Hebrews 11 points us towards what was done “by faith” by the those who trusted in God. References to them are included throughout the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Abraham traveled by faith towards the Promised Land that had been described to him by the Lord. Eventually, he made his home there. Yet “God had planned something better” for Abraham than what he experienced during his lifetime on earth (Hebrews 11:40). The same is true for us as well. Through faith in Jesus, God has something greater for us too! There have been Christians for nearly two thousand years living by faith with an assurance of what they hoped for (Hebrews 11:1). Through his faith in Christ, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was given a Spirit-inspired dream of God’s kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven, with men and women, adults, teens, and children of all ages, economic levels, and different races living in peace, united in faith, experiencing the liberty and justice made possible by God. Dr. King and innumerable other believers have been part of the journey walking towards the Promised Land of God’s kingdom come and His will done here on earth as it is in heaven. Just as those who have come before us, we continue the journey towards God’s plan for humanity, a future when we know and love God completely, while loving others as Christ loved us. Thankfully, there are glimpses of it in our world, nation, community, and congregation. But we long for more than what we can see with our eyes during these days and times. So we continue to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us” as we “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,” knowing that God has something better for us in the future (Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV). Amen.

The story of Jesus and the Wise Men (Magi) continues in Matthew 2:

“When they (Magi) had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt…for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. “So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod.” -Matthew 2:13-15a NIV

Just as an angel spoke to Joseph in a dream when Mary was pregnant (Matthew 1:20-21), an angel revealed the threat of death coming for the Son of God during a dream. Matthew, the gospel writer, focused on helping his Jewish audience to understand that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah and somewhat like a new Moses. As a baby, Moses’ life was threatened by the Pharaoh of Egypt. His mother placed him in a basket on the Nile River in hopes that an Egyptian would find her Hebrew baby, save him, and raise him as her own child. By the grace of God, baby Moses was found and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter.

Parents and grandparents, what does the Lord want you to do to protect the hearts, minds, bodies, and souls of the children he has entrusted to your care? If you don’t know, pray for God to reveal his will to you.

If you are not a parent or grandparent, what can you do to help protect and care for children in need? Ask the Lord to reveal how you can help.

Matthew, one of the four gospel writers, shares the story of the Magi visiting Jesus as a young child:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” – Matthew 2:1-2 NIV

 

Are you seeking the king of the Jews? He is the King of kings.

 

What led you to Jesus? If you are a Christian, God wants you to be a light that leads others to Christ.

 

The Magi worshiped Jesus. What or who are you worshiping?

 

The Magi offered Jesus gifts. What are you offering to the Lord?

“With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26 NIV). Those were the words our Savior shared with his disciples. The stories of Advent that we have studied during the past few weeks reveal the truth that “with God all things are possible.” During this Advent season we have been studying the stories of Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, and Mary. Within their stories we find an older couple who had been unable to conceive, yet by the grace of God they were finally expecting a baby after an angel spoke to Zechariah. Not only were they going to have a child, but Zechariah and Elizabeth’s child had the unique role within history of being a prophetic voice preparing people for the arrival of the long awaited Messiah. Their son John was “filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth” (Luke 1:15 NIV).

 

The story of Joseph and Mary revealed an engaged couple who were told that they were going to be the parents of God’s Son. Mary was a virgin, so her pregnancy seemed impossible from a human standpoint, but “with God all things are possible.” During her pregnancy, Mary chose to visit her relative Elizabeth who was also pregnant. The gospel writer shares this detail of their stories coming together, “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:41 NIV).

 

The child in Mary’s womb was the Christ child, the Son of God who was sent to “save the world” (John 3:17). He was the greatest gift ever given! So, whatever situation, circumstances, challenges, or hardships you are facing and experiencing, know that “with God all things are possible.” You too can be filled with the Holy Spirit. You too can experience the joy of the Lord in your life and leap on the inside, even if you are unable to leap physically. Your can be comforted in the midst of mourning. Your mourning can even turn into rejoicing. You too can receive the greatest gift and be part of the multitude of believers who are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ. On your own it may be impossible, but not with God. With God…all things are possible.

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to Mary of Nazareth to deliver a message. Gabriel revealed that Mary was chosen for a special purpose, to carry the Son of God in her womb and be his mother. By the grace of God, she and Joseph became the parents of Jesus, the Savior of the world.

 

Although no other humans have been given the honor and responsibility of being the parents of Jesus, God’s grace is with you too! The Lord’s undeserved and unmerited favor enables you to understand who He is and what He wants you to know. God’s grace provides the gift of justification, forgiveness of sins, through faith in Jesus. The work of the Holy Spirit reveals the sanctifying grace of God transforming you in the way you think, speak, and act to enable you to mature, become more fruitful as a believer, and become more like Christ. You may not feel like it, but God’s favor found you and is with you. How will you respond?

