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In this Christmas series opener, Dr. John explores a foundational question: If people walked with God before Jesus came, why do we need Him? Drawing from Galatians 3:15-18, he examines God's covenant with Abraham and the promise that all nations would be blessed through Abraham's "seed." Through Israel's turbulent history, Dr. John reveals that the promised blessing didn't come through a nation, but through one person: Jesus Christ.

Christmas From Galatians: This Christmas, Dr. John takes an unprecedented approach to the season by exploring why Jesus' coming was absolutely necessary. Through the book of Galatians, this series traces God's plan from Abraham's promise through the giving of the Law to the arrival of Christ. Discover why the Law was never meant to save us but to diagnose our condition, how Jesus fulfilled what we could never accomplish, and how Christmas opened the door for all people to become sons and daughters of God.

How do you have sex? What does it really symbolize in your marriage? Dr. Greg and Erin Smalley delve into a deeper conversation that contrasts 'how' with 'why' with Dr. Juli Slattery. Understanding the purpose and significance of sex from a Christian perspective is crucial. We talk about the covenantal significance of sex in marriage, reflecting God's covenant with his people, and how couples can better communicate about their sexual relationship. The conversation underscores the spiritual and relational importance of sex, various forms of sexual sin, and steps towards healing and forgiveness.

Surrendered Sexuality: How Knowing Jesus Changes Everything

Sexual Trauma and Its Effect On Marriage

Helping Your Sexually Abused Husband

Learn About Hope Restored Marriage Intensives

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If you enjoyed listening to the Crazy Little Thing Called Marriage podcast with Dr. Greg and Erin Smalley, please give us your feedback.

Listen to today's Laugh Again with Phil Callaway, "Liar Liar." Enjoy!

Conflict will occur in the church today, in the same way it did during Paul’s ministry. Dig deeply into Romans 16 with Pastor Chuck Swindoll to better navigate dissension and difficulties.

From the Series: Romans: The Christian’s Constitution

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The Bible is not something we worship, but the words are important. They’re to be preserved, guarded, accepted, and—most importantly—obeyed.

Communication is a key factor in any healthy relationship, especially when nurturing your connection with your spouse. Heather Holleman and her husband, Ashley share practical insights on communicating effectively within marriage while living out a gospel-centered life together. Their encouragement serves as inspiration to guide you into how to strengthen your marriage through strong care and conversations.

Our dog, Missy, had just ridden with us on a 1,600-mile round trip to Chicago and back. That was the first for her. It was a first for me to do it, too, with a dog and we both survived! Miracles still happen. Missy had been through a lot of upheavals in her routine as a result of that trip, and she'd had an exhausting two days. I can't believe now I was empathizing with our dog!

Well, anyway, all of this might explain her uncharacteristic behavior when we returned home. She just hunkered down all day long underneath this white cabinet in the kitchen. There was barely enough room for her under there, but no one could coax her out. She was a grump! She didn't come out to eat. Now the two people she responded to the most got down there and tried to speak "doggy" to her. Nothing. Finally, her primary caregiver reached her hand under there and promptly got it nipped by a dog who never did that. This was an animal with an attitude!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Ugly Times."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Corinthians 13. You may recognize this as being maybe the greatest description of what love really is like in all the Bible. And in a world that's pretty confused about love, 1 Corinthians 13 is more relevant than ever. As you listen, would you think about the people you love and measure how you're treating them by these words from God?

Here's verse 4: "Love (and you could say my love for whoever) is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." See, love is not a feeling. It's not words. It's not the official status of certain people. It's an act or way of treating people - certain ways that I'd like to underscore from these verses. If you love someone it means you treat them with patience, you treat them kindly, and you look for what you can do for them, not what they can do for you. And your love doesn't get easily angered, it doesn't nip at people. Are you listening, Missy?

I think that too often we're all like the dog. We're exhausted, we're feeling low, we're thinking of ourselves a lot. Inwardly we've crawled under the cabinet, and instead of responding, we bite, we snarl, we punish people for needing us when we're low. But love is better than that. Just look at the One whose life we're trying to copy.

Look at Jesus, experiencing the greatest agony any human has ever experienced as He hangs on a cross, bearing in His soul all the hell of all of us. Is He lashing out? Is He demanding to be left alone in His pain? No, He's reaching out. Jesus - He's patient, He's kind, He's not rude, He's not self-seeking, and He's not easily angered on the cross. He's caring about the need of the man on the next cross, the needs of His mother. He's forgiving those who nailed Him there. I want to be like that, don't you?

I know that my tired times, my stressed-out times, my hurting times, a lot of times they don't bring out the best in me. I've nipped at too many people I'm supposed to love in times like that. But those are the times when love shows its true colors, when it's sacrificial, when you give it at a time when you feel like giving out.

So maybe you'd like to join me in making Jesus Lord of your ugly times. You say, "Lord, when I'm like this I'm often not like You. Please re-train me Lord. Help me to draw deeply on Your grace and Your love right now. Give me a victory in this time when I feel just like I want to focus on me. Empower me to love people in the times that I would normally be plain old ugly."

Remember, you will experience Christ's love and Christ's power on a new level as He overrules your tendency to snarl or to bite. The people around you don't need a wound from you, they need supe

Read: Romans 12:3-10

“It’s my idea! I should wrap all the presents!” Libby cried.

“But you’re not good at wrapping,” Hattie answered.

“It’s a class project to raise money for missionaries our church supports. We are going to work together,” Miss Coretta intervened.

When Miss Coretta had asked their class for ideas to help support missionaries, Libby shared her plan: wrapping Christmas presents at the mall in exchange for donations from shoppers getting their purchases wrapped. Everyone agreed, so Miss Coretta made the arrangements.

Libby felt proud of her idea and wanted to carry out the project by herself. When Hattie noticed Libby rushing to wrap each gift the shoppers brought them, she tried talking to Libby. But Libby insisted on handling it alone.

“Please get more tape and ribbon from the box I brought,” Miss Coretta asked Libby. Grumpily, Libby yanked the supply box from under the table.

Then a man approached. “I had this candle wrapped for my wife’s Christmas present,” he explained. “But the paper fell off on my way out. I was wondering if you could rewrap it.”

Libby stood up from her search for ribbon and tape. She remembered wrapping that candle. She now saw how sloppy she’d been.

“I’m sorry.” Libby’s face turned red. “Hattie, why don’t you rewrap the candle? I’ll get the shiny paper.”

Afterwards, Miss Coretta took Libby aside. “I know that embarrassed you, but I think you can learn something from this mistake.”

“I can?” Libby asked.

Miss Coretta nodded. “God tells us He gives grace to those who are humble. When we admit we need help, He’ll provide it. Jesus humbled Himself by dying on the cross for our sins because we couldn’t save ourselves, and He’ll help you have the same kind of humble attitude He did. When we’re prideful and try to do His work all on our own, we set ourselves up for failure. But when we humbly work with others to serve Him, people can see His love and grace in us.”

“I did fail at wrapping that man’s candle,” Libby replied. Then she smiled. “Hey, Hattie?” Libby called. “Will you show me how you wrap presents? I think I have a lot to learn.”

–Allison Wilson Lee

How about you? Are you humbly serving the Lord with other Christians? God gives each of us abilities to use for His purposes. When we work together as God’s people, we bless others and glorify Him. But when we think we have what it takes to do God’s work all by ourselves, our pride leads to failure, and we keep others from doing their part too. As we grow in Jesus, He’ll help us get rid of pride and be humble so the work we do with others can show people who He is.

Today's Key Verse: When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 11:2 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Be humble

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