Jigsaw puzzles are a popular activity for many people. One of the big disappointments for people who enjoy completing puzzles is when a piece is missing. For these people, that missing piece makes the entire effort seem incomplete. Some who like puzzles hold onto one piece until the very end to complete the picture. It must feel this way for God too. He watches our lives come together and fall into place, but He gets to hold onto that final piece to complete the picture.

We read the parable about the woman with the ten pieces of silver who could only find nine. The bible says she lit lamps and swept her house until she found the missing piece. She would have no peace while that one piece was missing. Many people lead good lives, but they are missing parts of the picture. Some have lost pieces over the years, but do not even realize that they have lost it. How sad would it be to get to the end and only to find we are missing the last piece of the puzzle. We have to find the missing peace.

Hope is prevalent in the Christmas season. We hope to receive that perfect gift. Children hope for a visit from Santa. Parents hope that we can afford it all. These kinds of hope are fun, but they are temporal. When trouble or hardship comes along, that kind of hope melts away quickly. The dictionary definition of hope is very different from the biblical definition of hope. The biblical definition is available to each of us. We can attain this hope because of who He is. Hope is not just something that Jesus offers, it is who He is. Hope is in His very name. If we know Jesus, we are not hopeless.

The world’s definition of hope is little more than wishful thinking, and God’s definition of hope is to wait with joy and complete confidence. Even when things do not go the way we expect, biblical hope allows us to praise God anyway because we trust Him and His way.

On that night, some two thousand years ago, the angels gave those shepherds, and all of us, the best hope there could ever be.

Hope is prevalent in the Christmas season. We hope to receive that perfect gift. Children hope for a visit from Santa. Parents hope that we can afford it all. These kinds of hope are fun, but they are temporal. When trouble or hardship comes along, that kind of hope melts away quickly. The dictionary definition of hope is very different from the biblical definition of hope. The biblical definition is available to each of us. We can attain this hope because of who He is. Hope is not just something that Jesus offers, it is who He is. Hope is in His very name. If we know Jesus, we are not hopeless.

The world’s definition of hope is little more than wishful thinking, and God’s definition of hope is to wait with joy and complete confidence. Even when things do not go the way we expect, biblical hope allows us to praise God anyway because we trust Him and His way.

On that night, some two thousand years ago, the angels gave those shepherds, and all of us, the best hope there could ever be.

Hope is prevalent in the Christmas season. We hope to receive that perfect gift. Children hope for a visit from Santa. Parents hope that we can afford it all. These kinds of hope are fun, but they are temporal. When trouble or hardship comes along, that kind of hope melts away quickly. The dictionary definition of hope is very different from the biblical definition of hope. The biblical definition is available to each of us. We can attain this hope because of who He is. Hope is not just something that Jesus offers, it is who He is. Hope is in His very name. If we know Jesus, we are not hopeless.

The world’s definition of hope is little more than wishful thinking, and God’s definition of hope is to wait with joy and complete confidence. Even when things do not go the way we expect, biblical hope allows us to praise God anyway because we trust Him and His way.

On that night, some two thousand years ago, the angels gave those shepherds, and all of us, the best hope there could ever be.

December is a month of celebration of the birth of Jesus. For most of the world, Christmas is a time of gifts and sharing. We give to friends and family, and we give to charities, the church, and families in need. Gift-giving can come with decisions and anxiety about getting the perfect gift for someone. Will they like it, do they have one, will they return it the next day? Sometimes we receive gifts that disappoint us. However, the gift celebrated by the Christmas story is perfect and goes far beyond the feel-good emotions of the moment.

To understand the writing of John, we must understand the perspective of when he wrote his books. Most historians agree that John’s writing came some seventy years after the crucifixion and resurrection. He was writing to a church composed chiefly of Greeks and Gentiles. Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s audience understood Jewish history and culture, but John had to connect with a church that had no concept of the Messiah and Jewish culture. He begins his writing with the idea that both Jew and Gentile could comprehend: The Word. That word that became flesh is the greatest gift that humanity could receive.

December is a month of celebration of the birth of Jesus. For most of the world, Christmas is a time of gifts and sharing. We give to friends and family, and we give to charities, the church, and families in need. Gift-giving can come with decisions and anxiety about getting the perfect gift for someone. Will they like it, do they have one, will they return it the next day? Sometimes we receive gifts that disappoint us. However, the gift celebrated by the Christmas story is perfect and goes far beyond the feel-good emotions of the moment.

To understand the writing of John, we must understand the perspective of when he wrote his books. Most historians agree that John’s writing came some seventy years after the crucifixion and resurrection. He was writing to a church composed chiefly of Greeks and Gentiles. Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s audience understood Jewish history and culture, but John had to connect with a church that had no concept of the Messiah and Jewish culture. He begins his writing with the idea that both Jew and Gentile could comprehend: The Word. That word that became flesh is the greatest gift that humanity could receive.

December is a month of celebration of the birth of Jesus. For most of the world, Christmas is a time of gifts and sharing. We give to friends and family, and we give to charities, the church, and families in need. Gift-giving can come with decisions and anxiety about getting the perfect gift for someone. Will they like it, do they have one, will they return it the next day? Sometimes we receive gifts that disappoint us. However, the gift celebrated by the Christmas story is perfect and goes far beyond the feel-good emotions of the moment.

To understand the writing of John, we must understand the perspective of when he wrote his books. Most historians agree that John’s writing came some seventy years after the crucifixion and resurrection. He was writing to a church composed chiefly of Greeks and Gentiles. Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s audience understood Jewish history and culture, but John had to connect with a church that had no concept of the Messiah and Jewish culture. He begins his writing with the idea that both Jew and Gentile could comprehend: The Word. That word that became flesh is the greatest gift that humanity could receive.

We often read that Jesus was in the midst of a crowd. They followed him everywhere. In our text, we find Jesus in the midst of a crowd that pressed against Him. In our text, a lady had joined the crowd out of desperation to reach Jesus. She was sick, and no doctor could help her. She came with a purpose in mind, and this was her last hope. She was not someone who joined the crowd to hide, she needed to get to Jesus. She had to fight the crowd that day to touch Him. Lots of people touched Jesus that day but didn’t get anything. This lady touched Him and got everything.

We often read that Jesus was in the midst of a crowd. They followed him everywhere. In our text, we find Jesus in the midst of a crowd that pressed against Him. In our text, a lady had joined the crowd out of desperation to reach Jesus. She was sick, and no doctor could help her. She came with a purpose in mind, and this was her last hope. She was not someone who joined the crowd to hide, she needed to get to Jesus. She had to fight the crowd that day to touch Him. Lots of people touched Jesus that day but didn’t get anything. This lady touched Him and got everything.

We often read that Jesus was in the midst of a crowd. They followed him everywhere. In our text, we find Jesus in the midst of a crowd that pressed against Him. In our text, a lady had joined the crowd out of desperation to reach Jesus. She was sick, and no doctor could help her. She came with a purpose in mind, and this was her last hope. She was not someone who joined the crowd to hide, she needed to get to Jesus. She had to fight the crowd that day to touch Him. Lots of people touched Jesus that day but didn’t get anything. This lady touched Him and got everything.