Podcasts about god incarnate

When Job demands answers from God, hes met not with explanations, but with awe. In this powerful sermon, we explore how God responds from the storm, lifting Jobs eyes from suffering to the wonder, wisdom, and wildness of creation. Discover how Gods care is both cosmic and personal, and why we are never alone, even in the chaos. To catch up on the latest sermons from Deep Creek, go to iTunes, Spotify ordeepcreekanglican.comand check out the website for more info about whats happening. We are a welcoming and growing multigenerational church in Doncaster East in Melbourne with refreshing faith in Jesus Christ. We think that looks like being life-giving to the believer, surprising to the world, and strengthening to the weary and doubting. Read the transcript The word of the Lord is being read from the Book of Job, Chapter 38, verses 1 to 21. Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said,Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand.Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know. Who stretched a measuring line across it?On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstonewhile the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness;when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,when I said, This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt?Have you ever given orders to the morning or shown the dawn its place,that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment.The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings?Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years. Good morning everyone. We could probably have some light, I think. It might help you. I don't know if it'll make you go to sleep or not, but anyway. We are looking at, actually, four chapters in Job today, although we just had the start read. If you've got a Bible or something on your phone, you're welcome to follow along. But a lot of the material I'll have up on the screen or read out for us. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for the richness of your word. And we thank you, Lord, that your kindness to us is in revealing who you are, who we are, and our place in this creation. We thank you, Lord, for your goodness to us this morning and every day, in providing all that we need for life and showing us the way to salvation through Your Son, Jesus Christ. We pray that you'd open our hearts today to all that you would say to us in Your Word by Your Holy Spirit. Amen. Left on Read with God Well, the young people have an expression: to be left on read. It means that you've sent a message to someone and they have clearly seen it. A read receipt has come through. It says delivered and read in whatever, you know, WhatsApp or Messenger or whatever. But they have not responded. So it's not like, you know, they haven't seen the message. Oh, they've seen it. But something about their life your message, your priority in their life means that you've been left on read. Well, at this point in the book of Job, Job is feeling like he is left on read with God. We've had speeches back and forth. We've had lots of human words. But in all the chapters between chapter 3 and 37, we've not had a word from God. Job has been crying out to God because of his suffering. All that he has lost, the changes in his life. Everything good that he had seems to have been taken away. And he believes that God is in charge of the world, and so he cannot understand the justice behind a righteous man such as himself receiving such terrible treatment at the hands of a good God. He had done good. Why had he not experienced good in his life? And he knew that he did not deserve this suffering, this change in his fortunes. So why was God doing it? He cries out to God. In fact, more than just sending God a message, he's actually longing to take God to court, if you like. He's kind of moving from just messages between friends to an episode of Law and Order. He is in the courtroom and he is crying out for God the defendant and the judge to answer him. So you actually see lots of courtroom imagery throughout the whole book of Job. We see at the beginning God, the heavenly Judge on the throne, and the angels coming before Him. The accuser comes and says, What is the justice in this man's life? You are saying he is worshiping you and being righteous, and yet he has so much. It's unjust. He doesn't really love you for you; it's because of all the stuff he's got. And so the whole scenario of Job's change in life and his suffering is set up in this sort of courtroom assembly. But Job himself then starts to style himself as a plaintiff in a court case, calling out to God to take his case and also to answer him as his opposition. He longs for there to be someone a witness, an arbiter, a mediator in the courtroom between him and God. And actually, when he calls for a Redeemer and says, I know there must be someone, he's still using this picture. I want someone to stand on my side, to be my legal advocate. To provide what I need. As I stand before God the Judge. God Speaks from the Storm So when we come to God speaking in chapter 38, we actually see God begin His own cross-examination of Job. God speaks. And yes, He will engage in this courtroom scene and these questions of justice. Now, what He says in answer to Job's complaints may be very unexpected. But when we see the beginning of chapter 38, we can imagine exactly a defense attorney standing there saying, Brace yourself. Are you ready for my questions? So God answers Job. In our NIV translation, we just have, Then the Lord spoke to Job. That's appropriate. I'm not a Hebrew scholar, but what I do know is that there's a difference between the way that God speaks here and the way God has spoken the only other times we've seen Him speak (in chapters 1 and 2). In chapters 1 and 2, God speaks to the Satan the accuser, the adversary and He does not... (the Hebrew doesn't use the normal everyday sort of reply form of the word). It's not like this is a dialogue between God and Satan. Satan says something and God speaks, but He doesn't "reply" in the sense that they are equals. Here, however, the language is back to normal. God answers Job, as you and I would answer or reply to one another in conversation. He has now brought Himself into dialogue with Job. Not that either one's character or essence has changed, but that God is willing to have a conversation with this human being. Face to face. But it's not really face to face. It's not equal. God speaks to Job out of the storm. Throughout the book of Job, Job has been using this imagery of God Himself. You might have heard that we are expecting a "weather bomb" off the east coast of Australia this coming week. And you think to yourself, Ah, do you need to just really escalate this imagery? It'll probably be quite rainy and windy. However, the picture of God speaking out of the storm is that escalated "weather bomb" language. This is power. This is threat. And Job knows this about God, because Job has used this language of Him before. In that first courtroom scene in chapter 9, when he's saying, You're the Judge I want to bring my case before You. But I feel so powerless. If He does come to me, He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason. And then, towards the end of the speeches, just before the final human arbiter (Elihu) speaks, Job says to God, You snatch me up and drive me before the wind; You toss me about in the storm. Elihu, in his speeches (before God finally speaks in answer), says this too about God: His thunder announces the coming storm. All the threat that you experience when a weather bomb is on its way... This is the power and holiness and otherness of the great God of the universe. But God, out of His great power and otherness, does not destroy Job when He speaks to him out of the storm. He says, Who is this that obscures My plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man. Like a warrior. I will question you, and you shall answer Me. And so we wonder, what will God say in response to Job's suffering and his request for justice? Will He go into the explanation of Satan coming before God in chapters 1 and 2? Will He say, Actually, you werent as righteous as you thought. Everybody gets tough times? What is He going to say? The Vastness of Creation Well, God begins His answer to Job by lifting his eyes to the vastness of creation. He lifts Jobs eyes above Jobs own human story, and He tells Job just how vast and indescribable how unfathomable and transcendent God really is. He begins by saying, Were you there when I laid the earths foundation? He pictures Himself as a builder and an architect. He says, Were you there? Who marked off its dimensions? Who stretched a measuring line across it? Did you lay the concrete footings? No, I did that. And more than just doing a building for you humans. This was set in a vast heavenly realm: ...the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy. God doesn't give a lot of insights into the heavenly realm in these chapters, but it's always there God's ways are ancient, transcendent. There were beings around before you, and they are truly beyond our comprehension. Have you ever given orders to the morning? Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea and walked in the recesses of the deep? (Maybe the Mariana Trench, or whatever it's called something I learned from Octonauts.) What is the way to the abode of light? Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or seen the storehouses of hail, which I reserve for times of trouble? Does the rain have a father? From whose womb comes the ice? Can you bind the chains of Pleiades or loosen Orion's belt? (He's talking about the stars.) Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons and lead out the Bear with its cubs? (That's referring to a constellation.) Can you raise your voice to the clouds? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? God's ways are ancient and transcendent and truly beyond our comprehension. Science may get us so far, but a lot of what we observe, we still not we are still not able to say why or how and for what purpose. But God knows. And God has been in this business for an awfully long time. God's Intricate Care for Creation But He also then says moving from this large picture down to an intricate care picture. He says: Who gives the ibis wisdom? Who gives the rooster understanding? Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions? Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food? Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? God knows. God's knowledge of creation is far greater than human knowledge, and it's intricate and caring. And you might notice that these animals and birds mentioned are not ones that humans domesticate or find useful. They aren't God speaking about the cattle and the sheep grazing (there are parts in the Psalms where He does that, to make a different point: See what I can do to care for you.). But this is not that. This is, See all the strange and unconnected-to-human-life parts of creation that I know, that I love. My knowledge is intricate. You say I haven't seen your suffering. I see all. And I care for all. Wild and Playful Creatures And then related, and starting to move on from here He starts to have this really kind of strange, wild and playful description of creation. Who let the wild donkey go free? I gave it the wasteland as its home; it laughs at the commotion in the town. Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness? Will you rely on it for its great strength? (The answer being no not a chance.) Then this long excursus on the ostrich: The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork. She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand, unmindful that a foot may crush them or that some wild animal may trample them. She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers. She cares not that her labor was in vain, for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense. Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider. The ostrich is a nonsense creature. God says it's got this big body and a long neck and a funny tiny head. It lays its eggs in the sand rather than putting them in a nest or sitting on them. It makes these foolish decisions. It looks ridiculous. And yet when it runs, God says, I delight in it. It is fast and crazy and wild and stupid, and I love it. This creation that I have made. Look around. It is full of wildness and nonsense and play. And it is not always centered on you. An ostrich goes its own way. A horse, a hawk. An eagle. An ox. A mountain goat, a donkey. All of these wild, free creatures. I made them. I love them. I delight in them. And they're not really part of your story. Behemoth and Leviathan: Chaos Contained He goes on then into chapter 40 and 41, and He moves into these animals that seem to be mythological. And the point here is that God's power contains and holds in check all that seems out of control, including chaos and injustice. So we've got wildness, we've got nonsense, we've got play. But now we've got two creatures called Behemoth and Leviathan. Now, in my household, we have conversations about whether Behemoth (which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox; what strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly, its tail is like a cedar, etc., etc.) is a hippo, a rhino, or a dinosaur because its tail is like a cedar and hippos have, like, tiny little tails. What is this creature? The Leviathan. Similarly, it's in the sea. Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook? Tie down its tongue with a rope? Can you make a pet of it or put it on a leash for the young women in your house? No one is fierce enough to rouse it. Who then is able to stand against Me? Everything under heaven belongs to Me. These creatures Behemoth (this kind of mythological, dinosaur-like, big, scary chaos creature on land) and Leviathan (the Kraken, if you like, in the ocean) are mythological beasts, terrifying to all the sailors and the pirates and everybody in the Psalms. Leviathan stands for all the forces of chaos and opposition to God. There are creatures, of course, on the earth that God could say, "I control this," but these ones seem to be imbued with this kind of symbolic chaos meaning, and even a dark and evil meaning. The great beast on land and the great beast in the sea. But God contains and holds in check all that seems out of control, all that seems terrifying, all that seems chaotic and even unjust. There is chaos in God's world, and yet it is not out of God's ultimate control. God's Justice Is Bigger Than Ours Finally, in chapter 40 at the beginning, He teaches us this. God's story is bigger than our story. God's justice is bigger than our justice. But its not in opposition to our story and our justice. I don't know if you've ever heard preachers or teachers say, "Well, you know, I appreciate that your heart is for the vulnerable. I appreciate that you don't feel that that is right. But God's justice God's rightness is beyond ours." And it sort of undercuts that feeling that sometimes we have, that things aren't right and that we're supposed to live with this very, very significant cognitive dissonance that, you know, God doesn't actually care about the things we care about. No, God's justice is bigger. God's ways are higher. He does care about human right and wrong. He does care about the treatment of the vulnerable and the marginalized. He does care when people do wicked things. So in chapter 40, He says again to Job, Brace yourself like a man. Would you discredit My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself? Do you have an arm like God's? Can your voice thunder like His? Unleash the fury of your wrath; look at all who are proud and bring them low. Look at all who are proud and humble them. Crush the wicked where they stand. Bury them all in the dust together; shroud their faces in the grave. "Then I Myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you." God cares about the behavior of human beings, and He knows when the proud are being wicked. He knows when human beings who have abused and hurt other human beings deserve justice, and He will bring it ultimately, of course, in the death and the condemnation of the wicked. But God's justice is not in opposition to the justice that you and I desire, even though He is so far above our ways. Job's Humble Response So Job responds, and he responds twice. (If you were at Andy Prado's talk on Wednesday night, you'll know that the first response is one of humility, and we'll look at the next one next week.) He knows, actually, you're right: my story is small. Humans are small in light of God's wisdom and power. Job answered the Lord, I am unworthy how can I reply to You? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer twice, but I will say no more. "I am humbled. You have shown me the vastness of Your creation. You have lifted my eyes to the intricacy of Your plans, and I know that they are beyond my own story." Humans Are Small, But Not Worthless or Alone But God would not want Job to stop there. He knows that Job needs to hear more than just "humans are small." (So really, is that why He's come to him?) Humans are small. God is big. But humans are not worthless. When God came to us in Jesus Christ, He did the same. He looked around. Creation. He saw what was there. He saw the sparrows rising and falling. And He said to the people around Him, Look at this creation. God cares for these. He could be quoting Job about these sparrows. But Jesus said, Are you not worth more than many sparrows? Does not God care for you so much more than even these utterly gorgeous little creatures? Psalm 8 says that God deserves all the praise and glory. And yet what is humankind? That you care for them? That you raise them up? That you love them? Humans are small, but they are not worthless. And humans are small. But they are not alone in this world with its chaos and sufferings. The God who is big is also personal. God came to Job to answer him. God answers him as a friend a very high, transcendent, complex, holy-other friend. God says, Look around at this creation. It is made personally by Me, and I am with you in it. In its chaos, in its dark, in its light. You are not alone in this world. A New Way of Looking at Things From C.S. Lewis I learnt something new a new way of looking at things from C.S. Lewis this week. I'm going to read to you from one of his essays, from a book called God in the Dock. He says: There is an activity of God displayed throughout creation a wholesale activity, let us say which people refuse to recognize. The miracles done by God Incarnate, Jesus, living as a man in Palestine, perform the very same things as this wholesale activity, but at a different speed and on a smaller scale. So think about the things that we've looked at in Job chapters 38 to 41: the seas being in God's control. Jesus calming the storm. Jesus walking on water. God feeding the the ravens. God taking great delight in His creation. Jesus feeding the 5000. Jesus bringing healing and restoration. Jesus having meals. Jesus turning water into wine. One of the chief purposes of these miracles is that people, having seen a thing done by a personal power on the small scale, may recognize, when they see the same thing done on the large scale, that the power behind it is also personal indeed the very same Person who lived among us 2000 years ago. The miracles, in fact, are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see. Of that larger script, part is already visible and part is still unsolved the script of God's plan. In other words, some of the miracles of Jesus do locally what God has already done universally (provide calm, be over all the chaos). Others do locally what He has not yet done but will do (healing, restoration, resurrection). In that sense, and from our human point of view, some are reminders and others prophecies. God creates the vine and teaches it to draw up water by its roots and, with the aid of the sun, to turn that water into a juice which will ferment and take on certain qualities. Thus, every year from Noah's time till ours, God turns water into wine. But when Christ at Cana makes water into wine, the mask is off. But the miracle has only half its effect if it only convinces us that Christ is God (obviously essential, and we always preach it like that). It will have its full effect if whenever we see a vineyard or drink a glass of wine or juice, we remember that here works He who sat at the wedding party in Cana. God's entire creation is personal. God knows it. God loves it. The other transcendent, powerful God is the God who walked among us in Jesus, but who has never been far from us in every circumstance. Amen.

