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Christmas in a Word Series

Ray Fowler — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:47:54 +0000

This week I will be sharing a seven-part devotional called Christmas in a Word. I hope you enjoy the series and invite you to read along each day in preparation for Christmas. I will update this post daily with the links to each devotional so if you join in late you can read the whole series in order. God bless, and Merry Christmas!

Christmas in a Word Series
    1. The God Who Speaks
    2. God’s Good Gift of Speech
    3. God’s Continued Promise of the Savior
    4. The Long Silence
    5. The Silence is Broken
    6. The Word Became Flesh
    7. Christmas in a Word

Texas Megachurch Offers Christmas Services in 3-D

Ray Fowler — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:05:26 +0000

Link: Texas Megachurch Offers Christmas Services in 3-D

We have church services in 3-D every Sunday – and you don’t even have to wear special glasses. Most of my life takes place in three dimensions. How about you?

The Nativity Meets the Internet

Ray Fowler — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 05:05:04 +0000

What the birth of Jesus might have looked like if Joseph and Mary had Facebook and the Internet:

The Digital Story of Nativity (Video length: 2:58)

Click here for more Christmas posts.

The Christmas Spirit

Ray Fowler — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 23:13:03 +0000

Are you getting into the Christmas spirit yet? Here is a great quote from J. I. Packer on the true spirit of Christmas.

“The Christmas spirit is the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor–spending and being spent– to enrich their fellow men, giving time, trouble, care, and concern, to do good to others–and not just their own friends–in whatever way there seems need. There are not as many who show this spirit as there should be.” (J. I. Packer, Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus, p. 72.)

Click here for more Christmas posts.

Recommended Gifts and Resources for Christmas:

Free Christmas Kindle Books – 12/1/2010

Ray Fowler — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 05:05:47 +0000

Privacy

Welcome to December and four free Christmas Kindle books from Amazon! Grab them quick before they go back to full price!

The Christmas Story from the Family Reading Bible, by Jeannette Taylor
Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, by Ace Collins
25 Days, 26 Ways to Make This Your Best Christmas Ever, by Ace Collins
The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger, by Lee Strobel

Note: Amazon’s free book offers are temporary and usually end quickly. Check back often or subscribe by email or feed reader so that you don’t miss any future offers.

(Note: For ebook and audiobook conversions, see Fowler Digital Services.)

Operation Narnia – New Partnership with Samaritan’s Purse

Ray Fowler — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 04:05:09 +0000

As a big Narnia fan and a fan of Samaritan’s Purse/Operation Christmas Child, I think this partnership is a great idea.

Operation Narnia (Video length: 1:06)

Operation Narnia is a partnership with the Samaritan’s Purse program, Operation Christmas Child, to bring the joy of Christmas to kids all over the world! This is the perfect opportunity for your family and friends to spread cheer and hope to needy boys and girls in over 130 countries. With your help, our goal is to deliver more than 8 million shoe boxes, filled with items that will be meaningful to a child – toys, stuffed animals, school supplies, hard candy, and hygiene items. These boxes are then delivered to local collection centers around the country and shipped in time for the Christmas season.

Let me encourage you to participate in this wonderful program for kids all around the world this year. You could also talk to your pastor about getting your whole church involved.

Click here for Narnia products at Amazon.
Click here for more Narnia related posts.

Fowler Family Christmas Project

Ray Fowler — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:05:31 +0000

Here is a recording project our whole family worked on together over the Christmas vacation. Don’t let the piano intro fool you. The actual song kicks in after about 20 seconds. Enjoy!

Angels
[See post to listen to audio]

– Recorded and produced by Sam Fowler
– Arranged by Sam and Rose Fowler
– Lead vocal by Rose Fowler
– Guitars by Sam Fowler
– Piano by Ramón Fowler
– Percussion by Timothy Fowler
– Background vocals by Rose and Ray Fowler

So, what did you do over your Christmas vacation?

Merry Christmas 2008!

Ray Fowler — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 13:13:48 +0000

The reason for the season:

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)

Merry Christmas!

What If the Wise Men Were Women?

Ray Fowler — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:26:21 +0000

What if, instead of God sending three wise men at our Savior’s birth, He had sent three wise women?

They would have stopped to ask for directions.
They would have been on time.
They would have prepared the stable.
They would have helped deliver the baby.
They would have made a casserole.
And they would have brought diapers as a gift rather than perfume.

HT: Pastor’s Weekly Briefing

Recommended Gifts and Resources for Christmas:

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A Christmas Quote from John Donne

Ray Fowler — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:05:24 +0000

Here is a Christmas quote from John Donne, one of my favorite poets (along with a bit of a mystery below). These were the opening sentences of a sermon Donne preached on Luke 2:29-30 at St. Paul’s on Christmas Day in 1626.

The whole life of Christ was a continual passion; others die martyrs, but Christ was born a martyr. He found a Golgotha (where he was crucified) even in Bethlehem, where he was born; for, to his tenderness then, the straws were almost as sharp as the thorns after; and the manger as uneasy at first, as his cross at last. His birth and his death were but one continual act, and his Christmas Day and his Good Friday are but the evening and morning of one and the same day.” (John Donne, “Sermon Number 11. Preached at St. Pauls upon Christmas Day. 1626.” The Sermons of John Donne, edited by Evelyn M. Simpson and George R. Potter [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1962], Volume 7, p. 279.)

Note: I have noticed the following lines attached to this quote online and elsewhere:

“From the creche to the cross is an inseparable line. Christmas only points forward to Good Friday and Easter. It can have no meaning apart from that, where the Son of God displayed his glory by his death.”

These are good lines, but they should not be attributed to Donne. I cross-checked Donne’s sermon in both the Simpson/Potter work cited above, as well as in Alford. (The Works of John Donne; by John Donne, Henry Alford; pp. 57-58) The additional lines do not show up in either work.

As far as I can tell, the lines were first attached to the quote in Joseph Skip Ryan’s book, That You May Believe (p. 50). Ryan credits The Book of Uncommon Prayer, edited by Constance Pollock and Daniel Pollock. The quote from Donne appears in Pollock’s book under the title, Epiphany (p. 49), but it does not have the added lines.

More recently, Ryan’s chapter was picked up in Nancy Guthrie’s new advent book, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, where the full quote including the additional lines are reproduced (pp. 20-21). This is an excellent book which is getting a lot of well-deserved attention, and most of the quotes popping up online with the additional lines reference Guthrie’s book.

So, where did these mysterious lines come from, and how did they get attached to Donne’s quote? I am guessing the additional lines were probably written by Ryan and were meant to follow Donne’s quote as commentary, but were mistakenly included within the quotation marks instead. If anyone can shed further light on this, I would be interested to know.

Recommended Gifts and Resources for Christmas:

Related post: 7 Great Books to Read at Christmas