O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Since both the gospel of Matthew and Luke include stories of Jesus’ birth, we know that the early church recognized and celebrated Christ’s birth in some fashion.  While many of the Christmas songs and traditions we have are relatively new, dating to the 1700 and 1800’s, there is evidence of Christmas celebrations going back another 1,000 years, and one of the songs we sing each year comes from this time period: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.  

The lyrics of this song come from the 8th or 9th century when monks would worship by reciting psalms and then chanting a refrain.  The monks would often begin each psalm with “O” and over time these readings were called the “O antiphons”.  The most famous one is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, which  tradition says would be sung leading up to the celebration of Christ’s birth.  

Here is what I never knew about this song.  The way the verses have been traditionally laid out, and the way they appear in our hymnal, verse 1 says O come, O come Emmanuel, and Matthew’s gospel tells us that the Messiah was to be called Emmanuel, which means God with us.  Verses 2-7 also begins with the phrase O Come and is then followed by another name given to the Messiah.  There is O Come Thou Wisdom, O Come Lord, O Come Root of Jesse, O Come Key of David, O Come Dayspring, and O Come King of the Gentiles.  If you take the first letter from the Latin name in each verse and put them together you get SARCORE.  If you turn this around you get Ero Cras - which means: I will be present tomorrow.  

So in the first verse we sing O Come , O Come Emmanuel which means God is with us, and then in each verse after that we are reminded that God is not only with us today but will be present with us tomorrow.  And that is the gift of Jesus: God present with us today and God present with us in all the days to come.  The message of O Come O Come Emmanuel is this: 

God Is With Us

God Was With Us

God Will Be With Us

God is with us.  When the angel comes to Mary and tells her that she has been chosen by God to give birth to the Messiah, his first words are, Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.  The Lord is with Mary.  Before Mary said, yes, before she knows God’s plan, God was with her.  This may not seem like much to us because we often pray for God to be with us, but for Mary, and for the people of Israel, God being with them was astounding news and even a bit scary.  

All through the Old Testament we hear that God is so powerful and holy that no one can look at His face and live.  Moses experienced God in a burning bush, and then in a fire and cloud on the mountain, but never face to face.  The prophet Elijah was only able to see God from behind, and when the priests went into the holy of holies once a year to offer a sacrifice on behalf of the people, they would tie a rope around one leg in case the priest died in God’s presence and had to be pulled out.  Being in the presence of God was this powerful,  and yet here is God saying to this young girl - I am with you - which is maybe why the angel then had to say, do not be afraid.  

The news that God is with the world first brought fear, but in time it brought joy.  After the shepherds found Jesus lying in a manger, after they had seen the Messiah, God in the form of a small vulnerable baby, it says that they returned to the fields glorifying and praising God.  The joy they felt came from knowing that God was with them not to judge and destroy them, but to love and forgive them.  

I watched a video of the Christmas story a few weeks ago and when the shepherds arrived one of them kept saying, we were told the Messiah came for people like me.  He couldn’t believe it.  All his life he had been told he was nobody, and he had problems that made him feel unworthy, but the news that God had come for him filled him with joy.   

I’m not sure we feel that same joy when we hear the message of the angels, or when we hear this well-known verse, but honestly every time we do hear it or say it we should be overjoyed.  God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life  John 3:16.  God coming in the form of a child is a sign of God’s love for us.  God did not come to judge us but to forgive us.  John goes on and says, for God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. God is with us and instead of being afraid we can be at peace and even filled with joy.   

God is with us.  If we truly believe this, it changes everything.  No matter what we are going through today, knowing that God is with us can give us the peace, the comfort, and the strength we need to keep going.   Knowing God is with us wipes out our fear.  Whether it is fear of the future, fear of an illness, fear of a relationship that is in trouble, or a job that is insecure.  All fear is wiped away when God is with us.  The Bible says God is love, and perfect love casts out fear, so God with us in love casts out all fear.  