In this message, Jeff Williams explores the Logos revealed in John 1:1-18, showing how Jesus Christ is the eternal Creator who entered creation to dwell with humanity and reveal the Father. The revealed Logos confronts Jewish and Greek worldviews and invites us to respond in faith. Williams highlights how this passage magnifies grace and frames our stewardship as believers in light of Christ's divine identity. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this message, Jeff Williams explores the Logos revealed in John 1:1-18, showing how Jesus Christ is the eternal Creator who entered creation to dwell with humanity and reveal the Father. The revealed Logos confronts Jewish and Greek worldviews and invites us to respond in faith. Williams highlights how this passage magnifies grace and frames our stewardship as believers in light of Christ's divine identity. ★ Support this podcast ★

ਸਲੋਕੁ ਮਃ ੩ ॥ ਜਿਨ ਕੰਉ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ ਭੇਟਿਆ ਸੇ ਹਰਿ ਕੀਰਤਿ ਸਦਾ ਕਮਾਹਿ ॥ ਅਚਿੰਤੁ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਤਿਨ ਕੈ ਮਨਿ ਵਸਿਆ ਸਚੈ ਸਬਦਿ ਸਮਾਹਿ ॥ ਅਰਥ: ਜਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਮਿਲਿਆ ਹੈ, ਉਹ ਸਦਾ ਹਰੀ ਦੀ ਸਿਫ਼ਤਿ-ਸਾਲਾਹ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਨ; ਚਿੰਤਾ ਤੋਂ ਰਹਿਤ (ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੇ) ਹਰੀ ਦਾ ਨਾਮ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਮਨ ਵਿਚ ਵੱਸਦਾ ਹੈ ਤੇ ਉਹ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਦੇ ਸੱਚੇ ਸ਼ਬਦ ਵਿਚ ਲੀਨ ਰਹਿੰਦੇ ਹਨ।ਕੁਲੁ ਉਧਾਰਹਿ ਆਪਣਾ ਮੋਖ ਪਦਵੀ ਆਪੇ ਪਾਹਿ ॥ ਪਾਰਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਤਿਨ ਕੰਉ ਸੰਤੁਸਟੁ ਭਇਆ ਜੋ ਗੁਰ ਚਰਨੀ ਜਨ ਪਾਹਿ ॥ ਅਰਥ: ਉਹ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਆਪਣੀ ਕੁਲ ਨੂੰ ਤਾਰ ਲੈਂਦੇ ਹਨ ਤੇ ਆਪ ਭੀ ਮੁਕਤੀ ਦਾ ਦਰਜਾ ਹਾਸਲ ਕਰ ਲੈਂਦੇ ਹਨ। ਜੋ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਦੀ ਚਰਨੀਂ ਲੱਗਦੇ ਹਨ, ਉਹਨਾਂ ਤੇ ਪਰਮਾਤਮਾ ਪ੍ਰਸੰਨ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ।ਜਨੁ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਹਰਿ ਕਾ ਦਾਸੁ ਹੈ ਕਰਿ ਕਿਰਪਾ ਹਰਿ ਲਾਜ ਰਖਾਹਿ ॥੧॥ ਅਰਥ: ਦਾਸ ਨਾਨਕ (ਭੀ) ਉਸ ਹਰੀ ਦਾ ਦਾਸ ਹੈ, ਹਰੀ ਮੇਹਰ ਕਰ ਕੇ (ਆਪਣੇ ਦਾਸ ਦੀ) ਲਾਜ ਰੱਖਦਾ ਹੈ।੧।ਮਃ ੩ ॥ ਹੰਉਮੈ ਅੰਦਰਿ ਖੜਕੁ ਹੈ ਖੜਕੇ ਖੜਕਿ ਵਿਹਾਇ ॥ ਹੰਉਮੈ ਵਡਾ ਰੋਗੁ ਹੈ ਮਰਿ ਜੰਮੈ ਆਵੈ ਜਾਇ ॥ ਅਰਥ: ਅਹੰਕਾਰ ਵਿਚ ਰਿਹਾਂ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਦੇ ਮਨ ਵਿਚ ਅਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਬਣੀ ਰਹਿੰਦੀ ਹੈ ਤੇ ਉਸ ਦੀ ਉਮਰ ਇਸ ਅਸ਼ਾਂਤੀ ਵਿਚ ਹੀ ਗੁਜ਼ਰ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ; ਅਹੰਕਾਰ (ਮਨੁੱਖ ਲਈ) ਇਕ ਤਗੜਾ ਰੋਗ ਹੈ (ਇਸ ਰੋਗ ਵਿਚ ਹੀ) ਮਨੁੱਖ ਮਰਦਾ ਹੈ, ਜੰਮਦਾ ਹੈ, ਆਉਂਦਾ ਹੈ ਫੇਰ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ (ਭਾਵ, ਜੰਮਣ ਮਰਨ ਦੇ ਗੇੜ ਵਿਚ ਪਿਆ ਰਹਿੰਦਾ ਹੈ) ।ਜਿਨ ਕਉ ਪੂਰਬਿ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਤਿਨਾ ਸਤਗੁਰੁ ਮਿਲਿਆ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਆਇ ॥ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰ ਪਰਸਾਦੀ ਉਬਰੇ ਹਉਮੈ ਸਬਦਿ ਜਲਾਇ ॥੨॥ ਅਰਥ: ਜਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਹਿਰਦੇ ਵਿਚ ਮੁੱਢ ਤੋਂ (ਕੀਤੇ ਕਰਮਾਂ ਦਾ ਸੰਸਕਾਰ-ਰੂਪ ਲੇਖ) ਉੱਕਰਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ, ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਮਿਲਦਾ ਹੈ (ਤੇ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਦੇ ਮਿਲਿਆਂ) ਪਰਮਾਤਮਾ (ਭੀ) ਆ ਮਿਲਦਾ ਹੈ; ਹੇ ਨਾਨਕ! ਉਹ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਦੇ ਸ਼ਬਦ ਦੀ ਰਾਹੀਂ ਹਉਮੈ ਦੂਰ ਕਰ ਕੇ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਦੀ ਕਿਰਪਾ ਨਾਲ ('ਹਉਮੈ ਰੋਗ' ਤੋਂ) ਬਚ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ।੨।ਪਉੜੀ ॥ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਹਮਾਰਾ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਅਬਿਗਤੁ ਅਗੋਚਰੁ ਅਬਿਨਾਸੀ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਬਿਧਾਤਾ ॥ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਹਮ ਸ੍ਰੇਵਹ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਹਮ ਪੂਜਹ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੇ ਹੀ ਮਨੁ ਰਾਤਾ ॥ਅਰਥ: ਜੋ ਹਰੀ ਅਦ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟ ਹੈ, ਜੋ ਇੰਦ੍ਰਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਪਹੁੰਚ ਤੋਂ ਪਰੇ ਹੈ, ਨਾਸ ਤੋਂ ਰਹਿਤ ਹੈ, ਹਰ ਥਾਂ ਵਿਆਪਕ ਹੈ ਤੇ ਸਿਰਜਣਹਾਰ ਹੈ, ਉਸ ਦਾ ਨਾਮ ਸਾਡਾ (ਰਾਖਾ) ਹੈ; ਅਸੀ ਉਸ ਹਰੀ-ਨਾਮ ਨੂੰ ਸੇਂਵਦੇ ਹਾਂ, ਨਾਮ ਨੂੰ ਪੂਜਦੇ ਹਾਂ, ਨਾਮ ਵਿਚ ਹੀ ਸਾਡਾ ਮਨ ਰੱਤਾ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ।ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੈ ਜੇਵਡੁ ਕੋਈ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਸੂਝੈ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੋ ਅੰਤਿ ਛਡਾਤਾ ॥ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਦੀਆ ਗੁਰਿ ਪਰਉਪਕਾਰੀ ਧਨੁ ਧੰਨੁ ਗੁਰੂ ਕਾ ਪਿਤਾ ਮਾਤਾ ॥ਅਰਥ: ਹਰੀ ਦੇ ਨਾਮ ਜੇਡਾ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਕੋਈ ਹੋਰ ਸੁੱਝਦਾ ਨਹੀਂ, ਨਾਮ ਹੀ ਅਖ਼ੀਰ ਵੇਲੇ ਛਡਾਉਂਦਾ ਹੈ। ਧੰਨ ਹੈ ਉਸ ਪਰਉਪਕਾਰੀ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੂ ਦਾ ਮਾਂ ਪਿਉ, ਜਿਸ ਗੁਰੂ ਨੇ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਨਾਮ ਬਖ਼ਸ਼ਿਆ ਹੈ।ਹੰਉ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਅਪੁਣੇ ਕੰਉ ਸਦਾ ਨਮਸਕਾਰੀ ਜਿਤੁ ਮਿਲਿਐ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਮੈ ਜਾਤਾ ॥੧੬॥SHALOK, THIRD MEHL:Those who meet the True Guru, ever sing the Kirtan of the Lord's Praises. The Lord's Name naturally fills their minds, and they are absorbed in the Shabad, the Word of the True Lord. They redeem their generations, and they themselves obtain the state of liberation. The Supreme Lord God is pleased with those who fall at the Guru's Feet. Servant Nanak is the Lord's slave; by His Grace, the Lord preserves his honor. || 1 || THIRD MEHL: In egotism, one is assailed by fear; he passes his life totally troubled by fear. Egotism is such a terrible disease; he dies, to be reincarnated — he continues coming and going. Those who have such pre-ordained destiny meet with the True Guru, God Incarnate. O Nanak, by Guru's Grace, they are redeemed; their egos are burnt away through the Word of the Shabad. || 2 || PAUREE: The Lord's Name is my immortal, unfathomable, imperishable Creator Lord, the Architect of Destiny. I serve the Lord's Name, I worship the Lord's Name, and my soul is imbued with the Lord's Name. I know of no other as great as the Lord's Name; the Lord's Name shall deliver me in the end. The Generous Guru has given me the Lord's Name; blessed, blessed are the Guru's mother and father. I ever bow in humble reverence to my True Guru; meeting Him, I have come to know the Lord's Name. || 16 ||

Devotion Ecclesiastes 1:12-15   Announcements Sunday School and Bible Class Church Cleanup Day Midweek Lent Service Church Choir Men's Breakfast Ladies Bible Study Cemetery Cleanup Day Congregational Meeting Anchored in Hope Holy Week (April 13-20) Voters' Meeting   Prayer List  Pastor John Hein Pastor Tim Wheaton Jim Lien Lilia Howley Ethan Kranz Dave Busse Margaret Wheaton Nila Strege Mr. Heinze and Mr. Mariner Attack of CLCI Leaders War in Mayanmar   Hymn: TLH 294 “O Word of God Incarnate”

You were made to be in a relationship with the living God and His first commandment is that you should worship Him alone. God commands us to love Him because He loves us first. The First Commandment of the Ten Commandments is “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image.” Jesus in the Gospels said very clearly: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” It may seem like the First Commandment may be difficult to break. After all, we don't worship statues! But if we really stop and reflect, how many of us are too attached to material things of this world? We might be too reliant on money or status, and we may value other things as more important than God. The Lord truly wants us to make him number one.CCC 2093 says: We are called by the first commandment to have charity; we must love God above everything and all creatures. One can sin against charity through indifference (refusing to reflect on God's divine love), ingratitude (failing to acknowledge God's goodness), lukewarmness (negligence in responding to divine love), acedia (spiritual sloth), and hated of God which comes from pride. Not taking our faith as seriously as we ought is a sin against the first commandment. Another way we could break this commandment is outlined in the CCC 2110-2117. The First Commandment forbids superstition and irreligion. Superstition is a departure of the worship we give to the true God. We are commanded to reject idolatry which not only refers to pagan worship but also includes whenever one honors or reveres something that is not God in the place of God: whether this be power, pleasure, race, ancestors, government, money, or many other things. All forms of divination must be rejected including recourse to satan or demons, conjuring up the dead, consulting horoscopes or astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens, clairvoyance phenomenon, turning to mediums, and practicing occult magic. These contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear we owe to God alone. CCC 2129-2132 says: While the the First Commandment states "you shall not make for yourself a graven image", the veneration of sacred images is not contrary to this law because the worship is not directed at the images themselves which are considered mere things but leads us to worship the God Incarnate. God our Father in heaven loves you so much, and He asks that you return that love back to Him, not only for His sake but for yours... for your salvation. When we make God our first priority, everything else falls into order and we begin to see His gifts in their proper place. What is it that you are clinging onto that you need to give over to God today? Let him be the center of your life and be your Lord, your Savior, and your Master. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------"music by audionautix.com"Adventures by A Himitsu https://soundcloud.com/a-himitsuMusic released by Argofox https://youtu.be/8BXNwnxaVQEMusic provided by Audio Library https://youtu.be/MkNeIUgNPQ8

