The journey of a disciple of Jesus may take many directions. As one of the first men called to discipleship by the Lord, Peter found that his world was turned around and changed forever. And yet, in following the Lord, he found a peace that passed all understanding. In the final words of his second epistle, he wrote to his Christian flock, “Therefore, beloved . . . be . . . at peace” (2 Peter 3:14). The people of God are peaceable people through whom the Spirit works, fashioning them as peacemakers and peace-bringers to a world in need of the peace that is in Christ alone.

 

The story of the Bible moves from God’s Creation to our Fall to Christ’s Redemption to the Final Restoration. In the introduction to our new message series, we look at how Christ undoes the curse of our Fall into sin by becoming cursed on a cross for us.

Jesus is God, Creator, Lord of the universe, and yet also man. What a mystery, and what a testimony! Imagine being there in Bethlehem, and seeing the infant Jesus with your own eyes. What would you have seen? And how would you testify to others about what you had seen? The Apostle Luke says that the angels testified that the Savior had been born (Luke 2:11). The Apostle John testifies that the Christ was full of grace and truth (John 1:14). We receive the testimony, and by the Holy Spirit we are able to believe it. May our lives be transformed by this Truth – the Son of God has come to us!

The Ghost of Christmas Future was sent to terrify Ebenezer Scrooge (from Charles Dicken’s 

A Christmas Carol) with a vision of his future - one of loneliness, gloom, and death - if he did not change his ways.  During our worship today, may we experience a renewed wonder that our God was incarnate and sent to this world at Christmas to give us a vision of our future: one of joy, peace, and glory!

The weeks of Advent which lead up to the celebration of Christmas can be times of sorrow for many people, for many reasons.  It may feel that we bear spiritual chains, just as the ghost of Marley did at the beginning of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol.  May it be that we are freed from any and all sorrow by the visitation of the Holy Spirit, during worship today.

Many people wrongly believe that the Bible teaches that it's wrong to be wealthy. They think that the Bible says that "Money is the root of all evil" It actually says "The love of money is the root of all evil."  (emphasis added.) God is not opposed to wealth, in fact, many good people in the Bible were extremely wealthy including Abraham, Job, David and Solomon in the Old Testament and Barnabas and Joseph of Arimathea in the New Testament.  So God is not opposed to wealth, simply for wealth's sake. But God is very much opposed to the misuse and abuse of wealth. He wants us to use our wealth wisely, no matter how much or how little we have.  Today we are going to look at both wrong and right uses of wealth - so that no matter how much money we have, we use it wisely.

Wouldn't you like to be able to predict the future?  People try.  Some use tea leaves, fortune cookies, astrology, palm reading and more - all in an effort to get a grasp on the future.  We read books, subscribe to services that provide forecasts and economic predictions. We attend conferences and seminars on planning and goal setting, and on and on. But what is the Christian viewpoint toward the future? How are we to prepare for and react to the unknowns in our future?  St. James has something to say about that - including some mistakes to avoid.