God with us also means that God is here to guide us when we are unsure, strengthen us when we are weak, heal us when we are sick, and forgive us in our sin.  Whatever we need today, God is with us, and as we look ahead to a week that is not going to be what we expected it to be, or want it to be, we need to remember that Christmas is the gift of God with us and God is still with us. 

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel also reminds us that God was with us.  Verses 2-7 all look back to the names the prophets gave the Messiah, which remind us that God has always been with His people.  God never given up on them, and God has never given up on us.  God has always been with us.  Looking back on your life, can you see a time when God was with you?  Maybe you didn’t know it at the time, or you questioned where God was, but looking back you can see that God was right there?  

When I went to college, I prayed that God would be with me.  I really didn’t know what that meant, I just knew that this was a big step for me and I needed some help.  My first few weeks at school were not easy, there were times I felt alone, all alone, but when I look back now I can clearly see that God was with me.  God was guiding me through that time with patience and love. 

The summer I worked in Yellowstone I also prayed that God would be with me.  Once again, my first few weeks were kind of crazy. I was not working in the location I had expected and things were very unsettled, but a month into the summer I could look back and see that God had put me right where he wanted me, and I wouldn’t have changed that for anything.  Can you look back at a time in your own life, or an experience you have had, where God was clearly with you?  Maybe you struggled to see it or feel then, but now it is clear to see. 

I think Joseph was able to do this.  When he first learned that Mary was going to have a child, and he was not the father, his world came crashing down.  This was not what he had planned or prayed for.  He was a good and righteous man who was having a hard time seeing that God was with him.  Even when Mary told him that the child was from God, Joseph had a hard time seeing that God was with him.  But then the baby is born and some shepherds arrive telling them that angels told them that this was the Messiah, and in that moment everything changed.  Suddenly looking back, Joseph could see that God had been with him and Mary all along.  Even when things looked their worst, God was there.  When we can look back and see how God was with us during the difficult times, when we are at our worst, it reminds us that God is still with us today, and will be present with us in the future.   

God is with us.  God was with us, and God will be with us.  I will be with you was also the message the angel gave to Mary.  He not only told Mary that the Lord was with her in that moment but that the Lord would be with her in the future.  The angel said, the Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  Mary, the Lord will be with you.  

When things got difficult, I wonder if Mary returned to this promise.  When she had to tell Joseph that she was pregnant by the power of God and knew that the conversation wouldn’t go well, did she tell herself, God will be with me.  When she found out she had to take a long trip to Bethlehem in her ninth month of pregnancy, did she tell herself, God will be with me.  When she started to give birth in a stable surrounded by animals, did she tell herself, God will be with me.  When they had to flee to Egypt to save the life of her child, did she tell herself, God will be with me.  30 years later when she stood at the foot of the cross and watched her son die, did she tell herself, God will be with me. 

As we face a week that will be different, and for many of us difficult, can we say, God will be with me.  As we face a health situation that is scary, or a future that seems uncertain, or a life that seems to be running off the rails, can we tell ourselves confidently, God will be with me.  This is the foundation of the Christmas story.  God came to be Emmanuel, which means God with us today, but it also means He will be with us in all the days to come.  In fact, we are told specifically in the Bible that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.  There is nothing in the future that can keep God from being with us.  Paul says in Romans 8:35, 37-39:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  

Nothing can keep God from being with us.  Our faults and failures can’t keep God from us.  Our despair and darkness can’t keep God from us.  Our sin and shame can’t keep God from us.  This Covid Christmas can’t God from us.  Nothing can keep God from us because in Jesus, God came to be with us.  

God has been with us in the past, God is with us today, and God will be with us in all the days to come.  This is the good news that is for all people.  This is the good news that can change everything if we will believe it.  This is the gift that can change our lives if we will receive it.  So Rejoice, Rejoice.  For Emmanuel has come to thee O Israel.  He has come for me.  He has come for you.    

 

Next Steps

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Read all the verses of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.  

● How does the song remind us that God 

○ Has been with us in the past? 

○ Is present with us today? 

○ Will be with us in the future? 

Read Luke 1:26-38, and Romans 8:35-39.

When have you experienced God being with you?  

