The Common English Bible. A Christmas Reading and giveaway

I used Random.org to pick the winner of last week's giveaway of The Common English Bible (and other giveaways that ended today), and will email the winners as soon as this post is up.  Details for this giveaway at the end of the post.

As part of The Common English Bible tour, all participants are encouraged to post about the Bible, using verses from it. For this post, since Christmas is fast approaching, I am posting Matthew 1:18-24:

Birth of Jesus


18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph her husband was a righteous man. Because he didn’t want to humiliate her, he decided to call off their engagement quietly. 20 As he was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child she carries was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 Now all of this took place so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled:
23 Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, And they will call him, Emmanuel.[a] (Emmanuel means “God with us.”)

24 When Joseph woke up, he did just as an angel from God commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he didn’t have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. Joseph called him Jesus.

Giveaway:
One week giveaways don't seem to work very well for me, so I am going to run this one for two weeks, drawing a winner on December 20. To enter, do one of these two things:
1) go to Biblegateway.com and read some portion of Scripture. Comment on this blog post with what portion of Scripture you read.

or
2) go to another blogger who is part of the tour and tell me which one you visited. Links to blogs below:

Abbie Reviews (http://www.abbiereviews.blogspot.com/) – Abbie Riddle


· All Things Are Possible (http://cindywoolard.blogspot.com/) – Cindy Woolard

· Authentic Light (http://www.authenticlight.org/) – J. A. Carter

· Ayers Family Happenings (http://ayersfamilyhappenings.blogspot.com/) – Tara Ayers

· Bear Witness to the Love of God in this World (http://revkencarter.blogspot.com/) – Ken Carter

· Biblical Musings (http://biblicalmusings.tumblr.com) – Christopher Price

· Blessed are the Poor (http://gpatrickhubbard.com/) – Patrick Hubbard II

· Bluerose’s Heart (http://bluerosesheart.blogspot.com/) – Tammy Shelnut

· Bona Annuntiatio (http://bonaannuntiatio.blogspot.com/) – William Meeker

· Book Reviews from an Avid Reader (http://bookwomanjoan.blogspot.com/) – Joan Nienhuis

· The Book Tree (http://thebooktree.blogspot.com/) – Laura Ellis

· Books and Needlepoint (http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/) – Kristi Herbrand

· Books at the Beach (http://booksatthebeach.blogspot.com/) – Steven King

· Bridget Willard (http://www.bridgetwillard.wordpress.com/) – Bridget Willard

· Bruce Reyes-Chow (http://reyes-chow.com/) – Bruce Reyes-Chow

· By the Book (http://rbclibrary.wordpress.com/) – Beckie Burnham

· Canadian Ladybug Reviews! (http://canadianladybugreviews.blogspot.com/) – Isabelle Lussier

· Captain’s bLog (http://rob-reardon.blogspot.com/) – Rob Reardon

· ChurchThought.com (http://churchthought.com/) – Matt Steen

· Cindy’s Book Reviews (http://cindylovenreviews.blogspot.com/) – Cindy Loven

· Clicking Her Heels (http://clickingherheels.blogspot.com/) – Suzanne Schaffer

· Connect Dots Today (http://everchris.wordpress.com/) – Christopher Everson

· Corybanter II (http://caspianrex.posterous.com/) – Cory Howell

· Daniel in the Lions Den (http://daniel-inthelionsden.blogspot.com/) – Daniel Hayward

· David Kenney (http://www.dckenney.com/) – David Kenney

· Deacon’s Word (http://ajscom.wordpress.com/) – Andrew Schleicher

· Deep Breathing for the Soul (http://keriwyattkent.com/soul/) – Keri Wyatt Kent

· The Divine Crash (http://www.divinecrash.com/) – William Gilligan

· Eis Doxan (http://eisdoxan.wordpress.com/) – Jason Gardner

· Faith Freaks for Teens (http://blog.faithfreaks.com/) – Nick Fama

· Flowing Faith (http://www.flowingfaith.com/) - Mari-Anna Stålnacke

· Friar Tuck’s Fleeting Thoughts (http://www.friartucksfleetingthoughts.blogspot.com/) – Clint Walker

