Beholding His Glory ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

Luke 2:21-38 ~ "Jesus Presented at the Temple" ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

The days following Christmas can be a bit of a letdown. The gifts have been unwrapped and enjoyed. The left overs have been eaten. The daily routine begins to set in. And on top of all of that, the difficult year of 2020 is coming to end without the difficulties and struggles coming to an end. So what do we look forward to now? The answer is found in Luke chapter 2:21-38.

Luke 2:1-20 ~ "What Christmas Is All About" ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

In the TV program, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Charlie Brown asks in frustration, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”  Linus responded, “Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” And Linus took the stage and recited Luke 2:8-14. This is what Christmas is all about.

 

Luke 1:67-80 ~ "The Song before the Sunrise" ~Pastor Bill Slabaugh

In the early days of WWII, Winston Churchill told the people of Britain that they were in their “darkest hour.”  Now we the people of America are in a “dark winter.” When we come to Zacharias’ song of praise in the first chapter of Luke, we see the end of a long extended darkness. We see the promise in which “the Sunrise from on high will visit us" (Luke 1:78)

Luke 1:57-66 ~ "The Miraculous Birth of John the Baptist" ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

Concerning the birth of John the Baptist, who would prepare the way for the coming of Jesus into the world, the Gospel of Luke records,

         “Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave                 birth to a son. Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord             had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing              with her.” (Luke 1:57-58)

There had been promises and prophecies. Now there was an actual baby and Luke is careful to tell us that this is a sign of God’s great mercy. God displayed His great mercy toward Elizabeth. It is a wonderful example of how God bestows His tender mercy on us as well.

Luke 1:51-56 ~ "Glorifying the God of Judgment" ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

We most often think of giving God thanks and glorifying Him for His mercy and what He has done for us. But how often do we think of giving Him thanks and glorifying Him because He is a God of judgment? According to the Virgin Mary’s Song of Praise in Luke chapter 1, the coming of Jesus Christ into the world at Christmas is not only about extending mercy and grace and lifting up the humble. But it also about scattering into the wind those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts and bringing down rulers from their thrones.

Luke 1:46-50 ~ "My Spirit Rejoices" ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

Detrick Bonhoeffer said of Mary’s song of praise in the first chapter of Luke, “God is not ashamed of human lowliness but goes right into the middle of it, chooses someone as instrument, and performs the miracles right there where they are least expected. God draws near to the lowly, loving the lost, the unnoticed, the unremarkable, the excluded, the powerless, and the broken. What people say is lost, God says is found; what people say is ‘condemned,’ God says is ‘saved.’ Where people say No! God says Yes!’”

Luke 1:49-45 ~ "How God Confirms His Word" ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

Mary, the young mother of Jesus, is a good example of how God confirms His Word to us. It was going to be hard for Mary but God, with whom nothing is impossible, is going to confirm it. Along the way, He is going to give confirmation and assurance in Mary’s humble obedience. Along with the greatest task that takes the most determined obedience comes the greatest joy and the greatest assurance and confirmation that this is of God and that He will perform it. 

Luke 1:26-38 ~ " A Lowly Maid from a Mean Town" ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

Martin Luther remarked, “[The angel] might have gone to Jerusalem and picked out Caiaphas’ daughter who was fair, rich, clad in gold embroidered raiment and attended by a retinue of maids in waiting. But God preferred a lowly maid from a mean town.”

When we come to the announcement of the angel to Mary that she would conceive and bear the Son of God, we must accept the essential spiritual fact that the Lord comes to needy people. The Lord comes to those who realize that without Him they cannot make it. The Lord comes to those who acknowledge their weaknesses and their spiritual lack. The Good News is not for the proud and self-sufficient because they are unable to receive it.

Matthew 1:18-25 ~ Myrrh: A Gift Fitting for a Sacrifice ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

Some months after Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph are settled into a home there. And some visitors arrive, Magi from the East, and they came bearing gifts for the child. I wonder what Mary and Joseph thought as they opened each treasure. The Magi gave Gold, a gift fitting for a king. The parents had never seen such a gift, but on behalf of the Child, they receive it anyway, almost embarrassed. It seems too much. Then the Magi give them frankincense. And Mary and Joseph understand that it is a gift fitting for the Son of God come in the flesh. But then the Magi pull out the last gift and Mary doesn’t know what to say, “Oh myrrh. Embalming fluid.” And she feels a pang in her heart as she knows this is a gift fitting for a sacrifice.

Matthew 2:7-17 ~ Frankincense: A Gift Fit for God ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

When the Magi saw the Christ Child, they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11). Frankincense is a gift fit for God.  In the Bible, the burning of frankincense pictures our prayers as going up to God as a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to Him. Frankincense pictures the worship of God. It pictures that unique gift—that fragrance that rises out of the human heart to the living and glorious God.