Jesus’ birth story has captivated billions of people for more than two millennia, as the Bible details a loving God’s decision to send His Son to die for the sins of humanity — and live again.

From the manger to the cross, the journey has shaped and molded every facet of human history. One of the most compelling realities surrounding the nativity narrative is Jesus’s birth was foretold long before the manger, with the Old Testament including important prophecies pointing toward Christ.

In fact, this promised Messiah is mentioned throughout the Scriptures, with specific details — including His birth in Bethlehem — noted hundreds of years before angels visited Zechariah, Mary, and Joseph.

CBN News explores this reality in a new, four-part holiday podcast, “Jesus and the Prophecies of Christmas,” a show diving deep into the incredible prophecies at the heart of the manger story. Each episode centers on a different piece of the prophetic puzzle surrounding Jesus’ birth.

The first episode of “Jesus and the Prophecies of Christmas” — featuring for King & Country’s Joel Smallbone, Greg Laurie, Jeff Kinley, Ray Comfort, Jesse Bradley, and Shane Idleman — explores the role and power of biblical prophecy, Jesus’ presence throughout the Old Testament, and why the baby in the manger was a fulfillment of God’s promises to humankind.

Smallbone opens the show by proclaiming he’s captivated by the reality of “God coming to earth in the most vulnerable state, as a baby.”

“God, in all of His majesty and magnificence, is like, ‘I’m going to come into this tiny being, living and breathing being, and I’m going to do this because I have such great love for these creatures that are made in My image that I want to … offer hope, and healing, and redemption to this … sort of species that has kind of gone awry,’” he said. “And I just think it’s got all of the layers of an incredible story, and … I believe it just so happens to be a true story, which makes it even more … magnificent.”

Kinley, a prophesy expert, notes the Christmas story is told yearly “with great emotion” — and with good reason. For him, the most compelling part, though, is the Creator’s decision to show such sacrificial love for His creation.

“Here is the Creator of the world coming to be a creation, if you will,” he said. “He’s the God-man, 100% God, 100% man, and yet He submitted Himself to creation.”

Kinley continued, “He was born into a world that He Himself created. He was laid upon straw, presumably, that was made by Him. All the things that He made, He submitted Himself to it.”

This idea that Jesus proffered Himself to creation is fascinating — and one of the most remarkable aspects of the nativity story are the pieces of evidence backing this claim.

“If someone wants credible evidence the Bible is God’s Word all he has to do is take some time to study the prophecies, because only God knows the future,” apologist Ray Comfort notes in “Jesus and the Prophecies of Christmas.” “We [don’t] know tomorrow’s forecast; we haven’t got a clue. They just take a stab. But God’s Word predicts the future before it came into being, and it establishes [His] divine fingerprint all over Scripture. So prophecy is wonderful.”

Ultimately, Kinley, Comfort, and other theologians and pastors believe biblical prophecy — defined as a prediction of what’s to come — is tried, true, and verified.

It’s the glimmers of Jesus’ birth in the Old Testament — written hundreds of years before the nativity narrative — they believe offer some of the most compelling evidence of Scripture’s authenticity.

Listen to episode one of “Jesus and the Prophecies” of Christmas — and tune in tomorrow, Dec. 14 (subscribe here) for the next installment — an episode set to explore key figures in the nativity story and how they reacted to the prophecies given by God and angels.
Sources:faithwire

