Untitled Sermon

...January 1, 2019

"She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." ()

The word "grace" just jumps out at us in this chapter. It's apparent that God cares about sinful failures as is evident by closely examining the genealogy of Jesus. It blows my mind that sinful characters like Rahab, Tamar, David, Solomon and so many others are listed prominently in Jesus' lineage.

Like these characters, there's no doubt that I have been saved by the sheer grace of God. Beyond salvation, I need the grace of God to live for Jesus and to serve Him each and every day.

My goal is to never take the grace of God for granted. Furthermore, I want the Lord to help me to respond to difficult people with the same grace God has shown me!

...January 2, 2019

The names for Jesus - Messiah, Immanuel, and King of the Jews are so important. In chap. 2, there is a recurring phrase - "for this is what has been written by the prophets."

God's ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than ours. God makes history; He doesn't respond to it. Jesus' birthplace, His coming out of Egypt, the slaughter of children around Bethlehem, and Jesus being a Nazarene was determined by God Himself years in advance.

Just as God was sovereign over every detail in Jesus' life, He is also sovereign over my life. There is no doubt in mind that the Lord fully intended for me to be a pastor before I was ever born ().

"My Lord, I am Yours. Help me to be who You created me to be and to do what You want me to do. All I want to do is to please You and to glorify You!"