Isaiah 9:1-7: Jesus, the prophesied Messiah
You noticed perhaps a similar theme between the two portions of Scripture this morning, and that is one of celebration and rejoicing. So let me ask you this question, what do you celebrate at Christmas time? Perhaps you are happy about the time off work? Perhaps you enjoy spending the break with family and friends? Perhaps you are like the neighbour down my street, and use it as an occasion to put lights on every available surface outside your home? Maybe you like the giving of gifts, or if you are a child, you like the receiving gifts? If...
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Luke 4:22-30: Rejecting Jesus
Why do people reject Jesus? Why do people see His claims, claims that we have seen and recognise to be true and wonderful and yet do not believe? Today we want to do an analysis of the unbelief of the Nazarenes when they heard Jesus preaching in the synagogue. A lot of people today will be able to identify with the Nazarene congregation. Jesus rocks up on a Sabbath, he stands up and tells everyone that He is the Messiah, He has done a bunch of miracles in all sorts of other places v14, if Jesus will just put...
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Luke 4:14-21: The Mission of Jesus
What was the mission of Jesus? What did He come to accomplish? There are various answers to those questions. The reason the answer is so important is because the Church is called to line up with Christ’s own mission. Today there are those who believe in a social gospel who believe that Jesus is primarily interested in social justice, transforming social structures, alleviating injustice and renovating cities. This has an extreme edge in Liberation theology that says that spiritual salvation is irrelevant, social liberation is all, and some have even advocated violence as a way of realising the kingdom...
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Isaiah 8:17-9:5: The Light Shines in the Darkness
Thanks to Tim Stanton for preaching this morning; he was back home during his Christmas break from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he is currently earning a Master of Divinity. Outline The Need of the Light The Promise of the Light The Victory of the Light Introduction In the movie the Lord of the Rings, Gandalf instructs Aragorn before the siege of Helms deep, “Look for my coming on the dawn of the fifth day. At dawn, look to the east.” Then in the midst of the battle for Helms Deep the soldiers have come...
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