(Originally written for The Baldwin Bulletin: Pastor's Column December 16, 2020) Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king… (Matthew 2:1) In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered…And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up…to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem…And while they were there, the time came for [Mary] to give birth. (Luke 2:1-6) Birthdays are important—for celebrations, for legal reasons, for tracking growth and development. As we get closer to December 25, many Christians are looking forward to celebrating the birthday of Jesus. Is it his birthday, though, right—December 25, Year 0? Years are often put in terms of BC, or “Before Christ,” and AD, or “Anno Domini”—“in the year of the Lord.” BC counts down, AD counts up. When we flip the calendar to January 1, it will be AD 2021 because that’s the next number. While the Bible shows the Israe
Reflections of a Reformed pastor on the labor of ministry and how faith in God changes everything