The Spirit descended upon the prophet Isaiah and empowered him to bring good news to the captives, proclaim liberty and announce God’s everlasting covenant. Join us on Christmas Eve as we look at Isaiah 61:1-3, a reminder that God does not abandon us in the messiness of life.

The Spirit descended upon the prophet Isaiah and empowered him to bring good news to the captives, proclaim liberty and announce God’s everlasting covenant. Join us on Christmas Eve as we look at Isaiah 61:1-3, a reminder that God does not abandon us in the messiness of life.

Jesus was born so that He could die and bring us into right standing with God. From Isaiah 53:1–12 we find that we can trust God to redeem us spiritually and physically.

This baby born in a manger is the Messiah, the Son of God, who will bring peace to the world. Isaiah 11:1–12 reminds us that Jesus has rescued us from being enemies of God, so we can learn to be at peace with all.

The baby born of a virgin would be a mighty and peaceful ruler to bring light to the world. From Isaiah 9:1–7 we find that if we will let Christ rule our hearts that He will be our counsel, peace, and strength during dark times.

God brings a miraculous sign of his faithfulness through a virgin birth that would heal a dark world. From Isaiah 7:1-17 we find that we can in fact place our trust in God’s miraculous power in times of trouble and doubt.

James 1:12–18 reminds us that we can praise God because he does not change, even though our circumstances do. We can be confident that God will bring us through our difficulty knowing that He will finish the work in us that He started.

Something that we don’t really like, but find to be true according to Scripture and our experience, is that suffering is an inevitable reality in our lives. In Romans 8:18-30, we find three promises that give us hope no matter our circumstances.

In Genesis 3:14–21 we find that even in the upending of God’s good plan for the world and in the most dire circumstances, God provides His grace and makes a way for our hope and for us to be thankful.

The mission of Acts comes to a completion at the end of the book… or does it? The Holy Spirit has succeeded in bringing witnesses of Jesus to the ends of the known world. Luke doesn’t see this as an end, however, because the churches who will read Luke’s account must take up the mantle of the mission to be witnesses until the return of the resurrected king.