How would you like to grow this year? In this final Advent Song, John the Baptist exhorts "all people" to "prepare the way for the Lord." As we reflect on 2016 and look ahead to 2017, this is a fitting time for us to heed John the Baptist's call to evaluate our current way of life and strive to make greater room for Christ.
At Bethlehem God became human. It’s an enormous descent when God the Son leaves the Godhead (Trinity) and is birthed as a baby in Bethlehem. A huge descent! But once his mission is accomplished, he is exalted to the highest place, returning to the Godhead as Jesus Christ our Lord and God. You are invited to come and experience this enormous plunge Jesus endured for us from highest high to the lowest low and back again so that we might live in a relationship with God forever.
Simeon received the unique promise from God that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah with his own eyes. This song is his response to the fulfillment of that promise: the moment when he held the baby Jesus in his arms. One of the lyrics of his song is, to paraphrase, "Now I can die in peace." What would it be like to be to able to face death with that kind of contentment? The Bible tells us that if we are in Christ, we too can not only die in peace, but we can live in peace too!
The song the angels sang to the shepherds announcing the birth of Jesus was a song of glory to God and peace to all who will accept Christ as Lord and Savior. What is peace? Where does it come from? How can we have it?
We're looking at Mary’s Song (Luke 1:39-56), often called "The Magnificat" from the first line, "My soul magnifies the Lord." Mary is a troubled teenager who finds herself in an anxious yet glorious situation. Troubled because she is pregnant and unmarried, yet she knows she’s a virgin.
But when God speaks to her, affirming his plan for her, she moves quickly from anxiety to adoration. It’s remarkable what a spoken word from God will do to the countenance of your soul. A word from God to you could move your soul from anxiety to adoration in an instant. Come…let’s talk about it.
This is the first of 4 "Songs of Advent" we'll look at during the Advent season. Zechariah's song of praise to God can be found in Luke 1. What does it show us about drawing near to God?
Today we conclude our sermon series on the Gospel of John with this question: Is Jesus really the only way to God?
Our series on the Gospel of John, "Life-Changing Encounters With Jesus," is almost over. Throughout his gospel. John gives us seven "signs" -- miracles performed by Jesus -- that point to the fact that He is the Messiah, the Son of God. But there's also an 8th sign, and it's the most significant and amazing of them all: the resurrection of Jesus.
Because Jesus was raised from the dead, this really is "life-changing" for all of us who believe in Him. Specifically, we receive 3 things: a new body, a new family, and new power.
In John 20:31, John tells us the reason why he wrote this Gospel: "...that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name." What does it mean to have life in Jesus' name? The aim of our fall sermon series is to try to answer that question.
Today we look at the dramatic, moving story of Jesus bringing His dead friend, Lazarus, back to life. How will this story change our view of Jesus? Will we let Him into our hearts, and allow Him to change us?
We welcome Dr. Mark Jennings, Professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Head of School and South Shore Christian Academy in Weymouth, MA. May the Lord speak clearly to us through Dr. Jennings' words.
Our fall sermon series, "Life-Changing Encounters With Jesus," is a study of the Gospel of John. We are told explicitly by John why he wrote this book: ..."that you may believe, and by believing, that you may have life in His (Jesus') name" (John 20:31). This week we look at the miracle of Jesus walking on water. What two things do we learn about Jesus from this event, and more importantly, how will it change our lives?
We're taking a break from our fall sermon series on the Gospel of John for one week. Pastor Larry preaches a special sermon on what the Bible teaches about our attitudes and habits when it comes to being good stewards of our resources.
This week’s “Life-Changing Encounter with Jesus” is Jesus feeding thousands from a boy’s lunch. The hope from this encounter is that everyone would recognize him as the Messiah, the Son of God. However the Scripture indicates that they run after him because he provided food when they were hungry. That was quite a trick; let’s see it again! They didn’t get it that he is Lord and God. Careful that you are not using the Lord as your Celestial Caterer or Servant in order to get what you want, instead of serving the living God who wants to be the Lord and Master of your life.
This is the fourth installment of our series on the Gospel of John entitled "Life-Changing Encounters With Jesus." It tells of the third "sign" that John writes about in his gospel in order to demonstrate that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God. An encounter with Jesus changed the life of a paralyzed man; could it change ours as well?
This Sunday we have the privilege of welcoming Dr. Sean McDonough, Professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary to our worship service. The Scripture passage is John 4:43-54, the story of the healing of the official's son. This represents the second sign of the deity of Christ from the Gospel of John. There's an interesting twist to this story that you won't want to miss!
This is the story of the first recorded miracle of Jesus: the changing of water to wine. It is also the first of many "signs" that John records in order to show us that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. We'll look at two aspects of this event: 1) What was the gift that Jesus brought to the wedding at Cana? 2) What was the cost of that gift?
The new fall series is called “Life-Changing Encounters with Jesus.” Our plan is to bring together the purpose of John’s Gospel with our new mission statement. Both emphasize our life-altering relationship with Jesus and inviting others to join us on this journey.
The end of the journey reveals if it was all worth it. Is the Christian journey worth it? In this Psalm we're invited to bless and serve God, but we'll see that even through our blessing God, He is ultimately blessing us. Blessing God is itself a blessing from God.
It's not easy (after all, we're a bunch of sinners!). But living together in unity under the Lordship of Christ is such a precious thing, we should actively and intentionally pursue it. Lean into it. Go for it!
Do you ever feel guilty because you aren't feeling as passionate about your relationship with God as you think you should? If so, then Psalm 132 will be a great encouragement to you. It will light a fire in your heart as you realize the lengths that God has gone to in order to be with you.
This sermon is called, 'Why Would God Distance Himself from Me?' Why would he do that? To wean you from him. That’s what Psalm 131 (just three verses) indicates. A significant life-changing lesson is in this Psalm. Come and see…
