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Parkrose Sermon 29
Dec 2012
Joy to the World,
the Lord is come:
We sing these
words with enthusiasm each Christmas season and yet this song of Joy should be
ours all year round.
We should be
rejoicing because Jesus has come into the world.
We have a Saviour
who walks and lives and breathes among us.
And yet we mostly
fail to recognize his presence.
The whole of
creation cries out to us that He is here and has been here.
In the song we
sung earlier we sang
“ And heaven and
Nature sing.”
We have the beauty
of God’s creation all around us and every day the miracle of the birth of a new
born babe happens in our hospitals and places all around the world.
So do we have joy
or express it?
Do we count our
blessings of this past year or do we count the things that caused us grief?
Here are some of
the things that we should rejoice about if we are Christians:
WHO ARE WE?
We are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14).
We do have something to share with the
world.This passage tells us not to hide our light but let it shine.When we are
being Joyful to the world that is what we are doing.
We are children of God (John 1:12).To all of
us who have received Jesus he has given us the right to be called Children of
God.What a privilege! We see exemplary people and parents in the spotlight from
time to time and might say I wish my parents had been or are like them.But we
are children of God himself.That should make us leap for joy.
We are members of Christ’s Body (1 Cor.
12:27; Eph. 5:30). We are here today as a body of believers.What a privilege to
be part of His body, the Church.
We are citizens of heaven, seated in heaven
right now (Phil. 3:20; Eph. 2:6).
According to the Bible we are already seated
and guaranteed a seat in Heaven with Jesus.It is something that has already
happened before our earthly passing.
Is that a cause for Joy or not?
We are joint heirs with Christ, sharing His
inheritance with Him (Rom. 8:17).
Inheritance humanly speaking can be a
wonderful gift from our own families.Think of what it means though to be a
joint heir with Jesus.That is hard to imagine but surely a cause for Joy.
We are one of God’s living stones, being
built up in Christ as a spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:5).
Last Sunday we attended the Activate Church
at Bowden where one our sons and his wife and their 2 boys attend.The Sunday
school children did a little play.Our grandson Lucas was dressed up as a
construction worker.He was carrying a big papermache boulder.His role involved
dropping the rock on the platform and declaring “On this rock I will build My
Church!” He announced it with gusto and the whole church burst into applause.
Isn’t it exciting to be a one of the living
stones chosen by Jesus to be His disciples on this earth in our communities. A
real cause for joy.
Jesus rules the
World with Truth and Grace.
His Righteousness
is glorious.
His love is
wonderful.
When we make room
in our Hearts he comes in to dwell with us.
As we approach the
new year of 2013 we don’t know what is in store for us.
We may have had
things happen in 2012 that were upsetting.
We may have lost
love ones.
And yet Jesus is still
Lord over all.
His grace has been
more than sufficient to enable us to cope with what may have just happened this
last year and certainly what may be ahead of us.
Let us resolve to
continue to trust Him in days ahead with
our whole lives.
Let us rejoice not
in the troubles that may come to us but that Jesus enables us to continue with
Dignity and Grace and Healing.
Let us also
continue to be prayerful,and practically helpful where we can, for others who
we know are struggling ,for when we do we are helping to bring the Joy of Jesus
to them..
JOY TO THE WORLD,
THE LORD IS COME
COMMUNION TALK
Have you ever
wished you were someone else?
Someone who
seemingly had it all together?
Confidence?
Charisma?
Wealth?
Physical good
looks?
Popularity?
Good Job?
Lots of friends?
Wonderful family
life?
Great House?
Would these things
make us happy?
Would we be full of
joy?
Sometimes we get
that low in our feelings and our self esteem we wish we were someone else or
might even cry ourselves to sleep each night.
The Truth is The
Truth will set us free from the darkness we often can feel.
The Truth is
Jesus.
“He said I am the
Way the Truth and the Life, no one can come to the Father except through me.”
We may have
claimed Jesus as our Saviour, but have we claimed Him as our Lord.
Can we say with
the Apostle Paul, “It’s no longer I that live but Christ who lives in me”
The Bible says
whoever loses his life in Christ will find his true liberated life in Him.
Some people call
that the Exchanged Life.
What Jesus has
done on the Cross for us enables us to be one with Him.
Let’s celebrate
this morning as we take these emblems the Great Exchange that Jesus offers us.
He took our place
on the cross so that we can have
life,life to the full.
I am (have been) crucified with Christ : never the
less I
live; yet not I but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I
now live in
the flesh I live by the faith
of (or in ) the Son of God who loved me ,
and gave
Himself for me.”
Galations 2:20
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