Sometimes Christmas morning doesn't quite go to plan.  Maybe as a kid you expected that one perfect gift that you asked for and anticipated and it just didn't happen.  Maybe as an adult you had plans for a perfect celebration that were altered at the last minute.  For generations God's people had ideas about how their glorious savior and king would come, but God had other, better plans for the birth of Jesus.  As we look at the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:1-21 in a sermon called "The Glory and Humility of the Birth of Jesus," we see that Jesus came with the glory of God yet in a way that was unexpectedly humble.  These themes of glory and humility continue throughout the life of Christ and are central to the gospel as well.  In fact the idea of glory that is seen through humility becomes something that every follower of Jesus is to display in our lives as we reflect the glory and humility of our savior. 

We are looking at Luke 1:26-56 where Mary learns that she is to have a baby who will be the Son of God and the savior of the world.  The sermon is called "Rejoice in God our Savior" because God tells Mary that the baby she will bear will be "the Son of the Most High" and that she is to name him Jesus (which means "He Saves").  Mary puts all of this together in a song of praise where she exclaims, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."  What a joy and honor it must have been for Mary to be chosen to bear the Son of God and the Savior of the world.  But also, what a difficult burden to bear!  In this passage we learn about the incredible truth of who Jesus is, the fulfillment of God's promises to his people, and the great and sovereign will of God.  But we also learn that God cares about these women and the struggles they are going through as he shows them the tender grace of confirming through each other that God is with them.

Preparations are underway for Christmas!  Christmas trees are being set up and decorated, lights are decorating yards, even some gifts are being purchased. There is a lot that goes into getting ready for Christmas.  But are we truly prepared in the right way?  God knew that people needed to be prepared for the birth of Jesus.  This earth-changing, history-making, and life-saving radical event needed some preparatory work to be done first.  Luke starts his gospel not with the birth of Jesus, but with the birth of another child named John.  This baby will grow to be the one who prepares the way for Jesus.  In a sermon called "Prepare the Way," we look at Luke 1:5-25 and 57-80.  As we look at the announcement of John's birth and the response of his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, I hope we can ask ourselves if we are prepared to truly marvel and rejoice at the gift of Jesus.

How can we know that what we believe is true?  Is Christianity just some made up religion?  Is the birth of Jesus just another story we tell to children along with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny?  We are starting a new sermon series on the Gospel of Luke.  Right at the beginning of his book, Luke tells us why he is writing by saying, "so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." Throughout his gospel, Luke is meticulous in providing proof for the authenticity of what is being recorded.  I pray that as we walk through this incredible account of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we will be encouraged and challenged to be certain of who Jesus is and the salvation he has purchased for us through his death, burial and resurrection.  This sermon is titled "That You May Know" and looks at Luke 1:1-4 and a quick overview of the entire book of Luke.

We conclude our sermon series on "Fear and Hope" by looking back at what we have learned from Scripture about living in the fear of the Lord and how this ties into having hope in the Lord.  I pray that we will take away from this series a greater understanding of the majesty, power, and awesomeness of our God as well as a deeper appreciation of the love, grace and mercy He has shown to us through the gift of His Son, Jesus. 

So many things clamor for our attention.  We jump from one fear to another and from one hope to another.  For about 10 weeks we have looked at the relationship between the Fear of the Lord and having Hope in the Lord.  This does not happen by accident nor can we be passive about it.  This sermon is called "Growing in Fear and Hope in the Lord" and looks at how Scripture instructs us to grow in both the fear of God and having hope in God.  We also look at practical ways we can build this process into our daily lives.

This sermon is called "Fear, Hope, and Faithfulness" and looks at how our fear of the Lord and our hope in the Lord are seen in our obedience to God. 

In a world filled with conflict, the desire of every person is to live a life filled with peace.  In John 14, Jesus declares that he wants to give us peace in this world.  But the Peace of God is a kind of peace that is unique and only given by Jesus.  What is this Peace that God gives and how can we experience it?  In a sermon titled "Peace Beyond All Understanding" we explore John 14 to discover this peace.

Did you know that we become like what we worship?  The bible tells us that we were created in God's image and created to worship God.  When we do this, we reflect God's character in our lives.  But when we turn away from God and give priority to something else we begin to reflect the values of that person or thing in our lives.  Worshipping something other than God is called idolatry.  We might be tempted to think that idolatry is only an ancient problem that involved worshipping statues, but idolatry is still a big problem today.  This sermon is called "Fear, Hope, and Idolatry" and looks at how our greatest fears and hopes not only shape what we worship (which is what we looked at last week), but also that placing our ultimate fear or hope in the wrong thing is idolatry...and the bible has a lot to say about the dangers of idolatry.  I pray that this sermon will challenge us to evaluate the idols in our own lives.

What is the purpose of our lives?  This question has consumed philosophers through the ages.  The biblical answer is actually fairly simple.  We exist to worship God.  Worship is more than just an hour long activity for Sunday morning.  It is more than singing songs, praying or reading the Bible.  It is certainly more than just a spiritual feeling that we get when we feel close to God.  Worship is about the direction of our lives, our hearts, our thoughts, our words, and our actions. Worship is about our highest priority and the reason behind everything we do.  This week we will be looking at how our Fear of the Lord and our Hope in the Lord lead us to lives lived in true worship.  This sermon is called "Fear, Hope, and Worship" and continues our sermon series on "Fear and Hope" in the Bible.