Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

Big Idea: A God’s-eye view of the significance of John’s birth rightsizes my view of salvation. 

My view of salvation is rightsized when…

1. I let the Holy Spirit define it (v. 67)

2. I link salvation to God’s covenant promises (vv. 68-75)

3. I look to Christ for the forgiveness of my sins (vv. 76-80)

Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

Big Idea: The certainty of Jesus' soon coming is substantiated by the actuality of John's birth.

1. Marvel at the myriad of mercies in God’s work (vv. 57-58)

2. Mine the depths of God’s blessing in chastening (vv. 59-64)

3. Meditate on the significance of what John’s coming means (vv. 65-66)

Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

Big Idea: Mary’s song is a deliberate pause to reflect and invite you to make the Gospel your own story and your own song.  

1. Join in the exercise of faith (vv. 39-45)

2. Join in the exultation of God (vv. 46b-50)

3. Join in the exaltation of God (vv. 51-56)   

Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

Big Idea: Luke’s back to back birth announcements prove Jesus is indisputably greater than John. 

1. A greater reversal of expectations (vv. 26-30)

2. A greater role in God’s plan (vv. 31-33)

3. A greater work of the Spirit (vv. 34-37) 

4. A greater response from God’s servant (v. 38) 

Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

Big Idea: A heart prepared for the Lord believes, against unbelief, that God who promised is at work to bring His promises to fulfillment. 

What does Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, want us to see?

1. The parallel with Elizabeth’s barrenness (vv. 5-7)    

2. The prophecy of John’s ministry (vv. 8-17)  

3. The posture towards God's Good News (vv. 18-25)

Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

Big Idea: Luke’s gospel was written to convince you that Jesus is who the apostles said He was and the one who fulfills the whole of the Old Testament. 

1. Stand convinced by the historicity of Luke’s gospel (v. 1) 

2. Stand convinced by the humility of Luke’s gospel (v. 2)

3. Stand convinced by the credibility of Luke’s gospel (v. 3) 

4. Stand convinced by the content of Luke’s gospel (v. 4) 

Preacher: Issac Van Epps

Big Idea: God has revealed Himself to us; His wisdom, knowledge, and power are beyond human understanding to comprehensively know.

1. God Declares

a. What is the Mystery/Incomprehensibility of God?

b. We can’t know God exhaustively, but we can know Him truly.

"No created mind can attain the perfect sort of understanding of God's essence that is intrinsically possible…The infinite cannot be contained in the finite. God exists infinitely and nothing finite can grasp him infinitely… It is impossible for a created mind to understand God infinitely; it is impossible, therefore, to comprehend him.” Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae 

2. Three Errors

a. We error if we suppose we can comprehend God completely.

b. We error if we doubt whether we can know anything about God.

c. We error if we believe knowing more about Him is the ultimate goal.

3. How should we live in light of this?

a. Embrace our finitude

b. Learn the song of heaven – AWE!

Preacher: Scott Hollingshead

1. A reckoning with holiness

a. The beauty of the divine nature  

b. He is holy

c. He is the standard 

d. He is the source

2. The rebuke from God’s holiness  

3. God’s remedy to and from His holiness

4. Our response to Holiness

a. Humble adoration 

b. Holy obedience

c. Heavenly preparation 

Preacher: Zak Graves

Big Idea: God does not have any passions, and he cannot suffer. Instead, He has perfections, being Himself. 

1. Definitions

a. Impassibility: God does not experience emotional changes either from within or effected by his relationship to creation. God does not have passions.

b. Passions: Latin - To suffer, submit, undergo, experience, and endure.

This assures for us His love, mercy, justice, and all attributes we would ascribe.

2. Logic

3. Scripture

Numbers 23:19, James 1:17, Malachi 3:6

John 4:24, Acts 14:15, Exodus 3:13-14

Romans 9:15, Ephesians 1:3-6, 1 John 4:10,16b

Job 35:5-7, 1 Samuel 15:10-11,19

4. Impassibility ≠ Apathy

5. Jesus’ Incarnation: God Suffers

6. Application: Worship Him

Preacher: Chris Ritter

Big Idea – God’s immutability adorns His attributes, upholds the Gospel, and assures your salvation.

1. Biblical teaching on Immutability

- Numbers 23:19, Psalm 102:25-27, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 6:13-20, Hebrews 7:20-28, Hebrews 13:8, James 1:17, 1 Peter 1:3-5

2. Theological Teaching on Immutability

Definition: Divine immutability is the perfection of God in which he is free from any change or potentiality to change in his essence, knowledge, will and purpose.

Immutability adorns all God’s attributes and acts as a predicate to them.

3. “Biblical” objections to immutability

- Genesis 6:5-6, Exodus 32:11-14, 1 Samuel 15:10-29, Jonah 3:10 – 4:3

"Biblical" objections to immutability fail either by misunderstanding, taking verses out of context, or forgetting divine accommodation.

4. Theological objections to immutability

Creation | Christ’s Incarnation and Death | Immutability = Immobility

5. Application

In the gospel, the immutable God changes us to become what we could not be by ourselves: united to Christ as children of God.

"The immutability of Christ comes as eternally good news to those who have been united to Him. It is in Christ’s inalterability – by virtue of His divine nature – that many of the functional needs of the economy of redemption are met. In the immutable Christ, God’s people find an unchanging mediator who ever pleads their innocence before God and in the immutable Christ, God’s people find an unchanging adoption in which they’ll ever be endowed the undeserved script of “Abba, Father”.  In the immutable Christ, God’s people find an unchanging righteousness granted them as the merits of Christ become their own. In the immutable Christ, God’s people find an unchanging atonement in which the spilt blood forever pardons their darkest sins. And it is in the immutable Christ that God’s people find an unchanging resurrection in which they’ll ascend to the right hand of the Father and enjoy the prize of their faith evermore. The immutability of the second person of the Trinity – Jesus Christ – protects vital elements needed for the economy of redemption. Christ immutability protects the righteousness and merits needed for reconciliation, He protects the once-for-all sacrifice needed to propitiate the just wrath of the Father, He protects the priestly intercession needed as He pleads on our behalf, and He protects the eternal resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father." -- Ronni Kurtz, No Shadow of Turning, p. 187