Be Kind To Yourself

 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.           1 John 4:13-16

1.       You who know your Savior.

2.       You are your biggest critic.

3.       You have a Savior who is kind to you.

Firm in the Faith

Isaiah 7: 3 - 17

 3 And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub[c]your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. 4 And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7 thus says the Lord God:

“‘It shall not stand,
    and it shall not come to pass.
8 For the head of Syria is Damascus,
    and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
And within sixty-five years
    Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.
9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
    and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you[e] are not firm in faith,
    you will not be firm at all.’”

The Sign of Immanuel

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore theLord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. 17 The Lord will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father's house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”

Firm in the Faith

  1. The faith we face

  2. The sign we refuse

  3. The consequences we accrue

  4. The hope held out

A Great Light

“A Great Light”          Isaiah 9:2-7  

2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;

 on those living in the land of deep darknessa light has dawned.

3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy;

  they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest,

  as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.

4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,

    you have shattered the yoke that burdens them,

    the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.

5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle

    and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning,

    will be fuel for the fire.

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,

    and the government will be on his shoulders.

   And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the greatness of his government and peace

    there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne

    and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it

    with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

                  Jesus gives us light

a.       God’s people often walk in darkness

b.       We have been shown a great light

Jesus gives us victory

a.       For the yoke of his burden

b.       For every boot of the trampling warrior

c.        For to us a child is born

A People Prepared

1.  A long barren night

2. The coming of light

3. A people prepared

Luke 1:5-25

 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,  of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.  And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.  But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.  But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.  And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,  for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.  And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”  And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.  And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”  And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute.  And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying,  “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

By God's Grace we are Renewing our World (Part II)

 John 4:7 - 26

 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 (For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from Me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.[b] The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered Him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

“By God’s Grace we are Renewing our World” (Part II)

1.       Leading an intentional life of renewing

2.       The barriers we encounter

3.      Leaping over barriers

1. What is your typical heart response to someone who is in obvious sin?  Be honest!  Does your heart despise them? Pity them? Get bitter towards them?  Want to avoid them?  Want to see “justice” done?  What is your typical heart response to someone who is being obviously self-righteous? 

 2. What are the teachers of the law trying to accomplish in this passage?  How does Jesus expose the heart attitude of His fellow Jewish leaders?  How does the law of God show the reality of our own hearts?  Why is this a good starting place for renewing the world?

 3. John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”  How is this demonstrated in this particular passage? 

 4. How was Jesus not compromised for restoring this obviously sinful woman?  What does that communicate to us?  In what ways does this change your attitude toward those caught in any immorality; be it obvious sin or the more hidden self-righteousness?

5. Where have you been guilty of a Pharisaical heart?  How has Jesus’ response challenged you to respond differently?

 

 

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