There comes a moment in every boy's life when his father takes him up on a mountain to kill him... No, wait. That's not right, is it? And yet, somehow, we have got the idea in our head that God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac is a great story about a man willing to do whatever his god asks of him.

That's NOT what this story is about. If it sounds messed up from beginning to end, that's because it is. Which leads (or should) to some pretty big questions about what was happening, what should we make of it, and is there anything in here which we can use to make our lives and our world better? Or is sacrificing our children necessary to sway the actions of the LORD?

There was this group of people called disciples who followed Jesus.
How many were there and who were they and what did they do and was it the right thing or not?

You probably think the answers to those questions are simple, because that's what our Sunday School stories suggest. The truth, it turns out, is much more complex, more rich, and far more compelling of a story...

I don't think Sunday School Teachers set out to lie to their charges - it usually happens because they are passing on wrong things they have been taught. They just don't take the time to research something that they think they already know. Or they teach from their modern point of view, missing or ignoring what the author(s) intended.

Which is how the story of Jonah stopped being a tale of God's amazing grace and became about a man and a whale...

Which is very much is NOT.

It's not unusual for people to simplify things for children. But when we do that with scripture, we can lose the original intent or even change the reason the story was included. This is BAD. Why? Because when you tell the story wrong, you always lose something. Sometimes you lose everything.

For example, the story of David and Goliath is NOT about a small boy beating a giant. It's also NOT about the underdog taking on impossible odds. Is that the story you know? Then you'd better join us for today's dive into the true story.

Christmas is over. What was the point of it all anyway? Why do we always seem to leave the holiday season with the feeling that something was or is missing? And is that something that can be fixed, or is it just the way things are?

Today we look at God's goal for his creation and the true meaning of the Christmas story. It's perhaps not what you thought and it's so much more than we usually celebrate about it.

Dear Magi,

Thank you for bringing gifts to help with the raising of our child. They sure came in handy! It wasn't more than an hour after you left that we needed to pack up and move to another country, and we never would have been able to do that so easily without the extra funds you provided. Thank you! We enjoyed having you as our guests.

I'm not so sure that the other parents in the area have quite the same fond memories of your visit...

We'll be sure to stop in if Joe and I ever head over your way! We're married now, so we can travel without bringing all the chaperones, but I suppose you know what it's like traveling with a crowd.

With gratitude,

Mary (and Joseph and Jesus)

You know all those pictures of the blonde women with harps and halos and swan's wings flying over a bunch of shepherds and some sheep while spotlights from heaven light them all up while the birth of Jesus is announced?

Where does any of that come from? Because it isn't from the stories in scripture. What does the Bible say happened? Oh, it's something so much better...

Join us for the third week of Advent and the true story of why it mattered to shepherds that this particular baby was born where and how he was.

We've grown a whole tragic mythology around the Christmas story that makes me CRAZY. This is supposed to be a CELEBRATION, people! Why do we insist on ignoring all the joy and adding false horrors into a tale that has enough difficulty of its own?

This Christmas, try sticking to the scriptural story of Christmas and see if the true story isn't a thousand times BETTER than the one you see on TV.