This week we consider the birth of John, the one who came to prepare God’s people to receive their Messiah. Luke gives a short narrative highlighting the events of his birth, centering on his name choice. When Elizabeth says his name is John, everyone is surprised since no one in their family bears that name. Not only is that significant in Jewish culture but because of the meaning of John’s name, “Yahweh has been gracious.” When they confirm that name choice with Zechariah, God enables him to declare his praise.

When he speaks, like Mary, he paints a picture of the result of God’s rescuing work for his people. Like Tolkien and Lewis during the war, Zechariah can visualize a world where evil has been fully vanquished, and God’s people are free to live without fear. Where Mary’s song focuses on God exalting his people, Zechariah’s blessing envisions the freedom God’s work provides. As he says, “to grant us, that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear.” (v74)

Again, this portion overflows with God’s grace to his people. In faithfulness to his mercy and grace, God comes to the aid of his people. As believers, we are the light of that world shining in the darkness. Join us Sunday, as we worship our great Rescuer.

This week we consider the song of Mary, often called Mary’s Magnificat because of the Latin translation of her words, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” This is a beautiful song that expresses gospel truth about God’s promises dating all the way back to Abraham. Mary connects God’s promise to Abraham’s descendent with the child she is carrying in her womb. Her child would be the recipient of God’s promise, fulfilling his commitment to his people.

Mary goes beyond God’s promises to Israel and praises him for his faithfulness to those who fear him. In our world, the proud are praised and put on the cover of People magazine; but in God’s world, those who fear him, who walk humbly before him, they are exalted. God’s kingdom isn’t filled with the proud, but with the lowly, with the meek, with those who love righteousness.

Her words strike like an ax at the tree of human pride. They remind us of King Nebuchadnezzar whom God humbled and said, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” (Daniel 4:37) Mary’s song reminds us, as James says, “God opposes the proud but he gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

Her song challenges the greatness of man, our pride in self, and calls on us to humble ourselves before God who is worthy of praise. Join us as we consider this text and worship our Lord!

Whenever Divinity engages the earthly, the Holy with the unholy, it is an act of mercy and grace. This passage overflows with God’s kindness to humanity. First, we find the angel Gabriel being sent by God to a little town called Nazareth, to a young woman committed to and awaiting her marriage to Joseph, a tradesman. Likely, she’s a teenager, innocent in the world. As Jewish tradition requires, she’s living at home, awaiting her marriage to Joseph which often occurred within a year of the betrothal agreement. Gabriel announces that she has been given “favor” from God.

Second, we hear this great announcement of Messiah’s birth. Here is where Gabriel gives the most details, bringing the Old Testament prophecies to bear on the child she will have. Her Son will be from God and will be given the eternal throne promised to David’s great descendent. He will reign forever, providing for and protecting his people. He will be a Holy King.

The narrative then moves to the manner of this conception and the celebration of it with Mary’s cousin Elizabeth. This brings us to the third expression of God’s grace the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Not only will the Spirit create this conception, but he fills Elizabeth and her child, John, yet unborn, with faith and joy at the presence of Mary who is early in her pregnancy. God’s Spirit is perpetually with His people.

Luke is doing more than telling us a story; he is revealing to us the grace of God. Christmas is a story of unwarranted, unearned grace from God. It’s a story of God’s fulfillment of his goodness, the full expression of his grace. Join us Sunday as we worship!

Sunday we finish our series, Abounding Grace, by considering our profession of faith to the world. The author urges his readers to follow Christ, outside the city gates, suffering his reproach with him. The challenge for believers is to follow Christ no matter what the world or the religious community thinks of our faith. Our hope rests in the abounding goodness of God to those who believe in Jesus and the kingdom he provides and reigns over. We’ll track this theme through the book of Hebrews and see how it liberates the believer to live in confidence, contentment, and confession.

 Our experience of God’s goodness and our confidence in his finished work through Christ becomes our “boast” to the world. The author says, “we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope,” Hebrews 3:6. When was the last time you “boasted in hope?” When was the last time you exhorted someone to remember the work of Christ and his coming kingdom? When was the last time you professed your faith and boasted in God’s grace to a non-believer?

Are we silent because we’ve lost hope? Maybe we’ve forgotten the promises of God? The world needs to hear our boasting in hope. Only our experience of God’s goodness can produce this expression of hope. Join us Sunday.

Sunday we finish our series, Abounding Grace, by considering our profession of faith to the world. The author urges his readers to follow Christ, outside the city gates, suffering his reproach with him. The challenge for believers is to follow Christ no matter what the world or the religious community thinks of our faith. Our hope rests in the abounding goodness of God to those who believe in Jesus and the kingdom he provides and reigns over. We’ll track this theme through the book of Hebrews and see how it liberates the believer to live in confidence, contentment, and confession.

 Our experience of God’s goodness and our confidence in his finished work through Christ becomes our “boast” to the world. The author says, “we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope,” Hebrews 3:6. When was the last time you “boasted in hope?” When was the last time you exhorted someone to remember the work of Christ and his coming kingdom? When was the last time you professed your faith and boasted in God’s grace to a non-believer?

