Pastor starts with a deeper exploration of John 16:13 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

People have used this verse to argue that the word Spirit is not about a personal being but about an impersonal force because in the original Greek text “spirit” (pneuma) is a neuter noun. Yes, this is true, and so they determine that neuter means the Holy Spirit is an IT.

Yet the verse goes on by saying, “…He will guide you…, He will speak…. He will tell you…” The original greek text for He is a masculine pronoun (ekeinos). The Holy Spirit is a HE!  We must pay attention to this! God is speaking very intentionally here!!  The author of scripture is the Holy Spirit and the Spirit is making sure we understand HE IS personal because He’s a person not an it. He desires to be a part of our lives. He’s not a force imposed upon us. 

The Spirit is the very presence of the Living God and desires that we come to know Him more and more and He reveals Jesus Christ to us.

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This question is often asked this way:
    ⁃    Is the Holy Spirit an impersonal force?
    ⁃    What does the Bible say about this?
    ⁃    What does the Holy Spirit do?
    ⁃    Why are some afraid of the Holy Spirit?

Let us consider:
Is the Holy Spirit a “Force” or a “Person” 

Marks of Personality:
    ⁃    Intellect
    ⁃    Emotion
    ⁃    Will
Are these evident in the Holy Spirit? Let’s look in the Bible and see what we find, as there is so much confusion about the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit
    ⁃    Speaks  – Acts 13:20 (….the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
    ⁃    Forbids certain things – Acts 16:6-7 (….having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching….but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” 
    ⁃    Guides – gives direction – John 16:13 Jesus says, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth….”
    ⁃    Teaches – John 14:26 Jesus says, “but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my team, will teach you all things….”
    ⁃    Helps – John 14:16-17 Jesus says, “And I will ask the Father and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever, the Spirit of truth…..”
    ⁃    Predicts – insight and prophetic revelation – Acts 21:11 “Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'” And this is something that did happen to Paul.
    ⁃    Can Be Lied to – Acts 5:3-4 The story of Ananias and Sepphira selling property. Peter says, “Ananias how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit ….. You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
    ⁃    Can be Grieved – disappointed by our behavior or when we do not listen to God – Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holt Spirit of God…”
    ⁃    Intercedes for us – he prays – Romans 8:27 “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”  
    ⁃    Testifies – bears witness to Jesus and makes Jesus known – John 15:26 Jesus says, “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about the Me.” The Holy Spirit testifies to who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. The Holy Spirit testifies to each one of us that Jesus is our only Hope, and our Messiah.

Back to the question of why be afraid of the Holy Spirit? 
Father – Son – Spirit = three in One.
The Holy Spirit is real and is part of the essence of the One True Living God. And Holy Spirit desires to move in power in our lives and desires that we experience a real and personal relationship with Him. It is only in the Living God that we have life forever.

Pastor closes with: The Father gives the Holy Spirit to those that ask Him. That’s a promise for each one of us.(Luke 11:13 “…how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”)

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We take a look at Matthew 6:13, a portion of The Lord’s Prayer. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” 

However, we read in James 1:13 “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;”

So are these two verses contracting each other? Or are we misunderstanding something. So let’s look at the original words used in this Scripture. 
    1.    Peirazō – verb meaning to test/try or tempt – two very different meanings
    2.     Peirasmos – noun meaning testing/trail or temptation – again, two very different meanings

How can I know the difference?
Identity: who is doing the test or the tempt. The devil tempts us into going against God’s word and will. God tests us – will we follow Him and do His will?
Motive: who is doing the testing or tempting. The devil’s motive in tempting us is to destroy us.  God tests us to strengthen, guide and uphold us.

When we are facing Peirazō (temptation or test) we can look at that experience in two ways. 
    1.    The devil tempting us to go against what we believe, what Jesus desires, what the Scriptures teach and what the Holy Spirit reveals OR
    2.    That God is using a temptation to test us, to strengthen us, to cause us to rely on Him more and more, to look to Him and to call upon Him in the day of trouble.

Testing and temptation go together in the Bible – they are the same word, but the identity of who is Peirazō”ing” us is the key.  Are we going to listen to the one who wants to destroy us – the devil – or will we listen to the One who has saved us and desires to help and save us.

