How many of you know the story of The Littlest Angel? I’m a fan of old school Christmas music—Andy Williams, Nat King Cole, and Bing Crosby. The Littlest Angel is a Bing Crosby classic. Without fail, every year, whenever I hear THAT song, it moves me to tears. Ok, so I’m a sap, but a few years ago I made an effort to contemplate why this particular song has this power over me.

If you are interested in The Littlest Angel Story here is a link which will take you to The Bing Crosby Song and The Story (read by Lorretta Lynn) and another link where you can find The Book on Amazon.

If you are interested in The Discovery Institute that links directly to their website. Be sure to check out their educational opportunities, particularly the Summer Institute. And here is a link to the Documentary about butterflies that I mentioned, where you can watch it on also on Amazon.

https://www.youtube.com/@MonicaGillKnownandLoved

How do you keep Christmas? And do you keep it year ‘round? At the end of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol when Scrooge is redeemed from his selfish and miserly life it says that he knew how to keep Christmas all the year ‘round. What might that look like? Have you thought about your New Years’ Resolutions this year? I think Keeping Christmas Year ‘round is going to be mine!

How can we see the Gospel of Jesus in the well loved tale of Beauty & the Beast? In 1939 Tolkien gave a lecture at St Andrews on the subject of Fairy Tales. It was transcribed into an essay and the basic questions he grappled with were: “What IS a Fairy Tale?” And what is the “USE of a Fairy Tale?” Tolkien and his friend CS Lewis would argue that Fairy Tales are not just for children- they are serious literature for adults too. Fairy Tales engage our imaginations and contain in them not only moral lessons, but important echoes of the Gospel. It is from this vantage point we embark on this mini-series The Gospel According to Cinderella.

How can we see the Gospel of Jesus in the story of Snow White? In 1939 Tolkien gave a lecture at St Andrews on the subject of Fairy Tales. It was transcribed into an essay and the basic questions he grappled with were: “What IS a Fairy Tale?” And what is the “USE of a Fairy Tale?” Tolkien and his friend CS Lewis would argue that Fairy Tales are not just for children- they are serious literature for adults too. Fairy Tales engage our imaginations and contain in them not only moral lessons, but important echoes of the Gospel. It is from this vantage point we embark on this mini-series The Gospel According to Cinderella.

In 1939 Tolkien gave a lecture at St Andrews on the subject of Fairy Tales. It was transcribed into an essay and the basic questions he grappled with were: “What IS a Fairy Tale?” And what is the “USE of a Fairy Tale?” Tolkien and his friend CS Lewis would argue that Fairy Tales are not just for children- they are serious literature for adults too. Fairy Tales engage our imaginations and contain in them not only moral lessons, but important echoes of the Gospel. It is from this vantage point we embark on this mini-series The Gospel According to Cinderella.

Who is my neighbor? This is the question the lawyer asks Jesus in Luke 10. Jesus answers him with the famous parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus asks the lawyer to answer: Who is the true neighbor to the fallen man? The lawyer answers just as Jesus intended: The one who showed mercy. Then Jesus instructs him- GO and DO likewise. So who is your neighbor? And how can we set aside our pride to “Go and Do likewise” just as Jesus instructs us?

What is the obstacle for us that must be moved out of the way so that we can really be servants and love our neighbor as ourselves? Ultimately it is our pride, our “ego” that we wear as an outer garment to protect and define ourselves. It is our pride that directs us inward to selfishness and says not to love and serve our neighbor, but to serve ourselves… What does this look like and how can it be overcome in your daily walk with Jesus?

What does it mean when Jesus says to “love your neighbor as yourself? Do we really have a good idea of what that means? We spend the next three episodes examining the radical call to love our neighbor, the obstacles to love and finally defining exactly WHO our neighbor might be based on Jesus’ teachings in Luke chapter 10.