Pastors Tucker and McIntosh answer faith-related questions at Concordia, live!

The holidays are the busiest travel days of the year. People visit relatives from all over. The first Christmas too began with a trip as Mary and Joseph traveled to the Bethlehem to be registered in a census. But this is nothing compared to the distance the Son of God traveled to be with us on the first Christmas.

Dealing with family members during the holidays can be stressful! Joseph was very stressed as he tried to figure out what to do with his fiancée who had turned up pregnant. Rather than immediately jumping on Mary, he carefully considered what to do. When family members frustrate you, do you carefully consider your response?

When Mary hears that she will be the mother of the promised Messiah, she bursts into song. In her song, she sings specifically about the special place God has in His heart toward those who are poor and lowly. In a Christmas that is marked by consumerism, how can a simple poverty reflect and reveal God’s glory?

Between holiday parties and kids programs and lots of shopping and visiting relatives, Christmas calendars can get jam packed. What’s more, just one unexpected thing can turn your calendar upside down and add to the stress of the season. The first Christmas turned Mary’s calendar upside down. Yet, out of a stressful situation came the world’s greatest gift. How can God use your stressful situations?

Worry is one of the most besetting sins of our age. From whether we will get a raise to how our kids will turn out to what the weather will bring, worry infiltrates every part and portion of our lives. Jesus calls us, instead of trying to control tomorrow, to trust in God.

Most people would never call themselves “lazy.” But we are lazier than we think. We simply call our laziness “distraction.” How much time do we spend surfing websites or checking sports scores or just, generally, wasting time? The command against laziness is a call to focus our efforts on what actually truly matters.

There is no mistaking it: we are a culture that is sexually confused. But before we point our fingers out the sexual confusion “out there” in the world, we must take an honest look at the sexual temptation “in here” – in our hearts. God’s boundaries for human sexuality are not meant to be restricting, but loving. They allow us to model God’s love in our relationships.

With an election only two days away, tensions are high! As Christians, rather than getting angry at others, we are called to be forgiving of others. Instead of exacting vengeance, we wait for God’s justice.

The riches we have received, ultimately, have nothing to do with our goodness, but with God’s grace. When was the last time we truly took stock of just how recklessly God has blessed us and just how freely God forgives us?