The Youth Pastor Ben gave the Sunday message, that in this time of frenzied gift buying, giving and receiving, to not miss the meaning of Christmas, God’s Gift of Emmanuel – God with us – Jesus the Christ and what that truly means to us all. God gave His unmerited grace to us. Out of unconditional love, God gave His Son, Jesus, as an undeserved atoning sacrifice in our place to pay the penalty of our sins, that we may find salvation and eternal life in Him alone.
Mark 1:14-15 Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”
The Lord Jesus, who we celebrate the birth of at Christmas, was ultimately saying, “I have some good news and some bad news.” Yes, there are two sets of news. There are two kingdoms, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan’s worldly desires. There are two trinity groups, the holy trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or the unholy trinity of the devil, the lawless world and the sinful flesh. There are two places to spend eternity, Heaven with God in endless joy or Hell, separated from God and in endless torment. God gives us the choice of which kingdom and trinity to follow in this life and our choice of our eternal dwelling place after this life. Either we choose to say, “Lord God, Thy will be done.” Or our Creator God will say to us,”Thy will be done.” Through Adam & Eve, we all inherited our sin nature, so no choice is not an option, and believing that these choices or the choice giver do not exist is as not believing in gravity. We can deny, ignore and pretend all we want, but truth prevails in the end. But the "good news" is that, through Christ, we have a choice that will transform us, our lives and our destiny.
Philippians 3:17-20 “Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.”
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
The Lord is ever present. His grace is greater. His peace is purer. His devotion is dearer. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it is still a gift … and the greatest gift is Jesus Christ - John 3:36. Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let Earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare Him room!
Merry Christmas, Brian
Merry Christmas, Brian
5 comments:
Beautiful post, Brian! I especially love the last few lines, and the mention that life isn't tied with a bow, yet is still a gift. Thank you for your encouraging words and insight. Merry CHRISTmas, bloggy friend! :o)
Thank you S.I. for the comment. Pastor Ben was wanting to make sure that we did not miss Christmas. The reason that we celebrate and why. We hear this as "The Reason for the Season." That the greatest gift of God is the giving of His Son for our salvation, by faith. To keep our mind's eye focused on Jesus and God's loving will in our lives. To never let Christmas presents take our center of attention off the true Christmas presence of Christ. Merry Christmas!
"...and the greatest gift is Jesus Christ." AMEN!!! This year, it's a choice on my part not to do the things I used to do, prioritizing on things that truly matter. Gifts will be opened, then what? Food will be eaten then what? But if we open the Greatest Gift of all and eat the Bread of Life, we have this eternal treasure that this world cannot give. Merry Christmas bro. Brian. It is a big blessing to have met you in this journey. May we all finish it safely and completely. Why not when the One Who is in us is faithful to complete it...In US!!! Wow! Glory be to God!
RCUBEs, Focus on the right priorities and doing them because we are walking aligned in the Spirit, following and learning from Jesus through prayer and the holy Word, serving the Lord in where He leads and what He says obediently, bringing praise & honor and glory to God, humbly pointing our fellow man, with love, to Jesus. A child of Creator God, on the narrow road journey to the Promised Land, making a different in the world to leave it a better place and souls won to Christ. What a vision!
It has been a true blessing to read and comment on your blog. Thank you and may your ministry touch the lives of others, as it has touched mine.
Hi Brian
I hope you and your family had a Wonderful Christmas celebration.
Happy New Year from Southern California. As you well know there is no snow here but a lot of flooding and record breaking rain! I hope you escaped any damage.
God Bless You, ~Ron :-)
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