All the Sermons

Matthew 1:18-25 Key Verse: But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." Matthew 1:20 Joseph is yet another key player in God's plan of salvation.  He is descended from Abraham, from the tribe of Judah and of the house of David.  Physically, it makes sense that he could be chosen to be the father of the Messiah.  Joseph, however, is more than just physically appropriate.  He also has the character and attitude that the Lord can work with.  Even before the angel told him that Mary was telling the truth, Joseph showed great love and restraint in wanting to protect Mary from public disgrace. Joseph had to swallow a lot of pride and personal dreams and ambitions to follow God's call on his life.  He had to endure the shame of a pregnant, unwed mother for a wife.  He would have to leave

Luke 1:46-55 Key verse: “He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as He said to our fathers.” Luke 1:54 What an interesting song this is.  If it had been me, I might have been tempted to brag about the fact that I was the Lord’s chosen.  I would have been tempted to become proud.  “My son is going to be Messiah!  The angel said himself that I am highly favored!  Well, I guess that this will show them!  God chose me over everybody else!  Aren’t I fortunate!” This, however, is not Mary’s response.  Maybe her response demonstrates why she was chosen and I was not.  She immediately rejoiced for her people.  At long last, the promise that had been made to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, Judah and David will be fulfilled.  The waiting is over.  Our messiah will finally be here with us. Mary does not burst into song immediately after the angel leaves her.  Instead, she gives this response after seeing for herself

Isaiah 7:13-14 & Luke 1:26-38 Key verses:  "You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the son of the most high.  The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end." Luke 1:31-33 A lowly, small town, peasant girl, is the next step in God's plan to redeem the world.  Most scholars believe that Mary would have only been around the age of fourteen at the time of her miraculous pregnancy.  We could hardly consider her an experienced mother with impeccable credentials for the task of raising Messiah! As a sign post in our journey with Jesus this is one of the most important signs, the virgin shall be with child!  This is a miraculous birth to mark out the divine nature of the Messiah as the Son of God. An additional point to the miracle is that it is also the fulfillment of a prophetic note i

Jeremiah 33:14-22 , Matthew 1:1-17 & Luke 3:23-38 Key Verse: A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: Matthew 1:1 To be truthful, there isn't much of an inspiring nature to write about in these two lists of names. We could notice that Matthew's account only goes back to Abraham while Luke's account goes back to Adam. Perhaps this is because Luke was a Gentile, and wanted to show that Jesus was the Savior of the whole world and not just the Jews. We could point out the discrepancies in the names themselves between the two lists in Matthew and Luke. That might be interesting, but it may not be very fruitful for our purposes in this devotional. I believe that these two lists have three basic purposes for us. The first purpose is to revisit the foundation that we have already laid for the past 22 days. It shows again God's preparation for His son's coming to earth as Messiah. The second reason, I believe, i

Daniel 2:1-47 Key Verse: "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever." Daniel 2:44 There are two amazing observations about this prophecy that make it different from all other prophecies about the coming Messiah. The first amazing thing is that this prophecy was based on a dream from a king who was not from Israel, but was an enemy. Secondly, this prophesy was recorded in Aramaic, which was the common trade language of Daniel's day.  All the rest of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew.  This prophecy was not just meant to encourage the children of Israel, but to warn the world that God is still in ultimate control. In this passage, the people of Israel are still in exile.  Daniel is in exile with them as a servant of the king, Nebuchadnezzar.  Through this dream, and its

Deuteronomy 18:14-22 Key Verse:   “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in His mouth, and He will tell them everything I command Him. Deuteronomy 18:18 As the people of Israel wandered in the desert for forty years, they learned more about how to serve God.  Unfortunately, the only way that they understood God was as an object of fear.  God was a pillar of fire.  God was an angry earthquake that swallowed up those who disobeyed.  God’s voice was like thunder and God was powerful enough to part the Red Sea and destroy an entire army with one blow. They were afraid to draw near to this awesome power.  They were more than happy to let Moses do it for them.  They did not want an intimate relationship with this powerful being.  They could only hope to be good enough not to anger Him. The Lord God understood their fear.  When the people cried out that they didn’t want to see any more of God’s power, the Lord sympathized

