Immigration is an important topic in the Bible. Here are four things to consider:

1) Immigrants and the Bible: in the Bible there are number of immigrants- Adam and Eve, Abraham, Jacob, Israel, Jesus.

2) Immigrants and the Gospel: there are a couple of gospel connections that show how we were and are foreigners/migrants. For one, we were foreigners to God’s kingdom- alienated- shut out and Jesus welcomed us in at the cost of his life. Second, now as Christians we are a part of God’s kingdom but we are sojourners, foreigners in this earth. We live differently and are strange to the world around us.

3) Immigrants and Our Calling: the Bible clearly calls us to love the foreigner and immigrant- doing justice and helping them. It is a very practical form of loving our neighbors. Three practical ways- 1- help 2- befriend 3- speak of Jesus

4) Immigrants and the Law: the Bible calls Christians to obey the governing authorities. Governing authorities govern certain geographic areas and within that they enforce their laws- this includes border laws. We should submit to these laws and as we know and are helping fellow believers follow Jesus we should encourage them to do the same.

The subject of abortion can be polarizing. Today we will talk about these two points:

1) Seeing People- 1) seeing the women considering abortions as people- reflecting on their desperation, fears, pain, etc. 2) seeing the babies in the womb as people- they are precious image bearers- real human beings by any measure- and to take their lives is an unspeakable evil.

2) Loving People- how do we love and serve the people involved- MOMS- 1) be the right kind of people 2) be present and listen 3) speak truth 4) be ready to help, BABIES- 1) love their moms 2) speak truth 3) be ready to help 4) vote 5) pray.

How does the Gospel enable us to fight ethnic sin and pursue ethnic unity as the church?

1) The Gospel Flattens Ethnic Superiority- the gospel tells us we’re all condemned sinners regardless of our good works, our ethnicity, etc. It also tells us that we’re all invited to come to Christ and be redeemed/forgiven/reconciled. In this there is no room for boasting or any sense of superiority.

2) The Gospel Creates Multi-Ethnic Unity- this same gospel creates a remarkable unity- a unity that bridges natural and ethnic barriers and brings us together as one people of God- one body- one new man. This doesn’t erase our ethnicity/culture but instead gives us an opportunity to glorify Christ through our diversity and through living out a diverse unity.

What does the Bible say about homosexuality and how should we respond to those who are gay?

1) Scripture and Homosexuality- dealing with he relevant texts of Scripture- Genesis 1, Leviticus, Romans 1, and 1 Corinthians 6

2) People and Homosexuality- addressing different people- 1) the Christian who feels grieved, fearful, angry 2) the Christian who is questioning the Bible’s teaching 3) the Christian who experiences same-sex attraction 3) the individual living a homosexual lifestyle.

Learning from Jesus is essential. Are you distracted by other things? There are two points to today's sermon:

1) The Danger of the Many Things: there are lots of things we could give ourselves to- lots of things that capture our attention and that seem necessary. But when we view them as necessary it distracts us- it causes anxiety and worry, etc.

2) The Necessity of the One Thing: Jesus himself and his words is what we truly need- he is our life- our joy- everything. Giving ourselves to him, knowing him, abiding in him must have the highest priority in our lives.

Ahaz refused to trust God but instead trusted in his own plan. From this we learn:

1) Give Up on Trusting Men- Ahaz didn’t want to trust/depend on God- he wanted to depend on Assyria and its visible, strong looking armies. The result was that they turned on him, he was enslaved. This is what happens when we put our ultimate trust in men.

2) Go All in on Trusting Jesus- in spite of Ahaz’s faithlessness God still acted for his people ultimately sending his Son as a virgin born baby to rescue and be with his people. He came to be God with us so that we could be with God forever.

Four Qualities of the Coming King:

1) The Lowly King: Micah emphasizes that this king will come from a lowly and unexpected town. This echoes David himself whose descendant Jesus is. Jesus fulfilled this with much of his life, walking in lowliness as he came to rescue the lowly- us.

2) The Representative King: the Lord says this king will be “for me”. This was supposed to be what the king’s of Israel was to do but only Jesus fulfilled it. He represented God and fulfilled God’s big mission perfectly.

3) The Ancient King: this king will be from of old, from ancient of days. This refers first to his lineage being traced back to David and his family. It may also have reference to Jesus being the eternal Son, existing forever.

4) A Peace-Bringing King: this king will be our peace. We need this king. Let us draw near to Jesus our King.

This last sermon on "Lament" has three parts:

1) Committing to Trust: there is an active seeking to trust we see in the Psalmist- they call truth to mind, they talk to themselves, the commit to trust God no matter what.

2) Struggling to Trust: at the same time trust is clearly a struggle- its not automatic, its not easy- its a struggle and sometimes we are so weak all we can do is ask God to give us strength to trust him.

3) Resting in Trust: when we come to a place of trust and worship there is a sweet rest that comes with it. We’ve surrendered. We’re home. We’ve put ourselves in God’s hands and trusted his plan. This is a good place to be- especially as we look at the cross and see how perfectly trustworthy our God is.

This is the third sermon on the subject of Lament. There are two points:

1) How to Ask-

1) with honesty

2) with dependence

3) with boldness

4) with God-centeredness

2) What to Ask:

1) Hear

2) Save

3) Teach

4) Bring Justice

5) Forgive

The process of Lament has four steps:

1) Turn to God

2) Complaint

3) Ask

4) Trust

This week we will look at the area of complaint. This sermon has three parts,

1) Bring Every Pain

2) Bring Every Emotion

3) Bring Every Question

Kinds of questions:

1) How Long?

2) Why?