WOW!! Powerful sermon and definitely NOT written by YOU but by the Holy Spirit in you!!! I'm very touched! And, just for the record, it would have been much easier to have let the candy issue go by. I would have loved to have just shown you the grace without the consequences!!
Throughout Advent, as we have been preparing for Christmas and for Christ’s return, we have been focusing on the four words of the Advent candles: Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace. Today, as we celebrate Christmas Eve, we lit the most important candle, the Christ candle. And as we light the Christ candle, it is only fitting that we would focus on Christ and his place within this wreath. Jesus Christ is not only the center candle for his obvious central role in the Christmas story, but his spot in the center of the wreath is because he is the fulfillment of all of the candles. We began Advent with hope. Fitting, that Hope Church would focus on hope. For a people caught in the “in between” times, Micah’s prophecy includes these words of hope: But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. (Micah 7:7) In the Old Testament, when you find the word “hope” it is almost always characterized not simply as “hope” but “hope in the L ord. ” Here
Haggai 2:20-23 They say that timing is everything, but I have to admit that in my scripture reading, I often read right over time and place names, but God inspired the authors to include those names on purpose, and by reading over them, that purpose is thwarted. In today’s scripture, we find the last word of the Lord that came to Haggai. There is a specific date included, and it’s the same date that the last word came, which is also the same day that construction started on the temple. This is significant, because the word that God now delivers is in direct response to Zerubbabel’s actions. I believe that God spoke again in direct response to the people. There are people who believe that God set things into action and then stepped back, but this belief simply does not follow from a biblical understanding of God. In this prophecy, we see God responding to the action of his people! Remember that last week in God’s previous word: God promised to shake away all created things
Mark 3:20-30 Last week we started a new sermon series on Spiritual Warfare in the book of Mark – but we’re looking at it through the lens of God’s love. I am convinced that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. We were reminded that before Jesus started his earthly ministry, God spoke in an audible voice, saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Before Jesus went into ministry, His identity was already sealed – as God’s beloved Son. So when Jesus faced forty days of temptation, he was able to withstand it, because love overcomes. Today as we begin, I have a question: Did anyone here used to be a LeBron James fan? Anyone a fan of the Miami Heat? For anyone here who isn’t a basketball fan, LeBron James is possibly the best basketball player in the world right now, and he won quite a few games with the Cleveland Cavaliers before he decided to “take his talents to South Beach.” He moved to Miami to team up with Dwayne Wade, another of th
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And, just for the record, it would have been much easier to have let the candy issue go by. I would have loved to have just shown you the grace without the consequences!!