We all think we know what Christmas is, but for many the meaning of Christmas is lost. It is buried beneath gifts, bows, parties and Santa. Bro. Hughes comes today to tell us why he celebrates Christmas. The reason for celebrating Christmas is found in our text. God created both men and angels. Both are very different, but there are similarities. God made a decision eons ago that of the two; man was to be saved. There is no salvation for angels. There are no prophets for angels. This verse describes how Christmas gives a gift to all of us. Why did God choose to save man and not angels? We cannot answer that question, but God decided to save man and that is why we celebrate Christmas. Christmas tells us that you and I mean more to God than anything else. The tree will be put away. Santa will come and go. The lights and tinsel will be taken down and put away. But the God that made a decision to save man will be with us all day every day all year. That is why I celebrate Christmas.

Life knows how to humble you. The wise person will learn the lesson that it is best to hold your tongue, because often when you least expect it, your chickens will come home to roost. The songwriter says that life can change swiftly. It can change with out warning or notification. Life is a strange mixture of seasons. There are times when everything turns out right, all prayers seem to be answered and your life is blessed by exceeding favor. During those times, worship can just flow out of us. Without warning an in season can change to an out season. There will be times when we can live by faith and other times we won’t be able to see through the lens of faith. In our text, Paul admonishes Timothy that no matter the season, he must still worship God. We must take advantage of every day and make it work for us. Paul said that we must know who we are and when we know who we are, we are more than a match for whatever season. We must not let the season determine our joy. The circumstances of life cannot determine our destiny. Realize that God called you and if God called you, He equipped you to handle whatever He called you to do. This calling is a promise from God that we will make it through. This calling trumps whatever life may throw at us.

Life knows how to humble you. The wise person will learn the lesson that it is best to hold your tongue, because often when you least expect it, your chickens will come home to roost. The songwriter says that life can change swiftly. It can change with out warning or notification. Life is a strange mixture of seasons. There are times when everything turns out right, all prayers seem to be answered and your life is blessed by exceeding favor. During those times, worship can just flow out of us. Without warning an in season can change to an out season. There will be times when we can live by faith and other times we won’t be able to see through the lens of faith. In our text, Paul admonishes Timothy that no matter the season, he must still worship God. We must take advantage of every day and make it work for us. Paul said that we must know who we are and when we know who we are, we are more than a match for whatever season. We must not let the season determine our joy. The circumstances of life cannot determine our destiny. Realize that God called you and if God called you, He equipped you to handle whatever He called you to do. This calling is a promise from God that we will make it through. This calling trumps whatever life may throw at us.

The news in our nation today is very sad with the tragedy in Connecticut. In our text, Mary asks, “How can this be.” Surly there are those throughout our nation that are asking the same thing. Recovering from such a horrendous event seems to be impossible. Bro. Hughes reminds us that God specializes in the impossible. He does not need our help. When God gets ready to do something He can do it all by Himself. In our text, He used a virgin to produce the Christ child. God can take the impossible and work it out. Our second text is the familiar quote about it being easier to push a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. With man this would be impossible, but with God NOTHING is impossible. You and I cannot do it, but God knows how to thread the needle in our life. When you need a miracle, God is still in the miracle business.

The news in our nation today is very sad with the tragedy in Connecticut. In our text, Mary asks, “How can this be.” Surly there are those throughout our nation that are asking the same thing. Recovering from such a horrendous event seems to be impossible. Bro. Hughes reminds us that God specializes in the impossible. He does not need our help. When God gets ready to do something He can do it all by Himself. In our text, He used a virgin to produce the Christ child. God can take the impossible and work it out. Our second text is the familiar quote about it being easier to push a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. With man this would be impossible, but with God NOTHING is impossible. You and I cannot do it, but God knows how to thread the needle in our life. When you need a miracle, God is still in the miracle business.

