Introduction               On the fourth Sunday of Advent (Advent IV), we celebrate God’s faithfulness in sending Jesus, and we remember that faithfulness as we look forward to Christ’s second coming. The Scripture and Theology of the Fourth Week of Advent Scripture readings for Advent IV focus on the coming of the Messiah who fulfills God’s covenant with David, bringing salvation for all people and the eternal reign of God on earth. Old Testament Readings         Old Testament passages for the final week of Advent reflect on prophecies, which are fulfilled by Jesus’ birth. Isaiah 7:10 recounts the story of King Ahaz, king of Judah at a time when Judah was facing a foreign invasion. Ahaz hoped for help from the king of Assyria. The pro...

2012 was a year filled with politics and controversies, persecution and protests, tragedy and hope. Here are the stories the editors of ReligionToday.com believe most affected Christians around the world during the past 12 months. 1. The 2012 presidential election: In what some called the most consequential election in recent history, President Barack Obama won a second term as president of the United States. The election results, which drew diverse reactions from Christians around the world, revealed a deeply divided nation — not just at the political level, but at the worldview level. The results also showed fundamental changes to the American electorate: increased ethnic, cultural and ideological diversity, as well as increased secularization. Republican presidential candidate Mitt...

  Like most people, as we head into 2013 I am hungry for change. In our cities, our culture, our families, and even in ourselves we want some things–many things–to be different. A new year brings hope that “it” will get better. The underlying reality of this desire is that things are not as they should be. The world is corrupt, our lives are incomplete, and people are broken. But for all of the change I do desire, my greatest hope for 2013 is actually no change at all. You see, the fact that change is possible is rooted in another truth–God does not change, but remains constant. The fourth question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism is, “What is God?” I memorized the answer to this question years ago, and the biblical truth contained in it is a constant source of comfort and courage...

Once, when the people of God had become careless in their relationship with Him, the Lord rebuked them through the prophet Haggai. “Consider your ways!” (Haggai 1:5) he declared, urging them to reflect on some of the things happening to them, and to evaluate their slipshod spirituality in light of what God had told them. Even those most faithful to God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. It’s so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we’re going and where we should be going. The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God. 1. What’s one thing you could do this ye...

On the cover of TIME this week is this headline: 40 Years Ago, Abortion-Rights Advocates Won an Epic Victory with Roe v. Wade. They’ve Been Losing Ever Since. The story – “What Choice?” – is written by Kate Pickert. The main point of the article is that Roe v. Wade hurt the pro-choice cause by delivering the movement’s main goal and by energizing a generation of pro-life activism. Not surprisingly, the story is biased against the pro-life cause. Though the issue of “personhood” and “life” is alluded to (see below), Pickert never explores the reasons for a surge in pro-life activity. Had she sought to explain the pro-life perspective, she would have shown how this debate is really a showdown between reproductive rights and humanrights, and which rights are...

What is the Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of YHWH The Kingdom of God is mentioned in the Old Testament as the Kingdom of Jehovah (Jehovah being the English expression of the tetragrammaton – YHWH – the four consonant letters that make up the holy name of God in Hebrew). The Universal Kingdom The Kingdom was never meant to imply the mere rule over Israel. “He says: ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’” (Isaiah 49:6) The Kingdom of God is universal, taking in as subjects every creature and thing in the universe. “The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick dark...

No parent wants to give his or her child unfettered access to the Internet. But neither is it realistic or wise to forbid any access whatsoever. How then do we plot a course that avoids these two extremes and yet maximizes their moral and spiritual safety? 1. Educate First, educate yourself. Hiding your head in the sand, ostrich-style, is not an option for the serious Christian. You must get on the Internet and start learning. Begin with websites that cover technology at a popular level. One of the best is www.getnetwise.org . They have articles highlighting good sites with advice on how to avoid dangerous sites. They will cover things like phishing, scams, viruses, firewalls, filter and site-blocking software. Second, educate your children. Explain that the Internet is like a jungle. It h...

  [Editor’s Note: While we cannot address every wrong in the world, the horrifying situation at Steubenville, Ohio led us to ask contributing writer, Justin Holcomb, to write on the matter of sexual assault. How can we best help those who have experienced the trauma of sexual assault? What can we do to foster a culture of safety in our communities and churches?] “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer  In the small Ohio town of Steubenville, several high-school football players have been charged in the gang-rape and kidnapping of a 16-year-old girl at multiple parties while she was allegedly drugged and unconscious. The story is making headlines after hacking group Anonymous...

The facts are well known: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) requires employers to provide insurance for their employees. As part of the mandated health coverage, businesses must include contraceptives and abortifacient drugs in their insurance plans. Hobby Lobby, owned by the Green family (strong Christians and generous philanthropists), is refusing to comply with the HHS mandate, believing that the government is requiring what is unethical and infringing upon their religious liberty. Perhaps it is tragically fitting that Justice Sotomayor denied Hobby Lobby judicial relief on December 26—St. Stephen’s Day, the day the church remembers its first martyr. Millions of Americans are already outraged. And rightly so. Our government not only allows for abor...

  What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?Or fester like a sore—and then run?Does it stink like rotten meat?Or crust and sugar over—like a syrupy sweet?Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.Or does it explode? ~ Langston Hughes, “A Dream Deferred” Many answers to Langston Hughes’s questions came during the Civil Rights movement. When a dream was deferred there were protest marches on one hand, and the Blank Panther Party on the other. For some it meant sit-ins at lunch counters; for others it meant starting riots in Watts. The delayed dream of equally accessible educational, social, occupational, and economic opportunities shriveled up for many in the post Jim-Crow generation of African Americans. However, for some it exploded. No one likes coming to th...

President Obama kicked up some controversy by announcing that evangelical pastor Louie Giglio would be praying at the inauguration. Sexual liberationist groups quickly identified Giglio, as they did Rick Warren under similar circumstances in 2009, as “anti-gay.” After a couple of days of firestorm from the Left, Giglio announced this morning that he would withdraw. Here’s why this matters. The statement Giglio made that was so controversial is essentially a near-direct quotation from the Christian Scriptures. Unrepentant homosexuals, Giglio said (as with unrepentant sinners of all kinds) “will not inherit the kingdom of God.” That’s 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Giglio said, “it’s not easy to change, but it is possible to change.” The Bible says God “commands all people everywhere to rep...