God says through the prophet Isaiah that Jesus will be called Everlasting Father. Pastor Dave teaches the meaning of that phrase in the hopes that you will never again look at a manager scene without appreciating the wonder of the person who was lying in it.

God says through the prophet Isaiah that Jesus will be called Wonderful Counselor. Pastor Mike teaches the meaning of that phrase in the hopes that you will never again look at a manager scene without appreciating the wonder of the person who was lying in it.

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. – Rev 5:11-14

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (Mathew 6: 19-24)

The church is the vehicle through which we are sanctified through and through which God has chosen to reach the lost. To the disciples, Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:9)

The local church is a community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture, they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfill the great commandment and the great commission as missionaries to the world for God’s glory and their joy.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live . . .” (John 11:25) The validity of our faith and the legitimacy of our hope are dependent on the reality of the resurrection of Jesus. Paul states, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” Simply put, if Christ did not rise, we are still condemned.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Rom 5:6-11)

The Incarnation can be understood as the turning point for redemptive history. The point where God crashes the party by humbling Himself to become one of us. This Sunday we will discuss what this historic moment means for the redemption of mankind and for each of our lives.