Sermons

GC 2003

"The Incarnation of the Triune God"

Philippians 2:6-11

This morning, again, we have the joyous privilege--as we do each year at this time--of considering the Christmas story. It's always a special challenge and a special thrill for me to come back to this theme each year and to try to approach the wonder of Christmas from another angle, another dimension, another facet. And I find that every year as I approach it again, there's some new thing that the Lord teaches me, some profound new reality about this Christmas event, the birth of Christ, that touches my heart in a way that it's been untouched in the past. That's really true of what I want to share with you this morning.

LEARNING TO WALK SLOWLY

Exodus 32:1-6

________________________________________

There are times when God is so obviously present in your life that it just feels like you could reach out and touch Him. And then there are those times in life when God seems a million miles away.

THE FOURTH WORD FROM THE CROSS: FORSAKEN

Matthew 27:46

________________________________________

Introduction

Do you think Jesus whispered this 4th word from the cross? Do you think He barely croaked it out from sore lips and a cracking throat? Do you think He said it with a normal voice? No. No. No. The Bible tells us He said them in a "loud" voice.

DOES CHARACTER MATTER? (God’s Love and Jerusalem’s Sin)

Ezekiel 16:1-43

________________________________________

As a young man, Ezekiel was captured by Babylon and deported to Egypt. He spent about five years in captivity and then he started prophesying. He told the Jews they would have to change their ways. Or God wouldn’t let them return to Jerusalem.

HOPE IN THE DARKNESS

Deuteronomy 31:8

This morning, I'd like to consider the topic of "hope". Is hope important? Is it something we need? Is it essential to our happiness, essential even to our survival? For an answer to that question, we could probably talk to the nine coal miners who were rescued this week in Pennsylvania. They spent more than three days trapped 240 feet underground, not knowing if they would ever again see the light of day, or whether the water-filled mine they had been working in would become their tomb. We all know the story by now. Watching the drama unfold, we learned that the miners had accidentally breached the wall of an old abandoned mine shaft, filled with millions of gallons of water. As their own tunnel began to flood, they retreated to an air pocket, only four feet high, where they crouched together in the cold, wet, darkness, praying and waiting for someone to come. And finally, someone did. First, a six-inch shaft was drilled to pump in warm, pressurized air. That kept the water at bay; it also provided oxygen for the men to breathe, and helped protect them against hypothermia. Then, giant pumps were used to draw water out of the mine, preventing the water level from rising. And finally, a shaft was drilled, large enough to drop a rescue capsule and bring the men up, one at a time, almost eighty hours after their ordeal began. All alive, all healthy, all grateful to be alive.