You are in my Christmas prayers, and in my Christmas dreams. When I hear people laugh, and I see children play, it reminds me of a photograph of us on Christmas Day. It's us on Christmas Day, I see you standing there, and smiling down on me, as I untie the gifts that lie beneath our Christmas tree. And every Christmas day, I know I'll find you there. You'll always be the answer to my every Christmas prayer. Grandmas, grandpas, fathers, mothers, friends I've loved dear, sisters, and brothers, I once played with, aunts and uncles I once stayed with. Their story will be told, as long as love recalls, those loved ones smiling down on me is the greatest gift of all. The loved ones far and near will be forever there. It's Christmas up in Heaven too with love beyond compare. You don't have to live the book of life behind a veil of tears. You'll always be right here with me and in my Christmas prayers.
Category: Religion
Matthew Bible Study Guide
[caption id="attachment_5282" align="alignnone" width="802"] Matthew Bible Study Guide[/caption] Click here to get a free copy of the Matthew Bible Study Guide I have just completed with the Adult Sunday School class. Feel free to distribute as you deem necessary. Here is the introductory text. INTRODUCTION Written in a polished Semitic "synagogue Greek", the author draws on three main sources: 1. the Gospel of Mark, 2. the hypothetical collection of sayings known as the “Q source”, and 3. the material unique to his own community, called the “M source” or "Special Matthew". The divine nature of Jesus was a major issue for the Matthaean community in the early Christian community. It is the crucial component in distinguishing them from their Jewish neighbors. While Mark begins with baptism and transfiguration, Matthew goes back further, showing Jesus as the Son of God from his birth, and emphasizing the fulfillment of Old Testament messianic prophecies (1:22; 2:15,23; 4:14;5:17; 8:17; 12:17; 13:14,35; 21:4; 27:9). The title, Son of David, identifies Jesus as the healing and miracle-working Messiah of Israel (it is used exclusively in relation to miracles). As Son of Man he will return to judge the world, a fact his disciples recognize but of which...Read More