Sermons from December 2018
Looking Back to Move Ahead
Josh 1 – 8 This Sunday we prepare to move forward in the book of Joshua on Jan 6, by briefly looking back to where we went with Joshua last winter. Perhaps you are doing the same in your own life? Looking back over 2018, the highs, the lows, the places God met you and the places you felt He was absent. All of these memories offer a chance for us to be drawn further into the Presence of our Lord and Savior whose birth we celebrated this week! We will have another chance to share in body life, this time looking back at how God has been faithful to you in the past (2018, or further back) and looking forward toward the ways He is calling you to lean into His Promised Presence in the future.
Whence Does He Come?
Matt 2:13-23 For God so loved the world, he sent his son… into the harsh reality of a fallen, dark, violent and suffering world. In the incarnation, we see the unbelievable depth of God’s extravagant love. He so extravagantly loves us that he enters into our reality in all of our pain and struggles and sorrows. He lives our reality which means we can trust him when he will eventually grow up and teach us. He really is the only hope “far as the curse is found.”
Where is He Who Has Been Born King of the Jews?
Matt 2:1-12 On this, the third Sunday of Advent, Matthew answers the third question concerning the birth of the Messiah through the voice of the Magi “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” The question is fraught with political overtones as it was addressed to one who claimed to be king of the Jews. Matthew’s portrayal of the Magi and Herod set in bold contrast two differing “ways” and “destinies.” One leading to life, the other to death and their is no third. Which one are you?
How Can This Be?
Matt 1:18-25
How can Jesus be born of Mary if Joseph is not the birth father? When Joseph found that his betrothed Mary was pregnant he pondered these things. How can this be? An angel gave him the answer: “that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” The same Spirit that hovered over the waters prior to the first creation, had now overshadowed Mary’s womb. God sends the same Spirit into us to birth a new creation. How can our broken pots be repaired so that they are even more beautiful than the original? It is the same answer: from the Holy Spirit.
Who IS This Child?
Matt 1:1-17
Over the four Sundays of Advent we will follow Matthew’s account of the birth story of Jesus (Matthew 1–2). We’ll find answers to four questions about this newborn child. Who? Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. How? From a virgin through the Holy Spirit. Where? In Bethlehem. Whence? From Egypt to Nazareth. In each case this is in fulfillment of the Scriptures.