http://theendtimeradio.com

ചിക്കാഗോ : നാല്പതാമത് പിസിനാക്കിന്റെ പ്രഥമ നാഷണൽ കമ്മിറ്റി ഡിസംബർ ഏഴിന് ചിക്കാഗോയിൽ വച്ച് നടന്നു. സെലിബ്രേഷൻ ചർച്ചിൽ വച്ച് രാവിലെ ആരംഭിച്ച സമ്മേളനത്തിൽ നാഷണൽ കൺവീനർ പാസ്റ്റർ ജോർജ് കെ സ്റ്റീഫൻസൺ അധ്യക്ഷത വഹിച്ചു. സെക്രട്ടറി സാം മാത്യു, ട്രഷറർ പ്രസാദ് ജോർജ് സി പി എ, ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് സെഷൻ കോർഡിനേറ്റർ ഡോക്ടർ ജോനാഥൻ ജോർജ്, നാഷണൽ ലേഡീസ് കോർഡിനേറ്റർ സിസ്റ്റർ ജീന വിൽസൺ എന്നിവർ പ്രവർത്തന പദ്ധതികൾ അവതരിപ്പിച്ചു. കോൺഫറൻസിന്റെ തീം ജനറേഷൻ ടു ജനറേഷൻ (സങ്കീർത്തനം 78:4) നാഷണൽ കൺവീനർ അവതരിപ്പിച്ചു.

തുടർന്ന് വിവിധ സബ് കമ്മറ്റികളിലേക്ക് നാഷണൽ കമ്മിറ്റി അംഗങ്ങളെ നോമിനേറ്റ് ചെയ്തു. നിലവിലുള്ള സബ് കമ്മറ്റികൾ വിപുലീകരിക്കുവാനും കൂടുതൽ സബ് കമ്മിറ്റികൾ രൂപീകരിക്കുവാനും നാഷണൽ ലോക്കൽ എക്സിക്യൂട്ടീവ് കമ്മിറ്റിയെ ചുമതലപ്പെടുത്തി.പെന്തക്കോസ്ത് ഉപദേശത്തിന് മുൻതൂക്കം നൽകുന്ന വചനപ്രഘോഷകർക്ക് പ്രാധാന്യം നൽകിക്കൊണ്ടുള്ള പ്രസംഗകരായിരിക്കും വചന ശുശ്രൂഷ നടത്തുന്നത് എന്ന് നാഷണൽ ഭാരവാഹികൾ അറിയിച്ചു. നാഷണൽ ട്രഷറർ പ്രസാദ് ജോർജ് സിപിഎ ബഡ്ജറ്റ് അവതരിപ്പിച്ചു.

ലോക്കൽ എക്സിക്യൂട്ടീവ് കമ്മറ്റി ഭാരവാഹികളായ ഡോ ടൈറ്റസ് ഈപ്പൻ, പാസ്റ്റർ ജിജു ഉമ്മൻ, ഡോ ബിജു ചെറിയാൻ, ജോൺ മത്തായി, കെ ഓ ജോസ് സി പി എ , വർഗീസ് സാമുവൽ എന്നിവർ ഇതുവരെയുള്ള പ്രാദേശിക പ്രവർത്തന പദ്ധതികൾ വിവരിച്ചു.
2026 ൽ നടക്കുന്ന നാല്പതാമത് പിസിനാക് കോൺഫറൻസിന് പ്രാദേശിക തലത്തിൽ ശക്തമായ സഹകരണമാണ് ലഭിക്കുന്നതെന്നു നാഷണൽ ഭാരവാഹികൾ വിലയിരുത്തി. ഇതുവരെയുള്ള പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങൾ നാഷണൽ കമ്മിറ്റി അവലോകനം ചെയ്തു. ലോക്കൽ കമ്മിറ്റിയുമായി ചേർന്ന് സമ്മേളനം നടക്കുന്ന ഷാംബർഗ് കൺവെൻഷൻ സെന്ററും മറ്റ് താമസ സൗകര്യങ്ങളും ദേശീയ ഭാരവാഹികൾ സന്ദർശിച്ചു വിലയിരുത്തി.

