Christmas

8 Items

The First Noël

by Tyler Dirks

I was reading about Christmas this morning. It was disturbing! There was this pregnant lady crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth (i.e. a not-so-silent night of INTENSE labor!). And then, to make matters worse, a GINORMOUS 7-HEADED DRAGON swept his tail through outer space and caused 1/3 of the stars […]

Christmas Time Is Here!

by Tyler Dirks

It’s Christmas time. So of course we must ponder Christ’s Mass [the word “Mass” comes from the Latin word, ” Missa,” meaning “Go! You are sent!”]. So what was The Christ SENT to accomplish? Christ’s mission was to (a) infinitely & perfectly atone for evil, treacherous, criminals; and (b) to achieve perfection on their behalf […]

Amazon.com

by Tyler Dirks

On Christmas Eve a stranger pulled up in front of Raven Hill. It was approx. 30 minutes before Lessons & Carols was scheduled to start, so I thought that perhaps it was someone who had seen an advertisement for the event and had decided to arrive early to socialize and get to know people ahead […]

Making The Familiar Strange

by Tyler Dirks

Last year at this time I was in China. Everywhere I went I heard Christmas music. And not just “Jingle Bells”, but also Jesus-permeated carols like “O Holy Night!” I found myself in a very unfamiliar place hearing very familiar Christmas music, and I was forced to reckon with the strangeness of it all. It […]

Joy To The World

by Tyler Dirks

Caveat and full disclosure: the following words are not my own. Moreover, the words are those of a Baptist (although we cannot with absolute certainty rule out the possibility that he is a closet Presbyterian). Without furher ado I give to you the words of Albert Mohler:   Many Christians would be surprised, and perhaps […]

Ready to Die [nunc dimittis]

by Tyler Dirks

Remember Christmas 2015? Me neither. But this post from 2015 was recently brought to my attention, and I have decided to re-post it. Enjoy! Well, it’s Christmas time! And of course that means we’re all ready to die. Right? Christmas time and death? …What do these have in common? What is Tyler talking about? Has […]

Evangelism During Christmas

by Tyler Dirks

Christmas is one of the EASIEST times to talk to your non-Christian friends and acquaintances about Jesus. As always, evangelism must involve genuinely loving others, so at every turn your aim includes being sincerely curious about the opinions and views of others (rather than baiting people into a quick conversation merely to blitz them with […]

Great Tidings of Love Announced

by Tyler Dirks

I jump the gun on Christmas. Carrie and I met in the summertime, and one of the first (but certainly not the last) ‘Tyler Oddities’ she encountered was the fact that I like to listen to Christmas music in July. I realize we haven’t even celebrated Thanksgiving yet, but I just can’t wait any longer. […]