· Fusion of Gospel (http://gospel-fusion.tumblr.com/) – Trina Constantine

· GivingNSharing (http://givingnsharing.blogspot.com/) – Tina Peterson

· GodHungry (http://godhungry.org/) – Jim Martin

· Growing For Christ (http://homeschoolblogger.com/ohiosarah/) – Sarah Bailey

· guymwilliams.net (http://guymwilliams.net/) Guy Matthew Williams

· Hacking Christianity (http://hackingchristianity.net/) – Jeremy Smith

· Hanging Off The Wire (http://hangingoffthewire.blogspot.com/) – Hayley Kolb

· Home With The Boys (http://homewiththeboys.net/) – Erin Mohring

· The Homesteading Hippie (http://harrisheather.com/) – Heather Harris

· Iambelievinggod’s Blog (http://iambelievinggod.wordpress.com/) – Jill Jones

· I’m Just Saying (http://thepostmodernpastor.com/) – Matt Rawle

· In-Formatio (http://in-formatio.com/) – Michael Rich

· Inspirations of Marie T. Morrison (http://inspirationsofmarie.blogspot.com/) – Marie T. Morrison

· Inspiring Followers of Jesus to Live Love (http://margotstarbuck.blogspot.com/) – Margot Starbuck

· (Ir)Regular Christian (http://www.irregularchristian.com/) – Casey Taylor

· Jack’s Blog (http://reconnectministry.wordpress.com/) – Jack White

· Jacob’s Café (http://jacobscafe.blogspot.com/) – Josh Morgan

· Jennifer Grant (http://www.jennifergrant.com/) – Jennifer Grant

· A Journeyman’s Catalog (http://mattlipan.blogspot.com/) – Matt Lipan

· Kennedy Reviews (http://www.christinajonaskennedy.com/) – Christina Jonas Kennedy

· The Koala Bear Writer (http://thekoalabearwriter.blogspot.com/) – Bonnie Way

· LeadFollower (http://www.tonyjohnson.tv/) – Tony Johnson

· Life and Ministry (http://wjcollier3.wordpress.com/) – John Collier

· Life as a Mom CEO (http://www.lifeasmomceo.blogspot.com/) – Pamela Black

· Life Goes On (http://bcole127.blogspot.com/) – Bill Cole

· Life Happens with Kids (http://lifehappenswithkids.blogspot.com/) – Jennifer McCullar

· Lighthouse-Academy (http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com/) – Laura Hilton

· Little Homeschool on the Prairie (http://reneek-littlehomeschoolontheprairie.blogspot.com/) – Renee Knoblauch

· Love Radically (http://loveradically.com/) – Brad Smith

· Lutheran Confessions (http://lutheranconfessions.blogspot.com/) – Clint Schnekloth

· Melissa’s Musings Product Review Blog (http://hugapoohlouise.wordpress.com/) – Melissa Waters

· Metromonk (http://metromonk.blogspot.com/) – Mike Belmares

· michellependergrass (http://michellependergrass.com/) – Michelle Pendergrass

· Mike Slaughter (http://mikeslaughter.com/blog) – Mike Slaughter

· A Mom After God’s Own Heart (http://therempels4.blogspot.com/) – Shirley Rempel

· Mother of Three (http://www.motheroftwo-jenmom.blogspot.com/) – Jennifer McIlwain

· My Reading Room (http://myreadingroom-crystal.blogspot.com/) – Crystal Fulcher

· Nicole Unice (http://www.nicoleunice.com/blog/) – Nicole Unice

· No End to Books (http://noendtobooks.blogspot.com/) – Jeff LeMaster

· Not All Who Wander Are Lost (http://www.wanderingnotlost.com/) – Sophia Kristina Agtarap

· A Novel Source (http://www.anovelsource.com/) – Stacy Millican

· Of Jesus and Starbucks (http://jesusandstarbucks.wordpress.com/) – Nathan Sosnovske

· Off & Running (http://makolbfamily.blogspot.com/) – AnnMarie Kolb

· Only Wonder Understands (http://onlywonder.com/) – Jay Voorhees

· The Orange Monkey (http://theorangemonkey1976.blogspot.com/) – Asa D. Coulson

· The Parson’s Patch (http://theparsonspatch.com/) – Mark Stevens

· A Peculiar Prophet (http://willimon.blogspot.com/) – Will Willimon

· A Peek At My Bookshelf (http://deenasbooks.blogspot.com/) – Deena Marie Peterson

