“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
The angel brought good news of great joy. Good news is the Gospel, but today let’s focus on joy. Miriam-Webster.com defines joy three ways:
Advent Faith
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph,of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. –Luke 1:26-38 ESV
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. –Matthew 1:18-25
Happy Monday
Okay, the post won’t be entirely Christmas but it will be a recurring theme for the next couple of weeks. It is the most wonderful time of the year and what not. Continue reading
The Other Christmas Stress Factor
I had a few ideas in mind but nothing written down when I wrote The Christmas Stress Factor. One thought that missed the post completely was the financial stressor. I’m not talking about maxing the credit cards buying presents for every man and his brother (that stress usually hits in the middle of January when the bills arrive). I’m talking about all the good causes that will ask during this time of year. Continue reading
The Christmas Stress Factor
This can be a stressful time of year, and active church members are perhaps even more likely to overdo it. Each of us has so many events – office parties, parades, school events, choir practice, Sunday School parties, church dinners – in addition to shopping, wrapping, and planning time for family that it can easily be overwhelming. It may be difficult to find time but we must pause and give priority to the things that are the most important. Continue reading
Advent: Verses of Prophecy
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
Happy Monday
Glad that’s over. Thank God for Cyber Monday, right? Continue reading
Thanksgiving Day 2014
The Master’s Table – offering God honoring, Christ centered blogging since 2008. On the one hand that’s pretty awesome. On the other hand that means annual activities, like Thanksgiving Day, have already been done. I’m not sure I have much more to say on that subject.
Here is a Thanksgiving sermon that I was looking at earlier this morning. I found it lurking in the dark shadows of the archives, all the way back from 2008. I preached a very similar sermon this year without even realizing this post existed. A key difference was the inclusion of Revelation 15:3-4 which relates the Song of Moses to the Song of the Lamb solidifying Moses as a type of Christ and connecting the Old Testament to the New.
I did write something new this year on My Other Blog. #27 on my 30 Days of Thanksgiving adventure could alternately be titled I Am Thankful for Thanksgiving. I put on my history teacher hat and outline the ways in which Thanksgiving is and is not a religious holiday. Easter and Christmas are Christian holy days, Thanksgiving is sort of the 4th of July of religious holidays. It’s as American as pumpkin pie. (wink)
Happy Monday
Thanksgiving is this week but we are going to include some other bits in this “mostly Thanksgiving” edition of Happy Monday. Continue reading
Happy Monday
Happy Monday 2X
Every week the Happy Monday folder on my laptop gets things periodically dropped into it, and every weekend we pick out the 10 images, scriptures, quotations, comics and cute animals most likely to get your Monday and therefore your week off to a good start. There is simply too much to choose from! So if McDonald’s can Super Size your order, the movie plex can show a double feature and Payless can offer BOGO, why can’t we give you twice the Happy for lllthe same price? (Which of course is free!!!) Somebody tell Phil Robertson it’s Happy Happy Monday!
