Monday 9 December 2013

Coming Up: Sonday 15 December 2013

Looking Forward to a Baby

All of Israel was looking forward to a baby, a very special baby promised by God through the prophet Isaiah. This Sonday we will see how Jesus humbled himself to be born as a human baby at Christmas time in order to fulfil that promise to the nation of Israel and so that we could all become the children of God. If Jesus, God the son Himself, should humble himself to save his enemies we too ought to humble ourselves and serve others by sharing Him.

Monday 9 December 2013

Read: Matthew 1:18-25, Isaiah 7:14 Have you ever been away from the lights of the city and had the chance to gaze at the stars in all their splendour? In the night's sky God's incredible creative power is on display for all to see. One can marvel at the countless number of stars, each one a gigantic ball of flaming gas billions of kilometres away. One can wonder at the scale of the milky way galaxy, stretching from horizon to horizon, and the thought that there are millions of other galaxies just like it spread throughout the cosmos. God's power truly is incredible.

Sometimes, if we are exposed to these wonders all the time, it is possible for us to lose our wonder. It is possible for us to forget just how incredible our God truly is. We often experience this same kind of numbing effect when we ponder the miracles by which God has worked out His plan of redemption in the world.

Consider for a moment the miracle of the virgin birth. We sing so many Christmas carols, read so many Christmas stories and hear so much about this miracle that we can quickly lose our wonder at exactly what God has done through Mary. God is able to do anything that He desires to do. God is able to create and shape the universe, putting the stars and galaxies in place. God is able to heal any disease, sickness or ailment. God is able to work powerfully to drive out demons, save the lost and change the world according to His desires. God is even able to bypass all natural methods of conception so that Mary, a teenage virgin, could be pregnant with Jesus Christ.

God uses a teenage, virgin girl, the last person anyone of that time would have expected, to bring about His incredible plan of redemption for mankind. Let us never lose our wonder at the incredible things that God has done, and the incredible sacrifices that He has made in order to bring about His plan and to reconcile us to relationship with Himself and let us always be quick to share that wonder with others.

Prayer: Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

• Praise God for the incredible things that He has done in order to bring about His plan of redemption. Pray that you would never lose your sense of awe and wonder at what He has done and that you would be eager and courageous to share with others.
• Pray for the broken families in your congregation and in your community during this difficult time of the year. Pray that God would fill them with peace that comes from Him regardless of their circumstances. Pray that God would bring about reconciliation and forgiveness and that families would be strengthened and people healed during this time.

My Additional Prayer Points

1. 2.