Journey to Jesus V - The Son of God

Pastor Dan's sermon from 12/31/06

Scripture Reference: John 20:30-31

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Well, the Journey to Jesus series is over. However, I can't help but think that our journey to Jesus never really does end until we have been fully glorified when we meet our King in eternity. And until that time, that either God sees fit to call us home or Jesus returns to take us to that place that he has prepared for us, we will always struggle on this journey to Jesus. We will fall, we will sin, we will disappoint, we will hurt, and we will suffer. However, we will also be sanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives--a true continued work of grace.

I am looking forward to this next series called "Journey with Jesus". We are going to take a look at some of the claims that Jesus made about himself. He called himself the "way, truth and life", the "bread of life", the "resurrection and the life", the "vine", the "good shepherd...I can't wait to dive in as we, the disciples of Jesus continue this journey with our Savior through His Living Word.

Can't wait to be with you all this Lord's Day!

What's In A Name?

It's Saturday, New Years Eve-Eve. We are on the brink of another man-made landmark of time. Many people are making New Years Resolutions to change, lose weight, get in shape, make more money, spend less money, be a better person all around, go to church, change their church and so on. I have just finished my sermon notes (I usually do a few touch ups on Saturday to get refreshed and prepared for Sunday) and I am excited about sharing with you what God has laid on my heart.

To be perfectly honest we will be looking at some doctrines tomorrow that could launch 50 new sermon series. But we will only have a few minutes to get into them tomorrow. But if you are reading this tonight, befor the Lord's Day, I want to ask a question. What is in a name? More specifically, what is in Jesus Christ's name or names? What do they mean? Do they challenge us? Do they change us? Do they "wreck" us? Have you ever looked into what Jesus' names mean?

Names meant so much more to people in biblical times. When we choose names today it is usually from a baby book or internet page full of baby names. We try to match them with our last name and in some cases with our other children's names. Why did your parents give you your name? Have you ever asked them? My parents gave me "Daniel" which is from the Hebrew name which means "God is my judge". Boy, isn't that the truth. My son's name is Caleb Mark. We gave him the middle name to remember my younger brother, Mark, who was killed in a car accident in 1993. The funny thing is that Caleb and Mark are both the same name. Mark is the Greek name for Caleb meaning literally, "Mighty Warrior, Mighty Warrior". Think about Caleb's role in Israel's history. He and Joshua were certainly mighty warriors.

I say all of that to say this, think about Jesus Christ. Literally his name means, "Yahweh saves, the Annointed One". We often think of these names as a first and last name. But Jesus was probablly known as "Joshua". Jesus is a late adaption. "Christ" was a confession about Jesus. It was an announcement more than a name. To say "Jesus Christ" is to say, that the Son of God is the Messiah of God, the one who saves us from our sins.

Many say that they believe in Jesus or that they are a Christian. But unless we really believe this about Jesus, than we are using his name in vain. If we say we believe but have not a life that shows it, we use his name in vain. What do you believe about Jesus' name?

Who is Jesus? The Children Speak.

Many of you have requested a way to download the Children's Video from a few weeks ago. Here it is! You can download the video for keeps by Clicking here.

They are precious aren't they?

Journey to Jesus IV - The Word Became Flesh

Pastor Dan's sermon from 12/24/06

Scripture Reference: John 1:1-5

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Download this week's devotions Click here.

Well, Merry Christmas to all of you! What a wonderful time of worship and fellowship we had this morning. It always is a blessing to be with God's people on the Lord's Day. It is my prayer that God's Word touched you this morning and that hearts and lives have been changed. God's Word will accomplish what it set out to do!

Glory to God in the highest and peace on whom his favor rests!

'Twas the Night Before...

'Twas the night before the "holiday" and all through the house
Not a mention of Jesus, nor could the Story be found.
There were mountains of presents and a big bright tree,
A quick annual church visit for it is all about me.