Order of Service: - Prelude - The Confession of Sin (p. 120) - Hymn 171 - O Word of God Incarnate: vv. 1 - 3 - The Versicles (pp. 120-121) - Psalm 19: (setting by F. de la Tombelle) Day unto day utters speech, Night unto night reveals knowledge. Fear of the Lord is forever, His righteousness likewise And His judgments perfect forever. Worth far more than gold and sweeter than purest honey. Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! Who knows his errors and sins? E'en to ourselves sins are hidden. Cleanse me, O Lord, from my sin, then in Your eyes I am blameless. Let my meditation be worthy in Your sight, my Strength and my Redeemer. Glory to God! Glory to God! Glory to God! - Matthew 9:37-38: Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then (Jesus) said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” - Homily - The Versicle (p. 122) - The Nunc Dimittis (p. 124) - The Kyrie (p. 124) - The Lord's Prayer (p. 125) - Hymn 584 - Grant Peace, We Pray, in Mercy, Lord - The Collect (pp. 125-127) - The Benedicamus (p. 127) - The Benediction (p. 127) - Hymn 584 - Grant Peace, We Pray, in Mercy, Lord: vv. 4 - Postlude Service Participants: Chaplain Don Moldstad (Preacher), Rev. Prof. Mark DeGarmeaux (Organist), Douglas Lindee (Soloist)

This week Rev Beki Rogers spoke to us about Mary the mother of Jesus, looking at the Gospel of Luke. Music by Jonathan Ogden https://www.jonathanogden.co.uk/

Order of Service: - Prelude - Hymn 171 - O Word of God Incarnate - 2 Corinthians 8:9: For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. - Devotion - Prayer - Hymn 134 - Let Us All With Gladsome Voice - Blessing - Postlude Service Participants: Chaplain Don Moldstad (Preacher), Micah Smith (Organist)

A new MP3 sermon from Faith Community Bible Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: God Incarnate Speaker: Tom Chesko Broadcaster: Faith Community Bible Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 12/22/2024 Length: 49 min.

God has done a great thing in sending His Son. The Son has done a great thing in taking on flesh. This sermon explores why we need this wonderful Son of God Incarnate!

What is Christmas all about? Pastor Luke preaches from John 1:14.

Luke 2:5-20 Jesus' birth announced

We're looking ahead to the Fourth Sunday in Advent! The Rev. James Gier, Senior Pastor of Ascension Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, joins Andy to discuss the week's readings and themes. Find Ascension Lutheran Church at alcsfw.360unite.com/home. Fourth Sunday in Advent (Series C): Micah 5:2-5a Psalm 80:1-7 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45 (46-56) As you grab your morning coffee (and pastry, let's be honest), join hosts Andy Bates and Sarah Gulseth as they bring you stories of the intersection of Lutheran life and a secular world. Catch real-life stories of mercy work of the LCMS and partners, updates from missionaries across the ocean, and practical talk about how to live boldly Lutheran. Have a topic you'd like to hear about on The Coffee Hour? Contact us at: listener@kfuo.org.

Passage(s): John 1:1-5, 10-14, 16-18The incarnation is the moment when all of God's promises took on flesh and entered time. Believing this isn't about an idea, or a value, it's about a person~

Christ the King Sunday Bible Readings Daniel 7:13-14 Bible Readings Daniel 7:13-14 Worship Folder Pastor Paul A. Tullberg Sermon text: Revelation 1:4b-8 John writes to the seven churches 4 I am John... I pray that God will be very kind to you. I pray that he will give you peace in your minds. God is alive now. He has always been alive. He will continue to be alive for ever. God will help you, and the seven spirits that are in front of his throne will help you. 5 Jesus Christ will also help you. He always speaks a true message. He is the first person who became alive again after death. He rules the kings of the earth. Jesus loves us and he died for us. That is how he made us free. Because of Jesus, God will not punish us for the bad things that we have done. 6 Jesus has brought us into his family, so that we belong to God's kingdom. He has made us priests, so that we serve his God and Father. So we praise Jesus Christ! He will always be very great! He has power for all time. Amen. This is true! 7 Look! He will come on the clouds! At that time, everyone will see him! Even the people who pushed a spear into his body will see him. People from all the nations on earth will be sad when they see him. Yes, it is true! Amen! 8 The Lord God says, ‘I caused all things to begin and I will cause the end of all things. I have all power and authority. I am alive. I have always been alive. I will continue to be alive for ever.' EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Take a Moment to recall something from today's message. Ask Jesus to create for you opportunities to use your words, activities and thoughts to glorify Him this week. We value your friendship and the opportunity to share the love of Jesus together with you!

Al Fadi and Anthony Rogers continue discussing Isaiah 52 and 53, They notice that this servant is an individual, a human, a man, not a nation.  The pronoun "He" is being used many times.  In Isaiah 52:13, This servant will be highly exalted.  In Isaiah 2, the Lord alone will be exalted; This shows the divine identity of this figure.  Isaiah 52: says that this upright man will suffer and die, buried , resurrected and exalted (Is. 52:13,14).  He will be stricken, smitten , and afflicted (Is. 53:4) . He will be chastened, scourged , and crushed (Is. 53: 5). This figure will die for the sins of his people, and he will succeed. This person is the Lord Jesus.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Mark Dalbey Week 10 God Incarnate (3) Rocky Mountain Community Church, PCA in Billings, MT   (11/10/2024)

Sermon Series: The Return of the King: The Gospel and the Future Sermon Text: 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 Sermon Title: “It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better” Sermon Slides: SLIDE 1 – Sermon Title Slide SLIDE 2 – Today's Big Idea: The Anti-Christ is Coming … So Be Watchful. But Don't Be Fearful … For The Christ is Returning. SLIDE 3 – Point 1: The Coming Anti-Christ … Lawlessness & Satan Incarnate. (vv. 3-12) SLIDE 4 – Ephesians 2:1-2 – “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, followingthe course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” SLIDE 5 – 1 John 3:4 – “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.” SLIDE 6 – Matthew 24:12 – “Because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.“ SLIDE 7 – Matthew 7:21-23 – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” SLIDE 8 – Insert Copy of Point #1 of Sermon SLIDE 9 – Matthew 24:9 – “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.” SLIDE 10 – Revelation 7:9, 13-14 – “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation … standing before the throne and before the Lamb … Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?' … And he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes … in the blood of the Lamb.'” SLIDE 11 – 2 Timothy 3:1, 4-5 – “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty … For people will be … lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” SLIDE 12 – 1 John 2:19 – “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.” SLIDE 13 – Insert Copy of Point #1 of Sermon SLIDE 14 – Revelation 20:1-3 – “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven … and he seized the dragon … who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.” SLIDE 15 – Point 2: The Returning Christ … Righteousness & God Incarnate. (vv. 6-8) SLIDE 16 – 1 Timothy 3:16 – “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” SLIDE 17 – Ephesians 3:3-6 – “… The mystery was made known to me by revelation … the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” SLIDE 18 - Matthew 24:14 - And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." SLIDE 19 – Insert Copy of Point #2 of Sermon SLIDE 20 – Three Uses of This Sermon for Our Church and Lives. SLIDE 21 – For the Unbeliever … Stop Refusing His Kindness. SLIDE 22 – For the Believer … Keeping Resisting the Real Enemy. SLIDE 23 – For the Church … We Won't Escape Persecution … but We'll Be Rescued from Condemnation.

Dr Mark Dalbey Week 9 - God Incarnate (2) Rocky Mountain Community Church, PCA in Billings, MT   (11/03/2024)

Frank Schaner Week 8 - God Incarnate (1) Rocky Mountain Community Church, PCA in Billings, MT   (10/27/2024)

Dr .Shabir Ally joins me to discuss the Person of Christ.  What are the Orthodox Christian arguments in these three fields?  What are the Islamic arguments?  Dr. Shabir joins me for a formal debate on this topic moderated by Kyosan from the Politics Discord.   Support Jay Dyer at his site: https://jaysanalysis.com/membership-account/membership-levels/Send Superchats at any time here: https://streamlabs.com/jaydyer/tip Get started with Bitcoin here: https://www.swanbitcoin.com/jaydyer/ The New Philosophy Course is here: https://marketplace.autonomyagora.com/philosophy101 Set up recurring Choq subscription with the discount code JAY44LIFE for 44% off now https://choq.com Lore coffee is here: https://www.patristicfaith.com/coffee/ Orders for the Red Book are here: https://jaysanalysis.com/product/the-red-book-essays-on-theology-philosophy-new-jay-dyer-book/ Subscribe to my site here: https://jaysanalysis.com/membership-account/membership-levels/ Follow me on R0kfin here: https://rokfin.com/jaydyerBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jay-sanalysis--1423846/support.

