Not long after his baptism and divine pronouncement, Jesus was led by God the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil himself.

Big Idea: The devil is still trying to derail God’s children from His best! Luke 4:1-13

It is not uncommon for VIP rap artists and professional wrestlers to have someone come on the scene before them, hyping up the people for their arrival. The same held true for the Son of God. Jesus’ hype-man wore animal hair and ate bugs and wild honey. While his appearance may have left something to be desired, his message was to be the most desired of all.

Fast forward approximately 18 years from his time in the temple as a boy, and we find Jesus on the cusp of his entry into public ministry. This is where he would be baptized. To be baptized he would need a baptizer, and his baptizer brought a message of good news.

Big Idea: Jesus is still looking for people who will proclaim the good news. Luke 3:1-22

A little boy left behind by his family, demonstrating a wisdom well beyond his years. While that does describe the little boy Kevin McCallister in the Home Alone movies, it also describes our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when he was just 12 years old too.

After traveling back and forth from Nazareth to Jerusalem annually for over a decade, Mary and Joseph took Jesus for the Feast of the Passover. And promptly forgot him there.

Big Idea: Growth is important for everyone, even Jesus. Luke 2:39-52

What we see in God’s Word is a practice that I do believe has a sound theological basis and that is, the infant dedication. Infant dedication was common practice according to Old Testament demands, it was notably shown with the prophet Samuel, and then again, in Luke chapter 2 with Jesus.

A little over a month after Jesus was circumcised, Mary and Joseph obediently took Jesus to the temple so that Mary could be ceremonially purified, and Jesus could be dedicated to God as their first-born son.

Big Idea: Living for Christ requires dedication. Luke 2:22-40

Pastor Sam concludes his message series in this podcast. He concluded this series during our Christmas Communion & Praise Service.

The message of a preschool Christmas song was simple – Jump for Joy! Why? Because Jesus is born! There was someone in Scripture, however, who jumped for joy BEFORE Jesus was born. And, to make things even more interesting, he jumped for joy before HE WAS EVEN BORN!

After receiving a visit from the angel Gabriel, being told she would give birth to the Christ, and receiving a sign in the pregnancy of her barren cousin Elizabeth, Mary quickly went to go make a family visit…

Big Idea: The birth of Christ should move you to joy! Luke 1:39-56

We can easily make Christmas, let alone the rest of our lives, all about us. With our goals, motivations, choices, and actions we can cast a long shadow over God with our lives, especially when He decides not to shout – because He lets us.

There was a 400-year intertestamental time of silence where ‘the political, religious, and social atmosphere of Israel changed significantly during this period’, and not for the better for God’s people. Everything changed though when He choose to reassert himself and powerfully overshadows the life of a young Jewish virgin.

Big Idea: The power of the Most High wants to overshadow you. Luke 1:26-38

Some people disparagingly state that God is a crutch for those who believe, as if to say they cannot function without the help. But a crutch does a lot for a person. More than just giving them something to offer stability and support, a crutch gives individuals the ability to do things they would never be able to do otherwise. A crutch, though often painfully, motivates a person to do things when it would be far easier to just sit and not accomplish anything at all. God IS a crutch.

After singing at length in gratitude for WHO God has been in his life in verses 1-31 (surviving his enemies and Saul), David transitions to thank God for WHAT He has done in his life. This week as we look at the second part of the text, we will see…

Big Idea: 3 Reasons we should thank God for WHAT HE DOES this Thanksgiving. (2 Samuel 22:32-51)

“Proper” American English goes out the window when we stop to remember that God IS in fact a person WHO should be thanked. We can and should say “Thanks God” when, and only when, we mean it! Sadly though, it can be so easy for us as people to get so caught up in what we’re thankful for, that we forget that the most important aspect of His blessing, is Who we are thankful TO, if we remember Him at all.

David understood the importance of thanking God for who He is and what He did for him toward the end of his life in 2 Samuel 22. He had survived his enemies, most notably former King Saul. His thankfulness was so great that we find this song repeated in Psalm 18. This week as we look at first part of the text, we will see…

3 Reasons we should thank God for WHO HE IS this Thanksgiving. (2 Samuel 22:1-31)

Paul is concluding his letter to the church at Ephesus, deciding to give them a final rousing call to battle at it’s end. He has reminded them of their blessings, their salvation through faith, their oneness in Christ, the mystery of the Gospel, their strength in the Spirit, how-to walk-in unity, new life, and love, and how to live these things out in their families and at work. Now he wants them to know what he has been preparing them for. He wants them to know the reasons for his writing. We see the culmination of his message as we answer the question:

Big Idea: For what reasons should we apply what we’ve learned from Ephesians? (6:10-24)