A Christmas Series
A Series on Hope, Joy, and Peace
Peace on Earth
December 24, 2017 • Gary Brandenburg
There is the moral conflict of an unmarried teenage girl getting pregnant. There is the religious conflict as pagan astronomers find the baby through the forbidden practice of stellar divination. There is the cultural conflict as physically unclean shepherds who couldn’t testify in a trial and spiritually unclean Gentiles are the first to acknowledge the newborn king. There is the political conflict as a maniacal self-made King, a puppet for an occupying Roman super power, orders the slaughter of innocent children to eliminate any competition for his title, “King of the Jews.”
Joy to the World
December 17, 2017 • Kurt Pressler
Joy is at the core of who we are as followers of Christ. In fact, “joy” “joyful” and “rejoice” are used hundreds of times in the Bible. But something became very clear to me this week. There is a lot of confusion around what joy is. The advertisers tell us that we are in the “season of joy”, and that giving and receiving their products will result in joy. Many of the authors I read in preparation for this sermon had differences in their view of joy. I asked my staff several times this week “What is joy?” and received faces of thought and pondering. Then I wondered if I even had it settled. We all seem to have a sense of what it is, but struggle to explaining it.
Hope of A Savior
December 10, 2017 • Gary Brandenburg
There’s no mistaking it – Christmas is upon us. Christmas trees, cards, carols, cookies, presents. These are sign posts that point us to eternal realities. These symbols won’t make it past January 1, but we desperately need the things they represent all year round. There are some gifts that only Jesus can give, enduring gifts like hope, joy and peace. While you’re shopping for Christmas presents, don’t forget the Christmas presence. Experience His hope and joy and peace.
A Season of Giving
December 3, 2017 • Gary Brandenburg
Today we are going to push pause on our 1 Peter series and turn our attention to Christmas. Last week we talked about game changers and game-changing moments. Well, Christmas is a game changer. God looked out over the darkness of a sinful planet and, in His mercy and grace, sent us a Savior, the light of the world. Jesus came to earth bearing presents, not gold, incense and myrrh but far more valuable gifts like hope, joy and peace. We are going to talk about these three gifts starting next week but today I want to kick off the season by having a little family chat about giving.