My favorite time of the year is the Christmas season. I love the lights, the smells, hearing familiar carols in various places, and going shopping in attempts to find just the right gifts for my kids and others. I am thankful that we get to spend a few days leading up to, and the day of Christmas with our family. I find what prepares my heart for the season the most, is the music. I don’t mean the fun Christmas songs, though those are ok.

I love the songs that focus on the reason we celebrate for weeks, that reason being the birth of Jesus Christ. Once Thanksgiving is over, I don’t let a day pass that I am not listening to and singing along with the Christmas songs that lead me into worshipping Jesus.

We have an 18 year old son with special needs named Micah who is non-verbal and cognitively around 3 to 4 years old. His communication skills are very limited, but he loves music. He watches preschool music videos on his iPad, but on our TV he only wants to watch Christian worship music videos. If we are watching something, which is often sports related, he will hand us one of his communication cards that says “different.”  He’s telling us he wants to watch his Christian music videos. During the Christmas season, he also has certain songs he wants and they’re all Christmas worship. He will walk up to the TV and point to the one he wants.

I am so thankful that though our son is limited in what he can communicate, he chooses to listen to the songs that talk about the gift of God given to us in Christ. Though he doesn’t fully understand it, he is worshipping Jesus. And as those songs echo through our home, I worship along with him.

The Incarcerated Church

Cornell Swain has made a ministry supporting the church inside San Quentin.

Tyler Sanders
Director of Communications
Tyler Sanders is director of communications at Gateway Seminary. He is an avid fan of Ole Miss football, a Gateway alum, and has been known to, from time to time, hold down a funky bass line.

Excerpt – Revelation, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament

Read this excerpt from Alex Stewart’s new publication in the EGGNT series on Revelation.

Alexander Stewart
Vice President of Academic Services | Professor of New Testament Studies
Alex Stewart serves as vice president of academic services and professor of New Testament studies. Prior to Gateway, he served for eight years as a faculty member in New Testament at Tyndale Theological Seminary in the Netherlands.

Comfort Twice Over

When we provide comfort to fellow believers, we are the means by which God has chosen to provide his comfort.

Jon Varner
Lead Pastor
Jon Varner is the lead pastor at Valley View Christian Church in Kent, Washington.