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Christmas is a reminder to us that in even the darkest of times, the reality of Jesus is GOOD News that Brings GREAT JOY. After the year(s) we’ve had, be it personally or globally it seems we have been receiving a slew of bad news. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the Good News that Jesus brings.
Sermon Notes - December 19, 2021
Good News: Long Awaited, Unexpected Good News - Brian Becker
Luke 2:10-11 (NIV)
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Advent: Waiting, longing, and tension of the in-between and not yet.
Come, Though Long-Expected Jesus
Charles Wesley-1744 Advent Hymn
Come though long expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Matthew 1:18 (NIV)
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit…
Matthew 1:19 (NIV)
Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Matthew 1:20 (NIV)
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit…
Matthew 1:21 (NIV)
She 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 2:16 (NKJV)
Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
| Waiting Should... | Waiting Can... |
|---|---|
| Settle the Soul | Agitate the Soul |
| Develop Patience | Develop Anxiety |
| Produce Endurance | Produce Bitterness |
| Build Muscles | Build Doubt |
| Cause Perspective | Cause Shortsightedness |
| Teach Yeilding | Teach Comparison |
“Hoping does not mean nothing. It is the opposite of desperate and panicky manipulations, of scurrying and worrying. And hoping is not dreaming. It is not spinning an illusion or fantasy to protect us from our boredom or our pain. It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what He said He will do. It is imagination put in the harness of faith. It is a willingness to let God do it His way and in His time.” –Eugene Peterson
May you experience the Holy Sacred Presence of God in the in-between wherever life has brought you.