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

In God is strength, and even when we fall and fail we are assured of finding and receiving His forgiveness through our faith in Christ and will be given the power to start over again. 

“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” – what we are praying is – “Lord, let us not fall into the devil’s temptations but deliver us from the evil one and help us find our strength in you. Deliver us from what is evil and from the evil one. Deliver us from the power of the devil and help us to hold onto Your strength and power so that when we face trials we can face them with confidence because our eyes are on You!”

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Common questions on this age old topic:
    ⁃    Why is sin so tempting?
    ⁃    Why do I do things I don’t want to do?
    ⁃    How can I conquer temptation?
    ⁃    Where can I find strength to resist?
    ⁃    Why is this so difficult?

Genesis 3:1-7 – First sin in the Bible.  But prior to sin, Adam and Eve were in a time of blissful innocence. A perfect creation, perfect relationship with God, perfect relationship with each other. No death, no sorrow, no pain, but that would change once sin came.

Who is the serpent in Genesis 3:1? We find the answer in Revelation 12:9 “The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.”  Satan is a Hebrew word meaning – the adversary, the enemy. And the serpent takes on the form of a serpent. 

We read what Jesus says about the devil in John 8:44 that the devil “was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Satan’s Garden Strategy 
    ⁃    Doubt God’s Word –  Genesis 3:1 the devil says to Eve “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  The devil plants doubt. Eve replies in Genesis 3:2-3 that they could eat fruit from the trees except not from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, lest they would die. 
    ⁃    Deny the consequences – Then the devil replies in Genesis 3:4 “‘You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman.” The devil moves her toward denying the consequences. 
    ⁃    Deify ourselves – The devil continues in Genesis 3:5 “‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'” We want to be in control instead of allow God to be.

Then we read in Genesis 3:6 “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her and he ate it.” From this we learn that temptation comes with:
Passion – I want things that I like and that look good
Pleasure – I want things that give me joy and comfort
Pride – I want to be in control

1 John 2:16 we read, “For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – does not come from the Father but from the world.”

Our story continues in Genesis 3:7 “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made a covering for themselves.” They now understood good and evil, their eyes were opened to evil and they had shame, sorrow, loss, pain, suffering, guilt. Sin took away their blissful innocence.

What happened next? Then we read in Genesis 3:21 “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” What does this tell us? It tells us that sin brought death to an innocent victim – an animal was slain – and it shows us sin has a consequence – Sin must be paid for by an innocent victim – and this is a foreshadowing of the Lamb of God – Jesus – who would lay down His life on a cross for us, because we all have fallen for the devil’s garden strategy. 

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

Confronting Temptation:
    ⁃    Remember Jesus, who He is and what He did – 2 Timothy 2:8  We are to keep our eyes focused on Jesus
    ⁃    Resist the devil and he will flee from you – James 4:7
    ⁃    Run from temptation and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace – 2 Timothy 2:22
    ⁃    Replace our focus on the things that destroy with the things that build us up. We are not to focus on the things that are tempting, but rather we should focus on what God’s word says. Let His word take root in our lives because God’s word give us power and strength, direction and guidance- Psalm 119:11 
    ⁃    Rely on the Holy Spirit who leads us to faith and brings to mind the teachings of Jesus – Romans 8:6

Pastor closes with a beautiful hymn that his mother taught him.

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Today’s class is a study of Ephesians 5:21-33. A group of verses that are controversial, often attacked and many times misunderstood.

Ephesians 5:21-22 “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, [submit] yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.”  In the original Greek text the second [submit] word is not there. There is not a verb in this sentence and so in traditional Greek practice, you take the verb from the previous sentence and insert it into the next sentence.  Please note that this is really important – because what this is saying is, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, to your husbands as you do to the Lord.” Meaning husband and wife alike are to submit to each other, to look out for one another, in service and submission to the Living God.

There is no denying that throughout history many men have treated many women shamefully. But that is not biblical. It is never approved.  Instead, the Scriptures tell us that God intends for married people to be a unity and to willingly submit to one another because of their reverence for Christ. Men and women are to treat their husbands in a way that is consistent with their faith.

