Scripture: Genesis 1:1-2:3

Key Takeaways:

“Today as I read Genesis 1–2 my thoughts go to high school biology and physics. How does the biblical depiction of creation relate to the big bang theory and evolution? No doubt, Genesis 1–2 has bearing on our evaluation of these modern scientific accounts of cosmic and human origins. But a moment’s thought will jar us into remembering that this comparison would not have occurred to ancient authors and readers. It is certain that the biblical account of creation was not written to counter Charles Darwin or Stephen Hawking, but it was written in the light of rival descriptions of creation...Since God’s people were constantly tempted to worship the deities of other nations, we shouldn’t be surprised that the biblical accounts of creation were shaped in such a way as to provide a clear distinction from those of other nations.” – Tremper Longman III, How to Read Genesis

+ Creation is God bringing cosmos out of chaos

+ Creation is framing and filling

+ Creation is God revealing himself

Romans 1:20

-       Declares the glory of God

Psalm 19:1-2

-       Displays the wisdom of God

+ Creation is God’s good gift to us

+ God brings about the new creation like he brought about the first creation

2 Corinthians 4:4-6

Scripture: Genesis 1:1

Key Takeaways:

Psalm 33:6

Nehemiah 9:6

Revelation 4:11

+ God Exists as the Eternal and Transcendent God

            Aseity

Hebrews 11:6

+ God Exists as the Good and Personal God

“There is a philosophical fissure between fundamental impersonalism or fundamental personalism. First of all, there is the difficulty of deriving ethical values from a nonpersonal source. If the universe is most fundamentally matter, time, and chance, then it becomes very hard to argue that one combination of those three is necessarily and of itself better than another combination  - for example, that life is better than death or kindness better than selfishness - in any way that gets deeper than a feeling or an unjustifiable decision… the impersonal cannot create obligation. From looking at the natural world, we can tell what is but not what should be. We can tell that hot is different from cold, drought from moisture, lightness from heaviness, and good from ill, but we cannot tell in any of those cases that one is better than the other in any way more profound than we happen to prefer it. Philosophers try very hard, sometimes very hard indeed, to derive something resembling commonly accepted human ethical principles from a radically impersonal universe, but such valiant and well-meaning attempts tend to be unconvincing or rely on the goodwill of the reader in granting contestable assumptions.” – Christopher Watkin, Thinking Through Creation.

+ God Exists as the Triune God

John 1:1

John 1:18

John 17:5

John 17:24

1 Peter 1:18-20

“For that some should rule and others be ruled is a thing not only necessary, but expedient; from the hour of their birth, some are marked out for subjection, others for rule.” – Aristotle, 384–322 BC

“Plato thought that in order to be worth rearing, children must be “malleable, disposed to virtue and physically fit”. If they did not prove themselves worthy, parents would “properly dispose of [them] in secret, so that no one will know what has become of them.” Aristotle thought defective children should be exposed—that is, discarded at rubbish tips, abandoned on hillsides, thrown down wells or drowned in rivers. “As to exposing or rearing the children born, let there be a law that no deformed child shall be reared.… Around the world and down through history the vast majority of cultures have considered that we are all better off without the weak.” – Glenn Scrivener, The Air We Breathe

Scripture: Psalm 23

Key Takeaways:

+ A Shepherd leads by provision, presence and protection

Matthew 16:31-22

+ We worship the Lord because He is a divine provider

+ We worship the Lord because of His divine presence

“Dear Jesus, how foolish of me to have called for human help when You are right here.” – Corrie Ten Boom, Hiding Place

+ We worship the Lord because of His divine protection

+ We are worshipping when we FOLLOW the Lord

+ LORD (all caps) = YHWH;  Lord (lower case) = Adonai 

John 10:10-11

+ Worship the Shepherd. Follow Jesus.

