Pastor Dave Pretlove

1. God's _______ are _______ than we realize.

2. Jesus is _____ _______ than we realize.

3. God's ______ is more ___________ than we realize.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

1. Mary being a virgin and giving birth to Jesus is a familiar story to most of us. Even if a person was not raised in the church, the Christmas story is very common. But for people hearing or reading Isaiah’s words for the first time, this could have sounded outlandish to some and even foolish to them. When you encounter passages in the Bible that seem outlandish to your intellect, how do you work through this?

2. Larry King said he would ask Jesus if he was born of a virgin. What would you ask him?

3. Incarnation is the term that refers to the supernatural act of the triune God, whereby the eternal, divine Son, from the Father, by the agency of the Spirit, took into union with himself a complete human nature apart from sin. As a result, the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, now and forevermore exists as one person in two natures, our only Lord and Savior. Why is this so important?

4. Pastor Dave talked about how Isaiah also prophesized that God would come to actually be with us. But some people minimized the miracle of this prophesy because they could not fathom a promise being this glorious. Do you ever fall into this same way of thinking when you read about miracles in the Bible or promises of heaven?

5. The virgin birth means Jesus is God’s son. It was prophesized in the Old Testament then came to pass approximately 700 years later in the New Testament. When you see prophecies being fulfilled like this in the Bible, does it increase your faith?

God is willing to go to any length to bring us into His family. God becoming human and dying for us -- this is a scandalous love! There is nothing he wouldn’t do to express His love for you. Take some time to ponder this. What does this mean to you personally?