1. Jesus is born, and His birth is proclaimed to shepherds which includes good news for all of us.
  2. Today we celebrate two feasts: the first of St. James, the brother of Jesus on the Lutheran calendar, and the second St. John of Capistrano, the soldier saint. The reading is from G.K. Chesterton, "A Hymn."
  3. Sane People Would Pay Top Dollar for This Kind of Podcast. Gillespie, Riley, and special guest Chad Bird read from his book, "Your God is Too Glorious." They then discuss baptism, suffering, and vocation.
  4. On this day in 4004 BC was the beginning of Creation, at least according Ussher. And a hopeful Miller calculates Jesus' return to be on this day in 1844. The reading is "The Apologist's Evening Prayer" by C.S. Lewis.
  5. On this day, we remember English poet and literary critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge, born 1772. And today is the feast day for St. John of Bridlington, the last saint canonized before the English Reformation. The reading is "Epitaph" by Coleridge.
  6. On this day we remember a defender of the Christian faith, Ernst Hengstenberg, born 1802, and a definer of the faith, P. Schaff, who died on this day in 1893. The reading is "In Memory of My Dear Grandchild" by Anne Bradstreet.
  7. On this day, the famous Olney Hymns were first published in 1779. And Charles Spurgeon preaches and tragedy strikes the Surrey Gardens Music Hall in 1856. The reading is "Praise for Faith" by William Cowper.
  8. On this day, we celebrate the feast of St. Luke, author of one-quarter of the New Testament. We also remember Christian August Crusius, a counterpart to Kant, who died on this day in 1775. The reading is "Miserere, my Maker," anonymous.
  9. Jericho has fallen but it isn’t all smooth sailing going forward. Someone has “broken faith” and all of Israel feels the consequences.
  10. On this day, we remember the controversial Reformation figure Andreas Osiander and the prolific Lutheran theologian Johann Gerhard. The reading is from Gerhard's "Sacred Meditations."
  11. On this day, we remember two of the Oxford martyrs, the Reformation-minded Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley. The reading is from "the Dream of Gerontius" by John Henry Newman.