If the birth of Jesus was announced first to the outcast shepherds... the most important Good News in the history of the world that would bring the kind of peace that sets your heart at ease.... if the shepherds were the first to hear about it from the angels that worship in the very throne room of God, there is no one too dirty... too sinful... too outcast... too far removed from society to join Jesus' Kingdom.

Simeon's song is offered 40 days after Jesus birth as Joseph and Mary were just beginning to settle into their new normal. Simeon is a stranger to them but takes Jesus and pronounces an amazing blessing for the whole world and remind these young parents that they are not alone in God's story.

For thousands of years the people of Israel had been waiting for God to speak, to show up, to fulfill His promises. But for 400 years God had been silent until He wasn't. Imagine, everything you had hoped for finally happening - God is faithful and can be trusted, can we?

Luke 1:67-79

For thousands of years the people of Israel had been waiting for God to speak, to show up, to fulfill His promises. But for 400 years God had been silent until He wasn't. Imagine, everything you had hoped for finally happening - God is faithful and can be trusted, can we?

Luke 1:67-79

When Mary finds out she is going to carry the Son of God she is faced with uncertainty about her situation but certainty about God's faithfulness, power and mercy. Mary magnifies these traits of God and minimizes her fears.

There are two main mentalities present in our lives when it comes to money, scarcity and generosity. Scarcity causes us to hold tight to what we have, while generosity causes us to let go of what we have. A Christian who lives in the scarcity mentality isn't trusting God's generosity or obeying God's command to be generous with others. While being generous is a the heart of Jesus example life.

We all know that where our treasure is, there our heart is... but what does that really mean? What do I really treasure? Who is my master? How do I treasure the right things? Here's a question, what brings you the most pleasure? Start there.

Matthew 6:19-24

Our motive for giving is actually more important than our gift. Money is a manipulator that often manipulates us into thinking that our greed is really generosity. Trusting God's provision helps us give without expectation so that our gift is seen by God not others.

As the Nation of Israel was preparing to inherit the Promised Land God laid out the rules for how the nation and people were to live. The people of God must be different from the nations around them and generosity was one way they were to be set apart.

Deuteronomy 15:1-11

There was a misconception by the religious elite of Jesus' day that as long as they looked religious on the outside they could remain selfish on the inside. Jesus blows this thought up and shows that our outward behavior and our inward beliefs should be in balance.

Luke 11:37-42,45-46; James 1:22-27