Helping You Be the Church Right Where You Are

"Let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up." Galatians 6:9 Sowing seeds is hard work to keep doing if you don't believe you will produce a harvest. If you don't believe a harvest is coming you will give up. But the best thing about being a sower for God is that we can be confident that a harvest is coming. We don't know whether the harvest is coming today, tomorrow, next month or in twenty years. A

What are you sowing in your life? In the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9), Jesus reminded his disciples that God calls us all to use the gifts He has given us to produce good things. The metaphor Jesus used was that we are all sowers who have been given seeds by God (resources, gifts, talents, abilities, etc.) to sow, which will hopefully grow into an abundance of good things depending on where we sow them. The problem we all face, which I believe Jesus points out to the

"So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:4-7 Jesus

"And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." Luke 1:76-79 It's seven days until Christmas Day. How prepared are yo

"This is how the birth of Jesus came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly." Matthew 1:18-19 This is what Joseph was considering before an angel appeared to him in a dream. Joseph was afraid for how Mary would have been treated in her

"But after Joseph had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." Matthew 1:20 God did not choose Mary and Joseph at random. The fact that both Matthew and Luke take the time to identify Joseph as a "son of David" was enormously significant. If Jesus was going to be believed to be the Messiah to the Hebrew people, the

"The angel answered [Mary]..., 'For nothing is impossible with God.'" Luke 1:35, 37 Why is it so difficult to live our lives with the mindset that nothing we face is impossible for God to overcome or handle for us? I think it mostly has to do with our pride. We may believe that God can do all things, but we want a crack at it first. Or maybe it's that we believe we've accomplished all that we have without God's help so why do we need Him now? Pride is an obstacle. I believe i

"You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." Luke 1:31-33 Can you imagine your response to an angel that just told you three wild ideas? You will experience a miraculous birth, your son will be the Messiah of the Hebrew people, and he

Over the next twelve days, leading up to Christmas Day, I want to give you some inspirational thoughts from Matthew's and Luke's gospel stories. These are the two of the four gospel authors to record the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. "I myself have carefully investigated everything [about Jesus] from the beginning... so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." Luke 1:3-4 Luke begins by explaining that his story has come from careful inve