From the very first line, John's Gospel is markedly different from the other three.

Mary and Joseph have traveled some eighty miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be registered for the Roman census. The journey took at least three days. They finally arrived first at Jerusalem and then would have continued the five or six more miles south to Bethlehem. But when they arrived there, the place was packed. Joseph pushed his way inside the inn to beg and plead for a room for by now the birth of Jesus was imminent.   Some commentators believe that this was an inn which had a long history. It was known as Chimham's Inn (2 Sam. 19:38-40; Jer. 41:17) and was built by that loyal servant of David after he became a member of David's inner circle.   Can you imagine the innkeeper seeing Mary about to have a baby and still telling Joseph that there was "No room!" "We are full. You can see that for yourself. There's not one room vacant." Then, as an afterthought, he said, "But there's the cattle shed. Maybe you could make do there."   "No room!" But that was not really true. Think about it! There was the innkeeper's own room, but he never once considered that. No indeed! Let these peasants with the Nazareth accent make do with the shed. The "cattle shed" of such an Eastern inn was often a cave, which seems to have been the case here.   So, in a rough, cold cave attached to an ancient inn, the Son of God entered into human life. Oxen shook their shaggy heads, and camels looked around with disdain. The floor was unspeakably foul. Bats flew in and out. No hot water, sanitation, or midwife was available. In the nearby inn, paying guests called for food and drink and sang songs or sought their beds.   The awesome Child was born at last. Joseph knocked some boards together to make a manger and lined it with straw, and the wondrous Child slept, wrapped in swaddling clothes. The word Luke used for "swaddling" is one of his medical terms. It means "bandages," so even in the midst of newborn life is a hint of death.   “No room!” No room for Jesus! I hope you get the picture. We read in 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”  The Creator of the universes comes into this world, robed in human flesh and is born a dirty cave used for the animals of the travelers staying in the inn. The innkeeper or anyone of the travelers probably had the opportunity to give up their room for this precious Baby to be born, but they selfishly denied and rejected this awesome and wonderful privilege!   I love what Oswald Chamber says on his December 25 devotion in Utmost for His Highest: “Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not evolve out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being, He is a Being Who cannot be accounted for by the human race at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate, God coming into human flesh, coming into it from outside. His life is the Highest and the Holiest entering in at the Lowliest door. Our Lord's birth was an advent.” “Just as Our Lord came into human history from outside, so He must come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a "Bethlehem" for the Son of God? I cannot enter into the realm of the Kingdom of God unless I am born from above by a birth totally unlike natural birth. "Ye must be born again." This is not a command, it is a foundation fact. The characteristic of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that Christ is formed in me. Immediately Christ is formed in me, His nature begins to work through me.”   Yes, like that dirty cave, our hearts are dirty, sinful, deceitful, and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), but Jesus is willing to be born into it, cleanse it, and make all the difference in the world for you! Do you have room in your heart today for Jesus?   God bless!

The period between the Council of Ephesus (431) and the Council of Chalcedon (451) laid the groundwork for the controversy of the latter. St. Cyril's explicit use of a single-subject Christology that at the same time embraced the two natures of God Incarnate, still sought a precision of terminology that was only gradually being developed. Orthodoxy and Education: https://tinyurl.com/OrthodoxEducation Doxamoot 2024: https://tinyurl.com/Doxamoot24 Dr. Jenkins new website with Atheism course: luxchristi.co (note, not .com).

Read OnlineAt that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not say a word in answer to her. Matthew 15:21–23The district of Tyre and Sidon was non-Jewish territory. The people there were said to have been descendants of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve who killed his brother, Abel, and was banished. He and his descendants settled in the area of Tyre and Sidon and were not heirs to the faith given through Abraham, Moses and the prophets, making them Gentiles. Jesus and His disciples traveled about 40 miles by foot to this district from Galilee to flee Herod and the Pharisees who were seeking to kill Him. While there, Jesus intended to keep a low profile, but word of His presence spread, and this Canaanite woman came to Him to beg that He heal her daughter.At first, it is surprising that Jesus remained silent. She came to Him with deep faith and trust, and He did not answer her at first. His disciples wanted her to stop bothering them, and Jesus Himself eventually responded to her stating that His mission during His public ministry was to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel,” meaning, to the Jews. Of course, later Jesus would expand His mission entrusted to the Apostles to include the Gentiles. But at first, Jesus' mission was to the descendants of Abraham.As we read this story today, it is clear that it was by God's providence that this woman came to Jesus as she did. The Father drew her to Him, and Jesus participated in this discourse, not to be rude or dismissive but to allow her to manifest a faith that was clearly lacking in the lives of many.In our lives, at times God seems silent. But if He is silent, we must know that it is for good reason. God never ignores us; rather, His silence is a way of drawing us even closer to Himself than if He were to be immediately “loud and clear,” so to speak. Silence from God is not necessarily a sign of His disfavor. It's often a sign of His purifying action drawing us to a much fuller manifestation of our faith.As for the Gentile woman, unlike many of the Jews, she manifested a faith in the fact that Jesus was the Messiah. This is evident by her calling Him “Son of David.” Her trust in Jesus' ability to heal her daughter was expressed in very simple and clear words. She didn't need to present herself as worthy of His help, because her trust in Him was all that was needed. Furthermore, she persevered in her prayer. First, Jesus is silent. Then, His disciples try to dismiss her. And then, Jesus gives the appearance of refusing her request. All of this results not in her discouragement but in perseverance and hope. And that hope was also extraordinarily humble. Jesus' goal of allowing her to deepen her faith and manifesting it for all to see was accomplished.Reflect, today, upon the qualities of this woman's prayer. Try to imitate her by first acknowledging the truth of Who Jesus is. He is the Messiah, the Son of David, the Savior of the World, God Incarnate and so much more. Calling Jesus' true identity to mind is a wonderful way to begin to pray. From there, make your prayer simple, clear and humble. Don't present your wants, present your needs. What do you need from the Savior of the World? Of course God knows what we need more than we do, but asking is an act of trust, so do so. Lastly, persevere. Do not get discouraged in prayer. Be fervent, relentless and unwavering. Humble yourself before the almighty power and mercy of God and do so without ceasing and God will always answer your prayer in accord with His holy will.My Saving Lord, You are truly the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of God. You and You alone deserve all honor, glory and praise. As I come to know You as You are, please fill me with a deep trust and unwavering faith in You. May I persevere through all things and never cease to put all my hope in You. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: Christ and the woman from Canaan By Pieter Lastman, via Wikimedia Commons

Pastor Nick talks about Jesus identifies with our personal, unique feelings even about the cultural problems of our current time.

