Feed-(Ezekial34:13-14, Matt. 14:13-21) God will gather His sheep on the mountains and feed them on the rich pastures. Everyone likes to eat, and it is a good time to fellowship but there are many who do not have the food they need. When 5000 people gathered on the mountainside to hear Jesus, He saw that they were hungry and had compassion on them and fed them. By the same token, there are many hungry among us. Christmas is a good time to provide food for them that they too might be able to enjoy the holiday, but we should not forget them when the holiday is over because hunger for many is a way of life which lasts all year long. Many communities have food banks that supply food to those in need and they need regular donations to be able to supply the need. Things like potatoes are sometimes on sale, buy one get one free. You might not be able to use the other bag before it spoils. Pick it up and donate it to the food bank, or someone you know struggling to make ends meet. Churches can have regular collections to donate. In addition, we should not just provide food but work to help them to provide for their own needs through employment counseling and job referrals. However, the Bible says “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. We should not only provide food, but the Good News of the Gospel as well.
Posts Tagged ‘advent’
First Sunday of Advent-Dec 3
The Lord, Our Shepherd Gathers-(Isaiah 66:18) God refers to His people as sheep who have been scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. He said He would gather His people. Even if 99 out of 100 are safe, He will seek out the one that is lost until He finds it and brings it safely home. Christmas is a time when family and friends gather to celebrate the holiday. Those who do not know Christ celebrate Christmas because it is a time to get together as a family and get gifts and everyone likes to get gifts but those who know Christ have more reason to celebrate Christmas. It is a time when we remember that people, like sheep had gone astray. Christ came to gather His people and break down the barriers that divide us and prevent us from coming into Christ’s presence. It is celebrated on the darkest day of the year to remind us that the Light has come into the midst of our darkness and we should seek opportunities to tell those who are still lost and wandering in darkness so that we can help them return to God.
Fourth Sunday of Advent-Dec 18
Hope For Our Community- Because Christ lives, there is hope for our community. While liberal proponents complain that churches provide no benefit to the community and merely take up valuable space that could be used by tax paying businesses, churches provide a valuable resource for the community. While many liberal churches now support abortion and Gay privileges, Bible believing churches continue to uphold the value of life, the value of the rule of law, the value of the family, and the value of the individual. Bible-believing parents often have stable marriages which provide consistent training to their children in moral living which would not exist if the churches did not exist, since there are no other organizations in our society that promotes those values on the scale that the church and other religious based organizations do. Churches provide support for non-government social service agencies which provide invaluable help to those struggling which goes far beyond the sterile monetary support they get from government agencies. We are seeing the effects of the loss of Christian values in our society as killing increases, lawlessness increases, families crumble, and suicide increases. As churches are increasingly silenced, it will only get worse.
Third Sunday of Advent-Dec 11
Hope for Our Family-Because Christ lives there is hope for our families. Liberal policies discourage long term commitments, especially marriage. As a result, many people never marry and many marriages end in divorce. Those who are divorced or don’t marry will often float from one relationship to another. As a result, many children grow up with unstable parenting. They may have a series of fathers, a series of mothers, or a series of both. As a result, they are subjected to a variety of values and training leaving them confused about what is right and wrong. It also leaves them subject to neglect and abuse by adult figures who don’t care about the children because they don’t plan on staying very long. In addition, with no incentive to work out problems, the adults quarrel frequently and the children are often used as pawns in their quarrels which is very destructive. On the other hand, two parents, transformed by the love of God will be committed to the marriage for the long run providing consistent training guided by Biblical principles and will be determined to raise their children to care about each other and to respect each other.
Second Sunday of Advent-Dec 4
Hope for Ourself-Because Christ lives, there is hope for us. Since Christ is interceding for us, we can have hope of eventual relief from our trials and receive eternal rest. Since we also have the Holy Spirit within us to teach us and guide us, we do not have to face our trials and temptations alone and can rise above them. In addition, Christ has created the church to encourage us and help us as we go through trials. While God is with us, it is sometimes hard to feel His presence and we need to see His presence in the flesh to let us know that we are not alone.
First Sunday of Advent-Nov. 27
First Sunday- God With Us-Christmas reminds us that Jesus left heaven and came to earth to save us. (He didn’t have to, He did it for us) We have hope because He knows our trials. He lived among us and experienced all the temptations we faced, but did not sin. He suffered and died for our sins, setting us free from the power of sin and death so that we can break free of our sin. He rose from the grave and returned to heaven to intercede on our behalf. While we do have to suffer the consequences of our sin, we do not have to continue to suffer for our sins. Afterward, He did not leave us alone, He sent the Holy Spirit to teach us, to guide us, and to strengthen us. God is not somebody far away who doesn’t know what we face. He came down from heaven and dwells with us, an ever-present help in time of need.
Video-study course-Christian Celebrations-promo
I have a course on Basic Christian Beliefs for new Christians and as a refresher for long-time Christians, which is posted on Udemy.
It is available by posting the following link in your browser.
https://www.udemy.com/course/christian-celebrations/?referralCode=D706C0B4E96819B18699
Fourth Sunday of Advent-Dec 19
Hope While we know Christ was not born on December 25th because the shepherds would not have been out on the hillsides with the sheep in the winter, we actually have no idea when He was born because no date is recorded of His birth so one day is as good as another. The early church felt His birth was very important since it changed the world and felt it should be remembered. Dec 25th was chosen because it is the darkest day of the year. After that date, the days begin to get longer again. It is a good time to celebrate Christ who is the Light of the world, because it reminds us that when things were darkest, Jesus came to bring us hope. Like the days, the world isn’t instantly better, but it begins and builds little by little until we can see that things are brighter than they used to be.
Third Sunday of Advent-Dec 12
Peace Luke 10:v.13 And suddenly there was with the Angel, a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, v.14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. The angels gave glory to God and pronounced peace on the earth, yet we don’t see peace. Our world is constantly at war and our TV screens are filled with images of suffering and destruction. Why don’t we see the peace that was promised? The Bible says that in the last days there will be wars and rumors of wars and men will say “Peace, Peace” but there will be no peace because men have turned their backs on God and seek their own benefit, rather than God’s will. We will not see peace throughout the world until Christ comes, but each one of us can have peace in his/her heart in the midst of the turmoil around us as they put their trust in God. The soul that trusts in God will not be shaken by the storms of life.
Second Sunday of Advent-Dec 7
Joy Luke 2:10 “And the Angel said unto them, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”- The Jewish people were straining under the burden of Roman rule because they had turned their backs on God and ignored His Law. They found no joy in the Roman occupation. It seemed that God had abandoned them for there had not been a prophet in Israel in 150 years. Suddenly an angel appeared and announced that she had a pronouncement that would bring joy to everyone, not just the Jews. The Jews did not realize it, but the Messiah was coming, and He would deliver mankind not from Roman rule but from the power of sin and death itself. That is something to celebrate.