December 20 2015 Revealing The Purpose Of Christmas

REVEALING THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTMAS

Luke 2:8-20

Luke 2:10 – I bring you good news of great joy.

Five Wonderful Purposes of Christmas:

1. God reaches out to every person.

Verses 8-9- 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.

Job 36:7 – He does not take His eye off the righteous.

Isaiah 64:8 – We are all the work of God’s hand.

2. God releases your fears.

Verses 10-11 – Do not be afraid, A Saviour has been born to you, He is Christ the Lord.

Examples:

• Storm tossed sea Matthew 14:27
• At His resurrection Matthew 28:10
• At the last supper John 14:27

1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sin.

John 16:33 – But take heart, I have overcome the world.

Matthew 6:33 – Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all those things will be given to you as well.

3. God recovers your lost condition.
Verse 11 – A Saviour has been born to you.

Luke 19:10 – Jesus said, for the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

Matthew 20:28 – I did not come into the world to be served, but to serve and give My live a ransom for many.

John 12:47 – I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.

4. God reproduces His life in you.
Verse 14 – Peace to men on whom His favor rest.

John 10:10 – Jesus said, I have come that you might have life and have it to the fullest.

2 Corinthians 9:15 – Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.

5. God needs your response.

Verses 16-17 – So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in a manger.  When they had seen Him they spread the word.

John 6:47 – I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.

July 12 2015 Renewing The Inner Passion

Renewing The Inner Passion

2 Kings 2:19-22 – The men of the city said to Elisha, “Look our Lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.” “Bring me a new bowl, he said, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.  Then he went to the spring and threw salt in it saying, “That is what the Lord says,” I have healed the water.  Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive and the water has remained whole to this day.

THREE STEPS TO INNER PASSION

1. Notice the condition.

Verse 19 – This town is well situated, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.

The people were confronted with what Jericho could be and what it was.  (This is sometimes symbolic of our lives.)

Matthew 23:25-26 – Jesus said, “Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You clean the    outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. First clean the inside of the cup and dish and then the outside also will be clean.”

Matthew 15:9 –“These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.”

2. Notice the cure.

Verse 20 – Bring me a new bowl, he said, and put salt in it, so they brought it to him.

Hebrews 12:1-2 – Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and Perfector of our faith.  

3. Notice the conclusion.

Verse 21 – Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive and the water has remained wholesome to this day.

Ezekiel 11:19-20 – I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them.  I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.  Then they will follow my decrees.

Acts 15:9 – Peter said, “He made no distinction between us and them (Gentiles) for He purified their heart by faith”.  

John 7:37-39 – If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink, and out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.