Today, we see the great mission of the life of Jesus as He begins His teaching ministry. Jesus came led by the Spirit to bring ultimate freedom to the souls of the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed. This greatly impacts you and I. We see in the text what Jesus did for us and He gives us an example of what our life is to be focused on too. Let us trust Jesus for who He is and what He did for us and let us also imitate His life and mission.

Holy Spirit empowered, filled and led, Jesus begins His ministry as the new and second Adam whose ministry will be to assemble and create a new race and people. Where the first Adam failed, Jesus succeeds as He is attacked by Satan only to prevail as He obeys the Father’s will. The Son of God was destined to suffer to put a devastating end to Satan and to purchase salvation for those whom He became like. Satan didn’t want Jesus to face suffering. He knew what it meant if He did, but this was Jesus’ calling as the Son of God. Today, let us praise the Son of God who came to battle for us, that we would follow Him in obeying God’s will just as He did.

How should we get ready for Jesus’ coming? How should we get prepared? How do we experience the fullness of God in our lives? John gives us the answer and the recipe to experience the answer to these questions today.

God doesn’t have us here for mere religion, for going somewhere and being served, but instead for a relationship that sends us out just as the Father sent Jesus out. My desire for us is that we would truly be liberated to the calling that God has for us in the unique position we are. Let us worship Christ and be sent to rally others to join us in worship of the baby born in Bethlehem and the One who died for us at Calvary.

Today, I want us to look at the story of Mary receiving the news of her pregnancy outside the hype and festivities of the Christmas season and see the reality of what she is facing. She is in a tough spot. She could look at her future and worry, but rather than letting fear and anxiety win out she runs to the Lord and worships. Today, I want to encourage us to learn from Mary’s response and to turn our worry to worship.

God keeps His promise and as He does we see His plans and purposes unfold in a great dramatic story. The promises of God are important. We trust in them and stand on them as our sure foundation. Let us be reminded of the promises of God today and let them be fuel to our hope so we can live out God’s plans and purposes for us.

Through Luke’s writing we see that treasuring Jesus is to be sustained, strengthened and matured in churches, so that the treasuring of Jesus will be mobilized to the nations. Today, we begin a study in Luke’s gospel, so that we would truly treasure Jesus together in 2018.

John has just assured his audience that they may know they have eternal life in Jesus

Who is this child? Through the lens of 1 John we answer that question this Christmas Eve.