There are times when we wonder what is going on in our life. We wonder if there will ever be an end to what we are going through. It is human nature to question if what we are facing is fair and why we are facing it. Bro. Hughes comes tonight to attempt to erase that question from our mind. However heavy life may be at the moment, God has compensations for each of those burdens. The bible tells us that He will never put more on us than we can bear. We question that sometimes, but if He promised it, it is true. Zechariah was a prophet to Israel. He was called to encourage God’s people as they returned to their land after 70 years of exile and attempted to put their lives back together. God has often chosen the dark times of our life to reveal His greatest blessings. God gave Zechariah a vision at just the right time. He spoke clearly and specifically in this vision to help Israel to rebuild their hope and revive their faith. God caused Zechariah to see and understand what Israel was going through and why they were going through. God revealed that there were two spirits working in their situation: A builder and a destroyer. It does not take a skilled person to destroy, but to build takes skill and experience. Each of us has destroyers in our lives. This sprit tears down and divides. God had a message for Israel and for us; it doesn’t matter what is against us, He is for us. Our text describes four horns and goes on to talk about four carpenters. God will never give us more troubles than He does solutions. That is four for four.

There are times when we wonder what is going on in our life. We wonder if there will ever be an end to what we are going through. It is human nature to question if what we are facing is fair and why we are facing it. Bro. Hughes comes tonight to attempt to erase that question from our mind. However heavy life may be at the moment, God has compensations for each of those burdens. The bible tells us that He will never put more on us than we can bear. We question that sometimes, but if He promised it, it is true. Zechariah was a prophet to Israel. He was called to encourage God’s people as they returned to their land after 70 years of exile and attempted to put their lives back together. God has often chosen the dark times of our life to reveal His greatest blessings. God gave Zechariah a vision at just the right time. He spoke clearly and specifically in this vision to help Israel to rebuild their hope and revive their faith. God caused Zechariah to see and understand what Israel was going through and why they were going through. God revealed that there were two spirits working in their situation: A builder and a destroyer. It does not take a skilled person to destroy, but to build takes skill and experience. Each of us has destroyers in our lives. This sprit tears down and divides. God had a message for Israel and for us; it doesn’t matter what is against us, He is for us. Our text describes four horns and goes on to talk about four carpenters. God will never give us more troubles than He does solutions. That is four for four.

Often life hangs on the smallest of things. It is usually not the big things that get us; it is the small things that wear us down. There are two words in our text that speak to our lives. Mary approached Jesus about solving the problem of no wine at the wedding. She wanted him to do it immediately. His reply was “not yet.” This is often God’s response to us when we desperately approach Him with a need. Mary didn’t turn away in frustration that she didn’t get the answer she wanted. Her response to this answer was to turn to the servants and tell them to do as Jesus said. Mary knew that we do not tell God how to do it; we simply tell Him our need and leave it to Him to work out. This is faith’s response to life’s wait.

Often life hangs on the smallest of things. It is usually not the big things that get us; it is the small things that wear us down. There are two words in our text that speak to our lives. Mary approached Jesus about solving the problem of no wine at the wedding. She wanted him to do it immediately. His reply was “not yet.” This is often God’s response to us when we desperately approach Him with a need. Mary didn’t turn away in frustration that she didn’t get the answer she wanted. Her response to this answer was to turn to the servants and tell them to do as Jesus said. Mary knew that we do not tell God how to do it; we simply tell Him our need and leave it to Him to work out. This is faith’s response to life’s wait.

Promises are part of our life. Children promise parents their best behavior. Students promise to do their best. Couples promise eternal love and devotion. Employees promise a day’s work for a day’s pay. Promises flowed across the air in the recently concluded political season. The truth is that a promise is only as good as the person making it. We have all known people that we could not trust to keep their word. Others make a promise with all intentions of following through, but circumstances prevent them from keeping their promise. Still others will not rest until they fulfill their promise.

We have all promised God certain things only to fail Him for various reasons. God however, never fails on His promises. There are promises that God has given to all of us generally, and then there are promises that He makes personally to us. It is those promises that can carry us in our weak moments. There are times that it seems that the promises God has given us are not coming or that seem to be no existent. God has never made a promise that was too good to be true. He is well able to keep every promise He has ever made. Just because we don’t understand his methods, do not mean that He will not come through.

The woman in our text can testify to that last statement. The man of God prophesied to her that she would have a child. Due to her age, it seemed to be an impossible promise, but indeed she did have a son. As the boy grew up, one day he fell sick and died. The promise that she had held so dearly now was dead. Bro. Stevinson notes things about what she did, but more importantly, what she did not do. She did not sit and try to nurse her dead promise back to life, she put it back in the hand of God.

God’s promise happens in His time and by His method. It is not our responsibility to figure out how or when the promise will happen. Our responsibility is to trust in Him and to take our hands off of the situation and allow Him to work it out.