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This week, Luke again reminds us of how devout Joseph and Mary were in regards to the Law, keeping of the feasts and even the custom of preparing Jesus to become a “son of the commandment”- His Bar Mitzvah. Luke gives us one of the only pictures we see of Jesus life between his birth and the beginning of His earthly ministry. In today’s text, the main idea is that Jesus at age 12 made the only recorded statement we have of him between 12 and when He started His public ministry 18 years later. He clearly stated in v. 49 that His Father was Yahweh, not Joseph and His place was to be in His Father’s house. We see that True Spiritual Growth comes when we 1) Submit to Yahweh in all things vs. 39-42 2) Seek to grow in all things related to Yahweh vs 43-49 3) Surrender to the authorities Yahweh has placed in our life vs 50-51. and we can’t do any of these without the power of the Holy Spirit.

This week, we see Joseph and Mary circumcise Jesus, take Him to the temple where they pay the redemption price for Him and His mother completes the Jewish purification process required by the Law after childbirth. Jesus’ life was fully surrendered to God’s Word, even as an infant. It had to be, because He didn’t come to abolish or replace the Law of God, He came to fulfill it. We also see two older saints who are waiting for “the consolation” and “the redemption” of Israel through Yahweh’s Messiah. Many believe these two Simeon and Anna, were part of the Anawim who practically spent most of their time in the Temple praying. The Anawim (pronounced ah-nah-WEEM) is a Hebrew term meaning "the poor," "the humble," or "the afflicted." In biblical history, the concept evolved from describing people in literal, material poverty (widows, orphans, foreigners) to defining a specific spiritual posture of radical dependence on God. By the time of Luke’s Gospel, the Anawim represented the devout and faithful who spent their lives waiting, praying, and fasting for the arrival of the Messiah to set things right. They recognized their own spiritual need and understood that they had absolutely nothing to rely on except the mercy of God. Isaiah 61:1 Psalm 149:4 They spent their days in the margins of the Temple courts, away from the political wheeling and dealing of the religious parties. In today’s text, we see for those waiting 1) God’s Law reveal our need for Messiah 2) God’s Spirit reveals who the Messiah is 3) God’s Redemption results in Gratitude and Service

This week, we witness the birth of the Messiah. Joseph and Mary had traveled to Bethlehem where she gave birth to Jesus. We are all familiar with this story. In fact, it is the reason for the most celebrated Holiday of all time. You would think the most anticipated birth of all time (the Messiah) would have been celebrated and heralded by the leaders of God’s people for all the world to know MESSIAH has come. Yet, He came in such an unexpected way to a people who were not expecting such an unremarkable birth that they missed it. Something they had prayed and looked forward to for hundreds, even thousands of years. But, through it all, God’s Sovereign hand fulfilled His prophetic Word and is seen throughout the story. The question is, do we see it and believe in His Messiah or are we still looking for our version of the Messiah. Are we going to miss the TRUE Jesus because He is not what we are looking for. In today’s text, we see God reveal His Sovereign Grace… 1) In An Unexpected Mandate, 2) Through Unexpected Messengers, and 3) With An Unexpected Message

This week, we look at the birth of John the Baptist and Zechariah’s prophecy! Yep, his tongue is loosed, and he belts out the first prophetic words the people of Israel had heard in over 400 years. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he prophesies about the fulfillment of the coming of Messiah that was promised in the Abrahamic, Davidic, and the New Covenant. The New Covenant is the key, because without it Israel could never receive the other two. Zechariah also prophesies about John pointing people to salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and being a light to those in darkness, and guiding them to Shalom – PEACE!

This week, we see Mary travel to Elizabeth and Zechariah’s house in Judea and discover that Gabriel’s words were true. The interaction between these two miracle birth Moms gives us a lot of insight into Mary’s walk of faith and her response to the Messiah’s coming. In today’s passage, we see God reveal that 1) His Grace is a SOVEREIGN Choice, 2) His Messiah is the SUPREME Being, and 3) His people are a SURRENDERED Sign