Ephesians 5:23 goes on to say, “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.” Please note the word is “head” not the boss, not the dominant individual. It says he is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. 

How does Jesus show He is the head of the church.  He seeks what is best for her, He loves her, He sacrifices Himself for her, He gives Himself completely to her. And here it says the husband is to love His wife in that very same way. Loving, caring, supporting, defending, protecting, doing whatever it takes for the woman he loves.

Ephesians 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her…” That is what submission is all about.  It says, because I love the Lord, I will love my wife in the way He loves me.

Both husbands and wives are to practice submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 5:32 goes on to say, “This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church.”  God designed marriage to be a picture of the kind of love that Jesus has for his body, the church. Marriage is a reflection of Jesus’ love.

Verse 33 concludes: “However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”  God made us male and female and He knows we each have unique needs. Husbands thrive when their wives respect them. Wives thrive when they know how deeply their husbands love them.

These verses are a prescription for a happy, joy-filled, life-long marriage.

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In this message we will look at what the Scriptures have to say about marriage, analyze concerns and questions raised in our day, overview the cultural changes that have led to many questioning the value and benefit of marriage, and do so from a Christian worldview. We will also take a look at some secular contemporary research and what it indicates.

Common Reactions:
    1.    The culture has changed:
    – Married Couples comprised:
            1950 — 78% of all US households
            2020 — 47% of all US households
    – Living together before marriage:
            1960’s — 5%
            2020’s — 70%
    – Recent analysis of the General Social Survey data tells us Americans’ happiness declined from the 1970s to the 2020s. Sam Peltzman, Professor emeritus, University of Chicago says one thing explains the most recent decline in overall happiness – the decline of marriage. 

The data indicates the benefit of what the Bible has said all along. Genesis 2:18 “The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” The literal Hebrew translation for the word helper is:  “Helper equal to Him.” This is talking about two people who are complimentary to each other. Our Creator recognized we function better together.

    2.    Divorce makes me fear marriage:
    – the spike in divorce rate have left an impression on the generation raised in one parent households.

    3.    Why not just live together?
    – the Bible tells us to be faithful before and after marriage to our spouse.
    – Couples who live together:
        4-5 times more likely to break up than married couples
        more likely to divorce once they do marry (by about 50%)
        higher incidence of alcohol abuse, drug abuse and domestic violence

    4.    How can I know the right one? “Fall in like before you fall in love.” This means – find an individual who is like minded, who shares your faith, your values, your outlook on life, an individual who truly is a potential soulmate. Make sure that the person you choose as your life partner and spouse is one who holds like values and believes as you do.

    5.    I’m not sure marriage is for me: One does not need to feel pushed into marriage. In 1 Corinthians 7:7 Paul refers to the gift of celibacy saying, “I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.” God does not say everyone is to be married. 

Contemporary Research: 2 books
    ⁃    “The Two-Parent Privilege” by Melissa S. Kearney Professor of Economics, University of Maryland 2023 – tells us that “Americans stopped getting married and started falling behind.” Her work has been printed in:
    Wall Street Journal
    New York Times
    National Review 
    Atlantic Magazine
She offers a “provocative, data-driven case for marriage by showing how the institution’s decline has led to a host of economic woes…”  She shows how children do better in a family where their parents are married to each other.
    ⁃    Education outcomes
    ⁃    Physical and mental health
    ⁃    Diminishes suicide possibility
    ⁃    Serves as a barrier to alcohol and drug use and child abuse
    ⁃    Impacts Teenage pregnancy and delinquency
She comes at this on the basis of solid economic data and what we can see happening in our culture today.

    ⁃    “Get Married” by Brad Wilcox Professor Sociology, University of Virginia 2024. Also published in the following:
    ⁃    Wall Street Journal
    ⁃    New York Times
    ⁃    National Review
    ⁃    Atlantic Magazine
Wilcox tells us, “When it comes to predicting overall happiness, a good marriage is far more important than how much education you get, how much money you make, how often you have sex and even how satisfied you are with your work.”   

Pastor concludes with these thoughts: God created us, He speaks because He knows us and wants what is best for us. God invented marriage and He gives us guidance on how to have a truly blessed and God-pleasing marriage.

