Although Advent and the Christmas season are technically past, we continue to celebrate why Jesus came. Fitting for a new year, we recall that Jesus came to send.

We promise we're not mixing up Christmas and Easter! But the Jesus came to rise, which means the two holidays are inextricably linked. We close 2017 by exploring this important connection.

At Christmas, we tend to think about the beginnings of life, the newborn Christ child laying in a manager. But we dare not forget that Jesus was born with a mission, and a central part of that mission was to die.