“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree (to) all the world…” With regal themes Luke timestamps Jesus’ birth year. In four verses, Luke will reference a king, emperor, or empire seven times. Luke did not reference the High Priest in Jerusalem or the local governor, but Caesar in Italy and Quirinius in Syria. The […]

Luke tells us how an angel appeared to Mary saying, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you”.  Like any of us who might see an angel, Mary was greatly perplexed and wondered what that meant.  The angel -proclaimed, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God,”  and how Mary would […]

I don’t remember if  I was 5, 7, or 9,  as our children’s choir was rehearsing to sing in worship with little blue smocks with a big white English bow. Our choir leader smiled at me and softly said, “Paul, you do not need to sing so loudly…  you don’t have the nicest voice.”  I […]

Do you remember handwritten directions and folding paper maps, before MapQuest, cell phones, or satellite in-car navigation?  Back in the olden days when summer revivals filled pews down south, a little caravan rolled out of a church parking lot ready to share the Good News a few towns away. Traffic was heavy, and the cars […]