We may think of God as being somewhat remote. If we've been taught correctly, we know better. WE know that His Holy Spirit lives within us as believers,, that He hears us when we pray,, that He guides and protects us, and most of all that He loves us. But most of the time, we can't feel Him. We can't see Him. He usually doesn't speak to us so that our physical ears Hear Him. How are we supposed to know Him?

Here's a great place to start, assuming for our purposes that You have already chosen to follow Him. Look closely at the life of Jesus. We reveal ourselves through our emotions. I can tell you a lot about myself. most of us are really good at that. But it is in those times when the feelings come out that we really begin to know each other. What makes us sad? What makes us angry? What brings us joy?

As we read the accounts of Jesus' life, we can see the kinds of things that moved Him. He told his disciples that if they had seen Him, they had seen the Father. He also said, "I and the Father are one." So, if we look at the things that moved Jesus, we learn the heart of God. We learn what pleases Him and also what displeases Him. I did not include a central passage this week because we will be all over the place. We will explore the Gospels as well as some other key passages to get to know God a little better. It is my hope and prayer that you will be blessed

Priscilla reads from Ephesians Chapter 4 and shares truth and testimony.

As part of our traditional Christmas celebration, I read the story from Luke 2:1-14 and add a little commentary.

The Gospel of Luke gives us two accounts of angelic visitations in the first chapter.  The first is to Zacharias, a priest serving in the temple.  The second is to Mary, a young lady engaged to be married who learns she’s about to be pregnant!  Both receive news of a miracle, but their responses differ in one very important detail.  They both ask questions, but one asks from doubt, the other from faith.

Linda encourages us to choose peace.

Jesus fulfilled a minimum of 300 old Testament prophecies while He lived among us. Some put the number much higher, based on the reading of more scripture as having a messianic prophetic intent. As we enjoy the Christmas season, lets consider just the five prophecies mentioned in the book of Matthew, Chapters 1-2. Only one prophet actually gets named. His readers would have known who they were, but can you name them?

She's back and she ain't backin' down! Join Priscilla as she pounds home the message that we should not loose our focus.

Are there parts of the Bible you read just because you're supposed to? Maybe you use one of those reading plans that takes you through the Bible in a year, and so you struggle through the numbers, the pages of prophecies of doom, or the long list of laws. You know it's important, but sometimes it's hard to stay focused. You might wonder what you are supposed to be getting from it all. I've been there, too. Allow me to take just one small passage from the first chapter of Matthew, and show you just how exciting a boring list of names can be when you know the history behind them.

Joy is one of those words that gets loaded with layers of meaning when it gets run through the Christianese dictionary. We'll say things like, "You may not always be happy, but you can always have joy." What? When I have taught on this in the past, I have added to the pile by telling you that you can and must choose to rejoice! What does that even mean? We can certainly manufacture joyous expressions, but how can we change what we're feeling inside?

I do believe that we can take control of what we feel, but it isn't automatic. It takes discipline, and I'm still learning. The joy comes as we draw closer to the Lord and He becomes our source. There is no passage of scripture that I can readily point to that sets forth Joy as an objective and gives you a set of instructions for attaining it, but the whole Bible leads you to Jesus, and that is where the joy comes from.

Our God is good. He is not like the Pharaoh of Egypt, commanding that the Israelites do the work without giving them the resources to do it and then punishing them for failure. If he tells us to do something, He will give us the means to obey. So if he tells us to rejoice, to celebrate, always, it is possible for us to live that way.

It does not mean that we should never have "negative" emotions. Jesus Himself experienced grief, and even anger. We are made in God's image, and he experiences these things. It does mean that we can choose to rejoice in the Lord even in the tough times, knowing that He is good and that He is always working for our good.

As Paul wraps up his first letter to the church in Thessalonica, he gives a series of simple instructions which taken together will help us to grow and bring us to a place where we can truly observe the first of them, "Rejoice always." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24)

Linda encourages us to spend time in prayer and to make it meaningful, starting from the "Lord's Prayer" in Matthew 6:10-13.