Christmas is one of my favorite holidays, but I do have one small Christmas pet peeve: Nativity scenes. Nearly all of them depict three wise men present at Jesus’ birth, offering their gifts among the animals and shepherds. Yet when we read Scripture carefully, we find that the magi actually arrived later, and we do not know how many of them came. When we read Matthew 2:1–2—“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men [magi] from the east ar

This past few weeks, Community Bible Church has been the host for four funerals, served luncheons, and two of them had a visitation/prayer service the night before. None of the deceased were current members of this church. Our beautiful sanctuary and spacious, comfortable facility served hundreds of people in this community. We were Community  Bible Church! I was told repeatedly, “It must be hard to lead a funeral service for someone you don't know.” Honestly, it is not. I do

Christmas is a time of great rejoicing as we celebrate the incarnation: Jesus Christ the Son took on flesh and dwelt among us as our Immanuel to seek and save the lost (John 1:14; Luke 19:10). However, the warmth and goodwill brought by the Christmas story is shockingly interrupted when we reach Matthew 2. After the star guided the Magi to the humble manger to worship the Child, the Lord warned the Wise Men to avoid King Herod. Troubled by the prophecy that the Messiah was to

The preaching passage for this morning, Mark 5:1–20, contains many details to help us in our demonology (“study of demons”). I would encourage you to read through the passage several times first, and then afterwards consult this paper. Also, look at the various verses referenced. I present the following comments as biblically-informed opinions, not as “Thus saith the Lord.” So, chew up the meat and spit out the bones! The passage emphasizes that these spirits that harm the ma

As we enter the holiday season, it is a wonderful time to reflect even deeper on Jesus Christ our Savior. Meditating on how much He loves us reminds us that it brought Him joy not only to create us, but also to suffer and redeem us. The love Jesus shows is indescribable—the Creator of all things humbling Himself, uniting His infinite nature with a finite human nature, entering His own creation as a helpless child, living a sinless life in a sin-marred world, and ultimately al

Out of all the prophecies in the Bible, one is the most amazing, mind-blowing, and challenging of all – the Seventy Weeks (not weeks but literally sevens) of Daniel 9:20-27. It begins with Daniel praying in exile, for the predicted 70 years is almost over (Jeremiah 25:8-11), and he is confessing Israel’s sins and pleading for restoration. God then sends the angel Gabriel to deliver the vision of Israel’s future. Israel would go back to the land after seventy years, but their

G.K. Chesterton is attributed with the quote: “The most extraordinary thing in the world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children.” Not only is the quote insightful for families; it also illuminates the Christian life. Namely, the remarkableness of growing in our love for Christ the Lord can be found in the “ordinary means of grace” we receive through the ministry of the local church: the Word (hearing the preaching of the Scripture, personal Bible

This week’s elections on 11/4 delivered sobering results. In New York City, Zohran Mamdani, an avowed Democratic socialist (communist?), won the mayoral race. One of his policies is to invest “$65 million in public providers to provide gender-affirming care to New Yorkers who seek it” (Mamdani’s website). Yikes! In Virginia, the governorship was won by Democrat Abigail Spanberger. During her campaign, Spanberger was pressed to denounce comments from those in her political par

Minus the flies and mosquitoes, I’m definitely a heat-of-the-summer kind of guy. My lovely wife, however, prefers the fall—with its changing colors and cooler weather. I’ll admit, it’s a beautiful time of year, and the absence of skeeters is a huge plus! But my mind inevitably drifts toward what’s coming next: freezing temperatures, blizzards, and a higher electric bill right around the corner. Yet, this is something I shouldn’t dread or complain about. Instead, I should look

Headlines: “Biblical Tax Notice: 1 st -ever Assyrian inscription found near Jerusalem’s Temple Mount” – The Times of Israel Oct. 22, 2025   “Correspondence between Assyrian empire and King of Judah uncovered in Jerusalem” – Jewish News, Britain’s Biggest Jewish Newspaper Oct. 22, 2025 One of the criticisms of the Bible is that there is little archaeological or historical evidence outside the Bible that confirms major biblical events. One of the doctrines that Christians hold

It was just a normal day—I was at home getting ready to head into worship practice—when suddenly, I heard a loud thump. This wasn’t just any thump. It shook the house. The sound was so unfamiliar I couldn’t place it. I stopped to listen for any further clue to its source, but I heard only silence afterwards. I proceeded to take the dogs outside in the backyard, looked around and saw something unusual.  A large pheasant was lying in my yard. Then I realized what happened. The

Every church has an origin story—why and how it started. That story can define the purpose and direction of the church. CBC’s origin story proves helpful for understanding our future. I never tire of reflecting on our middle name: “Bible.” This commitment captures our church’s beginnings. Dissatisfied with the teaching found in the mainline churches, some Christians gathered at Jim Kienholz’s home for a Bible study in the late 1970s. This small gathering wanted a church in Pi