· Pharris Garcia (http://isojourn.wordpress.com/) – Pharris Garcia

· Ponderings by Andrea (http://andrealschultz.blogspot.com/) – Andrea Schultz

· Ponderings on a Faith Journey (http://pastorbobcornwall.blogspot.com/) – Robert Cornwall

· Posts from the Blog of an (un)Tamed Cynic (http://johnvest.com/) – John Vest

· Preacher on the Plaza (http://preacherontheplaza.wordpress.com/) – Elizabeth Hagan

· Preacher Smith (http://preachersmith.com/) – David Smith

· Preaching for Life (http://www.preachingforlife.blogspot.com/) – Jordan Thrasher

· Radiant Light (http://www.frommipov.blogspot.com/) – Andi Tubbs

· Reflectionary (http://reflectionary.blogspot.com/) – Martha Spong

· Rev. Brent L. White (http://brentwhite.wordpress.com/) – Brent White

· Reviews By Molly (http://www.reviewsbymolly.com/) – Molly Edwards

· The Revolution (http://amodeirevolution.org/) – Jerrod D. Burris

· Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth (http://rdtwot.wordpress.com/) – Nick Norelli

· Rita Reviews (http://ritareviews.net/) – Rita Hernandez

· Salvaged Faith (http://salvagedfaith.blogspot.com/) – Katie Dawson

· The Seminary Blog (http://theseminaryblog.com/) – Joy Hunt

· Shekinah Glory (http://pastorofdisaster.wordpress.com/) – Brian Merritt

· Simul lustus et Peccator (http://simuliustusetpeccator.com/) – Craig Falvo

· snidbits (http://amberfrench.blogspot.com/) – Amber French

· So Many Books.. So Little Time (http://melanieski.blogspot.com/) – Melanie Schemanski

· Spirit Stirrer (http://spiritstirrer.org/) – Juan Huertas

· splashesofjoy (http://splashesofjoy.wordpress.com/) – Joy Hannabass

· Stepanana’s Stumbles (http://www.stepanana.wordpress.com/) – Stephanie Levan

· Steven’s Blog (http://stevenlwolf.wordpress.com/) – Steven Wolf

· Storied Theology (http://www.jrdkirk.com/) – J. R. Daniel Kirk

· Summit Book Reviews (http://summitbookreviews.blogspot.com/) – Edward Lewis

· Sunflower Faith (http://sunflowerfaith.com/) – Vida Clark

· Take Courage (http://www.takecourage.net) – Bill Mazey

· Tammy Griffin (http://tammybookparlor.blogspot.com/) – Tammy Griffin

· Tara’s View on Books (http://tarasviewonbooks.blogspot.com/) – Tara Robertson

· Thumbprint Eternity (http://ww.therealkenpatterson.com/) – Kenneth Patterson

· The Timothy Blog (http://thetimothyblog.wordpress.com/) – Timothy Baranoski

· An Unfinished Symphony (http://unfinsymphony.wordpress.com) – Rev. Deb Vaughn

· Vic’s Media Room (http://vicsmediaroom.wordpress.com/) – Victor Gentile

· A View from a Point (http://michaelhidalgo.blogspot.com/) – Michael Hidalgo

· Vital Congregations (http://blog.umcvitalcongregations.org/) – Amy Valdez Barker

· The Watered Soul (http://wateredsoul.blogspot.com/) – Wanda Ward

· A Well Watered Garden (http://awell-wateredgarden.blogspot.com/) – Annette Kristynik

· Whatever You Do (http://whateveryoudo.ca/) – David Wierzbicki

· Whitby Forum (http://www.whitbyforum.com/) – Carolyn Custis James

· Willis Wired (http://www.williswired.com/) – Randy & Joleen Willis

· WORD up! (http://word-up-studies.blogspot.com/) – Stacey Dale

· Worthey Words (http://wortheywords.wordpress.com/) – Brian Worthey

· WV Stitcher (http://www.kittycrochettwo.blogspot.com/) – Brenda Casto

· Wyns Book Reviews (http://wynsbooks.blogspot.com/) – Wyndy Callahan

· Zwinglius Redivivus (http://zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com/) – Jim West


Check out the website for The Common English Bible.