A Sermon for Trinity Sunday St. John 3:1-17 by William Klock Knock!  Knock!  Knock!  Someone was at the door.  Peter—or maybe it was John or James—got up to see who it was.  It had been a long day.  Everywhere Jesus went the crowds followed.  Some were full of questions, but most of all they were full of problems.  And they brought them all to Jesus.  The blind, the deaf, the sick, the dying, the demon-possessed.  This isn't how the world is supposed to be, full of tears.  Everyone knew it then.  Everyone knows it now.  And everyone then and now hoped for a day when somehow it will all be set to rights.  And so the people flocked to Jesus, because wherever he went, there was a little pocket of the world as it should be, the world as God had made it, the world set to rights.  Wherever Jesus went, there was a little pocket of God's future brought into the present.  A little pocket of the world where the tears are wiped away. Knock!  Knock!  Knock!  There it was again.  They'd found a quiet place to spend the night away from the crowds, but someone had found it.  Peter was getting himself ready to tell whoever-it-was to go away, so image his surprise when he opened the door and saw Nicodemus standing there.  They'd never met, but everyone knew who Nicodemus was.  He was a rich man, he was one of the leaders of the Pharisees, but more than that, he was a member of the Sanhedrin—the ruling council of the Jews.  And here he was at the door of the house where Jesus was staying, standing there with a couple of his servants, politely asking to speak with the rabbi now that the crowds were gone. Nicodemus had seen what Jesus was doing.  Nicodemus had heard what Jesus was preaching.  Nicodemus had watched from the edge of the crowds and listened in the temple court.  In Jesus he saw the hopes of Israel being fulfilled.  He saw that little pocket of God's future following wherever Jesus went.  He believed—he just wasn't sure what exactly it was that he was believing.  Have you ever had that happen?  You see God at work.  It's obvious.  But it's not what you expected.  So you believe, but you don't really understand.  That's where Nicodemus was.  He wasn't one of the simple people who just needed some physical manifestation of the kingdom—like the blind and the deaf and the sick.  He knew the scriptures.  He knew how the God of Israel was supposed to fulfil his prophecies.  And Jesus was fulfilling them, but not in the ways anyone expected.  So the great theologian had come, not to be healed, but to ask how all this can be.  “We know that you're a teacher who's come from God,” Nicodemus said to Jesus, “Nobody can do the signs that you're doing, unless God is with him.” You can hear the unspoken question implicit in Nicodemus' affirmation.  It's the theologian's equivalent of “Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief.”  It was like this for everyone.  The disciples saw, they heard, they believed, but whenever Jesus pressed them with questions, ninety per cent of the time they gave the wrong answer.  Peter knew with certainty that Jesus was the Messiah, the son of the living God.  But when push came to shove, he drew his sword and was ready to bring God's kingdom with violence.  Even the disciples were full of all the wrong ideas the Jews had about the Messiah and the coming of the kingdom.  Nicodemus was in the same boat.  It's just that he knew he was missing something and here he was to get it sorted out.  But Jesus doesn't give him the answer he wanted, because even if Jesus explained it all, even if Jesus connected all the dots for Nicodemus, that's wouldn't solve the problem.  Nicodemus would still need something more.  And this is where Jesus answers his implicit question with those familiar words, “Let me tell you the solemn truth.  Unless someone has been born from above, he won't be able to see God's kingdom.” It wasn't just Nicodemus struggling with all this.  Think of all our Gospel lessons during Easter- and Ascensiontide, those lessons where Jesus tells his disciples that as good as it is for him to be with them, he's going to have to leave so that something better can happen.  And they don't understand.  They're confused.  If Jesus leaves, that little pocket of the kingdom that follows him wherever he goes, it will be gone with him.  They didn't understand either.  They, too, had to be born from above in order to see—in order to be part of—the kingdom.  In order to themselves become little pockets of God's future in the present.  And, of course, that's what we saw last Sunday as we remembered Pentecost.  The God of Israel sent his Spirit to indwell his people—they were born from above—and suddenly it all made sense and Peter preached that Pentecost sermon that would have been impossible for him to preach just the day before and from there they went out to make God's kingdom known to the world. This is, incidentally, why we have this story of Nicodemus' visit to Jesus as our Gospel lesson today.  Trinity Sunday didn't come along until the high Middle Ages.  Long before today was Trinity Sunday, it was the Sunday after Pentecost and today's Gospel was assigned to explain the Pentecost events we read about last Sunday.  When Trinity Sunday came along no one changed the lesson, because here we see the Trinity revealed in the exchange between Jesus and Nicodemus as the Son reveals that the Father must send the Spirit to create, to give life to a renewed people. So Nicodemus knew the story.  He knew the God of Israel.  But he knew there was more to it.  He knew the world is not as it should be and he knew that that the people of Israel were failing at what God had called them to be.  And he knew the Lord's promises to set the world and Israel to rights.  He saw the Lord's promises being fulfilled in Jesus and he'd heard Jesus talking about this new work, this new exodus, this new deliverance of the people—this exodus even greater than the one that defined them when the Lord delivered them from Pharaoh.  And Jesus warned about a judgement soon to come on those who refused to repent of their old ways and to get in line with the Lord's plans.  It didn't fit into the expectations of the people of Israel and especially not into what the Pharisees expected, but there had to be something to it, because the Lord was so clearly with Jesus. Again, Jesus picks up on the question implied in Nicodemus' statement.  He says, “The central truth you're missing, Nicodemus, is that you've got to be born from above to see the kingdom of God.”  Nicodemus understood so much.  If anyone wanted to see God's will done and his kingdom come on earth as in heaven it was the Pharisees.  That's what they lived for.  And Nicodemus saw it in Jesus, but he struggled to reconcile his expectations with what Jesus was saying.  And Jesus says that what he's missing—what all of Israel is missing—is this new birth, this being born from above, this being born again.  And it's important to understand that as much as Jesus is saying, “You, Nicodemus, must be born again—which is how the ears of modern Christians have been trained to hear this in individualistic terms—Jesus' stress is on Israel, on the whole people.  In verse 7 he says, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.'”  When he says “You must be born again,” that's plural, it's “you all must be born again”.  Israel as a people had been born the first time when they passed through the waters of the Red Sea and Jesus is saying that now Israel had to be born a second time.  This is why John was out in the wilderness baptizing in the Jordan, but that wasn't all.  Israel had been baptised in water before and it wasn't enough.  Now they needed to be baptised in both water and the Spirit.  Israel was always supposed to be a pocket of God's future in the present—so that the nations could see and know the goodness of God.  And Jesus is saying that it's the Spirit who will finally make the people what God had called them to be.  As Jesus had said over and over in various ways, he, Jesus, was sent by the Father, but that it would be the Spirit—the “Helper”—who would come after, who would testify to them about this truth and then that through them, this Spirit would testify to the rest of Israel and even to the nations…fulfilling the prophets, effectively creating a new Israel, and through this new people, fulfilling the mission the Lord had given to them from the beginning: to fill the world with the knowledge of him as the waters cover the sea and to testify to the nations in such a way that the nations would flock to the God of Israel to give him glory. But Nicodemus didn't get it.  Neither did Jesus' disciples.  Because the Spirit had not yet come to testify about Jesus.  So Nicodemus asked Jesus, “How can I be born again?  I know you're not talking about returning to my mother's womb, but what do you mean?  A person is only born once.”  And as he answers Nicodemus, this is where Jesus switches from saying things like “Unless one is born again” to “Unless you—all of you—are born again”.  Because it's not so much about one person being born again or even about a whole bunch of individuals being born again.  It's about Israel as a people being born again so that she could be put back on track to fulfil her mission—the one given to Abraham two thousand years before.  And this idea of birth would have resonated particularly with someone like Nicodemus, because to be a Jew was all about being born as part of Abraham's family.  Other things like circumcision and the sabbath and what you ate (or didn't eat) were important and especially so for the Pharisees, but those things were important because they identified you as part of Abraham's family.  They also drew a clear boundary between those who were in the family and all the uncircumcised, unclean gentiles who were most definitely not. What Jesus is saying now is that being born into Abraham's family in the way the Jews had been thinking about it all this time wasn't enough.  In fact, it never had been enough.  And Nicodemus should have known this.  For two millennia people were being born into Abraham's family and God's kingdom still hadn't come.  For two millennia people were born into Abraham's family and still the Gentiles hadn't experienced the Lord's blessing through them, at least not on the large scale envisioned in the Scriptures.  Just the opposite.  The Prophet Zechariah had spoken of a day when the Gentiles would be grabbing hold of Jews by their coattails saying, “Take us with you, because we hear that God is with you!”  Instead, because of the way most of Abraham's children were living, the nations mocked them and taunted them saying, “Where's your God?”  It takes more than being born of the flesh of Abraham.  It even takes more than being born of water, as Israel had been in the Red Sea.  And as a man devoted to the law, to torah, Nicodemus should have understood this.  