First Lutheran Church Hot Springs AR

Why am I here? What is my purpose in life? These are questions related to our purpose. As Christians we actually have all kinds of Bible passages that help us answer these questions.

Jesus came to engage in battle against the enemy for us! He sets the example by fighting several battles and overcoming and winning these battles. As we see him overcoming these battles, we are empowered to do the same.

When Jesus shows up the glory falls. He displays his majesty and beauty of his nature that inspires awe and wonder. You come into or encounter his presence. 

People are still getting delivered today! When Jesus shows up, people are healed. When people get healed, other people want to know Jesus too!

When Jesus shows up, demons flee! When we have arrogance, idolatry, prideful, or jealous, these demons open doors to get inside to se up strongholds from which to work their destruction. Only Jesus can destroy the works of the devil and free us from our strongholds.

When Jesus shows up he binds the brokenhearted and delivers us from darkness. His love restores dignity to those that need it most. 

When Jesus shows up he is going to do a new thing. He came and offered living water for us to drink, baptizing  with the Holy Spirit and giving us a new covenant, new heart, and spirit which makes us into a new creation.

This is a season of revelation, where God's shines His spotlight on his Son and says "look at this"! This is what you get when my Son shows up! Everything will become new! What God promised would happen does. He asks us to forget the past because he has something better-Jesus!

Today we celebrate the official naming of Jesus. We tend to officially name our baby at the hospital but, back in Jesus' day, official naming  of a baby boy happened on the 8th day when the child was circumcised. Names are important and carry significance in our identity.  What is even more important is that we have been given the name of Jesus that identifies us as belonging to him, now and...

We are in the season of getting ready. Advent is a time of waiting. God wants us to live with an expectation of what is to come. We are in the time of faith. We are in the now and not yet time of life. We get what he has for us now but also the anticipation of what is to come.

Desires we long for, prayers, we've been praying, and news we're waiting to hear can tempt us to be impatient, discouraged, to worry, and even to wonder if God cares. He wants to restore His relationship with us and to give us peace, joy, health, and provision. God restores all things!

We want to fix our eyes on Jesus as our gift giver. Jesus is the gift giver of the Holy Spirit. This gift makes us fully alive in Him!

We live in the now and not yet of our Christian faith. Jesus came and he's coming again! We have victory now that he won for us on the cross and we will have it in all its fullness when he comes again. On one hand we don't have to wait because Jesus lives in us, but we still have to wait to experience life forever with him in heaven. So we wait.

Truth is the "what" of our lives. Love is the "why and how." The combination of real truth and real love is what God wants us to live out at work, at home, in the fellowship of others, and in the community.

We need to represent well our God who is a giver. He's the God who is always giving! God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son! Every good and perfect gift comes down from heaven from the Father.

People need to see us living for Jesus  so,  they too can join us on this journey in life where Jesus is everything and it  is all about Him. Paul describes this life in Galatians 2:20 where he says :  I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Paul is saying, it's no longer about me. It's now all about Christ.

People need to see us living in anticipation of Jesus. They need to see us living with faith and not fear, with hope and not despair, and with an unshakable attitude that shows we know the best is yet to come.

Be ready to spread the word whether or not the time is right. Point out errors, warn people and encourage them. Be patient when you teach.

We need to humble ourselves and empty ourselves of us so the Holy Spirit can fill us completely with the real Jesus as we then share our faith and joy in Him!

We need to live a life of repentance so we can help others receive the gift of repentance in being brought into or restored to the kingdom of God through Jesus.

We need to make Jesus the priority in our life so we can share the good news of Jesus with others and  they too will know him.

We need to help people know and experience the kingdom so they too can enjoy the party with Jesus now and forever.

We need to submit to God's will and His ways for us as individuals as we work together to accomplish his mission to bring people into His kingdom.

We need to humble ourselves and become more like Jesus who made himself nothing and took the form of a servant so people will see, receive, and believe  in his greatness.

There is freedom in forgiving! On the other hand, there is bondage in not forgiving! Refusing to forgive will quench the Spirit of God, dull your prayer life and rob the church spirit of what God wants for it.