The only invitation from God to anyone to come and visit Mary and Joseph and the infant Jesus is to a group of shepherds. They were common people on the bottom of the social ladder of the day, perhaps the last people that you’d expect God to send as the first VIP guests to see His Son.

The shepherds represented Jesus’ identity as a descendent of King David, who was also a shepherd. They also remind us that Jesus was the sacrificial lamb. Because of the Messiah’s perfect life and death, we have a restored relationship with God.

The genealogy of Jesus, in the opening verses of the New Testament, is often overlooked. Found in this genealogy are four women, all of them foreigners and each one of them had a season in their life that was R rated. They had to overcome shame, dead babies, dead husbands, lying men, being foreigners, being broke and insecurity. From these grandmothers of Christmas, we can learn some rich lessons in faith and divine grace.

A child was born for us. Perhaps we have heard this so often it no longer strikes us as unusual or perhaps we are hearing it for the first time and it strikes as absurd. The question that begs to be asked is: “Why would an all-powerful God give us His son?”

A special Christmas message from Pastor Dave Koop, spoken at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver.

This is the eighth and last Beatitude in our message series that touches on persecution and opposition to our faith.

Jesus was sitting with his followers and the crowd of people who came to hear from him, teaching them about the Kingdom Realm, what it is to live in the Kingdom Realm, how we activate the Kingdom Realm in our life to live heaven on earth and why we are blessed when we live in His Kingdom Realm.

In the beatitudes Jesus gives the assurance that the pure in heart shall see God. True Christianity lies in the purity of heart.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” Matt 5:7

To be merciful is revealed in action. It is actively compassionate. Treating people better than they deserve. God showed mercy in sparing us from the judgment we deserve for our sins through the saving work of Jesus Christ. We imitate God when we show mercy.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. – Matthew 5:6 NKJV