At the time, did you feel God’s presence or guiding hand?  Why or why not?  

What are some of the unique ways you personally feel God’s presence?  Set aside time this week to seek God in these ways.

How do you need God’s presence to help you today?  What current circumstances seem dark and overwhelming?  Where do you need Jesus to be your light and hope? 

What challenges will you face in the new year?  

● How can remembering that God has been with you in the past give you comfort and courage as you face the future?  

● Who can face this situation with you and remind you that God is with you to help you?

Read the full Christmas story from Matthew 1-2, & Luke 1-2.  Give thanks that God has come in the person of Jesus to be with us now and always.  

Join us online at 7:00 PM Christmas Eve for Faith Church’s

Candlelight Worship Service.  Invite others to join you!

Away In A Manger

Because music is such a powerful part of our Christmas experience, and something that no restrictions or limitations can take from us, we have chosen to look at some of the Christmas carols we all love to sing.  Probably the simplest carol of all is Away in a Manger.  The song was first published in 1882 as part of a children’s section in a newspaper and it had the name Luther’s Cradle Song.  The next year it was published in a songbook for children called Little Pilgrim Songs with the same title.  It said the song was written by Martin Luther for his children, but that story has been debunked.  Yes, there was fake news even in 1882.

Martin Luther did write a Christmas song for his son, it was called From Heaven Above to Earth Below.  It was written in 1534 and true to Luther’s writing style, it had 15 verses!  Martin Luther was an educator, scholar, and theologian who loved to write complex doctrine so when he wrote hymns they were long and involved.  Away in a Manger is simply not his style, it’s too simple.  

There are also no manuscripts of the song among Luther’s works and the earliest version of Away in a Manger found in German didn’t appear until 50 years after it was published in America.  We can say pretty clearly that this song is not a cradle song written by Martin Luther, but whoever wrote it gave us a powerful song that ranks second among the most loved carols we sing.  

When we sing Away in a Manger, the picture that comes to us is of a sweet little baby sleeping on a bed of hay.  We see a manger, we see animals, and of course we hear the cattle lowing.  It’s a gentle song that could be a lullaby, but there is a phrase in the song repeated five times that is anything but gentle.  Three times Jesus is called the little Lord Jesus, the twice just the Lord Jesus.  This is a powerful statement to make in a simple children’s song.  

740 times in the New Testament, Jesus is called or referred to as the Lord, and one of the first times he is called Lord is at his birth.  Luke 2:8-11.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

While it might be hard to see a Lord when we picture a little baby sleeping in a manger, the word used in Luke does mean Lord.  The word is “kurios” which means supreme in authority, or one having control.  My guess is that when we call Jesus Lord, which many of us do, that He has some competition for that title in our heart and life because we like to be in control.    

We like to be in control of our lives and one of the most frustrating things about 2020 is that most of what has happened to us, and what is going on around us right now, is out of our control.  While we are all a little stressed because we like to be in control, for many people the holidays is always the time that their need for control goes into overdrive.  In some families there might be a fight for control over the tree.  Is it real or artificial?  Wide or thin?  White lights, colored lights, flashing lights? And what about tinsel?  Do you use it, don’t you use it, do you apply one strand at a time or in big handfuls?  

When I was growing up we all wanted to be in charge of setting up the manger scene so we could control where Mary would sit, Joseph would stand, and where all the lowing cattle would be scattered.  Actually, probably only I wanted to set it up because I did like to control where they all went, and I still do.  Since we can’t control so much this year, some people are trying even harder to control everything from the activities, to the menu to the gift giving and finances, but the only way to enjoy Christmas is to let go of control.  Wow, is there ever truth in that statement!  The only way to enjoy Christmas is to let go of control.  Likewise, the only way to experience the little Lord Jesus is to let go of control.  The only way to have Jesus as Christ OUR Lord is to surrender fully to Him.  

As we begin to talk about the Lordship of Jesus, let’s be clear that we don’t make Jesus the Lord of our lives, He is the Lord.  He was born as the king of Kings and the lord of Lords so he is already Lord of all.  He is Lord because He is God in the flesh, so we don’t make Jesus Lord, we surrender to His lordship, we submit ourselves to His authority and control, but have we really done this?  

