John 1:9-13

John 1:6-9

As John continues to flood the Christmas story with the colors of glory, he turns our attention to the man, John the Baptist. God sent a messenger and the Baptist was the man. His aim was to put the spotlight solely on THE Light, Jesus the Word. In the fulness of time this herald came to tell us the long promised light of the world was here so that we might be prepared for Jesus. Main Idea—The Christmas Child is the long promised light of the world, am I prepared for him?

John 1:1-5

Merry Christmas! Entering the Advent season can be a joyous time of the year, a time that draws us to consider the glories of how the Son of God became flesh and dwelt among us. To help us worship our way through this Advent we turn to the Gospel of John where our text will not only lead us to stoop low near the manger, but also to lift our eyes to behold the wonders of the baby in the manger. The beginning of John’s gospel is unlike the other gospels in its power to amplify the whole Christmas story. These 18 versus lift high the glories of the pre-incarnate Word, filling in the Christmas picture with glorious color that invites us to worship the Low-born King of Heaven. Main Idea—The Bethlehem Baby is the eternal Creator of life and light—Do I know him?

Jeremiah 9:23-24; Galatians 6:14

Loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus taught that this is the summation of the Law and the prophets. The question becomes, how can we love our neighbor? One answer is to love your neighbor with the gospel. And one way we can love our neighbor with the gospel is by boasting in the cross. Cross-boaster make much of Christ and what He accomplished through His death and resurrection. When we boast in the cross, we make much of Jesus and when we make much of Jesus we love others! We want neighbors to know Jesus by our boasting. So the question is, What am I boasting in? Is it the cross or something else?

Matthew 22:34-40

Jesus was asked which is the greatest commandment in the Law. Jesus answered this question with—Love the Lord your God. But He followed it up with a second commandment like it—Love your neighbor as yourself. Like you can’t have a one sided coin, you can’t separate love God from love neighbor. The Bible expert needed to hear this so that he could truly understand what God wants from him. In sermon #2 in this three part series aimed at encouraging the children of our church we learned this main idea—I can love my neighbor as myself.

Matthew 22:34-40

As a child, we may think that it’s only those older than us who can love God and make their life count for Him. Not true! When Jesus says, “You shall love the Lord your God” he is talking to all, even children, from toddler to teenager and everyone in-between. This sermon helps us to know how to Love God with all we have by listening to Jesus who says—love God with all your heart, soul, and mind.

Psalm 146:1-10

What does it mean to have the good life? The Bible is very clear that those who have the good life are the who have embraced the good news that life with God is available to all who put their faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Many want the good life, but many attempt the good life apart from Jesus. We look for help and search in hope that something, anything will deliver what only the King of Kings can provide. This is true in times of political angst when ‘princes’ come along calling us to trust in them for the good life. The psalmist knows better. The help and hope we need can only be found in the LORD who reigns forever. King Jesus is the prince who can be trusted for all time. He is the king we need. Main Idea—In times of political angst, my ultimate hope is in the LORD who reigns forever.

Genesis 12:1-7

Titus 3:1-7

Genesis 2 & 2 Corinthians 4

The world is asking questions, “What is a woman? What does it mean to live as a woman?” Praise God that He has given us answers in His word! All that we need for life and godliness is found in the Bible, and this includes how to live out our gender. This means created in the image of God as female, a woman’s femininity can glorify her Creator as she expresses her gender in line with who she is as a woman. Main Idea—It’s good to be a woman and femininity is expressed in helping, subduing, and nurturing.