Malachi 2:15 says, “Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.” 

Those are powerful, spirit-given words that we need to take to heart

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Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Let’s look at the words “God” and “created.” in this verse in Hebrew the word used for God is a plural noun and created is a singular verb.

What day did God create the world? It says God created everything in 6 days and He rested on the 7th day, the Sabbath, and that is Saturday. Which means the first day of creation was on Sunday. What was the day of the week that God began a new creation?  That was on the day Jesus arose from the grave. The Bible tells us this was on the first day of the week, on a Sunday.

Jesus’ closest friend, John, begins his gospel this way: “In the beginning  was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Psalm 33:6 “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” 

In Genesis 1 we read over and over, “And God said…” God brought everything into being through His Word and the Bible describes Jesus as that Word, the Living Word. John 1:3 tells us “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”  Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. Hard to comprehend, but true.

John goes on in verse 14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  Let’s look at these words from that verse, “made his dwelling” in Hebrew it is one word. Tabernacles. Jesus, the Word became flesh and tabernacles among us. Not simply in the spirit, but in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. 

Colossians 1:15-17 “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

The only way we can be held together in this fallen world is in Jesus Christ, the Savior of us all. The only way to face the future and the difficulties of life in a fallen world is through the power of His Son who has redeemed us and through His Holy Spirit who strengthens, guides and directs us.

Our God is an awesome God!

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Does God exist? The Bible has described this as a reality for thousands of years.  Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
    ⁃    There was a beginning
    ⁃    There is a God
    ⁃    God created everything

This is looked at as a religious belief, but it is increasingly a scientific fact as the scientific world sees that the creation had a beginning.
    ⁃    Natural knowledge of God
    ⁃    Nature – Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
    ⁃    Teleological argument – “Design requires a designer.” It is obvious there is incredible design which requires a designer.  
    ⁃    DNA – “DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software ever created.” Bill Gates.  “The coding regions of DNA have exactly the same relevant properties as a computer code or language. We know books and computer codes are designed by intelligence, and the presence of this type of information in DNA also implies an intelligent source.” Stephen C Meyer, PhD.   “What I think the DNA material has done is that it has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce life, that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinarily diverse elements to work together.” Professor Anthony Flew.  There is a creator because DNA is so complex it requires a creator.
    ⁃    History – “I’m a lapsed atheist… I go to church every Sunday, precisely because having been brought up as an atheist I came to realize my career as a historian that not only is atheism a disastrous basis for a society… but also because I don’t think it can be a basis for individual ethical decision making”  Professor Sir Niall Ferguson.
    ⁃    Conscience – Romans 2:15 “They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.”  The conscience bears witness to a Creator, to a God who is:
    ⁃    Transcendent
    ⁃    Immaterial
    ⁃    Timeless
    ⁃    Powerful
    ⁃    Personal
    ⁃    Brilliant
    ⁃    Caring

To simply know that God exists is good, but to know God – that is what is necessary. And that requires that God reveals Himself to us – the revealed knowledge of God – showing Himself and drawing us to Himself.

    ⁃    Revealed Knowledge of God
    ⁃    Bible – profound unity of what it tells us. Read and listen to His Word and allow it to speak into our lives.
    ⁃    Jesus Christ – The Living Word – Savior, Redeemer, our only Hope. God is love and gave Himself for us all.  Forgiveness and new life.  John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” The Old and New Testaments testify to Jesus. He died, He rose and He is returning.
    ⁃    Holy Spirit – John 14:26 “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

It is one thing to know that God exists but it is most important know God and to know to the Love of the Father through Jesus His Son and to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit who brings us to faith and who nourishes and guides us as we live a life of faith.

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Dig Deeper Preview: Why does Jesus have two family trees shared in the Bible?

Today’s class is a special preview of the upcoming Tuesday Bible Class series: Dig Deeper. 

Why does Jesus have 2 family trees?
    1.    One in Matthew 1:1-16
    2.    One in Luke 3:23-38
And they are different. So let’s look a little deeper.

The major accepted answer has been that one tells the genealogy of Jesus’ mother, the Virgin Mary, and the other the genealogy of His step father, Joseph. There is evidence to support and suggest that that is the case.

