What made a group of magi travel far from the east to come and pay respect to a newborn king of the Jews? How were they able to find him? And once they got there and found the current king wanted him dead, what led them to believe this baby born to a poor family in a little town was actually who they thought he was?
The story of the wise men is full of mystery... and may make you rethink how you set up your nativity figures on the fireplace mantle.
We started our series in Matthew during the season of Advent. The first week we looked at the genealogy of Jesus. Family trees and ancestral lineage doesn't always sound like the most interesting of topics, however, Matthew was revealing many very significant truths about who this Jesus was. Join us as we see the promised Rescuer God's people had been waiting for centuries to come.
This first week of Advent we look at how Jesus brings peace to the world. Peace is not merely quiet, calm, nor inner tranquility. It is all things working together as they should, so that the world flourishes. It is wholeness. It is Shalom. Jesus rights all wrongs, brings justice and healing, and invites us to experience true peace.
Joy to the world, the Lord has come!
We have a hope that the love of God will one day bring the wholeness of peace and restoration to this world — and when that comes we will experience the fullness of joy. Yet, we can experience that joy even here and now.
Joy is not fleeting happiness or feeling good, but a constant source of satisfaction found not in our temporary circumstances, but in our eternal outcome.
In our first week of Advent, we look at the hope the early church had because of Jesus and the hope we still hold onto today, because Jesus will return. Hope in Jesus is not like the wishful thinking we talk about when we hope for a raise or hope for the pandemic to end. Real biblical hope is a confident assurance of what God will do, rooted in what God has already done in history.
Perhaps you've heard this story before. The story of the virgin who gives a miraculous birth to a baby. The baby who would one day die and miraculously rise again. But this story is miraculous not only because of what happens, but because of why it happens. God has come to save His people, and to be with us.
King David wanted to build a house for the Lord. It seemed like a good idea. But God didn’t need David to build anything for Him. Instead, it was the Lord who would build a house for David, all of Israel, and all of those in Christ. Jesus, the better King, came to dwell on earth and has gone to heaven to prepare a home - one for God and mankind to dwell in together forever - one where Jesus reigns as King forever. Welcome home.
The Christmas season is a time of looking forward to all kinds of things; presents, treats, time with family, time off from school or work. This story takes us to a time when God’s people were looking forward to His rescue and salvation. Still, when the time had come for this news, it was almost too good to be true. What is your response when you hear the good news of God?
How can we be certain about what we’ve heard of Jesus? Why does it matter? This week we begin both our study in the book of Luke, as well as the season of Advent. Join us as we discover and investigate the hope we have for all areas of life: physical, social, political, economical, spiritual, and more.
