This week’s Advent
Theme is ‘Peace’. Isaiah envisions a coming day when ‘A shoot shall come out of
the stump of Jesse.” This advent message reminds us that Jesus is the
fulfillment of a promise. With the coming of Jesus comes the beginning of a
great redemption and restoration promises to turn the world right-side-up. Are
we sure we want this kind of world? This will be a world where the wolf and
lamb live in peace with one another. Are we ready to see the redemption of our
enemies rather than the retribution of our enemies? This is the kind of peace
Christ offers us. What areas of your own life need peace and renewing?
Monday, December 9, 2019
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Isaiah 2:1-5 "Envisioning God's Future"
We begin this new
season of Advent by envisioning the hope of God's future for humanity. In this
broken world, having hope takes both faith and courage. Isaiah presents a vivid
picture of God's future for us in this passage. We must not only envision it, but
walk toward it.
Monday, November 25, 2019
Exodus 20:18-21 “Draw Nearer”
When God visited the
Israelites on Mt. Sinai, this was the beginning of God drawing near to humanity
and the beginning of the reversal of the separation that began after the Fall.
The people are called to draw nearer to God at the foot of the mountain, but
they choose to stay at a distance. God came down from heaven again in Jesus
Christ, in a way that we no longer need to fear drawing nearer to Him. The
question is, are you staying at a distance or drawing nearer?
Monday, November 18, 2019
Judges 16:4-22 “Samson & Delilah”
The opening chapters of Genesis tell us that it is not good for
man to be alone. Humans need human companionship. But when we begin looking for
someone or something, rather than God, to make us complete and whole, our whole
world comes tumbling down. It is in Christ alone that we find our identity.
Anytime we seek our fulfillment from someone or something else, we can expect
to be disappointed. But when we find our fulfillment in God, it brings life and
health to our relationships with others.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
John 18:28-40 “Lessons from the Land: Jerusalem”
We all have to make
choices. Pontius Pilate did not believe Jesus deserved death, but he chose what
was easiest to appease the crowd. Jesus would have liked to avoid a painful
death, but he chose to follow God’s path to the cross knowing that it would
ultimately bring about the redemption and joy of the world. These two choices
are ever before each one of us.
Monday, November 4, 2019
Matt 21:23-32 “Lessons from the Land: The Temple”
After Jesus enters Jerusalem to the acclamations of the crowds,
he enters the Temple and cleanses it. The religious leaders ask him by what authority
he does this. In this message we’ll talk about the Temple, Jesus’ claim to
replace the Temple, and our new identity as God’s Temple. How are Jesus’
followers called to be different from the religious leaders Jesus challenged in
the Temple?
Monday, October 28, 2019
Luke 19:28-39 “Lessons from the Land: Mt. Olivet”
The Mount of Olives plays a significant role in both the Old and
New Testaments. In the Old Testament, God departed the temple and rested upon
the Mt. of Olives before leaving Israel. In the New Testament, God returns, in
the person of Jesus, coming back by way of the Mt. of Olives and returning to
the city. But God’s people don’t recognize his return, and Jesus weeps over the
city as it looks upon it from the famous Mount. God is constantly coming to us.
Do we recognize his visitations?
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