Have you opened your Christmas gifts yet? How did you react when you saw them? How do you react to Isaiah's news this day, "To us a Child is born, to us a Son is given"?

Would you like peace and happiness for Christmas? Are you sure? Or, are you afraid of being disappointed?

Here's a great song to hear on the radio during these days leading up to Christmas. God also puts a Christmas song in our heart as we look forward to our eternal home with Him.

It's easy to overlook the marvel of a baby hearing its parents for the first time in a quiet nursery. It's just as easy to overlook how blessed we are to hear the amazing word that our Savior has come. However, it's more than sweet...it's remarkable!

It's Theme Thursday. Some say that Christmas these days is focused too much on presents, presents, presents. As we've seen, with a little tweaking, we can change that phrase to better resemble what the season is all about. We've been blessed to look at 1)God's present, and 2)how He presents it. Today, we rejoice in 3)His presence!

It's fun to go out and see the all Christmas decorations. Some towns even have contests and special categories by which to judge them. Jesus asked the people who came out to see John, "What did you go out into the desert to see?" And He gave them three categories by which they might have judged him.

The apostle Paul says, "Rejoice in the Lord always." But what if you don't feel like you want to rejoice? What if your spouse died this year and this is the first Christmas time without them? What if you have experienced the loss of a child or the death of a friend? You may even feel like skipping church entirely this year. Please don't. Our Savior's birth gives you even more reason to find a good seat in worship. Here's why.

Do you remember how, when you were little, you were the first one out of bed on Christmas morning? James wants to rouse you and me with the same joy as we wait patiently for that day of His second coming. In fact, it's because of our Savior's first coming that we can look forward to it in real joy - and in patient anticipation.

"I'm not feeling the Christmas spirit this year." Have you heard someone say that this year? Have you said it yourself? St. Paul invites us to step back and then puts his finger on what will truly make the difference.

Should a Christmas tree have decorations with many different colors or should they be monochromatic? Here's a discussion that's sure to create a fun debate ... but it can also be handy reminder of what God has done for us in the Christmas gift to us of His Son.