Grace in Louisville

John models a life of humble boldness that points to Christ, proclaims the whole gospel, and confronts sin.

John's message of preparation is one we need to hear today just as his original hearers did: true, fruit-bearing repentance is necessary for approaching Jesus.

In this passage, as well as the infancy narrative as a whole (chap. 1-2), Luke helps us see that Jesus was obviously human, and, astonishingly, God himself.

In the words of Simeon's song and prophecy, we find that Jesus changes everything, and he does so by both uniting and dividing people.

Psalm 1 reminds us that the righteous saturate themselves with the life-changing word of God.

Mary, Joseph, Simeon and Anna remind us that it is in our faithful walks with the Lord throughout the everyday tasks of life that God brings blessing and uses us for his glory.

At the birth of Jesus we see the glorious collision of the human and the divine, bringing us the greatest news possible: that we can have peace with God.

What is God's heart towards abortion - the destruction of his unborn image bearers? We need to know God's heart so that we as his image bearers can model his heart well to the world around us, and Exodus 34 tells us that we should show forth God as the life-giver, as merciful, gracious and forgiving, and as just and righteous.

Zechariah exalts God for send the Messiah to visit and redeem us, raising up a horn of salvation so that we might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness all our days.

At the birth and naming of Elizabeth and Zechariah's baby, it becomes very clear that this is no ordinary child - rather he is a gift of God's mercy who will prepare the way for the Messiah who will forgive sins.

As we look towards a new year, let us resolve to abide in Jesus - to abide in his word, in prayer, and in love for others, so that we might know him better and draw all our strength and life from him.

Elizabeth and Mary show us that when we see God rightly magnified and ourselves properly humbled, then we will experience true joy when we realize all that God has done for us in Christ.

Mary shows us that the miracle of Christmas is one that we receive as little children - with wide-eyed wonder and wholehearted trust.

We can learn much from this narrative of Zechariah's encounter with the angel Gabriel - two of those lessons are the power of prayer and our need to repent of disbelief.

As we begin our series on the Gospel According to Luke, we find that, among other reasons, Luke wrote that we could be certain that Jesus is the Savior of the World.

As we close out our look at the life of Abraham, we are reminded once again that the story of Abraham is not the story of Abraham's greatness but the story of the greatness and faithfulness of the God of Abraham.

In this beautiful story of the coming together of Isaac and Rebekah, we are reminded that God providentially leads us in all things because of his steadfast love towards us.

As the story of Abraham begins to close, he is faced with the reality of death, and helps us see that in the darkest of days and even in death, God can be trusted.

The occasion of Isaac's birth affirms that God is 100% trustworthy, and his fulfillment of his promises leads Abraham and Sarah, and should lead us, to lives of obedience, joy, and a renewed desire to remove all threats to God's plans and purposes.

Abraham slips into his old pattern of disbelief and puts the fulfillment of God's promise to he and Sarah is great danger. But God the Protector accomplishes his purposes in the midst of Abraham's failures.

As we run into Lot one more time, we learn lessons about our own drift into sin and callousness towards evil, as well as God's goodness to us on behalf of Christ.

As Abraham interacts with God and intercedes for Sodom, God is seen as a God of justice and righteousness who also loves to show mercy on the behalf of the righteous.

We say we believe that nothing is impossible with God, but we are still tempted to laugh with doubt like Abraham and Sarah when God says he will do the incredible. Genesis 18:1-15 shows us God's love and power and lovingly rebukes us with the question, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"

In Matthew 6, Jesus gives us a wonderfully practical model for prayer - a model we can easily apply as we seek to be more disciplined and God-focused in our prayer lives.

How do we follow the repeated command in Scripture to walk worthy of God and our calling? 1 Timothy 6:11-12 gives us four commands as the answer: flee, pursue, fight, and seize.