The Pharisees were all about exhorting their fellow Jews to be better keepers of the law, but it wasn't working.  They of all people should have been looking forward to the day when the law would no longer be written on tablets of stone, but engraved on the very hearts of the people by the Holy Spirit. So Jesus says to Nicodemus, “I'm telling you the solemn truth.  Unless you're born of water and the Spirit you cannot enter God's kingdom.  Flesh is born from flesh, but spirit is born from spirit.”  Israel needs something more than a biological inheritance.  What does Jesus mean, though, when he talks about being born of water and the Spirit?  This is was what John the Baptist was preaching about.  God was about to lead his people in a new exodus.  As Israel had been led through the waters of the Red Sea to become a covenant family, so John was calling people to pass through the waters of the Jordan—a step of repentance and faith—and into a new covenant.  They all needed that baptism of repentance.  They needed to turn aside from their own misguided expectations of the kingdom and of the Messiah and from their failures to be faithful to the Lord and his covenant.  But remember what John promised.  When people asked if he was the Messiah he said that he was only the forerunner.  John said, “I baptise you with water, but he will plunge you into the Holy Spirit.”  And that's just what Jesus does.  As we recalled last week on Pentecost, Jesus takes those who have repented, who have turned aside from every false lord, from every false god, from every false source of security, from every false way in order to take hold of him in faith by passing through the waters of baptism and he plunges us into the Holy Spirit.  And it's the Spirit who does the work of transforming us.  It's the Spirit who regenerates us.  It's the Spirit who causes us to be born again as he takes our old dead wood and unites it to the life of Jesus, causing us to bear fruit—making us the pocket of God's future in the present.  Through the Spirit we're born again, born from above. The last few months I've been reading Ed Sanders' books on the relationship between the New Testament and Second Temple Judaism.  Sanders was a brilliant scholar and full of deep insights.  His work has had a profound impact on how we understand the New Testament.  But he wasn't a Christian.  He described himself as a “secular Mainline Protestant”.  And it shows.  As brilliant as his insights into Jesus and Paul are, as fascinating as he is to read, it's all spiritually dry as dust.  There's no doxology to any of it.  Sanders even refused to weigh in on whether or not Christianity is superior to Judaism.  And so it was like a breath of fresh air when I finished Sanders' “Paul and Palestinian Judaism” and picked up Tom Wright's new book of Romans and it was full of the same sorts of brilliant and deep insights—many of them ideas that started with Sanders back in the 1970s—but Bp. Wright's work is overflowing with doxology and gospel joy.  That's the difference that Jesus and the Spirit make in us. Think of your baptism as something like Israel at the Red Sea.  There was the parted water and God calling Israel to pass through to freedom and new life on the other side.  There was no receiving the law in Egypt; they had to cross to the other side of the sea to find covenant, to find relationship with the Lord.  And so we stand at the waters of baptism today.  In them Jesus gives his promise: Repent, turn aside from every false way, trust me, follow me in faith and you will find forgiveness of sins and new life through the Spirit.  To pass through the waters of baptism is to take hold of Jesus' promise and to be born again of water and the Spirit—and to be made part of this new covenant people ready and equipped to live and to proclaim his kingdom. But, again, this didn't fit what Nicodemus knew.  “How can this be so?” he asks.  And Jesus asks a bit incredulously, “How can you not know this?  You're one of the teachers of Israel!”  Nicodemus knew the story.  He understood how Israel had so miserably failed in her mission.  As a Pharisee he was abundantly aware of this problem.  Jesus tells Nicodemus: God has heard your cries and is visiting his people and he's doing it in me.  I'm the son of man, the one spoken of by Daniel all those years ago.  I can tell you reliably the things of heaven because I'm the one who has come down from heaven. At this point, I think, Nicodemus starts to connect the dots as much as anyone could in those days before the Spirit was sent.  He started to understand, because now Jesus really starts to correct what was wrong with Israel's thinking about herself, about what it meant to be God's people, and about what it would mean for the Lord to come to deliver them.  Jesus reminds Nicodemus of an event from Israel's time in the wilderness.  The Israelites grumbled against Moses—which was ultimately grumbling against the Lord—and so he sent poisonous snakes into the camp.  They bit people and many of those who were bit died.  But the Lord also gave Moses the remedy.  He told Moses to cast a snake out of bronze and to mount it on a pole.  Anyone who would look up to the bronze snake would be healed. And now Jesus says, “Just as Moses lifted up that snake in the wilderness, in the same way the son of man must be lifted up so that everyone who believes in him may share in the life of God's new age.”  Jesus is pointing to his own crucifixion.  As the snake was the affliction of the people lifted up for them to look at, so Jesus would take the affliction of Israel on himself—he would suffer the punishment for their sins—and be lifted up on the cross.  He would be lifted up for everyone to look upon—to see the horror and the gravity of their sin, to see that the wages of sin is death.  But they would also see Jesus taking it all on himself and in that, the horror and ugliness of his being raised up would become an act by which he is ultimately glorified.  In the cross we see the love of God made manifest in Jesus.  And Jesus says in the familiar words we all know, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Jesus corrects the central error in the thinking of Israel in his day.  They were hoping and praying for the day when the Lord would come, not just to vindicate his people, but to judge their enemies—to rain down fire and brimstone on the Romans and all the other gentiles.  But instead Jesus tells Nicodemus that he's come not to condemn, but to save all who will look to him.  All.  The Jews thought the Lord, when he came, would vindicate them for their faithfulness, but Jesus says to Nicodemus, even the most righteous of you need this new birth, this salvation if you want to know God's vindication.  And it's not just for you.  The Jews looked forward to the condemnation he would bring, but Jesus says he's come not to condemn, but to save.  And this is where the part about being born again of water and the Spirit comes into play.  Being born of water and the Spirit supersedes biology and genealogy.  In Jesus God opens his arms to welcome Jew and Gentile alike.  It was the Jews first, because if the Lord is faithful—and he is—he had to first fulfil his promises to his own people, but most importantly, in that act of faithfulness, the nations would take note of the God of Israel.  In Jesus, the nations would see that the God of Israel is not like the puny, selfish, fickle, and powerless gods they have known, and they would then flock to this God who is truly good and faithful.  This is what God's future looks like, not just Israel set to rights and everyone else set on fire.  God's future is for everyone who sees Jesus and his people wiping away the tears and forgiving sin, who believes, and who becomes part of it—whether born of Abraham by the flesh or born of Abraham by faith—all born in God's Spirit. Abraham's family is integral to the story and the plan, but Jesus reminds us that genes and DNA were never really what made anyone part of Abraham's family; it was about faith.  It was faith for Abraham himself and it was faith in God's promises for all who followed after: for Isaac and Jacob, for Joseph and Moses and Joshua, for gentiles like Rahab and Ruth, and even for the great kings like David and Solomon.  And God's promise was that through his covenant people, through these people who knew him in faith and were reconciled to him by faith, he would bless the nations.  It happened here and there in the Old Testament.  Rahab and Ruth are two of many small-scale testimonies to that, but here we finally see the Lord's promise coming to full fruit.  It's what we celebrated last week on Pentecost as Jesus sent the Holy Spirit on these men of Israel gathered from around the world.  They had heard Peter preach about Jesus and what he'd come to do.  They rallied to Jesus in faith and in response Jesus poured his Spirit into them.  Finally, through Jesus, Israel became the source of blessing she was intended to be—not by flesh, but by the Spirit—as these men and women took the good news to the nations: Jesus is Lord.  He has conquered sin and death.  In him is the forgiveness of sin, in him is life, in him God has returned to his creation as King.  And in him—the Incarnate Word—God makes himself known.  In Jesus, God Incarnate, we have the restoration and fellowship with our Creator that he has been working towards ever since the day we rebelled and were cast out of his presence.  In Jesus, God's kingdom—his new creation—has been inaugurated, in us and through us in the world.  Brothers and Sisters, we are that people the God of Israel was working to create and to make new all those millennia.  Jesus and the Spirit have finally made us that pocket of God's future in the present, the pocket where the world is set to rights and where the tears are wiped away, the pocket shows the world the faithfulness and goodness of God.  May we be that people—God's future in the present, the heralds of his new creation—may we be faithful in being this Spirit-renewed gospel people who make known God's glory to the world. Let us pray: Almighty God we praise you this morning for the grace you have shown us.  Even as we rebelled against you, our good Creator, you were setting in motion our redemption: Father sending, calling, electing; Son speaking, coming, dying, rising; and Spirit uniting, renewing, regenerating, empowering.  In the redemption of the world we see the glory of the Trinity and the majesty of the Unity and in gratitude we fall before you with the angels to sing, “Holy, holy, holy Lord God almighty.”  By your grace, keep us strong in faith, O Lord, but keep us also faithful in our witness and our ministry to make your redeeming love known to the world.  We ask this through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns together with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.  Amen.

