At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit…
Category: Advent
The Song of Hope:: God Always Keeps His Promises
“…just as he promised through the holy prophets long ago. Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us. He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant–the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham” (Luke 1:70-73, NLT). One of the reasons Zechariah could…
The Song of Hope:: God Never Forgets His People
“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people. He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David” (Luke 1:68-69, NLT). Zechariah was so enthused about the birth of his son John (the Baptist) that he broke out in song. His song was…
The Song of Hope:: 1
Christmas is incomplete without music. Some of the most memorable music comes from the Advent season. Songs that inspire and encourage. Songs of Hope. Songs of Peace. Songs of Joy. Songs of Love. If you enjoy classical music, you have Handel’s Messiah. If you are a traditionalist, nothing beats a good Christmas carol. If you’re…
Songs of the Season
Here’s the artwork for my Advent sermon series, titled Songs of the Season. The series will focus on the four songs surrounding the birth of Christ from Luke’s gospel. A huge thank you to Mark Marturello who designed this original piece to be used for our bulletin covers, web site, and social media.
What would Joseph say? (part 4)
In many ways, Joseph is the forgotten man of Christmas. We gloss over his role, giving him little consideration for being the man he was. We find not one single quotation from his lips in the gospel record. But without question, his life spoke then and continues to speak now. So far I have posted…
What would Joseph say? (part 3)
So far from the Christmas story we have observed some important principles. Joseph, the silent teacher, reminds us through his actions that God may call upon us to make sacrificial commitments that can only be fulfilled through His grace and strength. In addition, Joseph underscores the fact that in God’s kingdom we are all part…
What would Joseph say? (part 2)
This week I’ve been posting reflections from Joseph’s unique perspective on the nativity. Joseph is a silent character in the Bible, having no quotations attributed to him. If he were to have spoken regarding his experiences, what would he say? Here’s the next excerpt from the text, “But after he had considered these things, an…
What would Joseph say? (part 1)
If Joseph were given opportunity, what might he say about his role in the Christmas story? The first thing he might say is that God may call upon you to make a commitment that can only be fulfilled by God’s grace. Check out Matthew 1:18-29, “The birth of Jesus came about this way: After His…
The Forgotten Man of Christmas
One of our family traditions is to read the Christmas story with our family before we open presents on Christmas morning. As we read the story from Matthew and Luke, our children divide up the characters in our nativity scene and put the figures in place as they appear in the narrative. Nativity scenes are…