The true story of the Magi

Matthew 2:1-12 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the time of King Herod, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem ²saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” ³When King Herod heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵“In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet: ⁶‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are in no way least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷Then Herod privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared. ⁸He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.” ⁹After listening to the king they left, and once again the star they saw when it rose led them until it stopped above the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star they shouted joyfully. ¹¹As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ¹²After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back by another route to their own country.

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Matthew 1:1-17 This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. ²Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, ³Judah the father of Perez and Zerah (by Tamar), Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, ⁴Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵Salmon the father of Boaz (by Rahab), Boaz the father of Obed (by Ruth), Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶and Jesse the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon (by the wife of Uriah), ⁷Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, ⁸Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah, ⁹Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, ¹¹and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. ¹²After the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

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Luke 2:1-7 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus to register all the empire for taxes. ²This was the first registration, taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³Everyone went to his own town to be registered. ⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David. ⁵He went to be registered with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him, and who was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

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The true story of Christopher Columbus!

2^nd Corinthians 5:17-21 So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, what is new has come! ¹⁸And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. ¹⁹In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” ²¹God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.

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The true story of Christopher Columbus!

2^nd Corinthians 5:17-21 So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, what is new has come! ¹⁸And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. ¹⁹In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” ²¹God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.

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A brief history of the red planet.

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For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.

Galatians 5:1

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FREEDOM!

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When did Jesus die?  And what does that have to do with anything?

Well, if you know God, then you know he doesn’t do anything without a plan.  And the timing of Christ’s death and resurrection (and his prophesied entry into Jerusalem) were planned way ahead of time for the benefit of the entire world.

That includes you! You can benefit immensely from the plan that God unfolded on your behalf.  And all it takes from you is repentance and faith.

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You’ve surely seen a children’s book illustrations of Noah and the Ark or a nursery wall painting of a boat overstuffed with animals–with a giraffe head sticking out of the top and various other critters poking out here and there.  And that kind of a picture tends to make people wonder how in the world could 2 of every kind of animal fit on a boat.  But the problem is that most of the images you’ve seen don’t comport at all with reality.  Noah’s Ark was a massive cargo ship.  And when you look at it from a scientific standpoint there was more than enough room for all the animals, food, supplies, fresh water (if needed), and a shuffleboard court or whatever you might like some extra deck space for.  Take a listen and picture what the real story of Noah paints for you.

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