A group of 120 people, most of them without much education or social status. Followers of Christ, many of them saw and heard the Lord Jesus Christ. This group of people formed the first “assembly” or church of Christ. These were called to carry the message of the Good News to the whole world. And they did. At least we know that the twelve apostles all carried Christ’s message to the whole world. The last of them to go was one named St. Paul. He planted at least 14 new churches over a 10-year period, traveling more than 3,000 miles (a lot on foot). But this Church has not disappeared. That Church is us. The message they preached came to us. Now we are in charge of taking this message to the whole world. Of the 7.2 billion people in the world, there are 3.0 billion who have not heard the message of salvation in Christ. This is our challenge.

Many people have resolutions. Maybe you do. Many years ago, I started teaching about spiritual goals based on a well-known passage in Scripture. These are worth our time and effort the whole year.   St. Paul in Philippians gives us five of them. These goals are not temporary, they are goals for the entire duration of our lives.

Christmas Eve service. Sermon, “Keeping Christmas Well”.

There was a young woman of approximately 14 or 15 years old not very well educated (apart from the Scripture she had memorized), poor and from a town no one cared since it was a place where those who were of mixed races. She really had not “bright” future or possibilities for advancement. Her only future, as it is in many countries where women are not valued, was to get married, be a mother and raise children. If everything went well, if all her children would survive. She was engaged to a young man named Joseph of Arimathea who was a carpenter. The age at which they could marry was 12 years and older. Today, a teenager cannot get married until she is 18. And although this young woman was not likely from a good status, from the moment she gets heavenly news from the angel Gabriel, her life changed radically. If she had any honor, it disappeared after this incident. She would never be looked upon by her contemporaries as a pure woman (of course, this wouldn’t be a problem in our times). This period of “betrothal” lasted from a month to a year. It was a time of waiting and preparation, but they considered themselves married. The sexual purity of women was expected (not so today). In case she found out that she was not a virgin, she could be stoned according to the Law. The man also had the right not to officially accept her as a wife.

But Mary was chosen and blessed by God by taking part in the most significant event in humanity, God the Son becoming human. God the Son decides to be human, and it all begins in the womb of this young woman named Mary. She would be “Christokos” carry Christ in her womb.

Today we will answer three important questions about her.

In this passage we find the author through the Holy Spirit, calling, reminding us of three things we as the church need to do.   The author of Hebrews encourages Jewish believers to three things. He does it by saying “Let us…”   These is what we are called to do as members of God’s Body, the Church.   The first one deals with worship and having a heart of faith when we approach God. The second one deals with gripping firmly the hope of our confession and the third one deals with promoting or inciting each other to love and good works in our community of faith.

http://eigaldamez.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/A-Call-to-the-Church-to-Persevere-in-the-Faith-Heb-1019-25-Pas-mp3.mp3

This version of the sermon was preached at our Encore Group, the service for our seniors.

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If anyone had uncertainties about the future, it was Israel. Their disobedience brought God’s judgement on their lives. They were to be taken captives by the Babylonians. They surely thought, “This is the end of us. This is the end of our nation. This is the end of our future. There is no point in trusting God anymore. He has forgotten us.”

But God speaks through the prophet Isaiah and offers them hope. Hope amid their uncertainties. He shares a five-fold encouragement to face them. These are good for us as well as we face our own uncertainties.

If anyone had uncertainties about the future, it was Israel. Their disobedience brought God’s judgement on their lives. They were to be taken captives by the Babylonians. They surely thought, “This is the end of us. This is the end of our nation. This is the end of our future. There is no point in trusting God anymore. He has forgotten us.”

But God speaks through the prophet Isaiah and offers them hope. Hope amid their uncertainties. He shares a five-fold encouragement to face them. These are good for us as well as we face our own uncertainties.

La historia bíblica de Jonás para niños. Mi hija de 14 años y un servidor ayudámos a grabar para una escuela bíblica en México de nuestros jóvenes. Espero que la disfruten.

The truth of Scripture is clear: It all begins with God. This is exemplified for us in the life of Jeremiah in the first chapter. We learn that everything about us, even before we existed begins with God who calls us to follow him so that we can carry the tasks given to us. We must respond, acknowledge His workings in our lives and obey Him. When we do, He will use us.

This workshop was given at our church. The purpose is to understand who Hispanics are, their characteristics, religious beliefs, their growth in the US (demographics) and how we can engage them with the Gospel of Christ. This is the outline for this section:

The Multiethnic Church of God

– We are One in Christ – Galatians 3:26-29

– We are the New Humanity – Eph 2.14-15, 19

– We are the Multiethnic Church of God Gathers in Heaven – Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 5:8-9