May the grace of Christ bring you hope and joy, and may the peace of Christ be yours. May Jesus, the Lord, the miracle of God, fill your heart with Christmas love. May you hear the songs of the angels this morn’. May you feel the joy that Jesus Christ is born. May the beauty of Christmas surround you today. May you find joy this Christmas Day. May you thank the Lord for the hope that He brings. May you…
In his sermon, “Holy Work of Christmas,” Spurgeon unpacks Luke 2:17-20 and gives “four ways of serving God, four methods of executing holy work and exercising Christian thought.” What are four ways we can serve God during Christmas? By glorifying and praising God in our everyday work. The shepherds went back to the sheep-pens glorifying and praising God. Beloved, it is not office, it is earnestness; it is not position, it is grace which will enable us to glorify God….
In his sermon, “Holy Work of Christmas,” Spurgeon unpacks Luke 2:17-20 and gives “four ways of serving God, four methods of executing holy work and exercising Christian thought.” What are four ways we can serve God during Christmas? By pondering and preserving the love of the Savior. One at least, and let us hope there were others, or at any rate let us ourselves be others—one kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. She wondered: she did…
In his sermon, “Holy Work of Christmas,” Spurgeon unpacks Luke 2:17-20 and gives “four ways of serving God, four methods of executing holy work and exercising Christian thought.” What are four ways we can serve God during Christmas? By holy wonder, admiration, and adoration. Let me suggest to you that holy wonder at what God has done should be very natural to you. That God should consider his fallen creature, man, and instead of sweeping him away with the besom…
In his sermon, “Holy Work of Christmas,” Spurgeon unpacks Luke 2:17-20 and gives “four ways of serving God, four methods of executing holy work and exercising Christian thought.” What are four ways we can serve God during Christmas? By publishing abroad what we have seen and heard of the Savior. They had seen God incarnate—such a sight that he who gazeth on it must feel his tongue unloosed, unless indeed an unspeakable astonishment should make him dumb. Be silent when their…
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to…
The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. If we pray only because we want answers, we will become irritated and angry with God. We receive an answer every time we pray, but it does not always come in the way we expect, and our spiritual irritation shows our refusal to identify ourselves truly with our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove that God answers…
Each day for years, two friends out for a walk passed an empty lot with a broken ‘for sale’ sign lying on its side. The property was full of weeds and dead trees. A tiny, rusted metal utility shed was the only thing that sat on the property. On this particular day, the inquisitive friend decided to look inside the shed, while the other friend waited impatiently on the sidewalk. “What a tumbled down mess,” the friend yelled, laughing from…
Growing up on a farm, we never raised goats, although we did have sheep for a short time when I was young. Not having raised both, it was still common knowledge that farmers separate sheep from goats. Why? There are many reasons, some of which include disease transference, dietary and feeding differences, and temperaments. Sheep are gentler animals, they leisurely graze together, and will loyally follow the one who takes care of them. Goats are rough, have a difficult disposition,…
They tap at my window, they knock on my door, thoughts without promise come by the score They beckon, they bargain, they love to entertain. Lord, help me to see that they’re clouds without rain. –E.A. Wilhelm Evangelical Christian pastor and author Rick Warren defines four principles for winning this battle: don’t believe everything you think guard your mind from garbage never let up on learning let God stretch your imagination And he also recommends an acrostic for the word…