Christmas 2014 When God Shows Up

When the blessing comes…

Is it {just} for you? What if there's more And we miss it?

Jesus shows up At Christmas Huge blessing

Because it's not contingent Upon our goodness But his grace and love In coming to us And dying for us

God shows up God blesses Is it {only} about you? Is it {only} about me?

It has always been God's plan Those who have been Shown grace Would give Grace To those in Disgrace

The blessing was Meant to be shared

Zechariah and Elizabeth - Priestly lineage - Righteous…blameless - Barren…advanced in years Disgrace

Angel shows up

Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard

…and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John

And you will have joy and gladness…

And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth

…he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah

…to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared”

It's a blessing: You will have joy and gladness

It's a blessing: You will have joy and gladness It's not just for them: …many will rejoice

The blessing was never meant To terminate on me But to flow out and bless others (Upward and Outward)

After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden

…saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach (disgrace) among people”

Elizabeth has been blessed From Disgrace to Grace Is it {just} for her?

The blessing was never meant To terminate on me But to flow out and bless others (Upward and Outward)

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth

…to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary

…the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God…

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High

And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end”

The blessing was never meant To terminate on me But to flow out and bless others (Upward and Outward)

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

Will there be Disgrace In this?

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;

…therefore the child to be born will be called holy- the Son of God

You won't be married yet So…Yes, "Disgrace"

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her

In saying "Yes" to God Mary moved from Grace to Disgrace

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country

Sermon Intermission:

Sermon Intermission: I was wrong Miles 4-5 Days

…to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth

Elizabeth: In the middle of a huge miracle Finally pregnant and full of joy

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit

…and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! …and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord”

2 Pregnancies: “The Lord has…taken away my Disgrace…” Joy, Wonder, Laughing!

2 Pregnancies: “God has Disgraced me” Doubts, Regret, Pain and Loss

It has always been God’s will: Those who have been shown Grace (Elizabeth) Would give it away to Those who need Grace (Mary)

Elizabeth is in the middle Of her own blessing and miracle

Elizabeth is in the middle Of her own blessing and miracle Yet she focuses on Mary To bring comfort and grace Out of her own grace

It has always been God's plan Those who have been Shown grace Would give Grace To those in Disgrace

The blessing was never meant To terminate on me But to flow out and bless others (Upward and Outward)

Blessing has purpose Beyond the blessing itself Could it be that we miss the Greater Blessing by considering It ours without seeking God 1 st ?

The whole of scripture… "What you've received Give"

God...comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God - 2 Cor. 1:3-4

I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you may be a blessing - Genesis 12:2

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked - Luke 12:48

Christ gave up everything to enter the world as a baby born to a poor family so that he might bless everyone

The blessing was never meant To terminate on me But to flow out and bless others (Upward and Outward)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world- James 1:27

"The scandal of Christmas is that those of us who have been given so much agonize over which gifts to give (and get!) while others worry about their next meal"

Elizabeth, in the grace God has given, is filled with the Spirit and confirms God’s Grace to Mary Exactly what Mary needed

And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…" - Luke 1

The one who received Grace Gave Grace To the one who'd been Disgraced

When God blesses It won't be {just} about me But the gift will multiply When it's shared

And that willingness Leads to a greater experience With God Always

The blessing was never meant To terminate on me But to flow out and bless others (Upward and Outward)

We praise God in the blessings And seek him for What to do with what He's given us

And… We are called to give Grace To those in Disgrace

Christmas will pass We'll forget And get a tax refund or raise A relational blessing Time off from work

God, thank you! (Upward) What should I do With what you've give me? (Outward)

Q and A

Special Christmas Offering

Next Week 10:30 Unified Service PJ's!