospitals. Read More