Before the time of Jesus, God limited His gifts of speaking to prophets, judges, the 70 elders of Israel, and two other men in Moses’ day (Numbers 11:24-29). Oh, well there was that donkey (Num 22:28-30)! But life for God’s people is now different. Jesus’ resurrection has ushered in the age of the Spirit, first […]
Luke 3:15-22: Baptized for You to Fulfill All Righteousness
January 10, 2016 by
When Jesus came the Jordan River for John to baptize Him, the entire Old Covenant came face to face with its Fulfillment. Every saving act of God, from Noah’s flood to the Red Sea, to the Temple sacrifices of atonement, came head to head with the Person to whom they pointed. Those events in the […]
Isaiah 60:1-6, Matthew 2:1-12: What’s Revealed in the Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh
January 3, 2016 by
They came bringing gifts—but found the better One. They left the blindness of deepest darkness, coming to the pure Light, finding the source of eternal Gladness. They came to the Jews but found a Gift greater than themselves, meant for all the Gentiles. So, who are “they”? They are the wise men, sometimes called kings, […]
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Galatians 4:1-7: The Now of God’s Timing
January 2, 2016 by
What is time? The dictionary says it is the interval, or period, between two events. It can also be a continued progression when something happens. And we measure that interval in seconds, minutes, hours, years, even centuries But then the dictionary also adds these many time-related expressions. We have a time capsule, time-consuming, time-honored, and […]
The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
December 30, 2015 by
It’s only been a few days since we celebrated Jesus’ birth. But already, we’ve leaped forward 40 days to Jesus’ presentation at the Temple. And Jesus, as a 40-day-old infant, at the Temple overflows with prophetic fulfillment and significance. For the entire Old Covenant had come to its focal point in this little Child. He […]
John 1:1-14: The Word became Flesh
December 25, 2015 by
We heard many words in our Christmas Gospel, telling us of Jesus. He is the Word. He is God and Creator, even Life and the Light of all people, shining in the darkness. He is the one-and-only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. Such beautiful and truth-filled words for our Savior, which […]
Jesus, our Brother, has Come into the Flesh
December 24, 2015 by
Now in those days, it came to pass that a decree went out from the Prince of Darkness, the Prince of this World, that all the world should be taxed. And this was the first taxing when Adam chose to become Lord of his life and master of his soul. For when he ate of […]
Micah 5:2-5: The Fruitful House of Bread
December 20, 2015 by
Today, we heard Micah prophesy of God coming to His people. “As for you, Bethlehem of Ephrathah, although you are small among the clans of Judah, from you, one will emerge who will rule over Israel for me. His existence has been from of old, even from eternity.” So, little Bethlehem is not so little […]
2 Samuel 7:1-17, Isaiah 11:1-10: God Prunes His Family Tree
December 20, 2015 by
In our first midweek Advent service, we heard how God planted the Seed of His Savior to defeat sin, death, and the devil. He would do this through His Promised Seed, who would come to crush that serpent Satan. That prophesied Seed, Jesus, would come to graft us back into life with Him. Last week, […]
Zephaniah 3:14-12: Because of Christ’s day, He makes all our days His
December 20, 2015 by
When we look at how life is going, we often see it as a series of good days and bad days. For our lives are full of both. And when we have a bad day, we look forward to when life will turn around and get better. We think, “It can’t get any worse; I […]
