Pinecrest Baptist Church

Satan, the great counterfeiter, takes the birth of Christ at Christmas and turns us all into consumers!  God gives His riches to those who recognize their spiritual poverty.  God's wonderful gifts are those that money can't buy!

The Magi followed the star all the way to Bethlehem, and found no King of the Jews!  Instead, the star led them to a humble abode in which Joseph and Mary lived and to a young child - no pomp and circumstance, no royal privileges, no realization of their expectations.  Life is like that on many occasions for all of us.  How do we deal with the "let downs" of life?

The resurrection of Jesus is not just a fact of history or the subject of theological discussion. It is a message that greatly impacts each of our lives today! If He's alive, hope is alive!

In this passage we see the fulfillment of the prophecy found in Isaiah 53:9 which says, "And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; . . . . " One of the secret followers of Jesus had great concern that His body be properly buried, and it brought him out in the open. Wonder what it would take to bring many "secret" Christians out in the open today?

Considering all that Jesus did when He died for our sins on Calvary, we should realize afresh that He did it all FOR ME!  This should cause us to offer sincere thanks to God for His mercy, love and grace.

In this account of the Roman trials of Jesus by Pilate, along with Herod, we see the worst of man, but the best of God being acted out. Just like Pilate, we all must ask ourselves the most important question, "What will you do with Jesus?"

Prior to going to the cross to atone for the sins of the world, Jesus faced three unjust trials: 3 by the religious leaders of the Jews, and 3 by the Roman

civil authorities.  In each case they were characterized by falsehood and trumped up charges.  But our Lord suffered through it all to satisfy God's plan of salvation.  Oh, what a Savior!

From the life of the Apostle Peter and his numerous failings during the passion of the Lord Jesus, we learn several lessons concerning the fact that failure is not final with God.  He is the God of the second chance and His mercy is new every morning!