Viewing entries tagged
Christmas
Christmas is a time when feelings of bitterness can strain family relationships and make get-togethers hard to face. This message reveals God’s surprising love for someone who struggled with anger – and how His love can transform ours too.
Genesis 4:1-16
Matthew 1:5; Ruth 1:1-18 | outline
Ruth lost her husband and was uprooted to a foreign land where she felt the searing eyes of discrimination. What future would there be possible for her?
Matthew 1:5; Joshua 2:1-14 | outline
Rahab turned to prostitution to make ends meet in a city that was so far gone that it’s destruction was assured. What hope could there be for someone like her?
Tamar was a woman who faced the abuse of selfish men who used her instead of protecting her. How could God lift up someone so trodden down?
Ever feel stuck, directionless, and worried about the future? That's life in the wilderness and it can be brutal and long-lasting. But there's hope for you! At Christmas, we celebrate the birth of the promised son of Judah. In Him, we have a conqueror, and king, and source of blessing that can not only lead us out of the wilderness but make sure we never end up there again!
Christmas can be a hard time for many people. It’s hard to be alone when we’re told we’re supposed to be together. It’s hard to face the holidays when there are loved ones we’re still grieving. Expectations, stress and conflict can all hit us at this time of year. But joy can be a reality when we hold the Christmas promises. This message looks at a dark period in Israel’s past where they were given promises of the arrival of Jesus, intended to stir their joy. Those same promises can stir up ours today.
The songs and movies we hear this time of year tend to equate Christmas with the promise of romance, family, or tradition. The Christmas promises of the Bible are far more enduring. This message looks at the promise of a royal priest and how Jesus can give us hope for the year ahead.
There are many surprises in the Christmas story, but perhaps nothing quite as surprising as who shows up for the birth. The wise men who bring gifts for the baby are the most unlikely worshippers of the Christ child and the obstacles they overcame to get to Him inspire our own journey of hope. This message looks at what the wise men teach us about overcoming the obstacles that keep us from true worship.
Matthew 2:1-12 // No outline
When we depict the Christmas story in carols and cards, we remember the angels, shepherds, manger and wise men. But the birth of Jesus took place under the threat of a king intent on killing Him and in the shadow of the unspeakable loss that the king’s paranoia and rage brought about. This message looks at what has been called Herod’s, “slaughter of the innocents,” and how it speaks hope into the despair that can often accompany the holidays.
Matthew 2:13-23 // [outline]
The stage is set for the birth of the Messiah, but the baby is in danger of being abandoned. In order to accept Jesus, Joseph has to deal with ridicule from others, his own preconceptions and the fact that he will no longer be in control. To receive Jesus’ work in our lives today, we face the same challenges. This message looks at how Joseph responded to the obstacles that almost kept him from accepting Jesus and how we can overcome them ourselves.
Mathew 1:18-25 // [outline]
Most people don’t advertise their past unless there’s something remarkable about it. And if there are skeletons in the closet, we certainly don’t want them to get out. But Matthew begins his presentation of the Christmas story with a stunning family tree that deepens our understanding of who Jesus is and what He came to accomplish. This message examines how Jesus fulfills the promises to Abraham and David and has the grace to transform those whom the world would hide and exclude.
God offers hope to people who feel abandoned by Him and strength to those who wait on Him. This message shows the wonder of Christmas to people battling discouragement.
Sometimes our circumstances are too bitter for us to hope that things will ever be different. This message shows how God provides for our comfort and how we can welcome His involvement in our lives.
