God Became Man

I. What is Man? Psalm 144:3-4

Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?
⁴ Man is like a breath;
His days are like a passing shadow.

God is the creator of the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1) He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere. He is, was and always will be. He is beyond human comprehension.

Yet He cares about us. Each one of us. 

He cares about you.

And me.

II. The Word: John 1:1-5, 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

We are celebrating Christmas. Christmas is the birth of Jesus. It is not just the birth of a special baby. It is the day when God became a man. We cannot fully comprehend the mystery of the incarnation. God temporarily laid aside His divine attributes and took on human flesh. 

The light of Christ shone in the darkness, but the darkness did not comprehend it. Some believed, but many did not. 

III. Whoever Believes: John 3:14-19

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should ^[a]not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

¹⁸ “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

We celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus, but we must never forget why He came to earth. He came to earth to die for the sins of the world. Even as John said he is ‘the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.’

That is how much God loves us. 

Yet, there are many who do not believe. They reject the love of God because they prefer the evil of their deeds. 

Conclusion: 

So, what is humanity? They are God’s creation. They are loved by God. God showed His love by sending His Son, Jesus, to die for the sins of the world. That we may be forgiven and restored in our relationship to God. 

But, do we believe? Do we love God in return?

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These are the notes from the message that I preached on 12/24/23. All scriptures are from the New King James Version of the Bible. If you would like to hear the message as it was preached, you can view it at:  https://www.facebook.com/100064322333786/videos/880268437071101

What Does It Mean?

Pope Francis in July of 2013 made the statement “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”

In August of 2023 Pope Francis said that “the Catholic Church is open to everyone, including the gay community…”

Now, Pope Francis formally approved letting Catholic priests bless same-sex couples.

So, what does it mean?

When I first read the quote about “who am I to judge”, I was angry. You are the pope! You provide guidance to millions of Catholics!! Then I realized that he was probably thinking of James 4:12 “There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” There was no change in official Catholic teaching. 

The church is open to everyone. Of course, we want people to come to church! 

The blessing? What is meant by blessing same-sex couples? Does it mean approval? Or something else?? When I was in the military I had the opportunity to visit Vatican City. I was in the outside court area when Pope John-Paul II leaned out the window and blessed the crowd. I was told that I could now say that I had been blessed by the pope. Everyone in the courtyard was blessed. He didn’t know me. He knew nothing about me. Apparently, anyone could be blessed.

So, what is going on? Some people think that the stance of the Catholic church is changing. 

Or, are they seeking to draw people within the gay community back into the church? Once in the church they will be exposed to the ‘means of grace’. The means of grace are various events and actions that promote the grace of God to impact a persons life. Those means of grace are used by God to draw a person closer to Him. 

So, is the Catholic church changing, or is the Catholic church trying to change others, or both? 

 

The Teacher

Yesterday, at our men’s breakfast we discussed the will of God. The scripture that we were looking at was Romans 12:1-2

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

We agreed that the acceptable will of God is only a starting point. As new Christians, the bare minimum is difficult enough both to grasp and to execute. As we grow in the Lord, we can do better. As we reach maturity, we can strive for the perfect. This does not mean that we reach it, but we are slowly becoming more the people that God means for us to be. 

I. Bethlehem: Micah 5:2-5

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”

Therefore He shall give them up,
Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth;
Then the remnant of His brethren
Shall return to the children of Israel.
⁴ And He shall stand and feed His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;
And they shall abide,
For now He shall be great
To the ends of the earth;
⁵ And this One shall be peace.

In a week we will be celebrating the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem. This portion of Micah is the location of the prophecy that foretold the birth of the Christ at Bethlehem. It is one of many prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ. 

Today I would like to focus on verse four. He will feed his flock. This reminds me of John 10:11 where Jesus refers to Himself as the good shepherd. It also reminds me of Psalm 23 where we identify that the Lord is our shepherd. (Homework assignment-read Psalm 23)

God will take care of us, like a shepherd takes care of his sheep.