Too many of us are living what some have called a partially surrendered life.  We call Jesus Lord, we attend worship, we follow Jesus when it makes sense, but then we follow our own wisdom and try to control our own lives.   

For example, we know that Jesus tells us to forgive others, all others, all the time, but then there is that situation where we just aren’t going to forgive.  We want to be in control and hold on to the hurt.  We might even feel justified in holding a grudge and tell ourselves even Jesus would hold a grudge if he had been through what we had been through.  We follow Jesus when it makes sense to us, but then follow our own way and will when it doesn’t.  We still want to be in control.  

Or maybe we want to be in control of our finances, and while Jesus tells us to give to God, to give to the poor, and to give generously of all we have so that we can have treasure in heaven, we still think we know what is best and how and when and what to give.  We are afraid of giving away too much because then we won’t have enough for ourselves and our future.  We think we know what is best so hold on to control and live just a partially surrendered to God.  

This is what a partially surrendered life looks like:  

Trust in the Lord with some of your heart, and lean on your own understanding; in some of your ways submit to him, and make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6,

Now clearly Proverbs doesn’t say this, but isn’t this how we often live?  We trust Jesus when it makes sense, but then lean on our own understanding.  We will submit to God when it doesn’t cost too much, but then follow our own will when God’s plan seems too difficult or doesn’t make sense.  

I was talking to someone last week about some decisions I made during college that didn’t work out very well.  Both involved my moving to CA only to discover once I was there that CA was not the place for me.  They asked me if I really thought it was God’s will for me to move there at the time.  As I reflected on that question, I had to be honest and say, no, it was probably more my will.  

In one situation I had let bitterness and an unforgiving spirit take over my heart, and in the other situation I wasn’t even going to worship on a regular basis.  Looking back on those times now, I realize I was making my own decisions and leaning on my own desire, and chasing after my own dreams.  God was with me, God guided and helped me through that time, but I was only partially surrendering my life.  

After some difficult teaching Jesus shared with the crowds about not judging others and the need to forgive, Jesus knew they didn’t want to follow God’s way and so he said this, why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?  This is what Jesus says to a partially surrendered life and it’s what he says to us more often that we might like to admit.   

Why do you call me Lord when you haven’t fully surrendered to me?  Why do you call me Lord and yet still try to be in control of your own life?  So let me ask you, what is the area of your life where you still want to be in control?  Where is it that you still want to be in charge?  What have you not fully surrendered to Jesus?  

It might be a relationship where you still want to call the shots, or where you don’t want to forgive.  Maybe you haven’t fully surrendered your children, and your family, or your health to God.  Maybe it is your job and future, or maybe you are still holding on to your finances in fear of not having enough.  What area of life have you only partially surrendered to the little Lord Jesus?  Can you step out and fully surrender it to Jesus this week?  

A fully surrendered life looks like this.   Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and He will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6. 

The one in the Christmas story who shows us how to live this way is Mary.  She trusted God to do something in her life that made no sense, had never been done before, and was beyond her ability to comprehend.  She could not lean on her own understanding or make her path straight.  She had to trust the Lord with all her heart and with all her soul and with all her strength.  When asked to surrender to God, Mary said, I am the Lord’s servant.  May it be with me according to your word.  

I am the Lord’s servant.  Mary is saying, God I belong to you and am giving you control.  God asks Mary to surrender control not so he could be a harsh dictator but because he wanted to bless her.  God wants us to belong to him not so he can control our every action but so he can lead us into the fullness of life and love.  

The only way I know how to live this kind of fully surrendered life is to live it moment by moment, day by day.  While we might be able to point to a day or time when we surrendered to Jesus as our Savior, the lordship of Jesus is a commitment we need to make every day.  It is a surrender that needs to take place in every conversation, every relationship, and every decision.  It’s a life of daily worship, where we pray without ceasing, and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the little Lord Jesus.  

