MESSENGER OF HOPE

Sunday (12/18), gather with your church family in the main sanctuary to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Together we will open our Bibles (Luke 1:1-25), where Luke records that after four hundred years, God broke His silence by sending the angel Gabriel to give hope to an elderly Priest and his wife, who had never been able to bear children. The first words spoken to him were, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John” (Luke 1:13).

Luke, the only Gentile writer of the New Testament, was a physician, historian, journalist, and travel companion of Paul the Apostle. The Holy Spirit inspired him to interview the people who were eyewitnesses to the miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ. And thus, he penned a Gospel that described the perfect man who was God.

Luke’s gospel contained a message of hope. One that could penetrate the hardest of hearts, deafest of ears, and blindest of eyes. Paul, while ministering in Corinth, summed up the power of the “Good News” that Luke wrote about when he said this to the Christians in Rome, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith” (Ro 1:16-17).

My prayer is that our entire church family will reach out and invite as many as possible. People are looking for direction and an answer to many questions. We know for sure that Jesus is the answer and the one who guarantees that He is the way to everlasting life. Many have family and friends who will consider coming if they are given an invitation.

As Joseph and Mary prepared for the first coming of Jesus, let us prepare people for His Second Coming. The Scriptures foretelling His birth were accurately fulfilled to the smallest of details (Micah 5:2). We can be confident that the prophecies of His imminent return will be fulfilled. So may Jesus find all of us busy doing the “Father’s business” (Luke 19:13).

There are several opportunities for worship. On-campus (10:00 am), drive-in church (92.1fm), and online (Facebook and YouTube: Calvary Inverness).

�Merry Christmas,

Pastor