Within the first two chapters of The Gospel According to Matthew, Matthew shares that God communicated “in a dream” five times. God’s messages and warnings within the dreams described in Matthew 1 & 2 are evidence of what was revealed over one thousand years earlier to Job, “For God does speak…In a dream, in a vision of the night…he may speak in their ears…with warnings, to turn them from wrongdoings and keep them from pride, to preserve them from the pit…” (Job 33:14-18 NIV). Has God every spoken to you through a dream? That’s what happened for Joseph, the man engaged to Mary, the mother of Jesus. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that Mary “will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21 NIV).

 

Not only can God communicate through angels, prophets, and dreams, but he chose to communicate his message of salvation for the whole world by sending his son, Jesus the Messiah. God wants all the people of the earth to be saved from the pit of death (2 Peter 3:9). But the choice is ours to make. God told the Israelites through Moses, “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19 NIV). The Lord won’t force us to choose him nor trust him. God sent his son to show us how much he loves us and how much he wants us to “choose life.” The name Joseph was told to name the child conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb was “Jesus,” which means “God saves.” The Lord sent his son as our Savior, to save us from the eternal consequences of our sins.

 

Have you placed your faith in Jesus as your Savior? You can’t earn God’s forgiveness or a ticket to heaven. Salvation is a gift. It is a free gift offered to you from our Heavenly Father through his son, Jesus the Christ. You have the freedom to choose to receive the free gift or reject it.

 

Do you believer that Jesus is the Son of God and that he paid the price for your sins when he was crucified for you and everyone who has ever lived?

 

If you are a long-time Christian, praise God today and throughout this week for his indescribable gift of salvation in and through Jesus!

 

If you turned your back on faith, the church, or God, today is the perfect day to repent of your sins and turn back to Christ by seeking forgiveness, trusting in God’s grace and mercy given through Christ our Savior, and making a commitment to faithfully follow Jesus.

 

If you are not a believer, what if God is using this message to get your attention because he wants you to choose life through faith in his Son, Jesus? Consider reading the daily Bible verses below and using the prayer suggestions in the “Soul” section of each day, while continuing to join us for weekly online worship services. God will reveal himself to you if you seek him with “all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

 

*If you don’t have a Bible, consider downloading the YouVersion Bible App for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play for your smartphone or tablet. You can also use www.BibleGateway.com to look up and read various translations of Bible verses online.

Have you ever felt like your prayers were not heard? Sometimes it feels that way when God says “no” to things we are hoping he will say “yes” to, but it also feels like our prayers are being ignored when God’s unspoken answer is “not yet”. That is what happened for Zechariah and Elizabeth. They obeyed the Lord’s commandments, yet their prayers for a child seemed to go unanswered year after year until they were both very old. When Zechariah was chosen by lot to “enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense” in the Temple as part of his duties as a priest, the angel, Gabriel, appeared to him and stated, “your prayer has been heard” (Luke 1:13 NIV). Not only had Zechariah’s prayers been heard, but he and his wife were going to be the parents of John the baptizer, the one who would prepare people for the coming of the Lord (Luke 1:17). Elizabeth and Zechariah’s story in Luke 1 reminds us to continue praying persistently even when we become weary. The story also reminds us to trust in God’s timing.

Daniel 1 reveals that the king of the Babylonians and his army overthrew the the king of Judah and the city of Jerusalem about 600 years before Jesus was born. During that time some of the young Jewish men who were part of the royal family and nobility of Judah, including Daniel, were taken to Babylon to become trained to serve King Nebuchadnezzar. While in exile, the faith of their childhood was tested.

 

We too are enduring a season of our faith being tested. Sunday morning worship services have recently transition to entirely online, so we are temporarily not meeting in the Sanctuary or Chapel for worship services. We are limited in how we stay connected with family members, friends, and fellow believers during this time of isolation and restrictions. Many are suffering mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually because of the ongoing strains, disappointments, grief, and uncertainties of this year and the pandemic we are living through. In times like these our daily habits either enable us to be spiritually nourished, emotionally healthy, physically fit, and mentally sound, or the lack of those habits prevents us from maintaining our health and wellness. Ultimately, it’s hard to care for and love others if you are not taking care of yourself. You can’t give what you don’t have.

 

You are encouraged to set aside time to Worship God on Sundays, while also living as a worshiper throughout the week. You’re also encouraged to stay Connected with other sisters or brothers in Christ through ongoing communication and care. And utilize Habits that enable you to be healthy emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Those habits should include prayer, studying scripture, fasting (denying yourself something), resting and recreation, along with doing things to nourish your heart, mind, and body.