Al Fadi and Anthony Rogers continue discussing Isaiah 52 and 53, They notice that this servant is an individual, a human, a man, not a nation.  The pronoun "He" is being used many times.  In Isaiah 52:13, This servant will be highly exalted.  In Isaiah 2, the Lord alone will be exalted; This shows the divine identity of this figure.  Isaiah 52: says that this upright man will suffer and die, buried , resurrected and exalted (Is. 52:13,14).  He will be stricken, smitten , and afflicted (Is. 53:4) . He will be chastened, scourged , and crushed (Is. 53: 5). This figure will die for the sins of his people, and he will succeed. This person is the Lord Jesus.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let's walk through Holy Week with intention, recognizing the majesty of Jesus and dedicating our hearts to Him.  “What shall I do then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” (Matthew 27:22) Pontius Pilate asked. How do we answer? Pilate was not the only one who asked. The crowds of disciples shouted and sang as he entered the city. Religious leaders grumbled about the parade. All of Jerusalem was perplexed by his coming.  Pilate was right to ask.  We have to do something with Jesus?  What will we do?Message based on Luke 19:28-48.Quotes:What makes a thing holy?  Addison Road: “What do we know of holy?”Anigo Montoya in the Princess Bride,: “I don't think that word means what you think it means.” Duane Brooks: Jesus still is our Savior.  Jesus is our only Savior.  Lots of people can help us, but only One can save.Alan Redpath: We can never pray your kingdom come until we are willing to pray my kingdom go.Ken Langley: There was another one who long labored in obscurity: unheralded, humbly serving the people over whom he had every right to reign, laying down his life for them. Today he claims the throne of our lives. Here is Jesus the Christ, the Second Adam, the Bright and Morning Star, the First and the Last, victorious in battle, whose hands bring healing, Mighty Second Person of the Trinity, Son of David, Son of Man, Word of God Incarnate, the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Shall he enter our hearts—our church—and dwell there?Duane Brooks: Jesus wanted his temple to be about worship.  We are his temple.To discover more messages of hope go to tallowood.org/sermons/.Follow us on Instagram, X, and YouTube @tallowoodbc.Follow us on FaceBook @tallowoodbaptist

"Following: Peter, the Rock" – John 18:15-17, 25-27 and 21:15-19 Lenten Sermon Series Part I Sermon by the Rev. Elizabeth N.H. Link from Sunday, February 18, 2024. "What is it that makes us chicken out—whether we're 11 years old, 41 years old, or 81 years old? Why are we afraid to speak up? To live what we claim to believe? What is it that makes us vulnerable to this kind of behavior—the kind of behavior Peter shows on Good Friday? The kind of statements Peter makes in the courtyard that night? ". . . Jesus knows we are more than the worst things we've done (or left undone). He knows we are prone to choose wrong, and we are prone to shame and self-hatred. He knows how to meet us, to build the fire, and prepare the meal that will heal and restore." Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/following-peter-the-rock/ Sung Prayer for Illumination: O Word of God Incarnate. TEXT: William Walsham How, 1867, alt. MUSIC: Neuvermehrtes Meiningiches Gesangbuch, 1963; adapt. Felix Mendelssohn, 1847. Public domain. CCLI Song #121971. CCLI #2642604.

