Fabulous messages from church

Merry Christmas to you all!! Well, I would love to be able to post some pictures of the Christmas morning festivities here, but as luck would have it, our camera BROKE this morning! AHHH!!! I borrowed Matt and Brianna's camera to take pictures, but do not have access to them at this time... gotta go to Wal-Mart tomorrow when they open.

So instead, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the teaching we heard this weekend at Alan and Winnie's church, the Church of the Redeemer, in Gaithersburg. Before we arrived, Pastor Dale began teaching a Christmas series called "Unwrapped". It approaches the Christmas story from several different points of view. #1 was from Mary's point of view, and was called The Gift of Courage. #2 was from Joseph's point of view and was called The Gift of Faith. #3 was from the shepherds' point of view, and was called The Gift of Significance. Then we arrived in MD to hear the 4th message on Sunday morning. It was told from the Wise Men's point of view, and was called The Gift of Purpose. I will give you a brief outline of that message, because it was excellent!

THE GIFT OF PURPOSE

To unwrap God's gift of purpose, we must:

1. Give God our full attention. We can't do that if we are:

-looking at the wrong things

-engaged in the wrong activities (too busy!!)

-Listening to the wrong voices

-living the wrong way

-filling our lives with superficial and temporal things.

2. Radically reorder our priorities.

3. Maintain our spiritual passion and persistence (commitment and continuance)

God's purpose is fulfilled in people who keep on asking, waiting, committing, looking, and working.

4. Give back to God the gifts He gives to us.

The wise men gave the gifts they had (gold, frankinscence, and myrrh... things that could be sold and used to sustain Jesus' family while in Egypt) and those gifts became central to advancing the Kingdom of God. What gifts do YOU have that you can surrender to Him, for the advancement of the Kingdom? God's purpose in your life is fulfilled when you surrender your gifts to Him.

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Isn't that powerful and thought-provoking? Now, here is the final message in the "Unwrapped" series, given on Christmas eve, and it is called "The Gift of the Name". You can guess whose perspective this is from......

THE GIFT OF THE NAME

Just as we (as parents) get to choose the name we give our children, God Almighty told Mary and Joseph that He had already chosen the name of His Son... the name was to be JESUS (the Lord saves).

Luke 1:31, Gabriel tells MARY the name.

Matthew 1:21, Gabriel tells JOSEPH the name.

The name of Jesus is like a total access pass to all that God has for you. Here are just seven things that the name of Jesus gives you access to ...

1. God's forgiveness (Acts 2:38) There is only ONE WAY to experience God's forgiveness, and that is through HIS NAME.

2. Heaven (Acts 4:12) I KNOW where I am going! I have the name applied to my life!

3. Healing (Acts 3:16) The man at the Gate Beautiful received his healing BY FAITH IN THE NAME of JESUS.

4. Deliverance from evil influences (Mark 16:17) In MY NAME they shall cast out devils.

5. Hope for our life/future (Matthew 12:21) His name will be the hope of all the world.

6. Answered prayer (John 14:13-14) Ask for anything in my name, and I will do it.

7. Expansion of life possibilities and release of life potential (Acts 2:21) Everyone who calls on the name of Jesus shall be saved.

So, are YOU under the authority of that name? Have you called on that name for yourself? Are you living based upon faith in that name? I'm not talking about - you've heard His name and you think it's good to believe in Him.... but I'm talking - you've laid claim to all that His name stands for, and you've truly made Him LORD over your life! Your life is no longer yours... no longer what it used to be, but you've started experiencing the benfits of the NAME of JESUS at work in your life. What better way to celebrate Christmas than to surrender your life to Him! Do it today! Don't save it for another day. Tomorrow is promised to no man. Today is the day of your salvation!