When King Herod heard about the coming Messiah from the traveling wise men he was very worried because the Messiah could become King and cast him from his throne. He was very jealous to guard his position, power, and reputation. So an angel came to warn Joseph and Mary that they should travel to Egypt for safety. When Joseph and Mary return to Israel it casts our thoughts to the journey of God’s people out of slavery in Egypt to the promised land of Israel.
When the wise men showed up in Jerusalem inquiring where the Messiah was to be born, it got the whole place up in a tizzy. These were foreigners inquiring the whereabouts of the future King! How could foreigners know about the Messiah and the Jewish leaders not know? Everyone from King Herod to the religious leaders (chief priests and scribes) were greatly troubled. Herod quickly gathered the Jewish leadership together and asked them where the Messiah will be born.
When the angel Gabriel appeared in Nazareth, to the home of the woman who promised to marry Joseph (who was a descendant of David and Jesse), Mary was not expecting the visitor. The house was not cleaned nor a meal prepared. And she certainly didn’t know how she was to bear a child who would take the throne of David! She was confused and troubled. Despite the unbelievable words of the angel, Mary submitted to God’s wondrous plan for her life.
Like us, Jesus was born with parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. In fact, Jesus’ family line stretched all the way back to King David and even as far back as Abraham and Adam. Matthew (in Matt 1:1-17) makes a point of showing us who Jesus’ family is because of the words of God in the book of Isaiah that spoke of Jesus as a “shoot from the stump of Jesse.”
The story of Jesus’ birth began centuries before his father and mother (Mary and Joseph) knew him. The Hebrew people had long been expecting a Messiah—the anointed one who would come and rescue them from the sin and misery of the world. Their prophets, the prophets of our own Old Testament, had long foretold of one to come who would break the hardness of God’s people’s hearts and bring everlasting peace. During this first week of Advent we will look at a few of these verses as a way to give us context—to help us to see ourselves in the midst of this story—as we ourselves journey with the Magi to the humble manger scene.
On October 7, 2016, G.R.A.C.E (which stands for Girls Reaching After Character & Excellence) held their annual weekend retreat, hosted by Todd & Charlotte Thompson on their property in LaGrange, TN. The theme of the retreat was DARE TO BE DIFFERENT - "I Am What God Says I Am!!" (1 Peter 2:9)
Love is the ingredient working in our lives to conspire with God for the good of the world and its cities. Do you have a heart throbbing with love for your city? Is it a colossal, ginormous, gargantuan heart like your Father’s heart? Jesus, most compassionately, taught us to pray the Father’s desire for our cities- for the world.
This morning during my time with the Lord reading His Word, praying to see and savor His glory that is found in His Word, I came across these verses in Acts 14:21-22, "When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."
As I mentioned in my first blog, my desire as your Family Pastor is to partner with you in being a God-honoring mom, dad, guardian...
Hello Renewal Church! I wanted to take a few moments and say how thankful and excited I am to begin my new role at the church as Family Pastor. Our family has now been at Renewal Church for over a year, and we are so blessed to have found such an amazing church to call home. We can’t imagine being anywhere else! And God has truly provided for us