Messages on Christmas
The Angel’s Message to Mary
This evening, in our Christmas Eve service, we will finally get to the birth of Jesus. In the meantime, this morning, we will look at the Angel’s message to Mary, the young virgin girl who, like her older cousin Elizabeth, is told she will have a miraculous birth.
John The Baptist
After 400 years of silence since the end of the Old Testament, many people believe the birth of Jesus is the first time God shows up in the Bible.
The Virgin Mother
The fact that Jesus was conceived in the power of the Holy Spirit by a virgin as incredible implications for this God-man who is the perfect intersection of heaven and earth. How Babies are Made Today we are going back to high school. To high school health class. To a topic that made the kids giggle. The topic that made me hang out in the library for a week because my mom exempted me from it. SEX ED. I’m guessing…
Too Many Kings
The Christmas story includes numerous kings, with only one who rules over them all. In this message we look at how these men of power respond to the King sent by God and how we might respond to Him either like the magi who bow and worship or like King Herod who is disturbed and attacks. King of Our Castles Today we look at another group of “unlikely characters” who appear in the Christmas story. But first, let me ask…
Lowly Shepherds
The proclamation of the birth of Jesus was not first made to kings or religious elites, but to those outside the community – a group of shepherds watching their sheep at night. This important piece of the Christmas story teaches us that God’s heart has always been for the outsiders, and it still is today. BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS Today we’ll talk about the “unlikely characters” who received the very first proclamation of the birth of Jesus. Other than those in the…
Zechariah and Elizabeth
While Christmas is supposed to be a time of celebration, for many it is a reminder of all the disappointments and unmet expectations of another year. In fact, that’s the exact feeling of the unlikely characters who open the story of Jesus’ birth. Rather than beginning with Jesus, the Gospel of Luke opens with a focus on an old couple who was unable to have children. But why? People Can Surprise You We start our new Christmas series today by…
The Gift and the Giver
Christmas is all about the presents. But behind every gift is the giver of that gift. When we think about Christmas, and the gift of salvation through Jesus, we must recognize the incredible generosity of the gift we have been given and also the incredible love within the Giver of such an unbelievable gift.
Your Forever Family
The Importance of Family at Christmas This morning we are continuing our Christmas Series “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” where we are looking at our favorite parts of Christmas & tracing those themes to see how they point to Jesus. We already covered how our Christmas tree comes to us from the Tree of Life and points to the tree Jesus was hung on, thereby giving us eternal life. And last week we looked at how music is so integral…
Songs of the Season
Songs are Powerful Last week after taking a look at our beloved Christmas trees and how they intersect with the Tree of Life found in the second chapter and the last chapter of our Bibles, today we are going to look at the Songs of the Season. Unlike any other holiday in America, Christmas is tied to carols. We sang many of them this morning, as music is so tied to what it means to be human. There are studies…
The Christmas Tree
How We Love Our Christmas Trees Today we are launching our Christmas series because, let’s be honest – now that we have celebrated all that we are thankful for, many people have already turned their attention to Christmas. And what’s the first decoration we all put up to kick off the Christmas season? The TREE! Now, thinking about Christmas trees, there are quite a few different ways people do their Christmas tree. So, I’ve got a few questions that help…