Of Angels and Wise Men: The Biblical Truth
Commentary by Jim Day

   When I was a kid, I thought angels were beautiful winged ladies with harps sitting on clouds or cute little angel kids called “cherubs” that flew around on Valentine’s Day shooting arrows into the hearts of lovers. I also thought that the baby Jesus was visited on Christmas night by three wise men who brought Him birthday gifts. Of course I also thought Halloween was great – until I found out the truth.
    The world loves to twist the truth. Take for example -- angels.
    At Christmas time angels adorn the tops of Christmas trees and mantles in millions of homes. In recent years they’ve become a really hot item in department stores where you’ll find everything from beautifully hand painted porcelain figures decked in velvet robes with feather wings to cutesy stocking dolls complete with wire halos and puffy colorful wings. No matter what they’re made of though there’s one thing they all have in common; they’re always depicted as women.
    The Bible however tells a very different story as to the appearance of angels.
    To start out (with the possible exception of one debatable passage in Zechariah 5:9) angels always appear in the Bible as males rather than females (Mark 16:5).  (Boy is that politically incorrect!)

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GameDay Conference Comes to St. Louis
By Lane Palmer

      It’s been said that “everybody loves a winner”- and I would definitely agree- especially when it comes to being winners for God! On February 9th and 10th, 2007 Dare 2 Share Ministries will be at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO to help every teen in the region become a winner for God with our new and improved GameDay Conference. 

How?
    When teens leave a Dare 2 Share Conference they know WHAT they believe, WHY they believe, and THAT they believe. This is vital, especially in a church culture where the vast majority of Christian teenagers stop going to church after they graduate from high school. 
    The key to halting this ‘graduation evacuation’ from the Church is giving teens a powerful, purposeful faith before they graduate. According to the experts, this millennial generation is active, tribal, spiritual and optimistic. This combination of characteristics is a recipe for revival, for awakening, and for a global transformation through the Gospel of Jesus. That’s why we also train youth leaders at a breakout session during our conference to harness this adolescent excitement and build a youth ministry that is mission-driven, not meeting-driven. 
    At a Dare 2 Share conference, speakers, actors, musicians and technicians converge to build a multi-sensory training event that captivates, transforms and equips students to advance the Kingdom of God in their communities and on their campuses. As mentioned earlier, this year’s youth conference is called GameDay, because in this athletically inclined teen culture that we live in, the whole idea of applying GameDay to the Christian life is powerful. All teens (jocks and non-jocks alike) will be equipped to view themselves in the ultimate competition, the Christian life! They will be called to fight to win the battle for their own souls (as fully surrendered followers of Jesus), their own minds (to know what they believe and why they believe it) and the lives of their friends (by sharing with them the good news of Jesus.) As well, the conference weekend will be interspersed with scrimmages, games, and competitions that will create a ‘game day’ atmosphere that will have a permanent impact on everyone who attends based on 2 Timothy 4:1-8 and equips teenagers to “Go! Fight! Win!”   Here’s how it breaks down:

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