By Clark Christian
There are gifts for a season and gifts that last!
Giving gifts each year can become less about meaning and more about checking off a to-do list. Because of this, items bought and wrapped for family or friends can be unused, forgotten, or regifted shortly after the New Year.
This year give something meaningful; something that will be cherished for a lifetime.
Give the gift of experiencing God in a new way through Scripture engagement.
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Christian Leader Awaits Charges for Sending Bible Balloons to North Korea
⇨ MNN
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Museum of the Bible Debuts Bill of Sale to Commemorate 400th Anniversary of ‘Mayflower Compact’ Signing
⇨ CBN News
⇨ Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, The Pilgrims May Not Be Who You Think They Were: An Interview with Jay Milbrandt
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By Mike Vander Klipp
When we think of Christmastime, we often let our minds wander to memories of warm family gatherings; beautiful, candle-lit church services in the dark of winter; our favorite meals, games, and holiday traditions; and the excitement in the eyes of little ones as they buzz with anticipation of opening presents on Christmas morning.
Of course, those heartfelt and timeless traditions may have to be celebrated a little differently in 2020. This has been a year of change, compromise, and communication innovation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, we may all be live-streaming those Christmas Eve services while we sit in our pajamas in front of the TV. And Christmas morning may have to be shared with friends and relatives on an iPad.
However you choose to observe the holiday, the Bible editors at Zondervan wish you a safe and blessed season filled with those same warm memories. We would love to be a part of your celebration. As you give and receive love this Christmas, remember the love that God gave to us all in sending his Son, Jesus, to live on this earth. Tell the story to your children, friends, and extended family.
And give the gift of God’s Word to your loved ones with a Zondervan Bible. Here are a few suggestions.
This is the one-hundred-thirty-first lesson in author and pastor Mel Lawrenz’ How to Live the Bible series. If you know someone or a group who would like to follow along on this journey through Scripture, they can get more info and sign up to receive these essays via email here.
God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” Exodus 3:4
There are two kinds of fire you can have in your house. One is a monster that will move from room to room—leaping, growing, devouring. The other resides in your fireplace. It is controlled, friendly, and inviting. It draws you in. It brings people together. It warms you but does not burn you.
By John Sawyer
Hurricanes. Flooding. Wildfire damage. Social conflict. If you’re able to celebrate Thanksgiving at all, your table might have empty chairs due to COVID-19. And some guests might be struggling with financial problems or job loss.
It’s been a rough nine months! Our emotions are far too raw to merely paste on a smile and go through the holiday motions. But before you give up on Thanksgiving, I encourage you to give it another chance. It might be just what we all need right now.
Read this week’s Bible Gateway Weekly Brief newsletter
⇨ Bible Gateway Weekly Brief
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Support Bible Gateway—Find the Resources You Need At:
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Spotlight on Nigeria, China, and India as Christian Persecution Rises Rapidly
⇨ Premier Christian
⇨ Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, Christian Genocide in Africa: An Interview with Johnnie Moore and Rabbi Abraham Cooper
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Life Changing Radio Donates 6,000 Bibles to Persecuted Believers
⇨ NRB
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This is the one-hundred-thirtieth lesson in author and pastor Mel Lawrenz’ How to Live the Bible series. If you know someone or a group who would like to follow along on this journey through Scripture, they can get more info and sign up to receive these essays via email here.
God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. Genesis 45:7-8
One of the most discouraging things we experience is when life takes a very bad turn, and we wonder how God could possibly redeem the situation. It could be an untimely death, the loss of a job, the betrayal of a friend. Any experience which seems to violate the essence of what’s good and right.
Many members of the US military community turn to the Bible, their church, and their pastor or chaplain for spiritual and emotional support, according to the State of the Bible 2020 research report commissioned by American Bible Society (@americanbible) and conducted by Barna Group (@barnagroup).
Over two million Americans serve in the US military and over 17 million Americans are veterans of the US Armed Services. Members and veterans of the US Armed Forces face challenges other American adults can hardly imagine. When service members deploy to combat zones, both their Bible and their chaplains go with them, providing spiritual and emotional support where families and churches cannot go.
Two-time GRAMMY winning hip-hop artist and bestselling author Lecrae had inspired millions with his redemptive and gut-honest art. But when his personal life spun into chaos, he was forced to face the buried impact of the unhealed wounds—sexual abuse, physical trauma, addiction, and depression—that threatened to tear it all apart. Along the way, he realized the wounds we all carry have the potential to be unlikely guides to healing and freedom for ourselves, and others.
Bible Gateway interviewed Lecrae (@lecrae) about his book, I Am Restored: How I Lost My Religion but Found My Faith (Zondervan, 2020).
Please describe your childhood growing up without a father and the struggles you faced.
Lecrae: It was tough. But I didn’t know any different. It was my reality. I wondered where he was and why he wasn’t there. And I was envious of my friends who had dads, and sports games, and things like that. It probably gave me some identity issues as well…. Not probably—definitely gave me some identity issues.
What made you decide to follow Jesus?
Lecrae: I was a skeptic, and studied lots of different world religions. Intellectually, it made sense that this was the one religion where I did not have to earn God’s love. I could be accepted, despite my flaws. It was also spiritual. This was a supernatural transformation—something I didn’t have any control over.
The Overcomer Online Bible Study is the free 7-week video Bible study you can do on your own or with friends, family, and your own small group.
We’re living in difficult times. Do you feel like society is ripping apart at the seams? Do you feel like your heart can’t take any more hurt?
No matter what the world throws at us—anxiety, fear, confusion, temptation—we have a choice on how to respond: we can concede defeat or we can live in the victory that God has promised us in his Word.
In this Overcomer Online Bible Study, Dr. David Jeremiah will teach you God’s winning strategy for overcoming challenges so you can be a triumphant Overcomer. His lessons will draw on the apostle Paul’s metaphor in Ephesians 6:10-18. You’ll learn in a practical and effective way what it means to put on each piece of God’s spiritually protective armor.
Watch this introductory video and register now for the free Overcomer Online Bible Study, starting November 9, 2020 and ending December 25, 2020.
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