121 Podcast

I am a fan of muscial theater. Musical theater when done at its best takes aspects of our lives and shows them in a different way to evoke emotion out of the audience and in turn give us new insights into our own lives. That’s what the best ones do. One of the most popular Broadway shows ever did something very different to invoke thinking about our time. The show opens with it’s main characters all on stage and they pose a question to the audience.. essentially the question is – given that there are 525,600 minutes in a calendar year, how should we spend them? How do we measure a year? I think this is a good question for us to consider today. As we approach the new year, it’s a great time to reset and refocus. A conversation I keep having with people has been around Time.. Many of us are feeling much anxiousness because of our calendars and but our solutions don’t seem to fix it.. How do we make sure we aren’t at a similar spot a year from now? How can we make sure we get the most out of this year? Thankfu

It is good to ponder and linger and think on what we will do with the the simple truth of Jesus having been born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died on a cross, and rose again on the third day.

The season between Thanksgiving and Christmas can often be filled with more grief than joy, and there is a way to find both grace and hope in the midst of the grief.

While we may often think the people who are the good and best among us do not need a Redeemer, we discover that even the best among us do in fact need a Redeemer.

Main Texts - Matthew 1:1-3; Genesis 38 :1-30 Additional Verses Isaiah 49:7-10 Psalm 78:67-72 Ephesians 2:7 Jude 1:24-25 Revelation 5:1-5 Intro –It’s that time of the year we are, it’s the Christmas season! It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s a time for family traditions and family gatherings, movies about families. I love all these things, but it’s not always that way.. For many of us, there can be this tension because our families aren’t perfect and harmonizing over a grand piano.. Christmas can be hard because it magnifies much of the brokenness of the world and our lives. Introducing the series, looking at the woman in the line of Jesus. There is a lot of brokenness in this genealogy, and maybe none more than the first woman mentioned, Tamar.. However, in the midst of the brokenness we see God turns the broken pieces into displays of His Glorious grace. A broken family (Genesis 38:1-11) A pattern of brokenness (Genesis 38: 12-21) A redeeming moment (Genesis 38:24-26) A family line

Each of us must ultimately decide who we will serve:  Ourselves or God.

Sometimes we wonder if God is for us or not, but the reality is He fights for us all the time.

Misunderstandings can easily disrupt relationships, and we have really helpful resources to work through misunderstandings that will preserve the relationship.

What does it look like to follow the Lord God fully? Be content to wait on the Lord (John 10:27-28) Follow the Lord with your whole heart (personal relationship) Follow the Lord for all the days of your life (Colossians 1:23) Follow the Lord even if we have to stand alone (Numbers 14:10) Follow Jesus by the power and strength of His Spirit (Numbers 14:24)

What makes the difference in a day that does not go well, and then those few days that are over the top amazing?

While it is difficult to discern what is true and what is deceptive in our culture today, God has given us a way to navigate through the deception and live in truth.

We can easily drift from obedience to God’s commands for a variety of reasons, and He gives a way back through renewal and favor.

How do we rebound when it seems we are faithfully following God’s design and then everything goes awry?

Sin is Always a Big deal. It captures our hearts and breaks our faith. While the consequences may be devastating, God’s grace is an even bigger deal.

While things in life might look formidable, God has unusual pathways to overcoming those obstacles.

When we are ready to roll, sometimes God says, “Hold on,” there are a few thing to get settled before moving forward.

With our tendency to forget God’s faithfulness and desires for us, meaningful reminders are helpful to remember and to spur us on to faithfulness to Him.

While we would prefer to see how life circumstances will completely play out, God invites us to follow His lead and take one step at a time in faith.

While we may think we or others are so bad that we are past the point of God’s rescue and help, we see once again that God rescues and does significant work in the most unlikely of people.

While it may seem daunting when God gives us assignments that are scary, He also gives us the courage and means to carry out His assignments.