Christian faith is grounded in the belief that God deals with us according to grace, not law.  But that's a very difficult concept to understand—or receive.  We want to believe in love that never changes, never judges, and never ends.  But it's hard to believe such love exists.

Luke 7:36-47

God has always related to his people according to covenants.  Jesus has invited us into a covenant of grace, which was foreshadowed throughout the Old Testament.

In Acts 3, Peter and John encounter a crippled beggar as they were on their way to the Temple. This incident is the first dramatic event that took place in Jerusalem after the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit of God came to indwell his people.  What can we learn about God's plans for his church from this encounter?

Jesus was a master teacher.  He is not just our savior; he came to teach us how to live.  He said to us, in effect, “If you listen to what I say, and put it into practice, you will have my life in you.”  At the end of his major teaching session, he told a simple story to illustrate the importance of his instruction.

The scripture text today from Genesis 12 records God's call to Abraham.  This is actually Scene Three in the story the Bible is telling.  Scenes One and Two are recorded in the first 11 chapters: God's good creation, and the crises that followed humanity's rebellion.  Today we are learning from the call of Abraham.

In the synagogue at Nazareth, his home town, Jesus read from Isaiah 61.  He chose this text to announce the Messianic Agenda, and it almost got him killed.  Today we'll look at three observations about this incident that are important for us to understand.

In order to welcome something new this year, you have to make room for it.  For something new to be born in us, something old has to die.

Matthew 13:44-46

Luke's Gospel says that the Holy Spirit was at work creating a new life in Mary.  The Spirit came upon her, and she became the dwelling place of God, quite literally.  In order for this wonderful thing to happen to her, she had to overcome some obstacles within herself.  And they are exactly the same obstacles you and I have to overcome in order for the Holy Spirit to flow in our lives and cause Christ to be formed in us.

 

 Luke 1:26-38

Joseph is the one character in the Birth Narratives of Matthew and Luke who speaks no words.  But even in his silence he speaks eloquently of three great character qualities that he possessed.

Matthew 1:18-25