All I Want For Christmas Is…Jesus
Advent 2010 – Christmas Morning

All I Want For Christmas Is…Forgiveness
Advent 2010 Week 4

All I Want For Christmas Is…Joy
Advent 2010 Week 3

All I Want For Christmas Is…Peace
Advent 2010 Week 2

1. Joseph was born in what town?

A. Jerusalem
B. Bethlehem
C. Nazareth
D. Portland

2. Who told Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem?

A. Caesar
B. Herod
C. Mary’s mom
D. No one

3. What did the innkeeper tell Mary and Joseph?

A. “There is no room in the inn”
B. “I have a stable you can use”
C. None of the above
D. Both of the above

4. How did Joseph and Mary get to Bethlehem?

A. Colt
B. Mary rode a donkey and Joseph walked
C. Wagon
D. Who knows?

5. The wise men met Jesus in a:

A. Manger
B. Castle
C. Stable
D. House

6. How many angels spoke to the shepherds?

A. Three
B. A multitude
C. A whole host
D. One

7. What song did the angels sing?

A. “Joy to the world”
B. “Glory to the newborn King”
C. “Glory to God in the highest”
D. None of the above

I. Old Testament Peace – Shalom

Numbers 6:24-26
Isaiah 61:1
Psalm 147:3
Psalm 34:18

II. New Testament Peace – To set as one again

1. Peace with God

That’s the vertical dimension.

While God loves us and cherishes us, He is filled with indignation because of our sinfulness.

We don’t deserve this peace to men on whom His favor rests.

Jesus is the good news of great joy for all the people.

Romans 1:18
Romans 5:1
Colossians 1:20
Isaiah 57:19

2. Peace of God

This takes place internally.

We will experience this peace in proportion to the room we give the Holy Spirit in our lives.

John 14:27
Luke 1:79

3. Peace with others

That’s peace horizontally.

Determine right now to be a planter of peace not a sower of strife.

Matthew 5:9
Romans 14:19

4. Peace for others

This is the proclamation of the peace in the Gospel.

The only way for people to have peace with God, to have peace inside, and to be at peace with others, is for people like us to tell them about the gospel of peace.

Acts 10:36

All I Want For Christmas Is…Hope
Advent 2010 Week 1

Is Christmas all about baking? Or is it wrapped up in football and food? Or is it all about shopping?

I. Definition of Hope

Hope is not only hard to find, it’s difficult to define.

Hope is a future certainty grounded in a present reality.

Hope is wishing for what God has already promised us.

In the Old Testament it means “to bind together, often by twisting.”

Hold on to the rope of hope when it’s hard to cope.

II. Dimensions of Hope

By its very definition hope is something that is invisible.

II Corinthians 4:18
Romans 8:24-25

When your grip begins to slip, hold on to…

1. Past Promises

Isaiah 64:1

2. Present Help

Psalm 46:1
Lamentations 3:25

3. Future Glory

I Corinthians 15:19
Galatians 5:5
Titus 2:13

III. Decisions for Hope

If you want to cope then hold on to the rope of hope then wrap yourself in these three things.

1. Get wrapped up in Scripture.

Romans 15:4

2. Get wrapped up in the Savior.

Jesus is the Savior.
Matthew 1:21
Colossians 1:27

3. Get wrapped up in salvation.

A. Admit your sinfulness.
B. Ask for help.
C. Accept Christ as your Savior.

Today can be the day that you change as well by making Christmas personal.

Jesus, I admit that not only do I have little hope but I have a lot of garbage in my life. I own my own sinfulness and recognize that you desire to wrap yourself around me today. I want you to be my Saviour. Please save me from my sins. I need your help. Thank you for coming to our world on Christmas. And then for dying in my place on the cross to forgive me for my sins and to give me the hope of heaven. I believe and I receive you into my life I accept your free gift o salvation. If there’s anything in my life that needs to change please change me.