While we celebrate the Lord Jesus as a little child who entered into the world through a manger in Bethlehem, let us never forget that he also came as the king of Kings, and the lord of Lord, and he came to be the Lord in our lives.   

Next Steps

A Way In A Manger

Read Luke 2:8-11.

● What does Jesus being Christ the Lord mean to you?

● Why do people have trouble letting go of control?

● In what areas of celebrating Christmas do you have trouble letting go of control?  

Proverbs 3:5-6 for the partially surrendered life.

Trust in the Lord with some of your heart, and lean on your own understanding; in some your ways submit to him, and  make your paths straight.

● In what ways have you been guilty of living a partially surrendered life?  

● In what areas have you leaned on your understanding and not on the word of God?

● What is keeping you from fully surrendering to God?  

● How can you give this area to Jesus this week?

Proverbs 3:5-6 for the fully surrendered life.  

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and He will make your paths straight.  

● How did Mary live out these verses?  Luke 1:26-38.

● What would it take for you to say “yes” to God’s will?

● What one area of your life can you surrender to Jesus this week?

O Come, All Ye Faithful

O Come, All Ye Faithful

Last week we began an Advent series looking at some of the most well-known Christmas Carols we sing and it got me wondering when Christmas music really began to develop.  If you look at the dates of the most well known and loved carols in the hymnal, they come from the mid 1800’s when both church music and the celebration of Christmas grew in popularity, but there are also carols we sing that date back to the mid 1700’s.  

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing was written by Charles Wesley in 1739, making it one of the oldest songs written, but the tune we know was written 100 years later in 1840.  An even earlier carol that we still sing, making it perhaps the oldest carol, is one of my favorites, O Come All Ye Faithful.  I usually won’t let us sing it before Christmas Eve because it is the perfect hymn to open Christmas Eve worship.  

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant.  

O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem.  

That is what we do in worship on Christmas eve, we come together and journey back to Bethlehem to celebrate and remember the gift of Jesus.  Today we will sing it and it is probably one of the only times as a pastor that I have chosen it before Christmas Eve, but don’t worry, we will sing it again at the start of our Christmas Eve Candlelight service in a few weeks.  

The song was written in 1743 by John Wade, an Englishman who was living and teaching in France.  It was written in Latin, which was the most common language for the church, with the name Adeste Fideles which means come / faithful ones.  Not only did Wade write the words, but he is also credited with the music from the same year.  Through the centuries, additional verses have been added and it was translated into English in 1841 by Fredrick Oakeley, but since both the words and music go back to 1743, it remains one of the oldest carols we sing today. 

O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant.  

O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem.  

Since we sing this on Christmas Eve, in a church full of people who are all focused on Jesus, I always feel as if we are coming to Jesus as a faithful community filled with joy and feeling a little bit triumphant, but if you think about the true meaning of the Christmas story, just the opposite is true.  Jesus came because the world was not faithful.  God came in Jesus because people were not joyful and triumphant, and the same is still true today.  

Are we really faithful?  Jesus calls us to love God with ALL our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Are we faithful in living this out every day?  Are we faithful in following Jesus' example of love and humility which included washing feet and carrying a cross?  Are we faithful in forgiving one another 70 x 70 times?  Are we faithful in honoring God in every thought, word, and deed?  I’m not.  I try, and I strive to be, and it’s my desire to be faithful, but deep down I know I’m not faithful, and so if only the faithful are called to come and worship Jesus - we are all going to be left out.  

Are we really joyful?  It seems like the theme of joy keeps coming back to us this year and that’s because it is hard to be joyful with all the problems we see around us.  The uncertainty, the shut-downs, the isolation, the fear and anxiety make it hard to feel joyful, and even though we know true joy is not tied to what is happening, it’s hard to keep our focus on Jesus who brings us joy.  If it is only the faithful and joyful who are called to come to Bethlehem, or who can come to Jesus, once again we are left on the sidelines.  

