The Invitation Rodney Gehman – December 24, 2023 – Isaiah 55:1-13 We say this from time to time but you did not choose a perfect church this afternoon. We don’t…
In Luke 2:10, the angels show up to announce Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, and they say, “behold I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all people.”
And then these angels announced Jesus’ birth with three titles. Three titles that tell us who Jesus is and what he came to do. I would bet most of you have heard the story of Jesus’ birth, but the titles given by the angels give us a really good look at who Jesus is and what he came to accomplish.
Fear moves units off shelves. Fear sells products, runs governments, etc. But we’re commanded to be joyful and rejoice, even in the face of intense hardship. How does that work???
How would you fill in the blank in this sentence: "If I had ___________, my life would really sing"? We might be tempted to say the Sunday school answer: Jesus! But if the gospel is true, and you have been born again, you already have him! And yet it's pretty rare to hear someone say their life is really singing. So what is it that could make the difference?
The gospel is good news to real sinners. It's not the powerful, the perfect, the put-together who are shoo-ins to the kingdom of heaven. How do we know? Look at the birth of Jesus!
I'm sure you've received some amazing gifts for Christmas over the years. If you grew up in church you know the greatest gift of all is Jesus – but why does it matter?
No matter what hardship you might face tomorrow, when you feel like God has moved – you’re right. But the resurrection proves he hasn’t moved away from you; he’s moved TO you!