Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Scripture for this Sunday is from Matthew 2: 1-12, in which Jesus is visited by wise men and presented with three special gifts. The sermon is titled 'Three Gifts,' and will focus on what those three gifts mean for us. I hope to see you all on Sunday. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Wednesday, December 31, 2008
John 17: 1-5; Jesus Prays For Himself
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus prayed. I find a lesson in that. With all that was going on in Jesus' life, especially in this part of John's gospel as he approaches the crucifixion, Jesus still found time to pray to God. No matter how busy Jesus was he always prayed. We stay pretty busy. Over the last few weeks we have all been coming and going without any time to take a breath and enjoy this time of year. And even when it's not Christmas we still manage to run a-mile-a-minute. In those times when we are too busy to do anything we need to find time to pray. Prayer is how we are strengthened, it is how God reaches into our hearts and lifts us up. Prayer is when we spend time with God, something we all need to do more of in our lives. Take this lesson from Jesus and find more time to pray. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Jesus prayed. I find a lesson in that. With all that was going on in Jesus' life, especially in this part of John's gospel as he approaches the crucifixion, Jesus still found time to pray to God. No matter how busy Jesus was he always prayed. We stay pretty busy. Over the last few weeks we have all been coming and going without any time to take a breath and enjoy this time of year. And even when it's not Christmas we still manage to run a-mile-a-minute. In those times when we are too busy to do anything we need to find time to pray. Prayer is how we are strengthened, it is how God reaches into our hearts and lifts us up. Prayer is when we spend time with God, something we all need to do more of in our lives. Take this lesson from Jesus and find more time to pray. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Tuesday, December 30, 2008
John 16: 17-33; The Disciples' Grief Will Turn to Joy
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
"No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God." We are loved by God because we have accepted Jesus into our hearts. That is the good news of Jesus: he has fixed the relationship that was broken. Israel had turned away from God; they were living the kind of life God did not want them to live. Their relationship with God had been broken. So God sent Jesus into the world to repair that relationship, to fix what was broken. Thanks to Jesus we have a personal relationship with God, one that is centered on love: God's love for us, and our love for God. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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"No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God." We are loved by God because we have accepted Jesus into our hearts. That is the good news of Jesus: he has fixed the relationship that was broken. Israel had turned away from God; they were living the kind of life God did not want them to live. Their relationship with God had been broken. So God sent Jesus into the world to repair that relationship, to fix what was broken. Thanks to Jesus we have a personal relationship with God, one that is centered on love: God's love for us, and our love for God. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Monday, December 29, 2008
John 16: 5-16; The Work of the Holy Spirit
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the absence of the physical Jesus we have the Holy Spirit to teach us; we have the Holy Spirit to guide us and direct us as we go through life. We need to make sure we are listening. In this passage Jesus gives us an idea of what the Holy Spirit will do for us: he will guide us into all truth, he will tell us what is to come, and he will make known to us the things of Jesus. We need to listen. Through the Holy Spirit God speaks to us; through the Holy Spirit God tells us what he wants from us. We need to make sure we keep our ears open for what the Holy Spirit is telling us to do. Jesus tells us to keep our eyes open, waiting faithfully for the day of his return. We also need to keep our ears open, listening faithfully to all the things the Holy Spirit is guiding us to do. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
In the absence of the physical Jesus we have the Holy Spirit to teach us; we have the Holy Spirit to guide us and direct us as we go through life. We need to make sure we are listening. In this passage Jesus gives us an idea of what the Holy Spirit will do for us: he will guide us into all truth, he will tell us what is to come, and he will make known to us the things of Jesus. We need to listen. Through the Holy Spirit God speaks to us; through the Holy Spirit God tells us what he wants from us. We need to make sure we keep our ears open for what the Holy Spirit is telling us to do. Jesus tells us to keep our eyes open, waiting faithfully for the day of his return. We also need to keep our ears open, listening faithfully to all the things the Holy Spirit is guiding us to do. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Sunday, December 28, 2008
John 16: 1-4; Jesus Warns the Disciples
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus tells his disciples about the persecution they will face because he does not want them to go astray. This is a task easier said than done, but it is one of the more important things we can do as Christians. Someday we my face persecution, and when we do we need to make sure we stay true to our faith in Jesus. We should never recant our faith, or stop believing in Jesus. Our faith, Jesus tells us, should remain secure no matter what we face. And to do this we have the strength of Jesus in our hearts. Jesus is with as we go through our journey of faith, giving us strength for what we may face. Rely on the strength of Jesus to keep you true to your faith in times of trouble. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Jesus tells his disciples about the persecution they will face because he does not want them to go astray. This is a task easier said than done, but it is one of the more important things we can do as Christians. Someday we my face persecution, and when we do we need to make sure we stay true to our faith in Jesus. We should never recant our faith, or stop believing in Jesus. Our faith, Jesus tells us, should remain secure no matter what we face. And to do this we have the strength of Jesus in our hearts. Jesus is with as we go through our journey of faith, giving us strength for what we may face. Rely on the strength of Jesus to keep you true to your faith in times of trouble. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Saturday, December 27, 2008
John 15: 18-27; The World Hates the Disciples
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Part of what it means to be a disciple is to be hated by the world. The reason for that is because the world does not always like what we do. As Christians we go against the flow. We refuse to worship other gods, the gods of money and possessions; we refuse to follow anyone, no matter how 'cool' the world tells us they are. As Christians we do not adhere to what the world wants. That creates for us enemies. But in going against the will of the world we get the love of Jesus, which is bigger and better than anything the world has to offer. The world might hate us, but Jesus loves us eternally. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Part of what it means to be a disciple is to be hated by the world. The reason for that is because the world does not always like what we do. As Christians we go against the flow. We refuse to worship other gods, the gods of money and possessions; we refuse to follow anyone, no matter how 'cool' the world tells us they are. As Christians we do not adhere to what the world wants. That creates for us enemies. But in going against the will of the world we get the love of Jesus, which is bigger and better than anything the world has to offer. The world might hate us, but Jesus loves us eternally. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Friday, December 26, 2008
Sunday Scripture and Sermon for December 28, 2008
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Scripture this Sunday is Luke 2: 22-40, in which Jesus is presented at the Temple, and in which Simeon and Anna have some things to say about Jesus. The sermon is titled, 'Why I am Here,' and will focus on why Jesus came into the world. I hope to see you Sunday. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
The Scripture this Sunday is Luke 2: 22-40, in which Jesus is presented at the Temple, and in which Simeon and Anna have some things to say about Jesus. The sermon is titled, 'Why I am Here,' and will focus on why Jesus came into the world. I hope to see you Sunday. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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