Scripture
– Matthew 1:18-25 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. 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.
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. 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.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had
said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
When
Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took
Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave
birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Bob’s
thoughts:
I was
glad we could come worship with friends and hear the message from one of them.
It is always an easy sell to get me to come here for worship. There is always a
host of cute little ones running around and I truly enjoy the faith walk
stories people here share.
Most
times I look forward to singing in church where my voice is lost in the overall
total, but today the harmony was so great I kept quiet so as not to spoil it. I
walked around and thoroughly enjoyed the rendition from the Praise Team in
different parts of the sanctuary. The building is a large high ceiling building
with hard surface walls but today the acoustics were great.
One
of the points our friend stressed in the message was that in receiving Christ,
we receive a “full pardon”, a good phrase from a former lawyer. Our natural
response should be repentance, but it is still a daily struggle for all of us.
Jan’s
thoughts:
I
was glad our friend invited us to worship here as it’s always a blessing to worship
in this community. They provide a generous continental breakfast prior to the
start of the service during which there is ample opportunity to visit with current
friends and meet new ones.
The
three lead vocalists sounded exceptional together, along with the keyboardist
(who was a first-time visitor), the guitarist, and the drummer. The music was terrific.
The
message was presented by our good friend, and the title was Salvation from Sin: God’s Rescue Plan for
Humanity. He outlined God’s purpose for Jesus’ incarnation, life, and death,
which was to save ALL people – past, present, and future – from their sin. This
salvation includes complete pardon and should result in our repentance and
sanctification (becoming more holy). He pointed out that we all have our own
process of sanctification, so God deals with each of us individually…the process
is unique to each of us.
Following
the message, I was blessed by the invitation to come forward and participate in
handwashing to symbolize Christ’s washing us of our sins.
Our
prayer for this church:
Father,
we pray Your constant blessing on Your church that they may continue to
joyfully welcome these little ones in Your name. Amen.
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