Living Grace Foursquare Church
Not Alone: When You Feel Unseen
Have you ever felt like you were all alone? On the outside? No-one understands? Unseen? Ever had to celebrate by yourself? The Bible says we are not alone. We might be lonely but we are never alone. From Genesis to the final chapter in Revelation, reoccurring themes say that God loves us, desires a relationship with us and is with us. Even when we’re alone. Sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? This Christmas Eve, we’ll look at the lives of Shepherds in the Christmas story that had the opportunity to witness something not even the strong, mighty, rich and famous saw!!
Locations & Times
Living Grace Foursquare Church
3646 N Rancho Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89130, USA
Tuesday 5:00 PM
1. Important fact about the world Jesus was born into--hungry for a savior, yet, living in the reign of a political savior — Caesar Augustus — that wasn’t enough.
“Augustus and his successors had not solved the basic problems of the Mediterranean world. They had obscured them. For what appeared to be a failure in government they had substituted more government, and government was not the answer.” (Latourette). It never is!
“Augustus and his successors had not solved the basic problems of the Mediterranean world. They had obscured them. For what appeared to be a failure in government they had substituted more government, and government was not the answer.” (Latourette). It never is!
Caesar was simply, providentially a tool in God’s hand.
Proverbs 21:The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.
Proverbs 21:The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.
2. God had promised that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), and that promise would be fulfilled.
a. How does one get a young couple from Nazareth down to Bethlehem when they were reluctant at best to travel? @ At just the right time to have a baby there?
b. Simple. Work through the political “savior of the world,” and use him as a pawn in your plan to bring forth the Savior of the world!
a. How does one get a young couple from Nazareth down to Bethlehem when they were reluctant at best to travel? @ At just the right time to have a baby there?
b. Simple. Work through the political “savior of the world,” and use him as a pawn in your plan to bring forth the Savior of the world!
1. An angel of the Lord appeared to them
2. Fear not
3. This will be a sign for you:
You will find a baby
Wrapped in swaddling cloths and
Lying in a manger
2. Fear not
3. This will be a sign for you:
You will find a baby
Wrapped in swaddling cloths and
Lying in a manger
The shepherds respond to this bewildering experience by going to see the Messiah they had been told about. They knew what to look for. Shepherds would wrap lambs tightly after their birth to keep them perfect for the sacrifice. How astonishing that God, not only announced the arrival of His son to the least of these but also ordained in His sovereignty that the sign to recognize The Savior was the same practice these Shepherds engaged in for their own sacrificial lambs. He was inviting them into His story and into a relationship with Him. They were never invited anywhere. Megan Sinisi: Home for Christmas
3. The Lord sees those who are unseen by society
Why shepherds?
The grace of God is revealed in His sovereign choice of who gets to play a role one of the greatest stories ever told!
Why shepherds?
The grace of God is revealed in His sovereign choice of who gets to play a role one of the greatest stories ever told!
How do they respond?
a. Let us go and see.
b. And they saw it and made it known to others
c. And they returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen
a. Let us go and see.
b. And they saw it and made it known to others
c. And they returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen