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Christmas Shadows
I was thinking last week about the dark things that we sometimes miss seeing when we talk about the first Christmas. We overlook that Joseph was about to abandon Mary. We tend to not talk about the babies that were killed by Harod. We gloss over Simeon’s blessing in the temple that includes declaring that…
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Behind the Scenes
Our scriptures last Sunday focused on the many ways that God had planned the coming of Jesus – and brought those plans to pass. Have you ever thought about how much God was working behind the scenes to get things to happen just as He predicted. He had told Israel that their Messiah would be…
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Preparing for Christmas – A Struggle of Faith
Sometimes we forget how much of struggle Christmas was for the first people who experienced it. I think of the struggle of Mary and Joseph as they made their way to Bethlehem. I think of the struggles of everyone who was visited by an angel. At each encounter, the angel had to say, “Do not…
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Why Jesus Came
On Sunday we began a new series on the things that we forget about Christmas. What profound meaning Christmas has! The reality that the lights, presents, family get-togethers, and other trappings are just trappings is easy to mess up. It is easy to substitute the icing of Christmas for the cake. I mentioned Sunday that…
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Unforeseen Consequences
When we think about the flood recorded in Genesis, we think of judgment, salvation, rain, animals, and an ark. We don’t necessarily think of the subject of unforeseen consequences. Yet, they are there. We have the consequence of the terror of animals. We have the consequence of a fear of rain and a fear of…
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Thanksgiving
This week we celebrate Thanksgiving. Yet, I wonder how often we really have given thanks. I mean, it is one thing to utter the simple, “Thank you.” It is quite another to truly give thanks. Do we even understand how powerful thanksgiving is? God has said in His Word that the refusing to give thanks…
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Fruit Checking
I urge you to not become a fruit checker. Why?It is a depressing job. To look for the blemishes and nicks and rotten spaces in fruit has got to be one of the more discouraging jobs. Why? Well, what makes perfect, perfect? Is there a standard of perfection that any piece of fruit can match? …
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Trust is hard
This week’s worship time was focused on trusting God. We talked about trusting and how difficult it is sometimes. It is difficult because our stress-filled times make us forget God’s faithfulness. It is difficult because we want easy answers. It is difficult because we undervalue walking with God. It is difficult because trust requires faith…
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Wounded Warriors
The other day I saw an animal that had obviously been hit by a car. Some kind person (probably its owner) was trying to get the animal in their car. The animal kept shying away from the person. It was scared. It was hurt. So, it didn’t want to be hurt more. It was wounded,…
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Convictions, Not Doctrines
Last Sunday we talked about how the God divides our beliefs into essentials, doctrines, and convictions. What makes me saddest is how people blur the distinction between the three. We make doctrines essential and convictions doctrines. I start to wonder, what causes this? What drives us to play the modern Pharisee? Regarding convictions, God has…
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Pastor John D Jakes 