Al Fadi and Anthony Rogers continue discussing Isaiah 52 and 53, They notice that this servant is an individual, a human, a man, not a nation.  The pronoun "He" is being used many times.  In Isaiah 52:13, This servant will be highly exalted.  In Isaiah 2, the Lord alone will be exalted; This shows the divine identity of this figure.  Isaiah 52: says that this upright man will suffer and die, buried , resurrected and exalted (Is. 52:13,14).  He will be stricken, smitten , and afflicted (Is. 53:4) . He will be chastened, scourged , and crushed (Is. 53: 5). This figure will die for the sins of his people, and he will succeed. This person is the Lord Jesus.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pastor Wouter Harryvan preached a sermon titled "Behold the Wonder of God Incarnate" from Luke 2:22-33 at Risen Christ Fellowship in Philadelphia, PA on December 24th, 2023.

Every year, the story of Christmas is told and retold, but Christmas is more than just an event…it's God in human flesh! Long after the celebrations are over and the lights have come down, the promise of Christmas still endures. In this series, God with Us, Dr. Chappell shares the real "reason for the season” and helps us to embrace the unshakable hope of Christ's birth!

Every year, the story of Christmas is told and retold, but Christmas is more than just an event…it's God in human flesh! Long after the celebrations are over and the lights have come down, the promise of Christmas still endures. In this series, God with Us, Dr. Chappell shares the real "reason for the season” and helps us to embrace the unshakable hope of Christ's birth!

This week, Pastor Nate leads us into the second part of our Christmas series, discussing what it means that God became one of us, for us.

October 8, 2023 Daily Devotion from Lutheran Hour Ministries

A new MP3 sermon from Audiobooks by C. H. Spurgeon is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: God Incarnate, the End of Fear Subtitle: Metropolitan Tabernacle Vol 12 Speaker: C. H. Spurgeon Broadcaster: Audiobooks by C. H. Spurgeon Event: Audiobook Date: 12/23/1866 Bible: Luke 2:10 Length: 46 min.

In a 2019 study, the Pew Research Center found that just one-third of U.S. Catholics Agree that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ. That is a sobering statistic. Even if we account for the way in which the survey question may have been imprecisely formed, it still seems that the overwhelming majority of Catholics surveyed espoused belief in a more symbolic meaning of the bread and wine on the altar, as opposed to the sacramental, real presence of Jesus Christ.The Eucharistic Revival in the United States seeks to respond to issues like this, to help increase both belief in and devotion to the Eucharist. One area that I have become especially attentive to is the formation of children for First Communion. Of all those Catholics who were surveyed and said that they believed only that the bread and wine of the altar were symbolic, most if not all of them had been formed for their First Communion and have likely received the Eucharist numerous times throughout their life. We could think that a Eucharistic Revival is about correcting and reforming the belief of adults, and enkindling their devotion, but I say that we ought to think deeply about Eucharistic formation from the very beginning, which means the period of preparation for First Communion.I am also interested in that issue because I am a parent, and four of my own children have been formed for First Communion, with two more to go. More than anything else, I want them to know and to believe that the love of God does not stay far away, but draws near. The love of God is near enough for us to touch, near enough to taste. The Eucharist is the love of God Incarnate, given for us: the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.Follow-up Resources:●     Fed by the Lord: At-Home Scriptural Formation to Prepare Children for First Communion (Liturgical Press, 2023), by Leonard J. DeLorenzo●     Article on the 2019 Pew Study on U.S. Catholics belief in the EucharistSponsored link: The Catholic Theology ShowChurch Life Today is a partnership between the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and OSV Podcasts from Our Sunday Visitor. Discover more ways to live, learn, and love your Catholic faith at osvpodcasts.com. Sharing stories, starting conversations.

At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not say a word in answer to her. Matthew 15:21–23The district of Tyre and Sidon was non-Jewish territory. The people there were said to have been descendants of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve who killed his brother, Abel, and was banished. He and his descendants settled in the area of Tyre and Sidon and were not heirs to the faith given through Abraham, Moses and the prophets, making them Gentiles. Jesus and His disciples traveled about 40 miles by foot to this district from Galilee to flee Herod and the Pharisees who were seeking to kill Him. While there, Jesus intended to keep a low profile, but word of His presence spread, and this Canaanite woman came to Him to beg that He heal her daughter.At first, it is surprising that Jesus remained silent. She came to Him with deep faith and trust, and He did not answer her at first. His disciples wanted her to stop bothering them, and Jesus Himself eventually responded to her stating that His mission during His public ministry was to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel,” meaning, to the Jews. Of course, later Jesus would expand His mission entrusted to the Apostles to include the Gentiles. But at first, Jesus' mission was to the descendants of Abraham.As we read this story today, it is clear that it was by God's providence that this woman came to Jesus as she did. The Father drew her to Him, and Jesus participated in this discourse, not to be rude or dismissive but to allow her to manifest a faith that was clearly lacking in the lives of many.In our lives, at times God seems silent. But if He is silent, we must know that it is for good reason. God never ignores us; rather, His silence is a way of drawing us even closer to Himself than if He were to be immediately “loud and clear,” so to speak. Silence from God is not necessarily a sign of His disfavor. It's often a sign of His purifying action drawing us to a much fuller manifestation of our faith.As for the Gentile woman, unlike many of the Jews, she manifested a faith in the fact that Jesus was the Messiah. This is evident by her calling Him “Son of David.” Her trust in Jesus' ability to heal her daughter was expressed in very simple and clear words. She didn't need to present herself as worthy of His help, because her trust in Him was all that was needed. Furthermore, she persevered in her prayer. First, Jesus is silent. Then, His disciples try to dismiss her. And then, Jesus gives the appearance of refusing her request. All of this results not in her discouragement but in perseverance and hope. And that hope was also extraordinarily humble. Jesus' goal of allowing her to deepen her faith and manifesting it for all to see was accomplished. Reflect, today, upon the qualities of this woman's prayer. Try to imitate her by first acknowledging the truth of Who Jesus is. He is the Messiah, the Son of David, the Savior of the World, God Incarnate and so much more. Calling Jesus' true identity to mind is a wonderful way to begin to pray. From there, make your prayer simple, clear and humble. Don't present your wants, present your needs. What do you need from the Savior of the World? Of course God knows what we need more than we do, but asking is an act of trust, so do so. Lastly, persevere. Do not get discouraged in prayer. Be fervent, relentless and unwavering. Humble yourself before the almighty power and mercy of God and do so without ceasing and God will always answer your prayer in accord with His holy will. My Saving Lord, You are truly the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of God. You and You alone deserve all honor, glory and praise. As I come to know You as You are, please fill me with a deep trust and unwavering faith in You. May I persevere through all things and never cease to put all my hope in You. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2023 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Join us for our 365-day reading journey through The Jesus Bible. Take this time to pause, be still, and focus on His Word and His presence.—Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”Mark 14:1-9—Give towards what God is doing through Passion City Church: https://passioncitychurch.com/give-online—With Passion City Online, you can join us every Sunday live at 9:30a and 11:45a, and our gatherings are available on-demand starting at 7p! Join us at https://passioncitychurch.com/online—Subscribe to our channel to see more messages from Passion City Church: https://www.youtube.com/passioncitychurch1—Looking for content for your Kids? Subscribe to our Passion Kids Channel:https://passion.link/passionkidsonline—At Passion City Church, we believe that because God has displayed the ultimate sacrifice in Jesus, our response to that in worship must be extravagant. It is our privilege, and our created purpose, to reflect God's Glory to Him through our praise, our sacrifice, and our song.

Questions Covered: 01:47 – Why do Catholics believe you can pray to the dead when the bible says the opposite? 12:22 – Why does the Church believe that Mary is sinless? 18:08 – Were the Assumption of Mary and JP2's declaration on the male only priesthood fall under ex cathedra? 23:00 – Could you help explain why we use relics? 32:32 – Why do we use the phrase “Mother of God” instead of “Mother of God Incarnate” in the Hail Mary prayer? 43:23 – If you’re in a relationship with someone who is going through RCIA, why do you have to be married to them to be their sponsor? 51:52 – Why do we Catholics find it easier to accept scientific discoveries over protestants if we have a lot of the same materials? …

In this episode of Pray the Word on Matthew 1:22–23, David Platt teaches on the majesty and beauty of Jesus' humanity. 

The incarnation— the event of God becoming fully human in Jesus Christ— is the paradigm-shattering event of human history. In the incarnation, the ideal became real, the absolute became particular, and the invisible became visible. If we can grasp this doctrine, it has enormous implications for our lives. This sermon will cover 1) What the incarnation is; 2) What it does in your life; 3) Why it can do this.  This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 19, 2010. Series: To Know the Living God – The God Who Can Be Known. Scripture: Hebrews 2:5-18. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

What does it mean that Jesus is called Immanuel, or God with us? Every other religion was founded by someone who was a prophet or a teacher who came to tell us how to find God—but Christianity says, “No, our Founder, Jesus Christ, is God come to find you.” This sermon will consider three things about Jesus Christ as Immanuel: 1) He is God; 2) He is us (human); and 3) He's with us. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on December 12, 2010. Series: To Know the Living God – The God Who Can Be Known. Scripture: Matthew 1. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.