But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means "God with us)

Matthew picks up on a prophecy spoken to the people of God in their darkest hour, that God wants to be with us in the darkest valleys and when we face the highest mountains. And today we are reminded that when it comes to the heart of God for His people, nothing has changed.

 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions

Everything in the gospel is liveable, and our task is to get it lived. It is not enough that we simply announce the gospel, explain it, or whip up enthusiasm for it. We need to live it.

They claim to know God, but by their actions, they deny Him.

An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless--not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness-- a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.