Somewhere in the midst we had lost the true meaning
Of the story of Christmas and the angels singing,
"Glory to God in the highest and peace on whom his favor rests!"
Let's just leave that to Charlie Brown, his boy Linus says it best

So another "Holiday" gone by and I have what I want
Too bad my new iPod broke, I want a refund!
Through all the bulbs and bows, lights and festivity
Do I have any idea about the real Christmas tree.

For there were no lights and no stars, no bulbs and no tinsel
Rather pierced hands and feet and a crown of thistles
It's here that the baby from the manger cried out
"Father! It is finished!" that's what the "holiday" is all about.



Have we lost it? Is Christmas really dying in America? What about in the world? Is Jesus really that offensive to people? I always leave my Christmas shopping to the last week before Christmas. This year I waited until two days (yesterday) before Christmas to hit the malls with the crowds. I finally felt the "holiday cheer" when I stepped into the Mall and heard the generic Christmas Muzack playing throughout the mall. I went into the toy store to see if I could find a little something for my kids and I immediately began to laugh to myself as I saw the many people holding toys in one hand and the cell phone in the other to make sure they were picking up the "right one". "These people are desperate!" I thought to myself. That was until I reached the Care Bears and was immediately lost. What color did my daughter want? What did my wife tell me. I looked around to make sure no one was watching and slowly took out my own cell phone as I dialed for my wife. "Honey..." I immediately started laughing. Now I am the desperate Christmas shopper.

As the day went on I realized that every merchant wished me a "Happy Holiday". Being a preacher, I couldn't help but respond with "Merry CHRISTmas to you too!" I left the mall only to return late that night. I wasn't done consuming yet. I needed more stuff to give away. I was finally done as I purchased the last gift--a little heart pendant for my 4 year old. The jewler gave me my receipt as the noise level had died down at 11pm and I could tell she was beat. As she handed me my bag she said, "Have a happy holiday." I said, "Merry Christmas!" and began to walk away but something stopped me. I turned back around and said, "Could I ask you something?" She nodded, "Sure." I went on, "Do they--I mean, your bosses--do they require you to say 'happy holidays'? Are you allowed to say, 'Merry Christmas'?" She laughed, "Of course, but I just don't feel like gambling on the customers. Some people get offended. Not many, but that one is enough to ruin my day." I smiled and said again, "Well then, Merry Christmas to you." She smiled in return, "Thank you, Merry Christmas."

You know we really think we have it bad. We think persecution is if a few people get upset about a few words. We think the whole world is going to hell in a handbasket if a manger scene is taken down because our "Christian" government wants to be politically correct. There is no doubt in my mind that here in America, we have it easy. They could take Christmas out of every department store and government building and the Kingdom of God would just grow and expand. Did you ever wonder why the Church grew so rapidly in the early centuries? One Word--persecution.

But I say all that to say this. Have we, the church, lost our perspective on Christmas. Is it more than words? Is it more than feeling? Is it more than nostalgia? Is it more than gifts and receiving and giving and Christmas trees and lights and a special time to go to church? Is it more? Tomorrow I am going to preach on John 1:1. Just one verse. One verse that lit up the world. "The Word became flesh". This is Christmas. This is the true meaning of what we celebrate.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became man with all of our infirmities and qualities so that God would make him a sin offering. He did what the law was powerless to do--save us from our sins. This is Christmas.

Journey to Jesus III: The Seed of the Woman

Pastor Dan's sermon from 12/17/06

Scripture Reference: Luke 1:26-36

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Download this week's devotions Click here.

I hope that the Holy Spirit moved in all of our hearts yesterday as we read and learned from God's Word. It was a difficult sermon to preach in that we could have spent several hours on "Seed Theology". I would encourage you to investigate this further as it is rich with blessing and helps us to understand how God has worked all throughout history and how he continues to work to this day. It also helps us to understand that each of the stories in the Bible have a significance to the coming of Jesus Christ. These weren't just random accounts but God-inspired inclusion of Redemptive facts and history.

This week we will prepare to study John 1 as we approach Christmas Day. I hope you enjoy the devotions this week and I hope that they prepare you for this Sunday. If you have trouble downloading the devotions, please feel free to e-mail me.