Matthew 1:18-2:23; Luke 2:1-21
What Jesus has meant to Pastor Candace this year:
Matthew 1:19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. 20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
What seems like the right thing to do….what a GOOD man or woman would do...is not always the GOD thing to do.
In fact, when God asks you to do something, the FIRST people that will usually disagree with it, are other GOOD people.
What Jesus has meant to me this year:
My friend, when it feels like I don’t have any.
My friend, who understands when I’m misunderstood.
My friend, that always has the best advice.
My friend, when I need to be loved unconditionally.
The “good” thing isn’t always the God thing.
John 15:15 “I have never called you ‘servants,’ because a master doesn’t confide in his servants, and servants don’t always understand what the master is doing. But I call you my most intimate friends, for I reveal to you everything that I’ve heard from my Father.”
What Jesus has meant to Pastor Jason this year:
Ephesians 2:2-4, “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.[a] He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)“
I was dead in my sin.
BUT GOD!
Jesus is my reason to live.