Christmas Sharing

Look at what Jesus says in Luke 4:18-19 - “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

He is announcing that Messiah has come and that the Scripture has been fulfilled. Immanuel – God is with us! He wanted to make sure that the world knew who he was, and the ministry of compassion. Jesus proclaims freedom to the poor in spirit, those imprisoned in sin, and give hope to the hopeless. He healed the sick, lame, and blind to give people a miraculous sign of His power. Jesus shows His love for everyone – regardless of our condition.

This Christmas may we take on His compassion for the world around us. We have many opportunities to show God’s love in a real way.

Are you ready to share Christ and the real meaning of Christmas with someone?

Today can be that day to show your compassion to the world around you.

Adoration

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

Luke 2:15-16

We all know the song, O Come All Ye Faithful:

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.

Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

We have that same calling and opportunity to experience Christ.

Remember the last verse?

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;

Jesus, to Thee be glory given;

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

Accept Jesus in every area of your life. It’s the best present you could ever receive. Amen?

Miracle of Christmas

The miracle of Christ's ministry and mission is seen in John 1:14. 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. God became a human and lived on earth among us!

Further testimony is found in 1 John 1:1-4 - That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.  The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.  We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

How is Christ working in your life today? Have you received this miracle of eternal life?

Christmas Mission

We are told of Jesus' mission in the Old and New Testaments. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. - John 1:10-13 Some rejected Him. - the world and His own people. Some received Him. - those who believed became children of God.

In Isaiah 40:3 we see the prophesy of Jesus' mission and John the Baptist. A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. (also quoted in Mark 1:3)

Do not be confused about Jesus's mission.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.- John 3:17

An impossible mission for a mere man. but with God nothing is impossible. Amen?

Christmas Ministry

The next three days we will be looking at the facts concerning the incarnate Christ. In other words what happened after He was born. The first fact is about the man known as John the Baptist. 

Prophesied of in the Old Testament (“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. - Malachi 3:1) and chronicled in the Gospels. 

This  man who was the faithful forerunner of Jesus (There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.  He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. - John 1:6-9) He serves as a witness to Christ serves as a witness to Christ (Mark chapters 1-2). 

Jesus came for a certain ministry to all mankind. John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Our ministry is to share this truth of the Good News as well. Amen? 

Fulfilled

We see the facts surrounding Jesus' birth in Matthew 1:22-25.  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).  When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

This passage is a very moving revelation of important truths of God’s plan for the world. Even though He is King of Kings, and all will bow in His honor, he was born in a borrowed room not a palace. Jesus came to show God’s love for people who feel they have nothing. God has known the same sadness.

Jesus alone brings hope and light in to a dark world.

Once each year, Christmas comes along to renew our hope and to remind us that the darkness of this world cannot overcome the light of the world.

Allow Him to light up the dark areas of your life this year. With light comes clarity and direction. Amen?

Christmas Commitment

As we prepare for Christmas, let us center ourselves on the thought that we should live out the Christmas story every day of our lives. Jesus came so that we might "have life and have it to the full" (John 10:10). God wants us to have a full life and I believe that living out the Christmas story each and everyday is a great place to start living to the fullest. You see... the Christmas story is all about obedience and giving glory to God.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”-Matthew 1:20-21 

The Christmas story should always be about Jesus!

May we live out the Christmas story by living our lives like Jesus.  Living out the Christmas story means so much more than just these verses. If we begin to live a life of obedience and give glory to God in all we do it is a start. Patterning our lives after Jesus (who is always faithful) is definitely a way to live out the Christmas story. 

Will we be faithful? Is the question God wants us to answer.