Our Prayer

Our Prayer

Heavenly Father, I know that I have sinned against You and that my sins separate me from You. I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my sinful past and turn to You for forgiveness. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ, died for my sins, that He was raised from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become my Savior and the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You and to convict me when I sin. I pledge to grow in grace and knowledge of You. My greatest purpose in life is to follow Your example and do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Class Lesson December 17, 2023

Christmas Lesson - Immanuel



Someone once said that when they think about God, they hear a SONG – maybe it’s a Christmas song. They go on to say that “Maybe the way we live every day determines how IN TUNE with God we really are.”



Click Play to Watch

The Meaning Behind the Song: Where Are You Christmas

by Faith Hill

Is there a yearning for the joy and magic of Christmas? Has it faded amidst the chaos and demands of everyday life? Now that you are older, do you have feelings of nostalgia and longing for the innocent wonder of the Christmas season?

Did you know that the spirit of Christmas is always within reach — it just needs to be rediscovered?

Do you need to be reminded that the true meaning of Christmas is beyond the materialistic trappings? Do you need to reflect on the deeper values of love, compassion, and togetherness that lie at the heart of Christmas?

Do you not realize that “My world is changing, I’m rearranging,” highlights the transformative nature of Christmas? Do you need to evaluate your priorities and values and focus on the joy of giving and the importance of cherishing time spent with loved ones?

This song takes you on a journey that leads to the true essence of Christmas. It is a message of hope and reassurance that, no matter how lost we may feel, the magic of Christmas can always be found within our hearts.

 

 

What do you enjoy most about Christmas?

 


Max Lucado

LET THE SLEIGH BELLS RING! I love Christmas. Let the carolers sing. The more Santa's the merrier. I don’t complain about the crowded shops. I don’t grumble at the jam-packed grocery store. Why? ...well, because it’s Christmas.

I love it because someone will ask the Christmas questions. “What’s the big deal about the baby in the manger? Who was He? What does His birth have to do with me?”

The questioner may be a young military man stationed far from home. She may be a young mom who, for the first time, holds a child on Christmas Eve.

The Christmas season prompts Christmas questions — and answers. Because of Bethlehem, God is always near us. Always for us. Always in us. We may forget Him, but God will never forget us. He called Himself Immanuel — God with us!

 

 

He called Himself Immanuel — God with us!


There is no one in history that has been given more names or titles than Jesus Christ. Throughout the Bible there are over 100 names and titles given to Jesus. And whether He is called "Bright Morning Star, Wonderful Counselor, the Root of Jesse, the Alpha and the Omega, or the Lamb of God", each of these names and titles is rich with meaning. They all say something significant about who Jesus is. However, there is no name more significant than "Immanuel". This name is a Christmas name, as Matthew tells us, that means "God with us."

 

Let’s read the story…

 

Jesus is God                   MATTHEW 1:18-21   

The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. So, her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

 

Sadly, for Mary, the conception of baby Jesus, though actually miraculous, would not have been perceived as wonderful by her friends and family. They saw her pregnancy as scandalous. Her explanation that she had become pregnant through the Holy Spirit was received as lunacy. Her family likely thought she was crazy or lying. They would have thought she had been obviously unfaithful to her betrothed. They may not have accused Joseph, for he was a righteous man.

 

 

Why do you think God chose this order of events surrounding the birth of the Messiah?

God could have allowed Mary to become pregnant with the Christ child after she had been intimate with Joseph, but this order proved that God alone was the Father of the Messiah. Through others in her town may have doubted her purity, Mary knew for certain that the Child was not the son of Joseph but conceived through the Holy Spirit.

 

 

Welcome to Our World

Max Lucado

THE VIRGIN BIRTH is more, much more than a Christmas story.

It’s a story of how close Christ will come to you. The first stop on His itinerary was a womb.

Where will God go to touch the world? Look deep inside Mary for an answer. Better still, look deep within yourself. “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” Scripture says in Colossians 1:27.

Christ grew in Mary until He had to come out. Christ will grow in you until the same occurs. He will come out in your speech, in your actions, in your decisions.

Every place you live will be a Bethlehem. Every day you live will be a Christmas. Deliver Christ into the world — your world.

 

 

What do you learn about Joseph in 1:18-21?

It’s OK to feel embarrassed, hurt, betrayed, angry, and more. But we must act upon what really happened. And we must do so in the ways God would guide us to do. Joseph chose to be kind and compassionate.



God is with Us                MATTHEW 1:22-25

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son. And he named Him Jesus.

 

What do you learn about Joseph in 1:22-25?

How did Joseph reflect 1 John 5:2-3? Joseph proved first that he loved and was obedient to God in marrying Mary. He had everything to lose by obeying God, but he chose to live by faith instead of fear.

 

Maybe God is leading you to step away from expectations of people around you and to obey Him regardless of what others think.

 

 

Ever feel like Christmas just came and went without much of any effect on your life?

 

“It’s a Wonderful Life” is an American film classic enjoyed by many during the Christmas season.

The film revolves around a main character played by Jimmy Stewart in a narrative showing what life would have been like if he had never been born. 

 

Have you ever thought about what the world would be like if Christ had never been born?

There is a story about a Pastor who fell asleep in his study one Christmas morning, and he dreamed of a world into which Christ had never been born. In his dream he found himself walking through the rooms of his home, but something had changed, something was very different. There were no stockings hung by the fireplace, there was no Christmas tree, no wreaths of holly. Nor was there any manger scene of the Christ Child to warm the heart. Then he walked outside and saw that there were no church steeples pointing to Heaven. He came back in and sat down in his study, but something was different - every book about the Savior was gone. Suddenly, a ring came at the door and a small boy in tears begged the Pastor to come quickly to help his mother. Why he asked, and the little boy said, because she is dying. He rushed out with the boy and when he reached the home he sat down beside the mother, held her hand, and tried to comfort her with some of God’s promises from the Bible, but when he opened the Bible, it ended at Malachi. What had happened? There was no Gospel; there was no promise of hope and salvation. What could he say, what comfort could he give, how could he help? The mother died and as he stood with her family by her grave, he tried to offer them some comfort, but what could he say? What words of consolation could he give them? There was no message of a glorious resurrection, no reunion in Heaven, only “dust to dust, ashes to ashes,” and one long eternal farewell. Suddenly, he realized what had happened, Christ had not come, He had not been born and he burst into tears, and he cried out in utter despair.

“Now this would be about the time George Bailey would be back at the bridge crying out to Clarence the angel – get me back Clarence, get me back, I want to live again, I want to live again. But instead of Zoo Zoo’s petals…”

 

Then suddenly, the pastor woke-up and he heard the church choir singing in his church close by:

“O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;

Come and behold Him, born the King of Angels,

O come let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord.”

And a great feeling of joy and praise welled up inside of him as he realized it had all been a bad dream. Christ had been born. And the words given to the shepherds came to his mind, “Behold, I bring you good tiding of great joy, which shall be to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

Yes, the world and everything as we know it would be quite different if Christ had not been born.

 

I AM - IMMANUEL

Is He with you?

God gave Jesus the name Immanuel, which means, "God is with us." But is He? Is God in your life? Does He guide your thoughts and your attitudes? Do you seek His face before any other? Have you committed to His way regardless of the difficulty?


Let's make this a Christmas to Remember!


















 

No comments:

Post a Comment