The greatest event in history had just occurred. The long-awaited Messiah had been born! For ages the Jews had waited for this day to come; but when it finally happened, the announcement didn’t come through ‘official channels.’ It didn’t come from the palace press corp. It didn’t come through the press secretary for the Sanhedrin—the religious elite of the day. The GOOD NEWS about Jesus’ birth came through some humble 3rd shift shepherds… The GOOD NEWS about Jesus is that he comes to all types of people with his message...
One of my joys of the Christmas season is going to the mailbox each day … and collecting what often seems like an abundance of Christmas cards & letters that fill it this time of year. Do some of you enjoy that part of this season that we’re now in? And they’ve already started coming… It’s just fun & refreshing to reconnect with folks that we may only hear from once a year… Over 2,000 years ago, Mary received some ‘angelic mail’—an angel delivering a message from God Himself. While...
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” That’s what it says in Luke 9:23—Jesus’ invitation to all to become followers of his… Last week, you got the unedited version of what that really means! But even so, some of us still have a tendency to read it as simply poetic—maybe safer that way. But, as we step across the line and commit to being a true FOLLOWER of Jesus, we find that it is important to consider everything—to...
There’s a story of a man who was at the gym one day, working out on an elliptical machine, and looking out the front window of the gym onto the parking lot. As he worked out, sweating away, he noticed a guy pull into the parking lot right in front of the gym. After a couple of minutes, this rather large guy gets out of his car … and it takes some effort for him to even get out of his rather small sedan. (Kind of like Mr. Incredible …...
So, last week you learned that you have to get on the right bus, didn’t you? Jesus is on one of those buses and, of course, that’s the one we need to find. But, how do we do that? Well, let me start here… How many of you know John 3:16? If you have one Bible verse memorized, chances are … that is it. It’s a great verse that tells us a beautiful truth, isn’t it? Quick, say it with me… “For God so loved the world, that he gave...
Over the last few weeks, we have been applying the DTR (Define the Relationship) question to our relationship with Jesus. The DTR question is “Where is this relationship going? How serious are we about it?” There are a few additional questions in your sermon notes for today. Does your life reflect what you say you believe? Do you think you are on the right road because of what you have done? Do I know Jesus and does He know me? I need to share something with you. As I have...
Folks, in the Christian faith, we believe in a Triune God—the Trinity … Father, Son, AND Holy Spirit—though many would love to just not talk about that last part of God. But, if we’re never talking about the Spirit of God, we’re leaving out at least 1/3 of the equation of God, aren’t we? Now, here are some things I’ve noticed when it comes to talking about the Holy Spirit in church… For FANS, it’s kind of like the old Sesame Street song: “One of these things just doesn’t belong...
I don’t know if you guys remember this story or not, but it’s a true story and it happened at the 2004 Olympics. A man by the name of Matt Emmons was competing in the 50-meter three-position rifle event. He didn’t even need a bulls-eye to win. All he had to do with his final shot was to … be on target. Normally, the shot he made would have received a score of 8.1, more than enough for a gold medal. But in what has been described as “an extremely...
So, IS JESUS YOUR ONE AND ONLY? In Luke 14, we find Jesus having another D.T.R. (Define the Relationship) talk; but this time, it’s not with an individual … and certainly not in the shadows of the night. This time, it’s with a crowd… By this time in Jesus’ life, word had spread about this incredible teacher: The lame were made to walk… The blind were made to see… And funeral processions were turning into family reunions… People were coming from all over to fill the hillsides and listen to...
The Calling of Matthew (Levi) 13Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him. 15 Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) 16...