Welcome Him to your world.

New Life In The Same Old Place
“The True Grace of God”
1 Peter 5:8-14

I. Which Grace?

Grace should neither be a license to sin, nor a foundation for trying to establish our own right-standing before God, based on our good works.

Peter has not only given us a kind of purpose statement or summary statement for the whole letter, but he tells us that what is contained in this letter is, in fact, “the true grace of God”.

II. The Passage: “Standing Firm in the Faith” (5:8-11)

Let’s use three key phrases from verses 8-11 as a means of rewinding back to the beginning of the book, and then forward to pick up one of three main themes.

A. “Be Sober-Minded”: True Grace Results in Living in God’s Holiness (5:8-9a)

Don’t fall into that stupor of living for what will not last and for what ultimately doesn’t matter.

If you have received the true grace of God, are you striving by that grace to live a new life that is all

B. “The Same Kinds of Sufferings”: True Grace Reveals God’s Purpose in Our Suffering (5:9b)

I think our tendency is to believe that the grace of God somehow frees us from pain and suffering in this life.

This kind of purposeful suffering was not only being used by God to test and refine their faith.

The true grace of God reminded them that this path of suffering was taking them exactly where God wanted them to go.

C. “His Eternal Glory in Christ”: True Grace [Continually] Redirects Us to God’s Salvation in Christ (5:10-11)

The only reason Peter can exhort his readers the way he does is because of the radical reality of what Jesus has done.

It was the radical reality of what Jesus had done and would do in accomplishing true salvation that Peter uses to comfort and motivate his readers.

III. Peter’s Closing Remarks (5:12-14)

First, as tensions outside the church translated to tensions inside the church, Peter reminds them of the custom of greeting one another with a kiss that expresses God’s love.

Second, he asks that, in the midst of all the chaos they were enduring, that God’s perfect peace would be theirs.

IV. Your New Life in the Same Old Place

As we leave this book, our prayer should be that God would never let it leave our hearts and minds.

You have been chosen by God in grace, and because of that, you are now an alien in this world system that has turned away from God.

New Life In The Same Old Place
“Let Go and Let God”
1 Peter 5:5-7

I. The Passage: “Clothe Yourselves…with Humility” (5:5-7)

There is a common thread weaving its way through all three of these verses. It’s the thread of humility.

A. Humility toward the Elders (5:5a)

These leaders were not always older in a chronological sense, but they were typically older, or more mature, spiritually.

Peter is calling the other members of these churches to submit themselves in humility to their leaders.

B. Humility toward One Another (5:5b)

So a rough translation straight from the original language would read, “All of you, toward one another, humility, tie around you as a servant’s apron.”

Have you tied humility around your waist this morning when it comes to your relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ?

C. Humility toward God (5:6)

No, genuine humility can only come from one place: it can only come from a right view of who God is and our relationship to Him!

You cannot be truly humble unless you measure yourself by who God is and what God wants.

II. God-Centered Humility (5:7)

What’s strange about this connection is that it implies a relationship between humility and the casting off of anxiety; the unloading of our worries.

Pride is confidence that we have this kind of power. Anxiety is fear that we might lose or can’t have this kind of power.

First, we can “let go and let God” because we can trust that God’s grace will empower us to do so.

Second, we can “let go and let God” because we can trust that God’s hand is truly mighty.

Third, we can “let go and let God” because we can trust that God really cares about us.

The humility to which Peter calls his overwhelmed readers is a humility motivated by faith that God is mighty, and mighty in His concern for our absolute good.

We know for certain that the shoulders of God are able to bear all of our anxieties because those same shoulders bore all of our sin on the cross.

Next Week
“The True Grace Of God”
1 Peter 5:8-14

New Life In The Same Old Place
“The Chief Shepherd’s Shepherds”
1 Peter 5:1-4

I. A Leader by Any Other Name

Is it any wonder that most people are confused about the specifics of church leadership, or what is often called church government or church polity?