Are we silent because we’ve lost hope? Maybe we’ve forgotten the promises of God? The world needs to hear our boasting in hope. Only our experience of God’s goodness can produce this expression of hope. Join us Sunday.

Sunday we turned the corner and began discussing the expression of experiencing God’s grace. Time in the presence of God assures us that he is in control of this world and our lives. He has placed his Son on the throne, and Jesus rules over all his creation. In addition, as we engage him, we are reminded that everything we have is a gift of his mercy. This will always result in overwhelming gratitude. Our expression of experiencing God will be trust and gratitude. In short, worship!

But God has more for us. Time in the presence of God assures us of cleansing work of Christ on our behalf. Every day we fall short of the obedience God calls us to. David Powilson says that our growth in obedience is like slowly walking up stairs while operating a yo-yo. We’re making progress but it’s up and down. How we respond to sin, ours and others, has a direct relationship to our understanding and experience of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Do we excuse, minimize, or hide our sin? Maybe we’re overly hard on ourselves or set up pharisaical expectations? How we respond to our own sin directly impacts how we respond to the sin of others? Come Sunday and let’s consider how our ministry of grace is based on our experience of grace.

For several weeks now we’ve been discussing God’s goodness and the importance of accessing His grace. We have every reason to approach God’s throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace in our time of need. But, have you ever considered the warning signs that you need more than you have? This week we’ll consider a few red flags that should prompt us to get more from God. Looking at it from another angle, what are the signs that you’re filled with the grace of God? What will others experience from you if you are soaking up the favor and gifts of God?

By design, God made us dependent upon him for our function in this world. Adam and Eve were built to engage God: learn from him, walk with him, interpret life through him. Sin didn’t change our dependence, but it complicated it. No longer are we naturally prone to live in dependence, rather we’re prone to independence. The Scripture refers to this as “leaning on our own understanding.” (Prov. 3:5) Trust in the Lord is more than faith as it includes our humility as God dependent. This Sunday we’ll begin to consider the fruit of soaking up the grace of God. Join us.

Sunday, we began to examine the Scripture’s use of the word “grace.” The word is used to refer to God’s favor and his gifts to us. While we looked briefly at the favor God bestows upon us, this week we’ll examine just a few of the many gifts the come to us because we’re favored. Some of the gifts that come to us are already given, like our justification. The Apostle Paul says, “and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” Romans 3:24. Notice that justification is the gift that come to us through “grace.” This a gift that all believers currently enjoy.

But there are gifts that God bestows when we ask. Consider James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Now praying this just before taking a test I didn’t study for probably stretches the meaning of this text, but asking God for wisdom in life’s challenging situations is encouraged. James’ encouragement comes in the context of trials and temptations, and he assures us that God will not scoff when we ask. Often, when I pray for wisdom, I linger in God’s presence waiting for his wisdom. Sometimes I have ideas in those moments, sometimes I move on and trust God to lead in my decision-making process. Sometimes, God answers my prayer during the day through the wisdom of my counselors. The point is that wisdom is a gift I can ask for and receive because I enjoy God’s favor.

There are more gifts that God stands ready to bestow if we will engage him and ask. Join us Sunday as we consider these graces.

Sunday we’ll continue our study of God’s abounding grace. Our author says that in God’s throne room we discover or “find” grace. The idea of discovering grace does not imagine that we must look for it like Indiana Jones, but that we’re surprised by what we receive from the Lord. As we engage God, ministered to by our High Priest Jesus, we discover the grace of God being dispensed through the Holy Spirit.

But what is grace? I’ve asked that question of many during my ministry. Most answer, “unmerited favor.” Yes! Absolutely! But it’s more than that. Grace is two-pronged: God’s favor and his gifts. This week we’ll explore the favor of God. As we explore this, we need to consider how experiencing the favor of God helps us. The author is adamant that the mercy and grace we receive “helps” in our moment of need. How does “unmerited favor” help me in the moment? Let’s explore this Sunday.

Sunday, Rev. Tom Breeden will minister to us on how we become peacemakers in a world of deepening polarization. His first session, at 9am in the youth room, will focus on answering the question, “How did we get so divided?” In our video promo, I told the story of my conversation with Tom at a convention seminar where he said to me, “Polarization only exists in the presence of a threat.” Then we listened to a speaker who recounted multiple threats that we face and urged us to act. But that’s not action, that’s reaction. Motivated by fear or a sense of righteousness, our actions often make the problem worse.

If the threats are real, the first job of any believer is to bathe them in prayer and ask God to give us courage to act, and clarity in how to act. Then we might engage trusted brothers and sisters to evaluate our plan, listen to the Holy Spirit speak through them, before we act. The Spirit might lead us not to act but endure the threat (think of Daniel in Babylon). The Spirit might lead us to act more patiently because there are bigger priorities than eliminating the threat (think of King David and King Saul). He might move us to immediate action (think of Paul confronting Peter). 

The point is that God has grace for us to evaluate threats from his perspective and act in accordance with his wisdom, working toward unity in love. Join us Sunday as we explore these important themes.