To start this Christmas edition of Praise Thursday I shared a devotional from “The Christmas Story,” it talked about how God brought two totally different groups together when Jesus was born. The first group being local shepherds and the second being the wise men. Showing us that God invites everyone to celebrate the birth of His Son!
Dylan then shared a Christmas Devotional from “Our Daily Bread,” sharing the story about Christmas Eve in 1968 when the Apollo 8 astronauts, who where the first humans to enter lunar orbit, read Genesis 1 during a live broadcast. Years later they were told that broadcast was the “largest audience that had ever listened to a human voice.” Showing us that God gives us an opportunity to share His word and it all comes back to the story of His Son Jesus!
Congrats to Jane from Howard, she was the 9th caller for Christmas Gift Exchange during the show! She is now entered into our Grand Prize drawing, which is tomorrow Friday, December 23rd during The Morning Thing at 7:30am! So don’t forget to tune in!
To kick off Who Knew Wednesday we started with today being the December solstice. Today is the longest night and the shortest day of the year, marking today being the first official day of winter!
We continued Who Knew Wednesday with the news that tomorrow is National Cookie Exchange Day! A day that you can make wonderful Christmas cookies and exchange them with the people you love. It’s a wonderful way to spend time with family and get ready for Christmas!
Congrats to Monica from Gambier and Candy from Walhonding they were our winners Christmas Gift Exchange! They are also now in our Grand Prize drawing for a chance to win one of three prizes. The Grand Prize drawing is this Friday, December 23rd at 7:30am on The Morning Thing! Tune in tomorrow for your chance to win!
For the start of Artist News Day Winter Jam 2023 is right around the corner! This year’s lineup features artists We The Kingdom, Jeremy Camp, Austin French, and more! Winter Jam comes to Columbus on January 28th at the Schottenstein Center. Tickets are $15 and you can get them at the door!
Then, continuing the Holiday Artist News with For King & Country will be on this year’s CMT Crossroads holiday episode! It will also feature artists BRELAND, Natalie Grant, and more! This one-hour special airs this Saturday, Dec. 24th at 7am.
Congrats to Lyle from Howard and Kim from Mount Vernon, they were our winners for our Christmas Gift Exchange! Tune in tomorrow for your chance to win!
Jonathon shared his Monday Motivation from “Our Daily Bread” shared about how when Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple tow elderly believers took center stage, Simeon and Anna who worshiped God even in their elderly age. The Bible inspires our age to motivate our hope in God.
I shared from “Remembering Christmas” sharing that during this time we do think about all the shopping we need to do and where we can find the perfect gift. “But what if our hearts could shift from what we are buying to what we are doing?” That we can balance gift giving and focus on being present with our Savior and our love ones. That when the wise men came to see Jesus they spent time in His presence first then gave gifts.
Congrats to Jean and Jane from Mount Vernon for being being the 9th caller for the Christmas Gift Exchange! They are now entered into a drawing for one of our Three Grand Prizes that will be announce on Friday, December 23rd at 7:30am during the Moring Thing!
The New Testament begins in Matthew 1 with what’s called “the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah.” Have you ever wondered why?
Matthew’s Gospel doesn’t begin with the nativity itself…the star, the shepherds and the manger. Instead, it begins with a long list of ancestry. And let’s be honest- how many times have we skipped through this?
In his book, Hidden Christmas, Pastor Timothy Keller gives us perspective on why Matthew started the story of Jesus this way. He reminds us that Christmas is not just about a birth, it is about a coming.
The birth of the Son of God into the world is a gospel, a good news, an announcement that says, you don’t save yourself – God has come to save you. Of course, Christmas is just the beginning of the story of how God came to save us. Jesus will have to go to the cross. But you begin with Christ by believing this report about what has happened in history. Matthew tells us here that this story is no fairy tale – Jesus is real!
Matthew doesn’t start his book with “Once Upon a Time.” That is the way fairy tales or legendary fantasy stories begin. Matthew is grounding who Jesus Christ is and what he does in history with the genealogy. Keller reminds us that in Matthew 1, we learn that Jesus is not a metaphor – he is real. This all happened!
In this genealogy at the beginning of the New Testament, what else is Matthew saying? Pastor Keller writes that the list of Jesus’ genealogy is also a type of resume. In those times, your family, pedigree and clan made up your resume. Therefore, this list is really saying, “this is who Jesus is.”
