Good News of Great Joy for All sounds easy enough. This is the final sermon in our Christmas series. We talked about some bad ideas in this sermon – 70s attire, bagless vacuums, and the gospel going back to the Jews. They rejected it! True, but that doesn’t mean God doesn’t want them. The gospel is for all! Does that mean sinners?
The Holy Ministry – Persecution looks rough. Knowing that a life of temptation and hardship awaits the Christian doesn’t sound very appealing. What kind of motivation would move someone to sacrifice his or her life?
We are all sinners because of the one trespass of Adam. When did that hit him like a ton of bricks? Was it when an angel kicked him and his wife out of Paradise? Maybe it was when his one of his sons killed the other. The curse of sin carries on even today, but so does the promise. Jesus is the promised Savior. We get to be his messengers of hope and forgiveness! The is the first Sunday that we will consider the Holy Ministry.
Life for the dead isn’t just physical life for dead people. To be sure that is a reality in the kingdom of God. The lessons from today both talk about dead people coming back to life!
A gift for the world sounds like a great 80’s tune. The point of Romans 4 is the Apostle Paul expanding on the concept he throws out just a couple verses earlier: For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart the works of the law.
Blessed are the peacemakers. That phrase has the most meaning after a time of war. Since Jesus was both God and man he could make peace between God and man.