QUOTES FOR REFLECTION

“When the Father’s Wisdom wanted to communicate His love

He spoke it in one final perfect Word.

“And so the Light became alive, and manna became Man

Eternity stepped into time, so we could understand.”

~Michael Card, musical artist

“‘Evangelion’ (that we call the gospel) is a Greek word, and signifies good, merry, glad and joyful tidings, that makes a man’s heart glad, and makes him sing, dance and leap for joy.”

~William Tyndale (1494-1536), English, scholar, reformer, and Bible translator

“Many people visualize a God who sits comfortably on a distant throne, remote, aloof, uninterested, and indifferent to the needs of mortals, until, it may be, they can badger him into taking action on their behalf. Such a view is wholly false. The Bible reveals a God who, long before it even occurs to man to turn to him, while man is still lost in darkness and sunk in sin, takes the initiative, rises from his throne, lays aside his glory, and stoops to seek until he finds him.”

~John R.W. Stott (1921-2011), Anglican priest and theologian

“The Son of God did not want to be seen and found in heaven. Therefore he descended from heaven into this humility and came to us in our flesh, laid himself into the womb of his mother and into the manger and went on to the cross. This was the ladder that he placed on earth so that we might ascend to God on it. This is the way you must take.”

~Martin Luther (1483-1546), German reformer

“For whatever reason God chose to make man as he is— limited and suffering and subject to sorrows and death—He had the honesty and the courage to take His own medicine.… He has kept His own rules and played fair. He can exact nothing from man that He has not exacted from Himself. He has Himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair and death. When He was a man, He played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile.”

~Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957), novelist and playwright

SERMON PASSAGE

Luke 2:10-11, Proverbs 12:25, Proverbs 25:25 (ESV)

Luke 2

10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Proverbs 12

25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down,

but a good word makes him glad.

Proverbs 25

25 Like cold water to a thirsty soul,

so is good news from a far country.