Matthew’s genealogy is shockingly different from the other ones of his time. First, there are five women in the list. Three of them, Tamar, Rahab and Ruth, are Gentiles. The Jews would have considered them unclean. In fact, Tamar was a prostitute. He also refers to “Uriah’s wife,” who you may know is Bathsheba. These names recall some of the most difficult stories in the Old Testament. Yet, they are in Jesus’ genealogy. Why?
But wait, in verse 6 we have the name King David. We might think, “now there is somebody we want in our genealogy!” David, after all, was the boy who killed Goliath, favored by Saul, anointed as King, and the man who conquers Jerusalem. But David also was a flawed man, who arranged the killing of his friend Uriah and whose son Solomon was the result of his affair with Bathsheba. Yet out of that deeply flawed man, the Messiah came. These people are all acknowledged in Matthew 1 as the ancestors of Jesus.
So what does that mean? Tim Keller asks us to think about it this way:
It means that people who are excluded by culture, society and even by the law of God can be brought into Jesus’ family. If you repent and believe in Him, the grace of Jesus covers your sin and unites you with Him.
Moreover, with King David, it means even the powerful and great are still in need of the grace of Christ. It is not what you have done; it is what Christ has done for you!
God is not ashamed of us. We are all in His family!
Congratulations to Tracy from Bellville and Jessica from Mount Vernon, winners today in the WNZR Christmas Gift Exchange!
Today on the show we shared some Christmas devotionals.
Here are the Christmas devotionals that we chose:
MATTHEW 1 – THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS
#1
The New Testament begins in Matthew 1 with what’s called “the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah.” Have you ever wondered why?
Matthew’s Gospel doesn’t begin with the nativity itself…the star, the shepherds and the manger. Instead, it begins with a long list of ancestry. And let’s be honest- how many times have we skipped through this?
In his book, Hidden Christmas, Pastor Timothy Keller gives us perspective on why Matthew started the story of Jesus this way. He reminds us that Christmas is not just about a birth, it is about a coming.
The birth of the Son of God into the world is a gospel, a good news, an announcement that says, you don’t save yourself – God has come to save you. Of course, Christmas is just the beginning of the story of how God came to save us. Jesus will have to go to the cross. But you begin with Christ by believing this report about what has happened in history. Matthew tells us here that this story is no fairy tale – Jesus is real!
Matthew doesn’t start his book with “Once Upon a Time.” That is the way fairy tales or legendary fantasy stories begin. Matthew is grounding who Jesus Christ is and what he does in history with the genealogy. Keller reminds us that in Matthew 1, we learn that Jesus is not a metaphor – he is real. This all happened!
#2
In this genealogy at the beginning of the New Testament, what else is Matthew saying? Pastor Keller writes that the list of Jesus’ genealogy is also a type of resume. In those times, your family, pedigree and clan made up your resume. Therefore, this list is really saying, “this is who Jesus is.”
Matthew’s genealogy is shockingly different from the other ones of his time. First, there are five women in the list. Three of them, Tamar, Rahab and Ruth, are Gentiles. The Jews would have considered them unclean. In fact, Tamar was a prostitute. He also refers to “Uriah’s wife,” who you may know is Bathsheba. These names recall some of the most difficult stories in the Old Testament. Yet, they are in Jesus’ genealogy. Why?
But wait, in verse 6 we have the name King David. We might think, “now there is somebody we want in our genealogy!” David, after all, was the boy who killed Goliath, favored by Saul, anointed as King, and the man who conquers Jerusalem. But David also was a flawed man, who arranged the killing of his friend Uriah and whose son Solomon was the result of his affair with Bathsheba. Yet out of that deeply flawed man, the Messiah came. These people are all acknowledged in Matthew 1 as the ancestors of Jesus.
So what does that mean? Tim Keller asks us to think about it this way:
It means that people who are excluded by culture, society and even by the law of God can be brought into Jesus’ family. If you repent and believe in Him, the grace of Jesus covers your sin and unites you with Him.
Moreover, with King David, it means even the powerful and great are still in need of the grace of Christ. It is not what you have done; it is what Christ has done for you!
God is not ashamed of us. We are all in His family!
Q:Only two Gospels include any details about the birth of Jesus. Which of them starts with a genealogy to establish that Jesus is the Messiah to whom Old Testament prophecies referred?
