Songs of the Season - Week 1 - Pastor Nick Grim
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Last week we ended our series "Building Blocks" as we journeyed through the book of Galatians together. We also had our first Church Address and I pray it was a blessing to you.
This week we start a new series: Songs of the Season
Before we dive to far into our message hear this:
1.God has a message for you not the person that is not here.
2. Let God speak to you not me.
3. If God asks you to live differently today do something about it. Remember that little changes are what creates growth in Jesus
Jesus’s birth brings significance to everyone!
Luke1:26-38 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Have you ever wondered how one man could fulfill all of what Jesus did?
---We just heard the song Mary did you know (written in the 1990’s) and it is probably in my (Nick's) top 3 Christmas songs.
John 21:25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
Jesus’s story doesn’t begin in Bethlehem as many would believe, it starts in a little town call Nazareth, in northern Israel.
Luke 1:26-29 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
Jesus makes the insignificant, significant!
Before God intervened, No one knew of:
Mary
Abraham
Moses
David
Any of the Apostles
A prostitute that washed his feet
You are not insignificant in this holiday season
Luke 1:30-33 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Lyrics:
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would one day walk on water?
Would save our sons and daughters?
This child that you delivered, will soon deliver you
Will give sight to a blind man?
Will calm the storm with his hand?
Has walked where angels trod?
You kiss the face of God
The blind will see, the deaf will hear
The dead will live again
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Is Lord of all creation?
Would one day rule the nations?
Is heaven's perfect Lamb?
That sleeping child you're holding is the great, I Am
Do you find Jesus significant?
Billy Graham was turned down for membership in a local youth group for being "too worldly". Albert McMakin, who worked on the Graham farm, persuaded him to go and see the evangelist Mordecai Ham. According to his autobiography, Graham was 16 when he was converted during a series of revival meetings that Ham led in Charlotte in 1934.
After graduating from Sharon High School in May 1936, Graham attended Bob Jones College. After one semester, he found that the coursework and rules were too legalistic. At this time he was influenced and inspired by Pastor Charley Young from Eastport Bible Church. He was almost expelled, but Bob Jones Sr. warned him not to throw his life away: "At best, all you could amount to would be a poor country Baptist preacher somewhere out in the sticks ... You have a voice that pulls. God can use that voice of yours. He can use it mightily." - ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Graham )
No one would suspect a poor boy from Nazareth to be the ruler of the world but Jesus is why we celebrate this season and how quickly we can forget his significance.
We talk about the gift Jesus brought in this season but we forget that because of that gift, we have a responsibility.
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Why we think we are insignificant:
--We don’t think what God can do is possible
--We want proof
--We don’t submit to God
God leads us to be significant in His Kingdom.
We must recognize His significance because He recognizes ours.
Jesus’s birth brings significance to everyone!