I pastor a small church in the Northern Virginia town of Haymarket. It is an insanely financially prosperous area.  The average household income in our zip code is north of $150K a year. Everything around here is shiny, upscale and new (unless of course it’s historical).  Even the side walk in town is new, they tore up the perfectly good (and seemingly not very old) sidewalk along the main street to install a brand new and more aesthetically pleasing red brick walkway.  I grew up on the Northside of Pittsburgh, and even though we moved to a small apartment “out where the rich people lived” when I was in high school, none of this is familiar.… Continue reading

As we move through the Christmas season, so often despite our best intentions, we can lose the proper focus. We know that there is no Christmas without Christ, but we can become practical secularists, worried about making sure there are enough cookies baked, that the house is ready for the arrival of out of town guests and of course that the right presents are purchased, wrapped and delivered to the right people.

But as we celebrate Christmas, it is of the utmost importance that we remember the first Christmas gift ever given. I am not referring to the gold, frankincense and myrrh brought to the Christ child, but to the Christ child Himself.… Continue reading