Away in a Manger is one of the most beloved Christmas carols for children. Sung softly as a lullaby, the lyrics remind us of Jesus’ humble beginnings. You can imagine Mary rocking the newborn baby Jesus in her arms, then gently laying him in th...

"Don't settle for just any insurance when there's State Farm.” Perhaps you’ve seen this series of advertisements on television lately. One begins with QB Patrick Mahomes, sitting on a treatment table, nursing his sore muscles after the game, ne...

During the Christmas season, we sing many traditional songs that tell of Jesus' birth. Perhaps the most well-known is Silent Night. Other popular hymns include: “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” “Joy to the World,” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”&...

The ending is important to any good story. It resolves the central conflict. It reveals consequences for the characters, whether good or bad, which provides closure. A good ending ties together themes and motifs, thus clarifying the story’s mes...

“Circle of Life,” composed by Elton John, was the title track to the iconic Disney film, The Lion King. The song describes an interconnected, cyclical nature of existence, where birth, growth, death, and rebirth form a continuous loop. These co...

Can anything be certain in life? Benjamin Franklin famously wrote, “But, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” Yet we go throughout our day with varying degrees of certainty about many things. You’re probably pretty certain...

Though quickly becoming a thing of the past, supermarket tabloids used to entertain shoppers with sensational headlines like, “Woman Gives Birth to Lizard Baby After Mystery Encounter,” or “Scientists Find Evidence of Atlantis… At the Bottom of...

Family friends recently buried a loved one at Arlington National Cemetery. Such a ceremony follows a respectful and solemn protocol. Mourners participate in a formal procession, seated in designated areas according to relation and then rank. Ne...

What are some symbols of strength? There is the iconic Atlas from Greek mythology holding up the earth. There is the bull on Wall Street that symbolizes financial optimism, prosperity, and a strong economy. The eagle has symbolized strength, co...

Humans are often terrible judges of what we truly want, frequently prioritizing immediate gratification over long-term well-being. Our choices are often guided by intuition and external influences rather than rational thought. In contrast, Jesu...

This week, the Major League Baseball playoffs began with a series between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports. These teams have a long shared history, passionate fans, and geographic proxi...

We're all trying to impress someone. A young boy might want to impress his dad. A teenager might want to impress her friends. A young man looks to impress a girl he’s attracted to. I’ve tried to keep a nice lawn this year to impress my neighbor...

Chiaroscuro is an Italian term that describes an artistic technique, popularized by Renaissance painters like Leonardo DaVinci, and perhaps most famously, Caravaggio. Chiaroscuro uses bold contrasts between light and dark tones that add depth a...

Pastor and theologian John Piper writes, “Prayer is a walkie-talkie for warfare, not a domestic intercom for increasing our conveniences.”In the previous episode of our salvation story, Jesus warned his disciples about the hardships tha...

Mean Joe Green was the backbone of Pittsburgh’s steel curtain defense that led the Steeler dynasty to four Super Bowl titles. Dan Marino is regarded as the greatest pure passer the NFL has ever seen. Dick Butkus was a Chicago Bears legend who s...

On the first Monday each September, we celebrate Labor Day. Common traditions include parades, picnics, and barbecues. While most people enjoy the long weekend, many may not know the holiday’s origin or why it is observed.So it is with ...

“The Devil made me do it.” In 1981, Arne Johnson of Brookefield, CT was charged with first-degree manslaughter for killing his landlord. In the first case of its kind, Johnson’s lawyer argued that he was not responsible for his actions due to d...

Last Saturday morning at 5:29, residents of Blair were suddenly awakened to an emergency alert issued by the National Weather Service. If anyone was still enjoying their final stages of sleep, the shrill alarm jolted them back into consciousnes...

Float fishing is an angling technique that utilizes a float, also called a bobber. Float fishing requires that you watch your bobber, which provides visual feedback on the activity of the fish. You can see if the bobber is bobbing, moving side ...

On the evening of October 30, 1938 Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre on the Air performed a radio adaptation of War of the Worlds. They converted the 40-year-old novel into fake news bulletins describing a Martian invasion of New Jersey. Man...

The next message in our Salvation Story series from this week's special guest.

In 1989, a man in Philadelphia purchased an old painting at a flea market for $4. He bought the painting for its frame. So when he got home, he tore the canvas away. Behind it, he found an old, folded document that he recognized as the Declarat...

Anticipation of life after death is a universal human hope. Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs would be buried in their tombs with a ship, believed to carry the deceased ruler’s spirit across the cosmos. Ancient Greeks sometimes placed a coin in the mou...

Mark Twain once said, “Never discuss religion or politics in polite company.”  Yet as we read in our salvation story, Jesus’ opponents attempted to drag him into just such a debate by asking if observant Jews should pay taxes to Caesar or ...

From a very early age, we tend to resist authority. A toddler will stubbornly run in the opposite direction when mother calls. A teenager will wear certain clothes or listen to certain music in defiance of the established norms. As adults we do...