I grew up in a Lutheran church. Then for a few years I attended an independent Pentecostal church. While I was in the Marines Corp I attended a Methodist church. There was a period when I was a little confused by the various teachings. Which one was the right one?

II. A Simple Truth: Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

To do justly basically means to do what is right. Now, it is not always easy to know what is right and it is not always easy to do what is right, but it is a starting point. 

To love mercy means to forgive others as we believe that God will forgive us. 

To walk humbly with God is a wonderful calling. Jesus calls to each of us to come, follow him. We can be his disciples, which means students. He is our teacher. 

III. Teach Me: Psalm 143:9-10

Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
In You I take shelter.
¹⁰ Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.

It is God who will teach us to do His will. 

  A. The Word: II Timothy 3:16-17

 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

We should be reading the Bible again and again. We should study it, memorize it, meditate on it. God will use it to change our lives.

  B. The Spirit: John 16:12-13

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

The Spirit will lead us. It is the Word of God together with the Spirit of God that forms the people of God. 

God reaches out to us, just as we are. He calls us to faith in Jesus, to walk humbly with Him, to learn from Him, to do His will.

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These are the sermon notes from the message that I preached 12/17/23. All scriptures are from the New King James Version of the Bible. The memory verse for this week is Psalm 143:9-10. If you would like to view this message as it was preached you can watch it at: https://www.facebook.com/100064322333786/videos/387530717050940 

Wanderers

James 5:19-20

Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, ²⁰ let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

I. Wanders From the Truth

  A. Word or Belief: Galatians 1:6-9

⁶ I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, ⁷ which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. ⁹ As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

What we believe matters. One way in which we may wander from the truth is to change our beliefs. The most important example of this is the nature of Jesus Christ. If we reduce Jesus to simply another man, even if we acknowledge him as a prophet or teacher, that is a problem. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Anything less is unacceptable. 

A second problem is to acknowledge Jesus as one path among many. Jesus is the Only Way to the Father. (John 14:6) If there were another way to be reconciled to God, then Jesus need not have died. 

In Christianity there are varying beliefs on communion, baptism, and other important topics. These issues are important, but the most important topic is the nature of Christ. Our hope is in Him. We are united in Him. 

  B. Deed or Practice: 

   1.Matthew 7:21-23

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

How we live is important. We are forgiven for the sins of our past, not given permission to continue to live in sin. We should be changing. Our lives should more and more reflect the Christ who dwells within us by faith. 

   2. Matthew 7:24-27

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

²⁶ “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

If we follow God’s Word, our lives will be better and more stable. If we rebel and live our own way, life will be much harder. 

II. Save a Soul

  A. Repentance: To repent means to turn. Remember the prodigal son? (Luke 15:11-32) When he came to his senses, he returned to the Father who loved him. He was forgiven and accepted. 

  B. Salvation: If we turn to God we can be forgiven. It is not too late. God is willing to give us another chance. 

  C. Our Role: We should share the gospel with the unsaved. We should encourage those who are serving the Lord. We should reach out to those who have stumbled or turned away. 

III. Cover Sins

  A. The Repentant: God is willing to forgive. No one is beyond hope. A multitude of sins may be forgiven. 

  B. Our Own: There is no more important work than encouraging someone to come to Christ, or back to Christ. Revelation 22:12 tells us “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” Our salvation is by grace through faith, thank you Jesus! (Ephesians 2:8-10) Yet, there seems to be a reward for doing well that goes beyond salvation. Perhaps there is no ‘work’ that is more important than bringing a person to Christ. 

It is important that we walk with God in truth and righteousness. It is also important that we do not just think about ourselves. Serving God is a group effort. 

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These are the sermon notes from the message that I preached 11/26/23. All scriptures are from the New King James Version of the Bible. If you would like to listen to this message as it was preached at the 8:30 service, you can view it at: https://www.facebook.com/100064322333786/videos/1524188535041953