How do we make sense of the fact that Jesus comes as an all out war against the devil? A big part of the work of Jesus in the New Testament is to work against the power of the devil. 

We are finally getting around to see Jesus in action. And this is the first story we see of Jesus’ adulthood, right before he starts his ministry, he goes into the desert for this 40 day time of prayer and fasting.

If you think about it for a second, that sounds like an insane statement; we just saw Jesus be baptized and the presence of the Holy Spirit come to dwell with him. And normally you would think the next thing Jesus would do is something super pious right? Which is true, he goes into the desert to pray and fast for 40 days; but this happens in the context of temptation. The Spirit leads Jesus into the desert with the goal of being tempted. 

But wait, God is ok with tempting people What is going on? In this sermon,  we look at the role temptation & trials plays in our lives.

Last week we looked at how John starts doing this new thing and saying The Kingdom of Heaven has come near and that God is doing something different now. The first question anybody would have is, well. those are the prophecies about the Messiah, are you the Messiah? And his answer is no. We see two examples this in Luke 3:15-18 and in John 1:19-28.

In this sermon, we explore the idea of what He can possibly mean by saying that the one coming after Him would baptize people with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

So... who is the Holy Spirit?

Repent means to turn around. Why was the idea of repenting so revolutionary? Because up until that point, it wasn’t part of the deal. Not that the idea of repentance didn’t exist, but the basis in which the people of Israel were in good standing with God wasn’t like that.

It was through the law of Moses and the system of sacrifices at the Temple.

Baptism is sort of an innovation of John the Baptist- at the time, the concept of a ritual cleansing existed. When a gentile became Jewish, they had to undergo a ritual cleansing, and that was the closest thing to baptism.

Jewish people didn’t have to do that. So why is John all of a sudden telling people they have to repent and they have to get baptized?

What’s changed? The key is in his message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near”

Matthew 3:1-2

1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Mark 1:4-5

4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

Luke 3:7-14

7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” 

10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. 

11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” 

12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” 

13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. 

14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” 

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

Most of the time, the interactions someone has with the Church, through friendship, visiting a church service, a small group, whatever… is what God uses to lead people further and further in the journey of faith until they have a life-transforming personal encounter with Jesus.

Which means that part of what the church does; part of what we are called to do, is the same thing John the Baptist did, we prepare the way for Jesus. 

What does that look like today?

Passage:

Mark 1:1-8
John the Baptist Prepares the Way

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,  as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: 

         “I will send my messenger ahead of you, 

         who will prepare your way” — 

      “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, 

         ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, 

         make straight paths for him.’ ”

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.  John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

What role does doubt play in our spiritual development and in our interactions with God?

Passage: Luke 1:5-25

We live in a time where doubt is seen as a good thing, or at least not a bad thing. And there are a number of reasons why:

1. We’ve seen so many scandals that we can’t help but be skeptical
2. In a post-enlightenment world, the natural tendency is to always want a naturalistic explanation to everything; so all of a sudden, all the supernatural stuff from the Bible becomes suspect. The default of the world is skepticism.
3. But also in the church we’ve seen “faith” abused… "you just have to believe"… but the thing doesn’t happen

So our natural tendency is to cater to skepticism and doubt. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, we want people to feel welcome. If you have questions, you’re welcome, if you’re not sure about the whole Jesus thing, you’re welcome.

However, in the passage we are looking at, doubt is chastised. 

What’s more, other passages in the Bible seem to allude to the same thing,  belief and faith, seem to be key to having a proper relationship with God.

Hebrews 11:6
John 20:27-29
Mark 9:21-27

So again, what role does doubt play in our spiritual development and on our interactions with God?

Only when you see God as Father then does the Christian life makes sense. This is the only motivation that will allow you to endure; why be a part of a local congregation, why serve, why commit to spiritual disciplines?

It has to be because this is my Father’s business, which in a way it makes it my business, your business.

On our journey through the life of Jesus, we are arriving at the story of the visit of the Magi. If you grew up attending a church that is more liturgical you probably know that there is a specific day when the church celebrates this, January 6. In certain parts of Latin America, this is called 3 Kings Day or Día de los Reyes.

Because we are taking our time trying to look at the events of Jesus’ life in some sort of chronological order, we are a little behind, but this sermon explores that story. 

Passage: Matthew 2:1-23

We are in a series looking at all the aspects we can of the life of Jesus. And before we get to Jesus’ ministry, there’s a couple of stories that take place between Jesus’ birth and the beginning of his ministry.

In this sermon, we take a look at the story of when Jesus is presented at the temple and the impact that event had on two people.

If you missed the online service yesterday, you can watch the sermon here. Pastor Joel spoke on Luke 1:76-79 and discussed how the birth of Jesus has already made a difference in the world for the better, and thus, in our lives.