Do we believe that Jesus desires all men to be reconciled to Himself? Today Pastor Ed will continue to teach us that we all need to be reconciled to God. Jesus is the friend of sinners. He will pursue all men to be reconciled to Himself. He does not discriminate against anyone and neither should we. Jesus came for the very purpose of seeing all men saved from their sin. We need to share the hope of reconciliation with all the nations, that all would come to salvation through faith.

The world today has turned from God and lives in rebellion toward Him. How can we be brought back into a relationship with God? In today’s study, Pastor Ed will teach us that it is through reconciliation that we are brought back into a relationship with Christ. God desires to heal us from our brokenness and offer us a relationship with Him. We were once separated from Christ, but when He died on the cross and rose again we were reconciled to Him. Our relationship is made right by the work of the cross.

How does God speak to us? Are we attentive when the Holy Spirit speaks to us? In today’s study, Pastor Ed will teach us that God speaks out of His word, through other believers and in many other ways. But the most powerful way God speaks to us is through His word. We need to stay in the word so that we can hear from God and know His voice. If we are in His word we will know Him in a deep and intimate way. We will then be prepared to hear His voice and to follow what He asks us to do.

Do you have a song of praise in your heart? Are you living a life that celebrates everything God has done for you? You used to live under the oppression of sin. Your soul was plagued with spiritual cancer. But then God’s love found you and pulled you out of the darkness. As Pastor Ed reminds us in today’s message, if we dwell on the amazing work that God has done in our lives, we will find ourselves welling up with an irrepressible praise. Don’t hold it in, let that praise out!

We are living in the fulfillment of God’s promise. As Pastor Ed looks at the song of praise found in Isaiah 12, he draws our attention to the reason that we celebrate during Advent. The prophesied Messiah has come and carried out God’s will. He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our atonement. He then arose from the dead, conquering death, and ascended to heaven, sending His Spirit to dwell in and amongst His followers. How incredible is our Messiah!

More times than not, God’s will doesn’t make any sense to us. God gave us free will, and we can choose to exercise it and run from His calling, as Jonah did; or we can choose to follow it in faith like Joseph. As Pastor Ed encourages us in today’s message, God’s will may not make sense to us today. It may not make sense tomorrow. It’s possible we will never comprehend it in this life, but it simply works. We just need to take that step of faith and follow as Joseph did.

Joseph struggled with the news that his wife-to-be had become miraculously pregnant. He was going to quietly break it off with Mary, until God stepped in and made His will known through an encounter with an angel. Joseph could have doubted. He could have questioned his own capability to raise the Messiah. He could have stepped aside. But, as Pastor Ed teaches us in today’s message, Joseph was obedient to the will of God despite knowing the hardship and scorn he was certain to face.

God has promised those that serve Him, that He will strengthen their hands and feeble knees. This goes to show that serving the Lord isn't always peaches and cream. Serving God is hard work, and when you step out in faith to serve Him, the enemy will place a bulls eye on your back. Today, Pastor Ed will be encouraging us to endure as we serve God, and the Lord will give us the strength needed to fulfill the tasks He's given us. Where God guides, God provides!

Did you know that as a believer, you can be going through the worst of trials, you could be experiencing a drought in your life, but God's peace could be ever so present. Today, Pastor Ed will be reminding us to keep our eyes focused on Jesus, our hope and anchor, because He is the only constant in this life. Your circumstances will always change, but God never changes. Hold fast to the Lord's promises, especially when going through tribulations because He is always faithful.

As Pastor Ed continue his teaching series on the birth of Jesus, he'll be reminding us that God sent us His Son to be a Shepherd to us, to guide us in this life and the next. Are you following the leading of the Good Shepherd? When the Lord prompts you by His Spirit to minister to someone do you do it? When He guides you by His Word to repent of a certain sin, do you obey? Don't allow the voices of the world, the flesh, and the devil to confuse you. Just listen to the still small voice of Jesus our Shepherd.