A:Matthew
Congratulations to Janice of Mount Vernon for guessing the correct answer! She wins a $5 gift card to Everlasting Cup!
Someone we’ve talked about many times for Artist Newsdays returns to the show! It’s none other that CeCe Winans!!
CeCe Winans has experienced quite an amazing year. She has helped spread love, hope and encouragement for the past 18 months. Her album Believe For It became an instant hit. It received a ton of recognitions including being in the Billboard’s top 10 Gospel Labels. Here is what Jeff Moseley, Founder/President Fair Trade Services had to say about Winans, “We had high hopes and dreams for our partnership with CeCe and have been overjoyed with the success that we’ve experienced. It’s an honor to partner with an icon like CeCe.”
The year-end Billboard Charts listed Winans as Top Gospel Female Artist of the year with the single, “Believe For It” dominating the Gospel Digital Song Sales Chart and holding the #1 slot for 18 weeks. The influence of Winans and Believe For It continued to shine brightly when the 2022 Grammy nominations were recently announced adding three more nods to her list of 28 nominations: Best Gospel Performance/Song, “Never Lost;” Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song, “Believe For It” (Dwan Hill, Kyle Lee, CeCe Winans & Mitch Wong, songwriters) and Best Gospel Album, Believe For It. Winans also received four Dove Awards! Here is what Winans had to say on the success, “I’m feeling really blessed right now! Thankful for people’s lives being uplifted by Believe For It. God is good.”
“Believe For It” continues to have success on the radio. The song is currently at #4 on the Billboard Gospel Airplay Chart. Winans is also in the Top 5 Christian Female Artist of the Year. Winans also has plans for a tour across the US in 2022.
For King & Country are in Columbus THIS FRIDAY for their Drummer Boy Christmas Tour at the Schottenstein Center! The concert will start at 7pm and tickets can be found here!
Also, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra will be at Nationwide Arena in Columbus Sunday, December 26th! They will have a matinee showing at 3pm and an evening showing at 8pm. Tickets can be found here!
Lyrics: There’s a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well It’s the sturdy kind that doesn’t mind the snow.
Answer: ???
This song was a stumper! We’ll bring it back next week for TWO $5 gift cards to Everlasting Cup!
Today’s Monday Motivation continues with a Christmas theme:
The word Immanuel means, as we learn in Matthew 1:23, “God with us.” The coming of the Christ child fulfilled what Isaiah wrote in chapter 7, verse 14: “the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
In his book Hidden Christmas, Pastor Timothy Keller shares that for centuries, the Jewish religious leaders and scholars had known that prophecy, but did not think that it should be taken literally. They thought it was simply predicting the coming or arrival of some great leader through whose work, God would be present with his people.
However, Matthew writes that this promise is greater than anyone imagined! It did not come true figuratively, but literally. Jesus Christ is “God with us,” because the human life in Mary’s womb was a miracle performed by God himself. Then Jesus, with his life, his claims and his resurrection, convinced his closest followers that he was not just a prophet telling them how to find God, but God himself coming to find us.
Keller writes that this claim, that Jesus is God, gives us the greatest possible hope. Why? Because it means this world is not all that there is…it means that there is life and love after death and it means that evil and suffering will one day end.
And it is not just hope for the world, but hope for you and me personally. A God who was only holy would have not come to us in Jesus. He would have just demanded that we pull ourselves together and be moral and holy enough to be worthy of relationship with him. But our God is fully holy and fully human – so he doesn’t send someone else – he comes himself! Jesus is one of us – and that should give us all hope!
Christmas Gift Exchange winners today: Becky from Howard and Krista from Howard! Remember the grand prize drawing is Thursday morning on The Morning Thing!
Today Todd and I talked about all things carols, first, we listened to two MVNU professors, Dr. VanZant and Dr. VanNest, share about their favorite Christmas carol!
(Click on the picture to hear the conversation.)
Congratulations to Bob from Howard who won a North Main Café Gift Basket and James from Mount Vernon who won an Amy Grant CD! They have both been entered to win the Grand Prize. Click HERE for more info on this!
What was the first Christmas carol about?
Answer: The earliest carol was written in 1410. Sadly, only a very small fragment of it still exists. The carol was about Mary and Jesus meeting different people in Bethlehem.
Driving Notes 