Luke 2:8-20 shows us that a miracle on your street can transform you to not fear the judgment of God, to glorify and praise God, make peace with one another, and treasure up the word of God and ponder His word in your hearts. Thanks be to God. Merry Christmas.

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Labels: Christmas, final judgment, peace, words

Ephesians 3 says that Paul has a reason for preaching that you (those who believe) have the Spirit and praying that you would be filled with the Spirit. The reason for doing so is found in the previous section of Ephesians: that Christ is our peace, has made peace between us and God and between Jews and Gentiles, and has preached peace through the apostles. That you have the Spirit is the content of much of my preaching and that you would be filled with the Spirit is the content of much of my praying. My purpose in preaching Ephesians first is that it is all about the church and it briefly hits on most of the major themes of faithful preaching and prayer.

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Labels: peace, prayer, sermons, spirit

Ephesians 2:11-22 interprets many of the common passages we hear around Christmas and Easter in the light of Christ. The point is that Jesus is our peace, that He has made peace between us and God (and thus also made peace between Jews and Gentiles), and that He published peace through the apostles. We looked first at the Gentile Christians and then at the Jewish Christians and then saw that Paul's point was there is one new man. In fact, we are not Christians separately but only together. Likewise, we are not members of the youth group first or members of this organzation or that committee, we are not young or old first, we are not adult converts or children of the covenant first: we are Christians first.

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Labels: church, Gentiles, peace, unity