Today, some 2000 years ago, New Life, New Hope, New Joy and New Peace was born!
The best news is, however, that this same message of New Life, Hope, Joy & Peace is still real and relevant today, for everyone of us! All we have to do is accept Jesus, into our lives, and make Him our Personal Savior and Lord.
Our Bible passage, on this Christmas morning, comes to us from . . .
• Luke 2:10-14 •
“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. (11)For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (12)And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. (13)And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, (14)Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men.” (KJV)
Before you open your special gifts this morning, I’d like to encourage you to read these few verses of scripture to your family and take a few minutes to relate to them the true meaning of Christmas.
Whether you are a family of one, a few, or many, may you be blessed and experiencing the joy of the Christmas Blessing. As the shepherds did, as the angels did, and thousands of others have, Worship the Savior who is born, Jesus Christ the Lord.
You are loved today! Jesus loves you, and so do I, and Family Life Church.
The Lord richly bless you, and Merry Christmas 🎄🎁‼️
— Pastor Gene FamilyChurchAG.com
A Special Note . . .
Join us at Church tomorrow!
Family Life Assembly of God 12481 NE 23rd Street Nicoma Park, Oklahoma
The Bible is the only unchanging, absolute truth today.
Below we see that Jesus’ coming, as a baby, was prophesied, and later came true, just as the Lord had said.
✝️ Jesus Prophesied: Isaiah 7:14
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (ESV)
✝️ Prophecy Revealed: Matthew 1:21-23
“She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (22)All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: (23)“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).” (ESV)
Do you have time to read a few verses from the Jesus/Christmas Story?
Read these verses and let them resonate within you. As we prepare for Christmas, may we also prepare our hearts to worship Jesus, the God who is with us, and within us.
• Matthew 1:18-25 •
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. (19)And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. (20)But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. (21)She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (22)All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: (23)“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (24)When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, (25)but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.” (ESV)
This morning, our Scripture & Devotion is from Ephesians 4:31-32.
“Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don’t yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. (32)Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.” (CEV)
If, in verse 31, the Apostle Paul tells us to, stop being bitter and angry and mad at others, and not to yell, curse or be rude toward others — he must mean for us to be the opposite, to be kind towards one another, and have a HAPPY disposition toward others❗️
This must be true, because in the very next verse, verse 32, Paul says, “be kind and merciful, and forgive others…”
Now how are we going to be kind, merciful and forgiving toward others, if we’re bitter, angry and mad❓
The last line of verse 32 has the answer:
“just as God forgave you because of Christ.”
Honestly, the only way that we can be genuinely kind to others, and have a HAPPY disposition toward others, is by doing to others what Jesus did to us, and that’s forgive them.
• When others are unkind? Forgive them!
• When others are rude? Forgive them!
• When others are mean to you? Forgive them!
Forgiveness is the only way that all people will live in peace in this world today.
During this Christmas season, instead of retaliation, offer people Forgiveness. Whether they ask for it, or not, Forgive them in your mind, and Forgive them in your heart.
Do everything in your power to have a HAPPY and JOYFUL Christmas‼️
Today, I want to talk about the fact that a Christian is a, “Life On Mission.”
A Christian is a person who should be on a daily Missionary Journey to reach others for Jesus.
Dr. Ed Stetzer says, “As Christians, I believe we should always be more driven by our missionary identity than we are by our national identity, our political identity, our environmental identity, our social identity or even our church identity.”
Here on earth we must face the reality that our surrounding culture is not to be our primary identity.
Our culture is a Mission Field. We must see ourselves as, “People On Mission.” This earth, our address, is not our home. This is our Mission Field. Therefore, we all must see our vocations as mission—as kingdom work.
First Peter 2:11 tells us that we are strangers and exiles.
“Dear friends, you are foreigners and strangers on this earth. So I beg you not to surrender to those desires that fight against you.” — 1 Peter 2:11 (CEV)
This land is not our home, as the hymn says, “We’re just passing through.” But part of the challenge is that a lot of people want to fight for their supposed homeland instead of acknowledging that we’re supposed to have the mindset of foreigners and exiles.
We need a reemphasis on gospel clarity. Being labeled Christian no longer means a ‘social Christian’, but instead means someone who’s been changed by the power of the gospel.
Jeremiah 29:5 speaks to those, like us, who are in exile. Sure, plant gardens and grow and flourish and more. But always remember you’re in Babylon, meaning that where you are now, isn’t your home; you’re here only temporarily.
The Lord has you here temporarily. You are here on assignment, and when we have accomplished what He has called us to do, He will take us out of our travels and take us home to be with Him.
Having the right thinking, in this matter, is vitally important. — Why? — It’s because, when we understand that we’re only a visitor on this earth, and our home is really in heaven with Jesus, then we will have Exile Thinking and Gospel Focus. We begin to think about our mission to engage a culture that God loves and wants to redeem and restore to Himself.
Prayer: “Lord, help us not lose focus concerning the reason we are really here on this earth. Give us every opportunity to reach lost people, (people who do not have a personal relationship with you). May we always be about your business while here on earth. Amen.”
We can’t reach every lost person; however, each of us have an opportunity to reach the ones that we’re close to, and come in contact with.
The Lord’s Bless You Greatly While Your On Your Journey!
“A friend is there to help, in any situation, and relatives are born to share our troubles.” — Proverbs 17:17 (CEV)
“The sweet smell of incense can make you feel good, but true friendship is better still.” — Proverbs 27:9 (CEV)
“Just as iron sharpens iron, friends sharpen the minds of each other.” — Proverbs 27:17 (CEV)
Since yesterday afternoon, I’ve been thinking about . . .
• Friendship,
• Meeting new friends, and
• Becoming a better friend to my friends.
So this morning, I’d really like to be your friend.
The older I get, the more I value relationships. So seriously, I’d like to be your friend, and be a person that you can really count on at all times.
I really want to be this way; however, more importantly, Jesus has called us all to be this way.
Enjoy the following Song, and Be A Friend!
— Pastor Gene FamilyChurchAG.com
P.S. For further reading . . . Lyrics: You’ve Got A Friend In Me
You’ve got a friend in me You’ve got a friend in me When the road looks rough ahead And you’re miles and miles From your nice warm bed You just remember what your old pal said Boy, you’ve got a friend in me Yeah, you’ve got a friend in me You’ve got a friend in me You’ve got a friend in me You got troubles, I’ve got ’em too There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you We stick together and see it through ‘Cause you’ve got a friend in me You’ve got a friend in me Some other folks might be A little bit smarter than I am Bigger and stronger too Maybe But none of them will ever love you The way I do It’s me and you, boy And as the years go by Our friendship will never die You’re gonna see it’s our destiny You’ve got a friend in me You’ve got a friend in me You’ve got a friend in me
Pastor H. Gene Allen 