Sermon from December 30

Simeon and Anna

Luke 2: 21 - 40

1. Jewish families understood that their children belonged to God. The redemption sacrifice was paid in blood.
2. Simeon was righteous and devout. He was waiting on God to fulfill his promises, and he was full of the Holy Spirit.
3. Simeon realized that God's promise was for all people, young and old.
4. Simeon said the history of the world rested on the child he was holding -- and that knowing him comes at a cost.
5. Anna got to see Jesus because she fasted and prayed and spent much time in God's house.

Sermon from December 23

Advent - Joy

Luke 2: 1 - 20

1. Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds are celebrities now, but they were ordinary people at that time. (Though they were chosen and righteous. We may be ordinary today, but we are chosen of God and He will use us if we are righteous.)
2. Mary and Joseph were poor and lived in an ordinary town.
3. They were in Bethlehem because an enemy government forced them to go there.
4. The shepherds were not even allowed to go to church because they were so low in society.
5. But God's good news brings joy to all people.
6. The blood that ran through the veins of that infant was shed for all of mankind.

Sermon from December 9

Advent Week Two - Peace

Isaiah 53: 1 - 12

1. This looks like it was written after Jesus' death and resurrection. It is astonishing that it was written more than 700 years before Jesus was born.
2. This passage (along with the Gospels) is all we need to prove the Bible is true, God is real, and Jesus is the Messiah.
3. Peaces always comes at a price. The price for our peace with God was Jesus' suffering, rejection and bloodshed.
4. Now we know how costly the peace we enjoy really was.
5. If we are going to be like Jesus, we must remember he was familiar with suffering.
6. Jesus is glorified now, but it was God's will to crush him.
7. In this chapter we see how much God loves us.

Sermon from December 2

Advent - Prophecy and Hope

Micah 5: 1 - 15

1. Micah lived when Isaiah did, about 700 years before Christ.
2. Here he tells us where Jesus would be born. The messiah would be born of a woman.
3. Jesus’ birth would come after a time of persecution and humiliation.
4. Jesus will unite believers into God’s Kingdom.
5. He will be a shepherd who brings us peace and security.
6. The Kingdom of God will spread throughout the world and no one can stop it.
7. Eventually God will conquer his enemies, and end idolatry and sin.