This week, we will look at the Angel’s announcement of the incarnation of Jesus, THE SON of GOD…The God-man, the MESSIAH! We were born, Jesus was incarnated. He was eternal, but took the form of a human and became a union of Divinity and humanity. His incarnation is one of the most celebrated holidays in the world and the least understood. The God of the universe came to earth so we could know Him and to rescue His people from their sin! This was prophesied in Gen 3:15; Psalm 2; Isaiah 9; Isaiah 53; Daniel 2, and Micah 5:2 just to name a few. In this week’s text, we see God reveal that 1) His Grace is a SOVEREIGN Choice, 2) His Messiah is the SUPREME Being, and 3) His people are a SURRENDERED Sign

This week, we look at God fulfilling His promise of Messiah’s forerunner – John the Baptist who connects the O.T. with the N.T. There are not two separate religions or faiths. Luke clearly establishes that John is the forerunner, the “Elijah” that is to precede Messiah. He also shows us that God’s providence 1) doesn’t always look the same for every person, 2) includes disciplining His children, and 3) is always for His purposes and in His timing.

After centuries under Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome, Jews longed for a Davidic Messiah — expecting a warrior conquering king. This explains the confusion when Jesus arrived instead as a humble, poor son of a carpenter and ultimately a suffering Savior. Luke opens with the priest Zechariah, to whom an angel announces a son, John, who will come "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17) — directly answering Malachi 4's promise. The Old and New Testament locked together. God preparing the way and culminating in sending His Son at the appointed moment. Luke concludes his second letter with the Gospel reaching Rome. So, from the birth of the promised forerunner to Messiah, to the Gospel penetrating the capital of the Roman empire, Luke transmits the testimony of credible eyewitnesses to the faithfulness of Yahweh! Luke and Acts were written by Luke to a man named Theophilus. Luke was a doctor (Col. 4:14), a historian, and a highly educated minister of the Gospel! Theophilus (Theo – God Philus – friend) was most likely a gov't official that Luke wrote so, " that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught!" To assure Theophilus what he believes is true and real! Only Paul wrote more in the N.T. than Luke. Luke wrote over a 1/3 of the N.T.

This week, as we finish chapter four, we see Paul thanking and encouraging the Philippians again for their gift and sacrificial giving. But, he also gives some insight into learning the secret to contentment/peace. Do we really believe God is all powerful and His plan is the best plan? God’s providence means He doesn’t just know what’s coming—He goes before us and sovereignly works circumstances together to accomplish His purposes. God is never reacting, scrambling, or caught off guard. He is ruling and overruling in the details of life. Our life is not random. For the man who trusts in Jesus, it is a series of divine appointments directed by a sovereign God. Our resources are not dependent on us, but on the providence, power, and promises of God. That’s what sustained Paul through every trial and hardship — and they are enough for us too. People assume contentment is being able to be free from the brokenness of this world. True contentment is being at peace in the midst of any problem or difficult circumstance and that peace can only come in Jesus! Our culture is discontent with what we own, what we look like, who we are married to, our parents, our children, with life in general. How can we, like Paul, learn the secret to being content, regardless of circumstances?

This week, God instructs the Philippians (and us) to FOCUS on Christ-like virtues and allow that focus to become such a discipline in our lives, that it is a daily habit/mindset. We are a product of our thinking. God says in Proverbs 23:7 as a man thinketh in his heart, so he is.” The ESV says, he is like one who is inwardly calculating. What that means is that a person's true nature is defined by what they secretly think, which eventually shows in their actions. In fact, in our culture today, we don’t think, we focus more on feelings and pragmatism. Instead of asking the questions – “is it true or is it right?”, we lean towards “how does it make them feel…does it work…does it offend anybody?” What God is saying through Paul in this little section is focus your mind on Heavenly, eternal things, not the earthly, temporary ones.

This week, we press into chapter 4 and the path to the peace and contentment that comes from Jesus. Where do most people look for peace and contentment? Especially when my wife has a chronic or terminal illness, bills aren’t getting paid, friends betray me or let me down, children disown me, grandkids are struggling with life, but you aren’t allowed to speak to it. Our world is filled with anxiety, stress, and discontentment. Unfortunately, the church has failed to be light in THAT darkness and instead of Biblical Truth, we’ve allowed self-esteem therapy, psychological self-help therapy, and victim-creating therapy to have the loudest voices. We’ve steered people to the wrong answers which produces more controlling, more anxiety, and people who reject the TRUTH for secular wisdom. The world will search anywhere for peace, except for in Jesus and God’s Word. God reminds the Philippians and us through Paul that true peace and contentment is only in Jesus. In fact, in these 7 verses, 6 of them contain either a direct quote of “in the Lord” or allude to that truth. Where are we seeking our peace today? Do we believe like the world (and secular wisdom) that every person has a right to whatever they want to do that makes them feel good? Or, do we believe that true peace and contentment can only be found in Jesus and a right relationship with our Heavenly Father?

