This Christmas Hymn first written on Christmas Eve 1816, takes us on a journey through the nativity from the point of view of various groups. In the end, the chorus beckons all of us to “come and worship, come and worship, Worship Christ, the newborn King.” And that is the essential call of Christmas. For everyone and all creation to come and worship Christ the King of the Universe whom we celebrate in this season.
Sermons by Rob Cupp (Page 5)
As we begin our advent journey this year, we encounter Hope. Jesus came as a baby, but not just any baby. He was Emmanuel – God with us! And the great Hope we have is that we serve a God that is with us! Through everything and anything we experience we can long for and hope that Christ will come into our situation and lives because He has done it before, He is doing it now and He will do it again!
Jesus said that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Treasure is a part of every humans experience. It is important that we treasure God Himself above all things so that our hearts will be invested in Him and His Kingdom! As our heart is invested in him, we will be transformed and live transformed lives.
As we continue to study Christ’s Kingdom Manifesto in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus continues to challenge His hearers with the challenge to do things for God Himself, not for the reward of man. He using the Spiritual Discipline of Fasting to show that a heavenly reward is much better than an earthly reward given my people.
As Jesus continues his Sermon on the Mount, He builds on what being “perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” means. Doing righteous things is a natural outcome of living in awareness of the Kingdom and participating as a part of it, but Jesus us warns us that our motives must also match The Father’s and not get caught up in the response and reaction of others. Jesus is asking His listeners “where do you want your reward to come from?”
Moses was pleading with God to go with him and Israel on their journey. God relented and said he would not only go with them, but provide for them rest and peace. As with Moses, God provides us with layers of peace. Personally, Relationally, Corporately and Ultimately. And only in God himself can we find the peace and rest we long for!
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is giving insight into how His Kingdom is different than what the audience had known and experienced. In Matthew 6:33, He summarizes the action we must take in light of all these Kingdom Insights: We must seek first the Kingdom of God and God Himself and then respond in faith!
God seems to always get a bad rap. An “act of God” is what we call a horrible disaster. It is a common belief that we better behave or God will strike us down with lighting or hurt us in some way. What if this perceptions were wrong? The Bible (In fact, God Himself In the Bible) sets the record right. God is Good. So, if He is Good, what are the implications for how we live daily.
When we believe the True Gospel that the Apostle Paul preached, The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us. As we live life in submission to the Holy Spirit and keep saying “Jesus is Lord,” the fruit of God’s Character will come out of us. Spiritual maturity is just continuing to string “yes, Lord” after “yes, Lord” together in our lives!
In Galatians, Paul passionately contrasts a life of Faith that leads to being filled with The Spirit versus a life in the flesh that keeps you a slave under the law. For us today, God’s plan is for us to live in freedom, in The Spirit, and no longer be slaves to our controlling religious striving. We must trust all that God has said and walk in Freedom as Sons and Daughters of God.