Are we really triumphant?  We don’t use that word a lot, so how about victorious?  Are we feeling victorious today?  It’s hard to feel victorious when we feel more like a victim to a virus that is spreading across our communities.  It’s hard to feel like we are winning when we are losing more and more things each week.  If God only calls the faithful, joyful, and triumphant to come to Him, then we are all left out in the dark.

The power of the Christmas story is that it’s not just the faithful, joyful, and triumphant who are called to Bethlehem, it’s also the faithless, the downcast, and the defeated.  Jesus came as a child in Bethlehem to call the sinners, the hopeless, and the outcast to come to Him for hope, and help, and life and that began the night Jesus was born.   

In Mark 2:17 Jesus said, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. The first people to hear about the birth of Jesus were not the righteous but the sinners.  It was shepherds, and shepherds were not held in high regard.  While God may have been called the good shepherd at one point in time, most shepherds in Jesus’ day were not good.  They were known liars whose testimony in court was not allowed because they could not be trusted to tell the truth.  In a word, they were sinners, and yet they were the first people to hear that a child had been born who was Christ the Lord.  

All through his life, Jesus chose to walk among the sinners and the outcasts.  He forgave prostitutes and asked tax collectors to be His disciples.  He ate and drank with sinners and the good news for us is that Jesus still invites sinners to His table.  Through Jesus, God calls us into His presence, and through the life and love of Jesus, God makes us His faithful children.  We aren’t called because we are faithful, we are made faithful because Jesus calls us.  

Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us that any faith we have comes from Jesus. Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Jesus is the author of our faith.  He is the one who writes it on our hearts and allows it to grow and develop in our lives.  When we are called by Jesus, when we are loved by Jesus, faith begins.  

It is also not the joyful and triumphant that Jesus calls, in fact in Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  It’s not the joyful He calls but the weary, not the triumphant but the burdened, the broken, the oppressed.  So in our weary and burdened state, if we will come to Jesus we will not only find rest, but we find abundant life and part of that abundance is victory and joy.

I will forever sing this carol differently because while we might feel faithful, joyful, and triumphant at Christmas time, I also need to remember that Jesus calls me when I am wrapped up in my sin, feeling weary and completely hopeless and defeated.  In those moments, if I will come to Jesus, if I will worship Jesus, if I will surrender to Jesus, if I will trust in Jesus, He will make me faithful, joyful, and triumphant.  This is what we sing in the refrain with each verse.  

O come let us adore Him.  O come let us adore Him.  

O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.  

The simplicity of this carol is amazing because faith, joy, and victory is found when we worship Jesus.  Worship is not just what we do in the hour we set aside each week, worship is the adoration of God that shapes every moment of every day.  The more we learn to adore Jesus, the more we learn to listen to him, trust in him, love him, and allow his light and love to shine through us, the more we will experience faith, joy, and life abundant.  

Come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.  

 

Next Steps

O Come, All Ye Faithful

Take time this week to listen to or read the words of O Come All Ye Faithful.  Which of the many verses speak to you?  

In what ways are you feeling faithful, joyful and triumphant?  When have you felt this way in your walk with Jesus?

Jesus didn’t come to call the faithful but sinners.  

● Read Mark 2:17.  

● What gospel stories tell us that Jesus came to seek the lost and save sinners?  

● How do you continue to experience God’s grace in your life today?  

● Read Hebrews 12:1-2. In what way is faith in Jesus a gift from God?  Read Romans 5:8.  

● How can your worship of Jesus this week strengthen your faith?  

Jesus didn’t come to call the joyful and triumphant but the weary and burdened.  

● Read Matthew 11:28

● What gospel stories show us Jesus giving joy and victory to those who needed it?  

● When has Jesus filled you with joy?  

● Read Romans 8:31-39, 1 Corinthians 15:50-56, Isaiah 9:6-7.  How can these passages help you find victory in your life today?  

O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

● How is adoration (worship) a part of your daily life?  

● How could you enhance your worship of Jesus in this Advent and Christmas season?  Find one practice you can start this week.  

● Join the entire Faith Church family online at 7:00 PM Christmas Eve, as we come and adore Christ the Lord!