Date: December 11, 2022
Bible Text: Luke 2:36-38 | Pastor David McMahon
The significance of the Birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The very fact that he came in the first place is a real powerful point-that He is the God who showed up.
Those in the world who have “dumped’ their faith or never accepted Christ, live in fog of pain, misery & suffering of the world. Their fog of pain has not been burned off by the Son.”
We need to reach out to people and help them unwrap the gift of joy. The gift of salvation. They need to unwrap the heartbreak of a death at Christmas or their burn out of the family stresses, maybe it is the weariness of the carnality of superficial gift giving. The word offered is to be set free, the freedom of Salvation. The example of Anna in Luke 2: 36-37 shows that someone leaning on the God of Creation and Salvation can live years with worldly pain and yet be pain free with Salvation. Anna was likely very young when she married (average age of young Israelite girls at marriage was 12-13) so at 19-20 she became a widow. In this story we are told she was 84 years old, so she likely was a widow at least 60 years and possible as many as 63, yet she stayed in the temple and worshiped.
Learn to give thanks - Isaiah 55:12 – “go forth with joy” when you hear Joy to world, stop and give thanks.
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