Scripture: Psalm 133

Key Takeaways:

+ God is pleased when His people dwell in unity

John 17:20-23

+ Renewal happens when God’s people dwell in unity

Romans 12:16

Romans 13:8

Romans 14:3

Romans 15:7

Romans 15:14

Romans 16:16

1 Corinthians 16:20

2 Corinthians 13:12

1 Peter 5:14

+ Jesus is seen when God’s people dwell in unity

Scripture: Psalm 80

Key Takeaways:

+ The Need for Renewal

– Loss of God’s presence

– Loss of Joy

Psalm 32:3-4

Psalm 31:9-10

– Loss of Spiritual Power

+ The Prayer for Renewal

Acts 3:19-20

Isaiah 30:18

Scripture: Luke 19:1-10

Key Takeaways:

+ Zacchaeus was Hungry

‌Luke 19:2

Luke 19:7‌

“But while nearly everyone would agree that Hitler has earned a spot in hell, the Bible says that Billy Graham has earned a spot in hell, too.” – Brady Tarr

‌Ephesians 2:1–5

Luke 19:3‌

Jeremiah 29:13

+ Zacchaeus was Humble

Luke 19:4

+ Jesus sees us

Luke 19:5

‌+ Jesus knows us

‌Luke 19:5

Romans 10:14

+ Jesus saves us

‌Luke 19:9–10

‌+ Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see, Jesus climbed a tree to save.

Luke 19:10

Scripture: Titus 2:11-14

Key Takeaways: 

+ A Purchased People

Mark 10:45

+ A Prized People

Image of Micky Mantle card $13m

1 Peter 1:18–19

+ A Purified People

“Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.” – Mark Twain

1 John 1:7

Hebrews 10:22

+ A Passionate People

Scripture: Titus 2:11-14

Key Takeaways:

+ Isaiah 9:6-7

+ Matthew 1:1

+ Matthew 1: 17

+ Tangible Hope

+ Visible Glory

+ Unimaginable Awe

“We don’t hope that we will see Katy again. We have the hope that we KNOW we WILL see Katy again.” – Holly Rost

+ Hebrews 9:27

+ Matthew 24:36-42

“Joy to the world the Lord is come. Let earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare him room. And heaven and nature sing.”

Scripture: Titus 2:11-14

Key Takeaways: 

+ Christmas is the inbreaking of the age to come into this present age.

+ Mark 10:29–30

·       Satanic age

·       Sinful age

·       Secular age

·       Sensual age

·       Selfish age

+ 2 Timothy 3:1–4

·       Secular age

+ 2 Timothy 4:10

+ Through Jesus, God brings us into the age to come and brings the age to come into us.

+ Galatians 1:3–5

+ Romans 12:1–2

+ God’s saving grace in Jesus doesn’t just forgive sin, it trains and transforms the forgiven sinner.

+ The Beauty of Jesus.

+ The Power of the Spirit.

+ Ezekiel 36:25–27

+ 2 Corinthians 3:18

+ The Loving Discipline of the Father.

+ Hebrews 12:5–11

Scripture: Titus 2:11-14

Key Takeaways:

+ Christmas is the Incarnation of the Son of God

+ John 1:1-2

+ John 1:14

"...the supreme mystery with which the gospel confronts us...lies not in the Good Friday message of atonement, nor in the Easter Sunday message of resurrection, but in the Christmas message of Incarnation. The really staggering Christian claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was God made man - that the second person of the Godhead...took humanity without loss of deity, so that Jesus of Nazareth was as truly and fully divine as he was human. Here are two mysteries for the price of one - the plurality of persons within the unity of God, and the union of Godhead and manhood in the person of Jesus." – JI Packer, Knowing God.

+ 1 John 1:1-3

+ Christmas is the Revelation of the Grace of God.

+ Christmas is the Provision of the Salvation of God.

+ James 2:10

+ Ephesians 2:8-9

+ Titus 3:4-7

+ Christmas is the Invitation to Contemporary Man.

+ 1 Timothy 1:15