Today on the show we shared our devotionals from Our Daily Bread. We also gave away two prizes from our Spread The Love Valentine’s Day Giveaway.
Here is our devotionals from Our Daily Bread:
Jonathon’s devotional is titled, “When The Splendor Is Gone”. You can find the link here.
Dylan’s devotional is titled, “Sweet Sleep”. You can find the link here.
Here are the winners of our Spread The Love Valentine’s Day Giveaway:
Congratulations to Beth and Rendell of Mount Vernon! They are both entered for a chance to win our grand prize drawing of an overnight stay at the Mount Vernon Grand Hotel and 4 hours of housecleaning from Carefree Cleaning Company.
The snow is coming down pretty good today and will be a factor all the way into tomorrow morning. We advise you to only travel if it is absolutely neccesary!
Today for Praise Thursday, I shared two devotionals, both from Our Daily Bread.
The first came from Leslie Koh and references 2 Corinthians in “A Fresh Start”.
Sadly, today’s weather and school closings in the area forced us to postpone our game for this week! Stick with us next week where will give out double the prizes for our Bible Trivia!
Today on the show we shared some devotionals from Our Daily Bread. We also had our weekly Bible trivia that gives one lucky person a chance to win a 2021 Voice of The Cougars Drawstring Backpack.
Here are the devotionals that we have chosen:
Jonathon’s devotional from Our Daily Bread is titled, “True Happiness”. You can find the link here.
Dylan’s devotional from Our Daily Bread is titled, “Escape Or Peace?”. You can find the link here.
Question: What does Jesus say is the first and greatest commandment? Answer: Love God with all your heart, minds, soul, and strength
Congratulations to Sam of Alexandria for guessing the correct answer! He wins a 2021 Voice of the Cougars Drawstring Backpack!
Today on the show we read some devotionals from Our Daily Bread. We also mentioned how today is National Disc Jockey Day. Shoutout to our Office Manager Catherine Haws for getting the DJ’s donuts from Everlasting Cup!
Here are today’s devotionals from Our Daily Bread:
Jonathon’s is titled, “God Hears Everything”. You can find the link here.
Dylan’s devotional is titled, “Washed”. You can find the link here.
Question: Which New Testament book has Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount? Answer: Matthew
Congratulations to Paul of Mount Vernon for guessing the correct answer! He wins a 2021 Voice of the Cougars drawstring backpack!
Today on the show we read some devotionals from Our Daily Bread. We also had our weekly Bible trivia where one lucky person has a chance to win a $5 gift card to Everlasting Cup.
Jonathon’s devotional from Our Daily Bread is titled, “The Kingdom Of God”. You can find the link here.
Dylan’s devotional from Our Daily Bread is titled, “Beautifully Broken”. You can find the link here.
Question: What prophet came to rebuke David? Answer: Nathan
Congratulations to Nathan of Mount Vernon for guessing the correct answer! He wins a $5 gift card to Everlasting Cup!
Today on the show we read some devotionals from Our Daily Bread. We also got an update from WNZR’s Joe Rinehart on how he and Marcy are feeling health wise.
Here are the devotionals that I chose from Our Daily Bread:
“Caring For Those In Need” by Julie Schwab. You can find the link here.
“A Worthwhile Wait” by Leslie Koh. You can find the link here.
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!
One of the first indications of the Christmas season is LIGHT. The appearance of lights seemingly everywhere – on trees, with candles, above streets; there is radiance all around us.
Lights are not just for decoration of course, they are symbolic.
In his book, Hidden Christmas, Pastor Timothy Keller says one of the most important spiritual truths at Christmas is this: the world is a dark place, and we will never find our way or see reality unless Jesus IS our light.
Keller writes that the word ‘darkness’ in the Bible refers to evil and ignorance. The world has evil and untold suffering. The world also has no one who can cure the evil and suffering. We look towards the earth and our human resources to try to fix the world. We think we can end darkness with intellect and innovation. That’s the ignorance.
So the message of Christmas is NOT, “we will be able to put together a world of unity and peace.” The message, instead, is a humble one: “Things really are this bad and we can’t heal or save ourselves. Nevertheless, THERE IS HOPE.”
Notice the verse in Isaiah doesn’t say the light comes from the world…it says that upon the world a light has dawned. It has come from the outside, and Jesus has brought that light to save us! Because, as John 8:12 says, He IS that light!
Dylan shared a Christmas thought from Amy Boucher Pye in ‘Our Daily Bread’…
When John’s cold turned into pneumonia, he ended up in the hospital. At the same time, his mother was being treated for cancer a few floors above him, and he felt overwhelmed with worries about her and about his own health. Then on Christmas Eve, when the radio played the carol “O Holy Night,” John was flooded with a deep sense of God’s peace. He listened to the words about it being the night of the dear Savior’s birth: “A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!” In that moment, his worries about himself and his mother vanished.
This “dear Savior” born to us, Jesus, is the “Prince of Peace,” as Isaiah prophesied (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus fulfilled this prophecy when He came to earth as a baby, bringing light and salvation to “those living in the land of the shadow of death” (Matthew 4:16; see Isaiah 9:2). He embodies and gives peace to those He loves, even when they face hardship and death.
There in the hospital, John experienced the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7) as he pondered the birth of Jesus. This encounter with God strengthened his faith and sense of gratitude as he lay in that sterile room away from his family at Christmas. May we too receive God’s gift of peace and hope.
Q: Of the four gospels, only one does not mention Christ’s birth or beginning. Which gospel is that?
A: Mark
Congratulations to Rebecca from Butler, who guessed correctly and wins the $5 gift card to Everlasting Cup!
Driving Notes 