Author: Pastor Howie

Visit any business, organization or charity and asked them what their purpose is and they will tell you why they are in existence. Any business must answer the fundamental question why. Why do we do what we do? Why are we here? We, you and me, have a purpose. Oh, scientists and sociologists and philosophers all try to answer that basic question. They observe and research and ponder and create theories and postulations about the why of our being, but fall short, because they have neglected the source by which that question can be answered. The Bible tells us we were created to glorify God. But if we know God, we can’t fulfill our purpose. So Jesus came. The Bible tells us His purpose. Jesus came to seek the lost. Jesus came to serve the lost. Jesus came to save the lost. Salvation puts us back into a right relationship with God so that we can fulfill our purpose of glorifying God. As we celebrate Christmas remembering the words of the angel who announced his birth to Mary, then to Joseph and then to the shepherds, the angel said this baby was to be named Jesus. He will save His people from their sins. His name, Jesus, and His title, Christ, tell us His purpose.

How do you pick a book? Is it the cover? Or maybe the title? Perhaps it’s what you read on the back of the book. Someone said that you can never underestimate the power of a good opening line. If that’s the case, when you read the opening sentence of Matthew, you may wonder whether the book is worth continuing since it opens with a list of names in a genealogy. Yet, when you give it in-depth scrutiny, you begin to understand how important the genealogies are, especially in the line of Christ. Their identities give us a window into the past but help to verify the accuracy of the historical records and substantiate that Jesus is the Messiah. The impact from the genealogies reveals both the humanity and deity of Jesus, but also gives us the purpose that Jesus came to save us.

What do the prophecies about Christ point to? Among the many in the Old Testament, our focus in this message will be on three. There is the promise of a redeemer. There is the promise of a relationship. There is the promise of a ruler. The Old Testament looks forward to that point of time in which the Messiah will come to seek and save the lost. He is Immanuel – God with us. Prophecy also points to a second coming of the Messiah. The prophecies of the Old Testament are wrapped up in the one who was swaddled in strips of cloth, whose birth we celebrate this time of year, the Messiah, Jesus Christ the Lord.

Why are we to rejoice? Why are we to give praise and offer thanksgiving? Verse 1 tells us, because the Lord reigns. No matter how chaotic things appear either through natural disasters or man-made atrocities, God is in control, He is ruling from His throne. This Psalm looks forward to a day when God’s judgments will be meted out. He will do so in righteousness and justice. He reigns, therefore respond by rejoicing.

Sing a new song. That’s the first command given in this text. A new song could be new in kind, one that has never before been heard. A new song could also be an old song you sing with new spiritual eyes. It may be a song you have sung hundreds of times, but because of some life experience, the song now takes on new meaning to you as you sing it. We are reminded in Lamentations 3:23 that the Lord’s mercies are new every morning. Since that is the case, every day we should have a new song that stems from His new mercies.

Let’s begin each day with a “new song in our heart, since the Savior set me free.” (John W. Peterson) I think the day will go much better if we do.

Singing enriches us and unites us in worship of the Lord. In this Psalm, the psalmist invites all to join in thanksgiving to God. But he gives a word of caution. He takes them back to a time in their history when their ancestors who came out of Egypt rebelled against God. They were unthankful for what God had done for them and their ungrateful hearts led to disobedience, which resulted in God not allowing that generation to enter the Promised Land. It’s a stark warning to us to always remember God’s blessing, provision, and protection and to be thankful. Let’s sing for joy.

Are you a thankful person? David gives us plenty of reason from our passage in I Chronicles 16 to give thanks. The central figure of thanksgiving is the Lord and David points out from their history how God has kept His Word. He is as faithful today as He was in the past and that faithfulness will continue. We have a great God worthy of our thanksgiving, worthy of all thanksgiving.

Learning to navigate some of the roads in very large cities can be challenging. It’s the same in witnessing. There are a lot of challenges and Paul in Romans 10 addresses three of them. He gives us the reasons for rejection, the results of rejection and then the remedy for rejection. Let’s take out of Paul’s life. May our heart’s desire be to see our friends and family saved.

From the text we will be looking, even the great missionary Paul requested prayer knowing that it is a powerful force when sharing the gospel. He asked his readers to pray for opportunities. He asked prayer for boldness. He asked prayer for clarity. He wanted to be able to clearly articulate the gospel when he spoke so that people would hear the message of Jesus Christ. May we pray for the same as we seek to share the good news.

Pastor Jim takes us through a journey in Isaiah’s view of heaven as he first looks at God and His holiness. He is then introspective as he considers himself in view of the holiness of God. He concludes with accepting the invitation by God to go and preach the good news. Upward, inward, and then outward. When we see God for who He and what He has done in forgiving us, we should be compelled to go and share that great news with others. Like Isaiah, let’s accept the invitation to go.