Ezekiel 34:20-31 Key Verse: "I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and He will tend them; He will tend them and be their shepherd." Ezekiel 34:23 Ezekiel speaks to encourage a discouraged remnant of Israel as they live out their exile in Babylon.  It is hard to feel like the blessed, chosen people of God right now.  They are far from their Promised Land.  Their king, the representative of the line of David is gone.  They are a miserable people.  All has been lost.  One of their Psalms from the period goes like this.  "By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.  There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us For songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "sing us one of the songs of Zion!" How can we sing the songs of the Lord While in a foreign land? Psalm 137:1-4 (a Psalm from the exiles in Babylon) How easily could you sing praise songs to the Lord in pri

Jeremiah 33:15-26 Key verse: "In those days and at that time I will make a righteous branch sprout from David's line. He will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: 'The Lord, our righteousness.'" Jeremiah 33:15-16 More time has passed since yesterday’s reading, perhaps 20 years.  The exile has begun. Most of the people whom God had chosen to survive are now in Babylon along with Daniel, Ezekiel and the others who are devoted to God's ways.  Rather than seeing this as God's preservation, however, it must have felt like God's punishment and abandonment.  The question must have been continually asked, "Where is God?  Has He forgotten us?" Zedekiah is on the throne. He is the last king of Israel and he only has about a year before he too is destroyed.  Some people are defiant and rebellious, believing that God will not

Jeremiah 23:1-8 Key verse: "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will raise up to David a righteous branch, a king who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which He will be called: 'the Lord our righteousness." Jeremiah 23:5-6 The sign posts pointing to Jesus are few and far between in this section.  We have now moved another four hundred years beyond the time of David.  Do you realize how much time that is?  If we were to go back 400 years in our own nation's history, the Mayflower wouldn't have even set sail yet.  Yet, we have had at least three such spans of time pass for our purposes, 1,200 years and Messiah is still only being talked about and promised, not yet seen. Israel is steeped in sin. God has already allowed ten of the tribes of Israel, or the Northern Kingdom, to be destroyed due to their extremely corrupt pr

2 Samuel 7:4-17 , 1 Chronicles 17:1-15 Key Verse:  "The Lord declares to you that the Lord Himself will establish a house for you: when your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish His kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever. 2 Samuel 7:11B-13 Four hundred years have passed since the days of the exodus when the children of Israel wandered in the desert.  Now they have a history.  They have had times of obedience, such as conquering much of the land that God had promised: and times of disobedience, when God had to raise up leaders to bring them back to godliness.   They desired a king, but the first one, Saul, did many things that displeased God and God finally had to remove him from the throne. Next, God chose a man after His own heart, David, the son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah.  Dav

Numbers 24:5-7 Key Verse: "Their King will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted." Numbers 24:7B This is an amazing prophesy.  It seems to come out of the blue.  It was given by a man, Balaam, hired to curse the people of Israel.  Instead, he tells of Israel's great future, including its greatest king.  Why in the world am I taking the time to highlight this event and this prophesy?  Why am I spending so much time on seemingly irrelevant stuff when I am supposed to be talking about the life of Jesus?  All I can do is ask you to please bear with me.  There will only be a few more days and Messiah will be here, I promise!  This event will be revealed in Jesus' life soon.  I wanted to point it out now so that when this prophesy is fulfilled, you will hopefully see other pieces of the puzzle fall into place as well.  I n this passage, we need to realize that the people of Israel have been wandering around in the desert for years.   They hav

Exodus 33:12-23 Key Verse:  “And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, The LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,’ He said, ‘you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’" Exodus 33:19-20 How Holy the Lord God is!  How unholy we sinners are!  Even someone, who walked as closely as Moses did with God Himself, could not look upon his dear friend's face and live.  So often, we do not realize just how much our sin separates us from God.  Adam and Eve in the garden used to be able to look at God’s face. Through this encounter, we begin to understand why God could not simply come, as He is, to live with us.  We can begin to understand why He chose to enter this world as a baby.  There is nothing harmful or threatening about a baby.  As a baby, God could be approached and touched.  He could be related to in

