Peace and Goodwill
December 2022
The Gift of Worship
December 25, 2022 • Pastor Dave Koop
Every gift reflects the giver. It reflects their personality, resources, commitment, thoughtfulness, sacrifice and ultimately an expression of love. When God gave us the gift of His Son it truly reflected God’s great love for the world. This supreme gift of love compels us to express our deepest appreciation in worship. This is to be our gift back to God.
What the Shepherds Want You to Know
December 24, 2022 • Pastor Dave Koop
The only invitation from God to anyone to come and visit Mary and Joseph and the infant Jesus is to a group of shepherds. They were common people on the bottom of the social ladder of the day, perhaps the last people that you’d expect God to send as the first VIP guests to see His Son. The shepherds represented Jesus’ identity as a descendent of King David, who was also a shepherd. They also remind us that Jesus was the sacrificial lamb. Because of the Messiah’s perfect life and death, we have a restored relationship with God.
The Grandmothers of Christmas
December 18, 2022 • Pastor Dave Koop
The genealogy of Jesus, in the opening verses of the New Testament, is often overlooked. Found in this genealogy are four women, all of them foreigners and each one of them had a season in their life that was R rated. They had to overcome shame, dead babies, dead husbands, lying men, being foreigners, being broke and insecurity. From these grandmothers of Christmas, we can learn some rich lessons in faith and divine grace.
Unto Us a Child Is Given
December 11, 2022 • Pastor Dave Koop • Isaiah 9:6
A child was born for us. Perhaps we have heard this so often it no longer strikes us as unusual or perhaps we are hearing it for the first time and it strikes as absurd. The question that begs to be asked is: “Why would an all-powerful God give us His son?”