Tag: Empty the Jar at Christmas

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Sermon Audio: The Gifts We Bring
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Matthew 2:9-11
Duration: 11:50
Size: 11.2 MB

Empty the Jar at Christmas
The Gifts We Bring
Matthew 2:9-11

I suspect that each of those gifts was more like wrapping paper. Beautiful on the outside, but inside–there was something valuable hidden!

So hidden within that gift of Gold, was a proclamation: Jesus is King.

So, Frankincense was an offering (or a gift) to God. And hidden within that gift (to Jesus)…was this message: Jesus was God in the flesh.

So, the gift Myrrh the Wise-men brought declared Jesus had come to be our Priest.

The question today is this: What can I bring to Jesus? What kind of gifts can I bring to a God–a King–a Savior…who has everything?

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Sermon Audio: The Opportunities We Miss
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Matthew 2:1-11
Duration: 23:48
Size: 13.5 MB

Empty the Jar at Christmas
The Opportunities We Miss
Matthew 2:1-11

It was a star of wonder, a star of night, a star with royal beauty bright–and when the Wise-men saw that star from the East they went…and they stopped at Jerusalem to ask for directions.

And the reaction from the King–and everyone else was–they were disturbed.

Why didn’t somebody just go to Bethlehem after the angels appeared to the Shepherds?

They got to the point where they weren’t looking for Jesus anymore.

They didn’t think the Messiah was coming–so they didn’t go looking for Him. So they missed their opportunity.

The point is, nobody seemed to want this child to upset their lives so they missed their opportunity to find Jesus along with all He promised.

God wanted to put this great city on notice that a mighty prophecy was about to be fulfilled, because the promised Messiah had come.

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Sermon Audio: Ready for the Journey
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Matthew 2:1-2
Duration: 24:40
Size: 14.3 MB

Empty the Jar at Christmas
Ready for the Journey
Matthew 2:1-2

I believe he did this to bring the point home that Jesus is for all of mankind.

The Persian wise men of their time likely learned about prophecies like Numbers 24:17.

Many had heard the shepherds declare that they had seen the messiah and were filled with wonder.

Again, I believe God had a greater purpose in sending the wise men and having Matthew include them in his gospel message.

And that is what some of you were. But…that’s the part that matters–who you are now.

Empty the jar–it’s about holding nothing back from God as we worship Him.