Genesis 29:35 & 49:8-12 Key verse: “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is His. He will tether His donkey to a vine, His colt to the choicest branch; He will wash His garments in wine, His robes in the blood of grapes.” Genesis 49:10-11 With this blessing of Israel, on his fourth son, Judah, Judah has now been chosen, out of all his brothers, to become the forefather of the Messiah.  When Judah was born, Leah, his mother, finally turned her focus toward praising God.  With the first three sons, Reuben, Simeon and Levi, she had hoped to gain favor with her husband, Jacob.  With Judah, however, she said, "This time I will praise the Lord." ( Genesis 29:35 )  How fitting for the forefather of the Messiah to be one who evokes praise. As Judah grew, he made many bad choices.  God, however, continued to work with him, as He had Jacob, to mold him in

Genesis 35:9-15 Key Verse:  “And god said, "I am God almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body." Genesis 35:11  In yesterday's reading, when God met Jacob, Jacob's commitment was conditional. He stood at his altar, so sure of himself and said, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God." ( Gen. 28: 21 ) If,..Then? Jacob seems to be in charge here. What a difference a life makes. Today, he is back at the same place with a similar altar and a similar promise from God. This time, however, Jacob simply makes an offering and says nothing. What a difference the sanctification process makes when the Lord works in the life of His chosen. Jacob knows who God is now.  God has walked with him and wres

Genesis 28:10-22 Key verse: "Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.  All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring." Genesis 28:14         God called Abraham away from his family.  Now Jacob is being sent away by his family to meet God.  Either way, the purpose is the same, to cause Jacob to be alone so that he may get to know God and be molded by him into a man worthy of the lineage of Messiah.          Jacob has nothing but a staff in his hand.  There is no one to deceive here.  Jacob will begin a walk of reaping the fruit of the seed that he himself has sown, but in doing so, will learn of God's faithfulness through it all.         "My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent His rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son He delights in." (Proverbs 3:11-12)   Jacob would learn th

Genesis 26:1-6 Key verse: "I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all the nations on earth will be blessed.  Genesis 26:4 Where have we heard this before? Why do we have to hear it again? In Deuteronomy 6, the Lord instructs the fathers of Israel to pass their knowledge of God, on to their children.  "These commandments I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deut.  6:6-7) How like God to do Himself, what He asks of us once again.  God instructs fathers to pass their faith along to the next generation.  Now, here God is, passing on His promise of faithfulness to Isaac, the next generation in the lineage of Christ.  Abraham probably had many talks throughout the years about the promises that God had made to him.  Abraham

Genesis 22:1-19 ;   Hebrews 11:17-19 Key verse:  Abraham answered, "God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. Genesis 22:8  What has God promised you? Would you be willing to lay it on the altar and kill it forever if he asked?  Might you be tempted to protest, "But God, you said I could have it!" Abraham was being asked to sacrifice his future, and his hope through all the promises that God had made. Also, God was putting His own future on the line here. How could Messiah come if Isaac died? We see here, in Abraham, the example of a man who has truly become mature in the Lord. Nothing was too important to be held back any more. The Lord had demonstrated his faithfulness to Abraham over the years and now it was Abraham's turn to reflect back all that he had learned. Would he really believe that what he believed was really real? His actions show that in fact, he does. "By fait

Genesis 21:1-7 Key verse: Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised.   Genesis 21:1 The Lord was gracious.  Yes, the Lord is gracious.  He was gracious to Sarah.  He had removed the stigma of barrenness from her reputation.  The Lord is gracious in everything He does.  He remembered a barren old woman and He gave her life.  He remembers us and is gracious in His blessings toward us. We also were as good as dead in our sins, and God gave us new life in Christ! It's a miracle! Yesterday, we talked about how God took the time to purify Abraham so that he could become the Patriarch of God's chosen people.  As we study the story of Abraham and Sarah in their travels, we learn that God also needed to refine Abraham and Sarah as a couple.  At least two times in Genesis chapters 12 and 20, we learn of Abraham's concern for his own life and safety by lying about his relationship to Sarah and in so doing, causing God to