A. What is an Elder?

Now the word for elder here is the word, presbuteros. It literally means, someone who is older.

The emphasis here is not on physical maturity, but spiritual maturity.

1. An Elder is an Overseer, Ministering (Shepherd)

So shepherd or pastor is simply another title for an elder. An elder is one who shepherds God’s flock.

And so here, an elder is also called an overseer.

2. An Elder May Be Worthy of a “Double Honor”

While there is no difference between an elder and a pastor and an overseer, we do find a distinction among elders.

This “double honor” simply means that they can devote more time to the work.

3. An Elder is Part of the Body, Not Over It

Elders who lead and teach are not any better than any other part of the body. They simply have a different role.

B. What is Peter’s Exhortation?

An exhortation is simply a strong encouragement to action.

1. Shepherd from a Willing Heart (5:2)

This makes their service a joy, not a chore.

2. Shepherd with Eagerness (5:2)

He should not only give his permission, but also his passion to the work.

3. Shepherd by Example (5:3)

God’s leaders are always servant leaders who follow the lead of Jesus, so that others will by led to serve Christ and others in His name.

C. What if You’re Not an Elder?

All of this means that in God’s economy, all of us desperately need the shepherding that God wants to provide for us through the men and women he has called as leaders.

1. Pray for Them

2. Encourage Them

3. Follow Their Lead

II. The Care of the Chief Shepherd

They have no function or authority or position apart from the Chief Shepherd.

Pray for His under-shepherds; encourage them; follow their lead as they follow Jesus’ lead.

Next Week
“Let Go And Let God”
1 Peter 5:5-7

New Life In The Same Old Place
“It Comes As No Surprise”
1 Peter 4:12-19

I. The Passage: “Do Not be Surprised” (4:12-19)

Why were his readers surprised by their suffering?

Maybe their belief that suffering was “something strange” flowed out of a belief that Christianity was only about victory, and glory, and prosperity, and blessing, and a crown.

Their understanding of God and salvation, their theology, has a hard time dealing with the subject of suffering.

II. It’s Not “Strange”, It’s…

Peter gives five reasons why suffering is not “something strange“.

1. The Father’s Test (4:12)

Suffering is a refining tool that God the Father uses to test and prove the genuineness of our faith.

2. The Son’s Sufferings (4:13)

Because we are in Christ, we experience the very hostility and resistance that resulted in Jesus being hung on the cross.

There is no Christianity without the cross. There is no genuine salvation that only offers a crown.

Wherever “the rub” is felt, we know that such sufferings demonstrate our connection with Jesus.

3. The Spirit’s Evidence (4:14)

Peter is reminding them here that their suffering is not “something strange”, but is in fact a wonderful reminder that God’s Spirit is working in and through us.

When we suffer for Him, we should be encouraged by the fact that our suffering is evidence that God is very near…that He is working in us through His Spirit.

4. An Opportunity to Glorify God! (4:15-16)

Peter wants to make sure that his readers make sure that they are suffering for the right reasons.

If anyone is suffering for the right reasons, let them not be ashamed, but glorify God in the name.

5. The Beginning of Judgment Day (4:17-18)

So here he is saying that your suffering is not “something strange” because this is what we should expect at the beginning of the great Day of Judgment.

III. True Protection (4:19)

Because suffering is not “something strange”, but is in fact, the Father’s test, and the Son’s sufferings, and the Spirit’s evidence, and an opportunity to glorify God, and a sign of the beginning of Judgment Day, therefore…

True protection in the face of suffering can only be found in the One who made us.

How is He calling you to endure this morning in your suffering for Christ, maybe he’s calling you to rejoice and count yourself blessed in that suffering?

The call of the gospel is that our eyes are always fixed on the cross of Jesus Christ.

Next Week
“The Chief Shepherd”
1 Peter 5:1-4