14 December, 2008    SERMON NOTES FROM THE PASTOR.

Isaiah 61:1-11; 1 Thess. 5:16-24; Ps 126

Our mouths are filled with laughter.

Can we recall a song we learnt as children; “Joy is the flag that flies over the castle of our hearts announcing that the King is in residence today” What flag are you and I flying? Bp Bill pointed us to our Advent themes of HOPE, LOVE, JOY and PEACE.

This morning we will consider JOY as in the scripture of Isaiah. This scripture has a certain bounce and a certain joyfulness. This is the good news of the Israelites deliverance. They were still in exile and as moved from the hope that God gave them to the promise of God’s peace.

We as believers have the advantage of looking through the Christmas lens and seeing Jesus Christ as the Anointed One. Isaiah’s audience did not have this luxury. They were living 500 years before the Christ. The joy in this passage is its promise that things will change. ie liberty for the captives, we note the words of Jesus in Luke 4:14-28.So dear friends a lack of joy is not a Christian virtue. If God is really in the centre of our life then joy is inevitable. If we have no joy we have missed the heart of the good news and our bodies as much as our souls will suffer the consequences. The presence of the Anointed One brings joy, which provides strength for the future, and this is the future that the Anointed One points us to. Heb 10:23 “In uncertain times we unswervingly hold on the Hope we have in Jesus.”

21 December, 2008 -  Sermon Notes from the pastor.

GOD'S GENEROUS GIFT TO US – HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST.

We thank God for his generosity and providing us with such abundance. We remember all that we have is His (Ps 24:1) “The  earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it,’

So it behoves us to be generous in our giving for His purposes, the church and the needy.

We are mindful of Prov.23:5 – “In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle!” We are further blessed with the solution He gives us in Luke 12:33-34 – “Instead….store up treasure in heaven…your treasure will be safe… wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” And He goes on to give us a promise in Prov 22:4 – “True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honour and long life.”

Heb.10:23 “In uncertain times we unswervingly hold on the hope we have in Jesus.”