    1.    Matthew 1:1-16 The Legal Genealogy – Jesus is legally accepted as Joseph’s adopted son and Joseph is a descendant of king David.
    2.    Luke 3:23-38 The Physical Genealogy – born of the Virgin Mary.

But as we did deeper what do we see?

There are differences. They are different.

Matthew
Abraham
David
Solomon
Jehoiachin
Jacob
Joseph
Jesus

Luke
Adam
Abraham
David
Nathan
Heli
Mary
Jesus

Is there significance that the lineage changes following David? Yes, dramatic significance:
    1.    Matthew traces Jesus’ legal genealogy from David to his son Solomon. Matthew is telling us that Jesus as the legally adoptive son of Joseph, is a descendant of David and all of the kings of Judah who followed.
    2.    Luke traces Jesus’ physical genealogy from David to his son Nathan. Luke is telling us that Jesus is a descendant of David in the flesh but not through Solomon but through Solomon’s brother Nathan. 

And this is fascinating because the prophet Jeremiah was given this word: – A word about David’s decendants ending with Jehoiachin the last of the kings of Judah to survive. Jeremiah 22:30 “This is what the Lord says:’Record this man [Jehoiachin] as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah.'”
The curse came upon the line of David after the time of Solomon until the time of Jehoikin and then God says no descendant of the kingly line of Jehoichin will ever sit on the throne.

Jesus inherits the kingship that could never have been given to any descendant of Jehoiachin. He receives that through legal means by his adopted father. But he is the descendant of David in the uncursed  line  who will reign for ever.

This is just what the angel told Mary – the angel Gabriel announced Mary that she would give birth to a son. Luke 1:32-33 ” He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Legally Jesus was part of the royal line.
In the flesh Jesus descended and born of the Virgin Mary – He is the One on whom there is no curse. He is the only one who can reign on David’s throne and He will reign forever!  

That’s who Jesus is – the Living God come to earth for us – who fulfills every detail the Hebrew Scriptures.

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Merry Christmas!

The Christmas story from Luke 2 may be a story that is new to some of us and to others it may be very familiar. We are going to look at the part of the story that is about the shepherds.

Luke 2:8-9 we read, “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.”

Did you know that being a shepherd in Jesus’ day was one of the lowliest jobs one could have? They were in the fields all the time, they smelled like sheep and were treated like sheep. But isn’t it interesting that they are the first ones to hear the announcement that the Savior has come!

What was their first reaction to the first Christmas?  FEAR! 

Luke 2:10-11 go on to tells us, “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”

What we see happen is that the shepherds absolute fear is turned to overwhelming JOY! But let’s not stop there. Let’s look at what the angel says, “I bring you good news (Gospel!) that will cause great joy for all people!” And today when the GOSPEL breaks into a person’s life it brings JOY!  Because Jesus would go to the cross and rise from the grave, He brings JOY!  

Gospel Joy centers around one person. In vs 11 we read that a Savior has been born; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This good news brings the news of a Savior.

The Old Testament is very clear about who the Savior is:
    ⁃    Isaiah 43:11 “I, even I, am the Lord and apart from me there is no savior.”
    ⁃    Hosea 13:4 “You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me.”

The Savior is none other than God Himself! Messiah, Savior, Lord! 
God has come down to earth exactly as the Old Testament prophets predicted and what the New Testament declares. The One who created the universe took on human flesh. The Living Word of God dwelt among us. 

He saved us by offering Himself as the sacrifice for our rebellion. He did it because we were helpless and bound to sin and destined to judgement.  But HE is the Savior, the Lord, and He comes for ALL people. He wants all to be saved!  That’s the good news! THAT’S THE GOSPEL MESSAGE!   And thus, how great our joy!

 1 Peter 1:8-9 says, “… you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

The Christmas story is about far more than peace on earth. The Christmas story is about the fact that God has stepped in and He offers to all of us, who repent and believe, forgiveness and life forever. THAT’S the Gospel story, that’s the story of Christmas, that’s the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ!

May each and everyone of us experience that Gospel Joy this Christmas and forever!

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