A Net in Time

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Matthew

Sunday Sermon: Saviour, God With Us

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Hymns

Come thou long-expected Jesus
It came upon the midnight clear
O come, o come Emmanuel
The first Noel
Hymns in italics are linked to posts talking about the history or the author of the hymn.

 

 

 Scripture : 

 Matthew 1:18-25
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an
angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of
David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is
conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Sermon notes:

Christmas can be a lonely time of year when many suffer from the blues.

People are cut off from each other.

Our sin has cut us off from God   we have been alienated from God by the wrong that we do.

But Christ came, he was sent to break that alienation.

“The Genesis of Jesus happened in this way…..”

It speaks to the origins of Jesus,  the start of the Lord’s work on earth.

Mary and Joseph,  most likely an arranged marriage.   Engagements in those days were like being married.   To stop an engagement you needed a certificate of divorce. 

So it was no little thing for Joseph to contemplate setting her aside.  He liked Mary, he wanted to marry her  but pregnancy before marriage was wrong and he knew it was not his.   So in caring for her, he resolved not to make this news public, and to let her go quietly.

Joseph needed to deal with all this on his own.

God intervened though.
 Telling Joseph to fear not taking Mary to be his wife.
 Telling Joseph that it was God working in her,  not Mary being unfaithful.
 He also called him son of David, reminding him of who he was….a man from David’s line.
Telling Joseph what the baby’s name was to be, and why it was to be that.

He would save his people from their sins.

The bible is clear…throughout the whole bible.  Only God can save people from their sins.

So Joseph knew that this baby was a special baby, one who was of God.

God spoke directly into Josephs life, a life of obedience and glory to God.

God will do this with all those who are his own.  Speaking directly into our lives.  Even if we don’t always see it or feel it.  He never ever leaves us on our own and speaks into our lives.

Emmanuel….God with us.

Sunday Sermon: Keep Awake, Be Ready

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Hymns:

Hark the herald the angels sing
Hail to the Lord’s Anointed
O come O come Emmanual
The race that long in darkness pined
Rejoice, rejoice, believers
Be known to us in breaking bread
Joy to the world

Scripture: 

Matthew 24:36-44 (ESV) 

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

During advent we are looking forward to Christ coming again.   Too often we only focus on the baby Jesus.
Or people focus on trying to figure out when Jesus will return.  Like the timing is important.

Even in Jesus’ day the disciples wanted to know when Jesus would return.

Jesus answers the when question.  No one on earth knows.  Only God the Father knows.

The angels don’t know, he (Jesus) doesn’t know, people don’t know, only God the Father knows that time.

When Christ was on earth he was limited in many ways by his humanity.   He was still God,  but he was very human.    He walked , talked, asked questions, needed to know things and get places.

While Noah built the ark,  he was continually calling people to know the Lord,  to turn to him and be saved.

2 Peter.   Scoffers  will be around to mock the Lord and his eventual return.

Jesus is clear    we don’t know when he is returning but we have an antidote for that….stay awake!!   Always be expecting.   You know it will happen so simply be alert and be ready.

Whatever we do, be prepared for the Lord to return.

We shouldn’t be surprised like those who live in the dark. Always ready, always prepared.

So how does live a life of readiness?
1. Live like any moment could be your last
2. Live in grounded obedience to God’s will
3. Live a life of faith.
4. Live a life of love

So stay awake.   Be alert.