During His time on earth Jesus taught, healed, recruited, launched a worldwide movement and listened to people. Today we begin observing the Gospel writers portrayal of Jesus as a listening King who humbled Himself, sacrificed His time and gave people His love by sitting down to listen to them. Can you imagine the world’s astonishment if His followers did the same?
Sermons by Dean Wertz (Page 25)
With the start of a New Year we are reminded how we all long for both continuity and renewal: our same bodies and new diets, our same responsibilities and more sleep, our same needs and improved budgets. Where does this hunger to see our present condition made better come from? Could it be evidence that we are a part of a larger narrative? When God came to earth He started a new era called the Kingdom of Heaven. Today we consider how our longings for new beginnings is evidence of the present and coming Kingdom. And we are reminded to pray and live so that it may come on earth as it is in Heaven.
What is God like? His glorious universe above gives us a glimpse. His imaging bearing people around the world reveal more. The Bible pull back the curtain even more about God. Yet, when Christ was born those who saw Him made declarations like, “we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” and “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made him known” and “He is the image of the invisible God.” Christ has come to show us what God is like. Tonight we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus to whom we can look to see most clearly what God is like.
Joy takes center stage at Christmas. We sing Joy to the World, we call it a season of joy and we celebrate the night when an angel of the Lord brought shepherds “good news of great joy.” What is joy? John Piper rightly says, “According to the Bible joy is a good feeling in the soul produced by the Holy Spirit as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ through his word and his world.” On this 4th Sunday of Advent we consider 3 reasons, revealed in Psalm 98 and verse 4 of Joy to the World, why beholding Christ awakens joy in us. If there is room for more joy in your soul today, these Jesus-exalting realities may be just what you need.
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s arrive with many reminders that things are not as they should be. Relational tension, loss of a loved one, loneliness, inner struggles and conflict in the world around us are all causes for grief. The title and focus of this message comes from the truth declared in verse 1 of Joy to the World by Isaac Watts, who knew his share of pain. 300 years ago, Watts discovered the truths in Psalm 98 and wrote Joy to the World intending to direct his generation to the glorious and triumphant coming of our Lord. This message will encourage you to prepare Him room and avail yourself to His joy this Advent season and beyond.
When we listen to a child we love a child, when we listen to our neighbor we love our neighbor. Similarly, Jesus said when we listen to Him we love Him. Is there an area of life that is He asking you to listen to Him so that with His Spirit’s help you can walk accordingly in a way that will reveal that you love Him?
When does God speak? Where does God speak? Beyond His artwork and His writing, how does God speak? In I Kings 18 & 19, we discover that God speaks loudly through fire and softly through silence. A careful reading of the whole Bible reveals that His voice reverberates throughout the universe. So, in this message we are encouraged by stories from those who are learning to listen to God and we discover how we can receive renewed ears to hear His voice everyday everywhere.
How can we hear God’s voice? We now come to the point in our series where we begin to explore some of the ways God speaks, beginning today with His creation. In this message, we are encouraged and equipped to tune our ears and eyes to God’s artwork in creation which speaks every day, everywhere to everyone.
As we learned last week, God’s voice is the most powerful, transforming force in the universe. Yet, with so many distractions in our world today, His voice can appear muffled or non existent. In this message we are encouraged and equipped to take time to acknowledge and address the distractions in order to become still as we prepare to hear His voice.
Does God speak to us today? How you answer this question will set your life on one of two paths. In this message we explore some of the ways God’s voice has been heard in the past and we consider the possibility that everyone (young and old, spiritually disconnected and spiritually mature) has the ability to hear God’s voice because Jesus is a King who speaks yesterday, today and forever.