Who Was Mary?

Focus Passage: Luke 1 and 2 

Who was Mary? Sadly, Lutherans tend to ignore her as much as Catholics venerate her. We do know from early church legend that her parents’ names were Joachim and Anna. Luke also tells us in Luke 3 that she is a direct descendant of David and thus is from the house of Judah. Yet, what should we do with her? We don’t want to pray to her like the Catholics, but I think we can learn a lot from her about what it means to live as Christians. She was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus and like Abraham, David and Paul; her life can teach us a lot about living for the Lord.

The Story: Divided Kingdom - Leading People From The True God

Focus passages: 1 Kings 1-11, 2 Chron. 1-9

 Strong and weak presidents have changed the course of our nation’s history. Washington would be one of the great presidents in almost anyone’s book. Buchanan is often rated as one of the worst presidents. He sat and watched the country fall apart in the years before the civil war. As we look presidents and other leaders, we can see how they are instrumental in the shape of a country or a company. The same is true of the kings of the Jews. Solomon got the people started on the wrong path and his successors made things even worse. Yet the constant in the time of the kings was the Lord. He had made promises that the nation would continue and He worked to keep Israel as a nation. He brought the people through this time so that the Messiah could be born among them and could change the world.

What Are Your Expectations for Christmas?

Focus passage: Luke 1:5-24

If you were asked to list your expectations for the Christmas season, what would they be? Are you hoping for a great present under the tree? Maybe you are looking forward to time with family like I am at Christmas and New Year’s Day. What are your expectations for worship? Do you expect to gain an insight in worship or have a warm feeling from serving someone in Christ? Do you expect to have an encounter with God that changes your faith or are you just hoping to make to January with as little damage as possible. Realize that when you don’t expect anything, nothing is often what you get. The holiday will pass by and be as empty as ever. Sometimes God will still give you a special gift and it will be the shock of your life. That is the story of a man named Zachariah. He had the day of his life and didn’t get to enjoy it because of his low expectations.

The Story: Solomon - Throwing God's Blessings Away

Focus: 1Kings 1-11, 2 Chron. 1-9

Solomon’s annual income was 25 tons of gold a year and the riches were all around him. He sat on an ivory throne overlaid with gold, received tribute from kings and merchants and drank from goblets made of gold. He was so rich that silver had almost no value in the days of Solomon. Yet it was all thrown away in a generation. The kingdom would be torn in two. The riches would disappear and the peace would never be seen again. Solomon had it all, but threw it away for lust of women and because he forgot the true God.

The Angel's Birth Announcement

Focus Passage - Luke 2:10-12

The date was July 22, 2013 and citizens, reporters and photographers lined the streets for the first glimpse of the royal child. An official announcement of his birth was placed in front of the palace. The world had to be told. What many consider the world’s most successful monarchy had an heir. At Christmas, we are celebrating the birth of a royal Child! A Son has been given to us! Yet, there was no announcement of his birth at the palace in Jerusalem, and even though people had been waiting for centuries for this Child to arrive, no reporters and photographers lined up along the streets of Bethlehem for a glimpse of this royal Son. What did God want us to know about this child? The Lord had prepared a special press release shared by the angels that laid everything out for us. 

The Story: King David - A Humble Heart

Focus passage: 2 Samuel

Was David really a Godly man? The young David surely followed the Lord. Yet, as we follow him through life we see a man who seems more evil than the king that he replaced. Saul never committed adultery, murdered a man or allowed his children to do the evil that David did. Yet, David was honored by God and Saul was discarded. On the surface, it doesn’t make sense. What David had was not a perfect life, but a humble heart. He sinned, but was open to the Lord’s rebuke. As you follow David, you see the power of being open to the Lord. No one is without sin, but how you react to sin can make all the difference. David repented when he sinned so that the Lord might restore him.

Breakthrough Prayers

Miracles happen when people pray

And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. Gen 32:24 (ESV)

He stood exposed before the emperor and the archbishop. His writings were strewn on a table in front of him as evidence of his tyranny. If he renounced them all, he might still live. If not, the state and the church would put a bounty on his head. He asked for an evening to pray. During that night, he wrestled in prayer. He was being asked to deny the truth. He was being asked to put his life over God’s scripture. He knew that it had to be about God and not about Him. He would not lie for the empire or for the church.

The year was 1521 and the man was Martin Luther. In the midst of the crisis of his life, he prayed with all his heart. He came back the next day and looked his accusers in the eye and told them that he would not recant unless they could prove by scripture that the words he wrote were wrong. Thus began the reformation. A crisis had led to impassioned prayer. Wrestling in prayer had led to a breakthrough that rocked the church and changed it forever.