Colossians 2:6-7; A bookend message to address the questions posed by our Thanksgiving sermon from Matthew 7. Jesus warned the disciples, ” Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the the kingdom of heaven..”. Our follow-up comes from Paul’s letter to the Colossian church where he outlines five key indicators of a […]

Luke 2:1-7; God’s perfect plan for the arrival of Messiah was foretold for centuries before He set it into motion with Gabriel’s message to Zechariah. Both Mary and Joseph also experienced angelic messnegers to prepare them for their vitally important mission as the earthly parents of Immanuel. Even mighty Caesar Augustus had no idea his […]

Luke 1:39-45; The theme of angels from Advent wk2 continues with the visitation of Gabriel to Mary in our Advent reading. Mary learns she is to conceive and will give birth to Messiah, which Jospeh already learned from an angel in a dream. Soon after, Mary packs up and heads south to visit relative Elizabeth, […]

Matthew 1:18-25; The abundance of OT prophesies pointed forward to the coming of God’s Messiah, but the 400 years of heavenly silence after Malachi only fanned the flames of Israel’s desire for a savior. The silence was abruptly broken by the arrival of the angel Gabriel to Zechariah, foretelling the birth of their son John. […]

Micah 5:1-5; Yahweh-God commissioned chosen men to serve as messengers throughtout the Old Testament to reveal details about the coming of Immanuel. From Geneist 3 forward, the character and mission of Messiah was promised. Both Micah and Isaiah foretold a terrible siege of Jerusalem that would leave Israel a wasteland, due to their sinful disobedience. […]

John 21:15-25; Following their fruitless night of fishing and breakfast prepared by Jesus, Simon Peter and the Lord go for a walk on the shore. The purpose of the conversation is focused on the full restoration of Peter, as well as commissioning him in a pastoral role for the development of the early church. Three […]

John 21:1-14; Both the angel at the tomb and Jesus instructed Mary to tell the disciples to meet Him in Galilee. While the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread was going on, Jesus appeared twice to the Eleven in Jerusalem before they left for home. Upon arrival, Simon Peter decided to go fishing for the night, […]

Matthew 28:1-15; Following the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went early to the tomb. A sudden earthquake heralded the coming of a messeger angel from the Lord to roll back the stone sealing Jesus’ burial place. The angel’s message was direct, “He is not here’ he has risen, just […]

Matthew 21:1-11; Tensions between the Jewish relgious authories and Jesus reached fever pitch after the raising of Lazarus from the dead. The Sanhedrin convened to discuss how they might put Jesus to death and also Lazarus, as he was evidence of Christ’s greatest miracle. In the meantinme, Passover was looming and Jesus returned to Jerusalem […]

Psalm 73; Psalmist Asaph shares his heart about a false perceotion of the world. He began to envy those who appeared to be blessed beyone measure, with wealth and good health that brought pride and arrogance. Yet as a follower of Yahweh-God, he noted that his life was filled with difficulty and suffering. This bothered […]