The final days of the year are some of my favorite—they always have been. There are many reasons that this is the case, including Christmas and extra time with family. But, more recently, this time of the year has become one of my favorites because I have found it to be a time of reflection and preparation for the new year.

If planning counts as productivity, the week between Christmas and New Year’s is my most productive! This is my week for setting goals and planning out the “big rocks” in my calendar for the coming year.

When my son, Matthew, was about nine, he started asking for a puppy of his own. Although we already had a dog, it wasn’t “his own,” and Matt really wanted a personal pet.

“I love to tell the story of Jesus and His love,” declared the songwriter, Katherine Hankey.

We recently had our annual Christmas musical at Lancaster Baptist Church. The amount of work put into these productions is staggering—not just in the thousands of hours given by the choir, orchestra, and drama teams, but also the thousands of invitations given out all across our community in the weeks preceding the musical.

What is the hardest material in the human body? Although this substance is the toughest, it can begin to break down through constant stress as seen in one grinding his teeth or clenching his stomach from acid indigestion.

The Christmas season is always a time of challenge and wonder in the area of preaching. One of my favorite texts comes from Luke chapter two where Joseph and Mary take Jesus to the temple.

One of the key factors for a growing church is strong leadership in small groups ministry. Over the past eighteen months, we have placed a massive emphasis on small groups in our church and we have seen the blessings result.

One of the reasons I love the Christmas season is that it is such a great time of year for initiating gospel conversations. Between the special church events and the fact that many people still do want to go to church to celebrate Christmas, this is also the easiest time of year to invite people to church.

You’ve heard it (and maybe shared it): “Keep Christ in Christmas.” It’s a great thought…but do you do it?