Author: Tim

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Android | Podcast Index | RSS

Sermon Audio: Fear Not, Christmas Is Hope
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Duration: 21:46
Size: 14.9 MB

Fear Not, Christmas Is Hope

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Android | Podcast Index | RSS

Sermon Audio: Fear Not, Just Come
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 2:8-16
Duration: 27:;40
Size: 18.9 MB

Fear Not, Christmas
Fear Not, Just Come
Luke 2:8-16

And although they weren’t lead characters the shepherds were part of the chorus in the production of the first Christmas.

This week we are taking you out in the fields, let’s pick up the story in Luke 2:8-10.

The demands of the flock were so great that even if the shepherds were inclined to be religious all of the rules and regulations of Judaism, with the various hand washings and other parts of the ceremonial law, were out of their reach, so they could never really be “Good Jews.”

And into the ordinary lives of ordinary men is injected an extraordinary event.

Shepherds Were Told About Jesus
But the majority of us do get a messenger with news about Jesus.

And so, it was on a lonely hillside outside of Bethlehem that the Angels came and told the shepherds about Jesus.

The Shepherds Came to Jesus
For the shepherds that meant physically leaving the fields and their flocks and coming into Bethlehem and then finding the stable where Jesus was.

The Shepherds Told Others About Jesus
“Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”

But in either case it goes back to a simple premise, invite them and there is a pretty good chance that they will come.

It Impacted the Shepherds Daily Lives
Our encounter with Christ needs to affect who we are and how we live.

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Android | Podcast Index | RSS

Sermon Audio: Fear Not, Just Obey
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 1:18-25
Duration: 24:55
Size: 17.1 MB

Fear Not, Christmas
Fear Not, Just Obey
Luke 1:18-25

This is week three of our fear not series, this Advent we are looking at the various times the words “Fear Not” or “Do not be afraid”, show up in the Christmas story.

We don’t know a whole lot about Joseph, we know that he was a carpenter, that he lived in Nazareth and that his family was originally from Bethlehem.

I’m sure that the couple was doing all the things that couples do to get ready for wedding.

But what could he do? He had trusted her, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but for her to go and … it just wasn’t right.

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.

Because Joseph Obeyed, Mary Had a Husband
In both cases who Mary was, was tied to Joseph.

We don’t know the full conversation between Joseph and the angel, but we know that Joseph understood that until Jesus was born that even though they were living as husband and wife that Mary was to remain a virgin.

Because Joseph Obeyed, Jesus Had a Father
It was Sigmund Freud who wrote “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.”

Because Joseph Obeyed, He Paid a Price
Sometimes we operate under the assumption that if we are obedient that everything will be fine, but that isn’t always the way it works.