I saw the movie The Star this past weekend. It was refreshing to look at the Christmas story from the animal’s perspective. How many times do we gloss over the Christmas story? We have heard it many times and quickly say “Oh, I know it.” This Christmas season, I’ve been trying to slow down and not to gloss over anything. I’ve been trying to read the Christmas story slower and to think about each person’s place in the story in a meaningful way. I have found that God has been revealing to me each person was divinely appointed for that time. They each had a  place in God’s amazing story. How often do we forget our place in God’s story?

As a chaplain and minister, much of how I see and understand the world relates to Divine Providence, sometimes known in theological circles as the sovereignty of God. It happens when someone loses their job, only to find a better one some time later. It happens when a player is out of contract, but ends up discovering an opportunity that otherwise would not have been open to them. It can occur when one substitution on the pitch provides the game-winning goal or assist. The sovereignty of God has long been the subject of debate (amongst Christians) - not so much whether God is sovereign, but to what extent does His sovereignty extend into the affairs of humankind? Divine Providence or Human

We discover the shepherds of Advent in Luke 2:8-20. You will recall that Advent has to do with waiting; Advent has to do with living in expectancy. And, as the shepherds of Advent journey to the creche at Christmas their hearts are filled with awe and wonder. The shepherd's story has long captured the imagination of many throughout the years - whether in church Christmas plays and dramas with young kids hitting each other with paper staffs or in the professionally-made films and productions with robed and burly-looking men playing the part. Who were these men, these boys (perhaps), who were visited by an angelic messenger, serenaded by a host of angels, and sent on their way to discover a baby in a

We are currently in the season of the year, known to Christians as Advent. Advent precedes Christmas and in earlier years it was celebrated as the 40 days before Christmas. Now, the season is typically observed beginning the four Sundays before Christmas. But the meaning of Advent has remained the same throughout the years - it is a time of preparation for the coming of the King. Perhaps, the theme phrase of the season can best be summed in the words of John the Baptist as he echoes the ancient prophet Isaiah, I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way - a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,