ലോകോത്തര നിലവാരമുള്ള കൺവെൻഷൻ സെന്ററും അനുബന്ധ സൗകര്യങ്ങളും കോൺഫറൻസിൽ പങ്കെടുക്കുന്നവർക്ക് ഗുണകരമാകുമെന്ന് കമ്മിറ്റി വിലയിരുത്തി. ഒഹയർ എയർപോർട്ടിൽ നിന്ന് പതിനഞ്ച് മിനിറ്റിനുള്ളിൽ എത്തിച്ചേരാവുന്ന കൺവെൻഷൻ സെന്ററിൽ 1500 ഓളം സൗജന്യ പാർക്കിംഗ് ലഭ്യമാണ്.
അടുത്ത ജനുവരി മാസത്തിൽ ഒന്നരവർഷം നീണ്ടു നിൽക്കുന്ന ആഗോളവ്യാപകമായ ഓൺലൈൻ പ്രാർത്ഥനക്ക് തുടക്കം കുറിക്കുവാനും തീരുമാനമായി.
Sources:nerkazhcha

http://theendtimeradio.com

As millions of Americans look forward to celebrating the joy of the Christmas season with family and friends, inmates across the country face the painful reality that they will spend it alone. Yet, one Virginia prison ministry is looking to spread a little cheer to the thousands locked up behind bars to let them know that Jesus loves them and they are not forgotten.

Good News Global, formerly Good News Jail & Prison Ministry, is hand-delivering 65,000 Hope Packs globally to men and women behind bars in 18 states and 20 countries this Christmas.

The Hope Packs include a Christmas gift, card, 2025 calendar, food, hygiene items, and the Gospel message.

For some, it is their first time receiving a gift like this. For others, it is the first time they will hear about Jesus.

For the past three years, Good News Global has given inmates a “Christmas Hope” package in the days before Christmas.

“Hope Packs represent our greatest outreach to incarcerated persons ever,” said Jon Evans, president of Good News Global. “This Christmas, we will put hope in the hands of 65,000 receptive inmates. We believe that everyone has inherent worth in the eyes of God, and providing Hope Packs is a practical and tangible way to demonstrate that to the inmates and jail and prison staff members.”

The packs are assembled by volunteers, including individuals in local churches and jail administrators who are within the locations of the participating 150 jails and prisons.

Volunteers with the organization preach the gospel to over 400,000 incarcerated men, women, and young people, helping people of all faith backgrounds cope with life in jail.

“Your life is essentially over (in jail),” Chaplain Joe Kelty previously told CBN News. “If ever there was a time that you would turn to God, it’s probably when you’re going through something like that.”

“One of the most moving parts of the job is when an inmate finds out that a loved one has died on the outside,” Kelty added. “And here they are in jail, and they can’t be with their family. That’s some of the more difficult conversations but also the most meaningful.”

In the U.S., chaplains serve as the religious program coordinator for each prison facility. In addition, they are responsible for pastoral care, facilitation and accommodation of religious requests, coordination of clergy visits, and a host of other personal ministry activities.

Internationally, chaplains extend ministry to ex-inmates and families of inmates, providing emergency aid such as soap, detergent, toilet paper, lotion, food, and more.

Good News Global started distributing 500 “Hope Packs” in 2021 after a formerly incarcerated Chaplain remembered receiving a Hope Pack while incarcerated in Illinois.

Chaplain Richard Van Arsdale reached out to Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago to find out the contents of Hope Pack. They graciously opened the door to a partnership that has grown each year.

In 2022, Good News Global distributed 50,000 Hope Packs, and in 2024, it will distribute 65,000 worldwide.

“I want to say thank you so much for your Christmas bag and prayers,” one inmate wrote to the ministry.

“I have been a strong believer in God my entire life, but just last night, I was actually cussing the Lord. I almost had given up. I told him to show me a sign today or I feel like I couldn’t believe anymore,” the inmate explained.

“Then I read the card that a Good News Global volunteer gave me from the Hope Pack and it touched my heart so much I started to cry,” the inmate shared. “To hear and think that someone was thinking of me and praying for me helped me so much.”

More than 11 million people are incarcerated globally and Hope Packs is providing the opportunity to bring a gift and the gospel to inmates at Christmas–one of the loneliest seasons for those incarcerated.

“We believe that every person has inherent worth in God’s eyes and has a plan for each individual that can only be fully secured through faith in Him,” the ministry shared.
Sources:CBN News

http://theendtimeradio.com