This week, Paul drives down deeper into what it means to pursue the one thing, encouraging the Philippians to do that, while revealing some pitfalls to watch out for. The key idea is that we continue to “PRESS ON” toward the goal of being like Christ until we reach full maturity, which doesn’t happen until we are with Him in glory! He also warns us that not everyone who says they are pursuing the same thing will continue along that path. If Jesus IS our “One Thing,” then we have to, like Paul, weigh out what’s really important and live it out daily and say no to lesser things/lusts of the flesh.

This week, Paul gives us insight to a Christian’s Secret to Life, the ONE THING! Many people try to figure out what the one thing is and live out this philosophy. They make their spouse, their kids, or their family their “one thing.” They spend most of their time, energy, and resources focusing on providing, supporting, encouraging those people. Other make their one thing their job, their company, their corporate dream. Others, make it some materialistic dream or idealistic lifestyle, their own created utopia. The problem is we really don’t have the power to make life what we want it to be. We are not the source of our lives, the ruler of our lives, and we don’t ultimately determine the goal of our lives. Yahweh is the creator of all things and the source of our life. Before his encounter with Jesus, Paul found his identity in the law and his religious ambition. He was a Jewish Pharisee who thought the one thing was carrying out the law and persecuting anyone who disagreed about that being the one thing. But, after Jesus intervened, Paul came to know that the one thing in life is Jesus.

This week, Paul gives us two great models of what we’ve been studying over the past few weeks - Timothy and Epaphroditus. They lived lives worthy of the Gospel of Christ (Phil 1:27); they lived in unity with Paul and the church (Phil 2:1-2); they humbly considered others more highly than themselves (Phil. 2:3-4); they had the mindset of Christ, being willing to suffer in order to bring life to others (Phil 2:5-11); and they did all of this without grumbling or complaining (Phil 2:14-15). When we look at the example of Jesus or even Paul (His supernaturally gifted Apostle), we can feel intimidated or skeptical about living out that kind of life. So, Paul gives us two examples of people just like us who are living proof that it can be done by ordinary people. Timothy and Epaphroditus show us that we can not only live out that kind of life but have tremendous impact for the Kingdom. They both grew up in cultures engrossed in idol worship and false religion, yet they surrendered their lives to serve the one true God and His Gospel. Just like them, we too can live counter culturally in a world full of instant gratification, self-centeredness, and other idols when we live a life that is unselfish, humble, “counting others more significant,” and for the sake of the Gospel.

This week, we dive into chapter 2, verses 12-18 and learn what it means to reflect Christ light in a dark world. After reminding the Philippians of Jesus example, Paul instructs them that they are not just to try and imitate Jesus, but incarnate Jesus into their world. He reminds them that grumbling and fighting hinders their witness and they need to “hold fast” to the Gospel to be the lights they were intended to be and have the joy they were intended to experience. Our world is very dark and our country is not in a good place spiritually. What we’ve seen happening over the past 50-60 years is God’s judgment. 1)Sexual revolution-60,70’s, 2)Homosexual revolution-80s,90s, 3)Transgender insanity - we now have laws that protect all kinds of unrighteousness. We call right wrong and wrong right. When you have leaders who have promoted godless and unbiblical values in state leadership, congressional leadership, even our highest level, the presidency, it is a sign of God’s judgment right out of Romans 1:18-32. It started when we began to turn away from His Truth as a nation and we received the wrath of Divine abandonment. But take heart, Jesus’ rule is not determined or diminished by any earthly authority or source. His Kingdom cannot be hindered by any leader, court, or tyrant. For now, His Kingdom is visible in the church. However, God says, there will be some (His Kingdom Citizens) who are different who will distinguish themselves from the darkness around them. Our world is dark, but we are called to be LIGHT! We are the people of Mal 3 and we live in a Rom 1 world! So, how do we …live out a “life worthy of the Gospel?” Reflect His light in the darkness? Follow HIS model of Gospel obedience? Join us to find out!