Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
Luke 2.8-20 Glory (Doxa)Notice the word glory or glorify in this passage. The angels have the glory of the Lord around them. They say, “Glory to God in the highest.” The shepherds response after they go and see Jesus is to glorify and praise God. In looking at the definition of the word, glory may … Read more
God’s gift to us! When the angels appear to the shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth, they said, “Don’t be afraid! I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (Luke 2) For God so loved the world … Read more
This summer, I spent some time writing out my personal vision/mission. In thinking about my relationship with God, I focused on 3 keywords: know, honor, and obey. I want to know God; I want to honor God; and, I want to obey God. For me, that’s what it means to be a Christ-follower! Ironically, I … Read more
My Birthday: a letter from Jesus Dear loved ones, As you well know, we are getting closer to my birthday. Every year there is a celebration in my honor and I think that this year the celebration will be repeated. During this time there are many people shopping for gifts, there are many radio announcements, … Read more
Prepare yourself!Advent is a time of preparing ourselves for Christ’s coming. The word “prepare” is a great word. We’ll talk about it today in two different ways. First, let’s talk about preparing ourselves. In a "Peanuts" cartoon strip, Charlie Brown says to Linus, “Life is just too much for me. I’ve been confused from the … Read more
Luke 2.1-7 Joseph & Mary Travel to Bethlehem During the reign of Caesar Augustus, a census was decreed, which required everyone to travel to their hometowns. Joseph, being from the family of David, had to travel to Bethlehem, David’s ancient home. So Joseph and Mary (now pretty far along in her pregnancy) set off from … Read more
2 Peter 1.12-21 The Book of PromisesThe Bible is sometimes called the Book of Promises. And at Advent we look to a promise fulfilled: the promise of the Messiah, a Savior, whose birth we anticipate throughout Advent and celebrate on Christmas. The Promise of MessiahThe Old Testament scriptures promised a Messiah. Some of the prophecies … Read more
Last week we talked about the word, “come.” Christmas is about God coming to us and showing his love for us in very practical ways! God still comes to us, and he is coming back to us again someday, which leads us to today’s keyword, “promise.”Christmas is a sign of God’s love!For God so loved … Read more