Matthew 1:18

"This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin,..."

"This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still..."

Joseph was a strong man of faith with qualities much like God: a man of righteous character, gracious compassion, and faithful loving-kindness Phil Ware uses this Father's Day to remind us of the man God chose to be daddy to Jesus -- Joseph the Carpenter -- and his greatness despite being overlooked by many who love Jesus!

Would people really want to take Christ our the nativity? A preacher gets in trouble talking about Christmas on Sunday, but warns that the world will take Christ out of Christmas.

Three different ways to tell the story of our Savior's birth — short form, Bible verses, video! Phil Ware wishes everyone Merry Christmas for the Heartlight team and shares 3 different ways to share the story of Jesus at Christmas: a short form, the Bible text from "The Voice" Compass Bible and from a Worship House Media video about a child coming.

Mary's simple life was about to come to a dramatic end! Phil Ware finishes the year 2012 with two powerful posts or articles about Jesus' birth and the people gathered around him, and emphasizes that God's greatest beginnings are found in hard endings.

The Holy Spirit gives birth to Lord in the heart of each new Christian and longs to bring that new follower of Christ to full maturity in Jesus. Phil Ware challenges us to enter the mystery of the conception and birth of Jesus the Messiah with Mary and find ourselves caught up in the story of Jesus with her.

Jesus longs to be born again into our world in me? Jesus wasn't just born into our world in the womb of Mary, but he longs to be born into our world again in each individual Christian the Holy Spirit gives birth to in the world.

The Holy Spirit gives birth to Lord in the heart of each new Christian and longs to bring that new follower of Christ to full maturity in Jesus. Phil Ware challenges us to enter the mystery of the conception and birth of Jesus the Messiah with Mary and find ourselves caught up in the story of Jesus with her.

Our prayer is that the Lord Jesus and his abiding presence can be real to you during this special season of grace and joy. Phil Ware shares a Merry Christmas greeting from all of the Heartlight.org and VerseoftheDay.com family.

Sometimes we just need to hear the familiar story told simply with fresh words. Jesus' birth stories from Matthew and Luke are shared in straight Scripture from The Voice Bible.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This is the Biblical account of Jesus' birth from Matthew 1 and Luke 2 from the NIV 11 version of the Holy Scriptures.

I've bet you have had a bunch of these moments at Christmas! Phil Ware writes about Christmas, Joseph and Mary, and the "You've got to be kidding me!" moments in the life of Jesus.

"Dear Friend of God, Today, I AM asking you to do something important. I know you are busy with all your Christmas plans, but there is one important....."

"Dear Disciple, I know most of you hate tests! Some of those tests are medical tests which can be terrifying. Some tests are necessary to get you into..."

Like Mary, we don't know fully what we are committing to do, but we know that our ultimate destination is Jesus. Phil Ware reminds us of the gritty reality of Jesus' birth and Mary choosing to accept the challenge of being Jesus' mother and reminds us of our need to commit to have Jesus born in our lives.

The cycle of violence is heartbreaking — will it ever end? Phil Ware reminds us of the simple, yet powerful words found in the hard story of Jesus' birth and Herod's attempt to murder him at Bethlehem -- But Herod came to an end.

Are you walking down the hard road alone? Phil Ware continues to share his insights on experiencing Jesus as Immanuel.

How can God know experientially how hard life can sometimes be for us? James Nored and Phil Ware remind us to push past the glittering lights and see that God came to be one of us in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

What else can you say, but thank you? Phil Ware shares a collection of Scriptures that talk about the significance of Jesus' birth.