Home Worship Services Sermons and Classes Location Contacts Bulletins Links |
FAMILY NEWSREMINDER: We will not have our Sunday night class on December 25 or January 1. OUR NEW CLASSES ARE STARTING! Wednesday night we are studying the book of Galatians, and on Sunday evenings we are beginning Proverbs. Learning God's Word should be important for all of us; and these are content studies that contain material that should be new to all of us. Join us as we learn and grow in our understanding of God's Word. COATS FOR KIDS HAPPENS THANKS TO GIBSONS. Today in this brutal weather there are 74 kids walking around in warm coats who did not have any before. This is thanks to Bill and Patty Gibson. When our supplier could not provide any coats, Bill and Patty spent virtually two days going to Walmart and other suppliers where they eventually found 74 coats which were tagged Wednesday night and delivered by Bill on Thursday to the schools that had requested them. The church used $1,100 to get the coats, but money was not the issue — time and perserverance was the issue. Thanks to the Gibsons for their hard work! TODAY'S LESSON
INTRODUCTION — 1 CORINTHIANS 15:17
A. Is Christmas a myth — just a secular holiday? Did Jesus really live as the Bible claims?
I. REASON 1 — SECULAR RECORDS
B. Five reasons which validate Jesus Christ A. Plato — 8; Socrates; — 10; Christ over 1000
II. REASON 2 — ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES
B. Josephus, Pliny, etc. A. Luke 2:1 – 4
III. REASON 3 — PROPHECY AND FULFILLMENT
1. Taxation method
B. Acts 10:6 — Simon the Tanner2. Cyrenius was governor of Syria 3. 3 AD versus 33 – 38 AD C. Dead Sea Scrolls — Essenes, Gnostics A. Time of his coming — Matthew 3:1; Haggai 2:7; Isaiah 2:2; Joel 2:28; Daniel 2:44;
IV. REASON 4 — THE UNIQUENESS OF CHRIST
... Micah 5:2 B. Genetic background C. Life events 400 years before they happen 1. John the Baptist — Matthew 3:1; Isaiah 40:3 2. Use of miracles — Isaiah 35:5 – 7 3. Sold for 30 pieces of silver — Zechariah 11:12 4. He would be crucified — Isaiah 53:8; Psalm 22:16. 5. He would be scourged — Isaiah 50:6. 6. His clothing gambled for — Psalm 22:16. 7. Micah 5:2 & Joshua 19:15 — “Ephratah versus Zebulon” A. John 1:14 — Jesus was not just a prophet.
V. REASON — THE CHRISTIAN SYSTEM'S RESULTS
B. Jesus spoke on his own authority. C. Confirmed his message by miracles — Acts 2:22. D. Logically this was not just a great human teacher. A. The effect(s) of Christianity
B. Pascal's analogy — what have I to lose? C. Matthew 11:28 – 30 D. Put Christ back into your life! THE BACK PAGERENDERING TO CAESAR The enemies of Jesus thought they had a way to “entangle” him (verse 15). They figured that if they made him take a political position they could make him an enemy of the common man, so they asked him “Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?” If Jesus said it was, then he was a political figure and an enemy of Israel. If he said it was not, he was guilty of insurrection against Rome and he could be arrested. Jesus confounds all of this by saying “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's” (verse 21). Satan is doing that same thing as those ancient Jewish leaders today in America. Our nation is polarized, and the battle between the Democrats and the Republicans has invaded the church. When the Jews challenged Jesus on politics they started with taxes, and the challenge had huge implications politically. Jesus took a penny which had Caesar's inscription on it and clearly defined what is Caesar's and what is God's. Today we have people who do not come to church services because their union or social group has endorsed a certain political group that the preacher does not like. (That does not happen here because your preacher does not like any of them.) We have people that are more concerned about immigration than they are about lost souls. There are situations where political positions conflict with God's Word. Abortion, nonbiblical marriage, legalized pornography, and prostitution are all things the politicians may promote. In the time of Jesus all these things were going on and were sanctioned by Caesar. The fact that prostitution is legal and may even be operated by the government does not mean I have to participate in it! We need to be involved in reaching the lost, taking care of the needy, helping the victims of sin who may have been helped into sin by the government. What you support politically is your business. What this body of the Lord's people is about is doing the Lord's business. Get excited about coats for kids, the food pantry, and Bible study. Render the less important stuff to Caesar. — John Clayton Our sign by the street!
Sign saying inspired by www.sayingsforchurchsigns.com |
