The Annunciation to the Shepherds
Artists' depictions of Christmas night, from A.D. 1306 to 2007. Compiled by Kaitlyn Beaty | 12/20/2007
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing: From Wesley to Our Hymnals
At least four people brought the now-inviolable hymn to its current form. Gordon Giles, excerpted from O Come Emmanuel: A Musical Tour of Daily Readings for Advent and Christmas. | 12/14/2007
Truth, Christmas, and the Eucharist
Why I didn't like the hymns and praise songs we were singing—and why I was missing the point. Kevin Timpe | 11/30/2007
Hallelujah!
On a memorable London night, the bright and glistening theology of Messiah broke through my jet-lagged consciousness. Philip Yancey | 12/01/2000
Christmas Kettles
The history behind a Yuletide institution Mary Ann Jeffreys | 12/01/2001
Advent—Close Encounters of a Liturgical Kind
'Tis the season when even the free-ranging revivalist pulls up a chair to the table of historic liturgy Chris Armstrong | 12/01/2002
Christmas in Vietnam
A missionary writes about this year's bleak holiday in the Dak Lak Province 12/01/2002
"Violent Night, Holy Night"
The Apocrypha tells us about the brutal and seductive world Jesus was born into Tim Stafford | 12/09/2002
Why December 25?
The month and day of Christ's birth have been hotly disputed for centuries. Elesha Coffman | 12/01/2000
Tanks at the Manger
Some would like to forget that Christmas—and religion in general—has political significance. James W. Skillen | 12/01/2001
Peace on Earth?
Christmas Carols and the Civil War Elesha Coffman | 12/01/2000
Directions: Is Christmas Pagan?
Long before Constantine, Christians found ways to redeem local cultures and salvage those elements that naturally pointed to Christ. Bruce L. Shelley | 12/06/1999
Advent's Spiritual Pilgrimage
The birth of Christ is only the final stop when meditating this holiday season. An excerpt from Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality Through the Christian Year. Robert E. Webber | 12/01/2004
The Real Twelve Days of Christmas
Celebrating Christ's birth with saints of the faith during the actual Christmas season. Edwin and Jennifer Woodruff Tait | 12/01/2004
Reflections: Advent
"Quotations to stir the heart and mind from Augustine, Madeleine L'Engle, and Walter Wangerin, Jr" Richard A. Kauffman | 12/01/2003
Advent—Close Encounters of a Liturgical Kind
'Tis the season when even the free-ranging revivalist pulls up a chair to the table of historic liturgy Chris Armstrong | 12/01/2002
Christmas Countdown
When does the holiday season really start? Elesha Coffman | 12/01/2001
Ongoing Incarnation
Would Christmas have come even if we had not sinned? Philip Yancey | 01/10/2008
Not Just A Clump Of Cells
What the Christmas story says about our bodies and our bioethics debates. Colleen Carroll Campbell | 12/20/2007
Our Lord's Virgin Birth
Why it matters that "a real son of a real mother" did not have a human father. A Christianity Today editorial from 1959. | 12/13/2007
Blessed Are the Barren
The kingdom of God springs forth from the empty womb. Sarah Hinlicky Wilson | 12/07/2007
What Is This Word?
The incomprehensible, intimate Christmas story. N. T. Wright | 12/21/2006
Bethlehem's Bioethics
Christmas in the early 21st century. Nigel M. de S. Cameron | 12/22/2005
When Backward Is Forward
Christmas may be the best argument against genetic enhancement. Andy Crouch | 12/01/2004
Good Question: Incarnate Forever
What is the scriptural and theological support for the teaching that Jesus, the God-man, remains eternally incarnate? Answered by J.I. Packer | 3/01/2004
Reflections: Word Made Flesh
Quotations to stir heart and mind about the Incarnation Richard A. Kauffman | 12/09/2002
Whose Child Is This?
The early church's opponents claimed Jesus was illegitimate. Its heretical fringe said he wasn't human. The doctrine of the Virgin Birth set them both straight. Richard Longenecker | 12/01/2000
Cosmic Combat Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
On earth, a baby was born, a king got wind of it, a chase ensued. In heaven, the Great Invasion had begun: a daring raid by the ruler of the forces of good into the universe's seat of evil. Philip Yancey | 12/01/1999
C.S. Lewis on Christmas
Lewis summed up Christmas in one sentence: 'The Son of God became a man to enable men to become the sons of God.' Kathryn Lindskoog | 12/01/1999
The Jesus I'd Prefer to Know
Searching for the historical Jesus and finding oneself instead. John G. Stackhouse, Jr. | 12/07/1998
The Jesus We Never Got
Elijah stands for what I want in a God: someone to offer an escape route around life's messiest problems. Philip Yancey | 12/08/1997
The Most Dangerous Baby
How an infant in a cow shed overturns the brute force of Caesar. N. T. Wright | 12/09/1996
There's Something About Mary
Beliefs about Jesus' virgin mother vary between Christians of the early church, Roman Catholics, and modern-day Protestants, but this model of total trustful devotion has lessons to teach all Christians. J.I. Packer and Tom Oden | 12/01/2002
His Mother
Learning from Mary, the maternal model. Elva McAllaster | 5/12/2000
Editorial: Let Mary Be
Why the pope shouldn't give Mary that which belongs to her Son. David Neff | 12/08/1997
A Sword Through Her Soul
How could Jesus treat his mother that way? Wendy Murray Zoba | 12/11/1995
Mary rejoicing, Rachel weeping
How shall we reconcile the glorious birth of the Savior with the bloody deaths of the boys of Bethlehem? Wendy Murray Zoba | 12/08/1997
Christmas Shame
The year we had no tree, Mother planted within me a seed of discontent with all cultural displays of religion. Eugene H. Peterson | 12/20/2006
Preaching the Christmas Gospel
More than a semi-annual crack at irregular churchgoers, the Christmas sermon has traditionally invited us to worship and wonder. An interview with John D. Witvliet | 12/01/2004
Coping with Christmas
For adult children of divorced parents, the holidays aren't as happy as they are supposed to be. Author Jen Abbas has some advice. Ann Byle | 12/01/2004
An After-Christmas Gift
"A homeless man, an angel, and a reminder about our final home" Lee Knapp | 12/01/2003
Yabba-ka-doodles!
"I'd begun to think of joy as a hard taskmistress, and of Christmas as her nasty elder sister" Mike Mason | 12/03/2001
Bethlehem on a Budget
Planning a church budget and the Christmas story share surprising similarities Tim Stafford | 12/01/1999
Christmas Unplugged, Part 1 and Part 2
Why spending less and turning off TV should be part of the church's mission to the world. Bill McKibben | 12/09/1996
Censoring Christmas
Public Christmas displays, like the Ten Commandments, are allowed—as long as they don't mean anything religious. (December 1, 2003)
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