And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians – Acts 11.26
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Luke 1:26-38 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary, do not be afraid, She heard the Angel say;
Fear is not becoming To the one whom God gives grace.
Soon dear Child, you’ll be with child, A Son you’ll bear, in love.
And you will name Him – Jesus – Man on earth, and, God above.
And He will be God’s Great One, The Son of The Most High
His is the throne of David. His rule will e’er abide.
Matt. 1.18-25 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Joseph, do not be afraid, He heard the Angel say;
Take sweet Mary as your wife, Do not put her away.
This Child – is of the Spirit, For God in man will dwell.
As Father, you will name Him, Our Lord, Immanuel.
God with us! Will be His name – For that is Who He is;
The Savior of His people. Atonement’s work, is His.
Luke 2:8-20 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Shepherds, do not be afraid, They heard the Angel say;
In David’s town the Savior, Was born to you today
Hear now the good news message, Great joy for all who hear.
Christ the Lord, in Bethlehem – God’s Mercy, God drawn near.
Go find Him in the Manger; The King who’s Christ the Lord.
The Crowning jewel of Heaven, By angel hosts adored.
2 Cor. 5.16-21 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
People, do not be afraid, Our God bids us to say;
Draw near to blood bought mercy, To floods of boundless grace.
No stain beyond His cleansing. No past, past pardoning.
No sin that binds so tightly That He can’t give you wing.
Though sin infect so deeply, In Christ the Lord is found,
God’s blood bought grace – forgiveness – To all, in faith, abounds
Don’t come with your perfections, What e’er you think they be.
Bring sin, bring all your failing. His righteousness is free.
Let Christ be all your standing. He came, like you and me,
In sinful mankind’s likeness. He died to set men free.
Cast off all false pretension; Religious hopes as well.
Salvation’s in a Person – The Gospel tidings tell
People, do not be afraid, Our God bids us to say;
Draw near to blood bought mercy, To floods of boundless grace.
This Babe, born in a Manger, Brings peace with God and man;
To all who trust Him only, Its Him alone who can.
Who born, to die for sinners – Though sinless, yet, was He
Made sin, that we might in Him, God’s righteousness would be.
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Walk in Wisdom – Gleanings from the Scripture
Matt. 13.18 – Hear then the parable of the sower. Mark 4.14 – The sower sows the word.
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Walk in Wisdom - Gleanings from the Scripture
Heb. 1.1 - "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
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Walk in Wisdom – Gleanings from the Scripture
Heb. 1.1 – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
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Walk in Wisdom – Gleanings from the Scripture
Joshua 2.1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there…4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them…8 Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a sure sign 13 that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 14 And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the LORD gives us the land we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”
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Walk in Wisdom – Gleanings from the Scripture
Mark 1.14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
The Gospel is presented in Scripture in a number of very informative ways. It is also presented in a number of very different ways. Not that the Gospel changes, but that it is not monolithic in what it addresses, and how it addresses it. For the next few days, we’ll examine some of these variants in an effort to help us both understand our salvation more comprehensively, and, to assist us in communicating it in evangelism.
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Walk in Wisdom – Gleanings from the Scripture
Rom. 5.5 – And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
When someone says it right, it is better to back off and let them speak for themselves. Here then is Abraham Kuyper on the love of the Holy Spirit in us, from his classic “The Work of The Holy Spirit” pages 558-559.
For those who would like it, this wonderful work by Kuyper is available on line at – KUYPER
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Walk in Wisdom – Gleanings from the Scripture
Matthew 13 is a remarkable passage. Gathered together here are 7 parables. Parables of the Kingdom. A study of each parable by itself is very profitable. Each one, while simple, is profound and rich. But what often gets overlooked is the larger picture. In other words, what happens when we take all 7 together, and assemble the complete package?
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Why I am an Evangelical, and why our Church wears that name.
The earliest solid reference I can find to someone being referred to as an evangelical, is in a 15th century label attached to John Wycliffe, often described as the “Morningstar of the Reformation. He was called “doctor evangelicus.” The term gained more popularity early in Lutheran side of the Reformation and spread from there. Men wanting to associate themselves with the recovery of the gospel in terms of its central doctrine of justification by faith called themselves evangelici viri” – evangelical men. Luther liked and used the expression in German as die Evangelischen.
ResponsiveReiding 