Peniel Pentecostal Holiness Church

3239 Rosebud Road Walnut Cove NC 27052
Pastor: Dr. Tim Nelson -  Church Office 336-591-36112
A Place To Encounter God Face To Face. Gen. 32:3

A Word From The Pastor Archives 2024
December 2024
 

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  John 1:1

John's Gospel takes us to the beginning of time and it is here he speaks of the presence of Jesus.  Wesley suggests that God 'spoke from eternity' when he created the universe.  This Gospel brings us the mysterious truth that God brought forth life, and that life was the light that is Christ Jesus.

We are reminded that at Advent Christ brings us a new beginning - a life from God, a light in the dark.  Advent is a new beginning for us, too - a chance to reflect on the astonishing gift of Jesus.  This passage speaks of God's light as something that has the power to overcome darkness, and the source of that power is revealed to us during Advent.  Just as God spoke in the beginning through the darkness, He spoke life and light into the darkness of a sinful world at the coming of Immanuel.  And in speaking, He gave us hope that God is present for us.  The darkness and the sin of the world is overcome by the presence of Christ in Advent.  Let us rejoice.

Adapted from:  https://adventconspiracy.org/devotional1/

"The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored!  The Lord is with you."  Luke 1:28

Gabriel tells Mary that she has found favor with God.  There is a word for divine favor:  "Grace."  God choosing Mary is an ultimate expression of His Grace.  Mary was special, but Luke makes the point that Mary was chosen, being "one of us."  So the power of her story is not how special she was, but how magnificent God's grace really is.  That is why His grace is called, AMAZING.

God highly favored Mary and demonstrated His wonderful grace toward her.  But He also highly favors you and through His Son has demonstrated His amazing grace toward whosoever will believe.  May the Christmas season be a time when we are reminded of God's amazing grace - not only for ourselves, but His amazing grace for the hurting, the lonely, the unreached or the unsaved.  Just as Gabriel told of the crucified and resurrected Messiah?

Adapted from:  https://peopleneedjesus.net/2020/12//15/this-changes-everything-luke-126-38/

"And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior."  Luke 1:46-47 (KJV)

Mary gives glory to God for the grace He has shown her, as she shared this unimaginable news with her cousin Elizabeth.  Mary would give birth to a son, who will be God in the flesh, the savior of the world.  So her soul magnifies the Lord.  Her spirit rejoices in God, her savior, for she knows He has looked upon her humble estate and blessed her.

We too can rejoice in our Redeemer, for He has looked on our sinful state and shown us grace upon grace by saving us through Christ.  Although the circumstance in Luke 1 is extremely unique, yet the song is the same for every follower of Christ, isn't it?  For example:  our souls magnify the Lord.  Our spirits rejoice in God, our savior, because He has looked upon us, on each one of us.  He has drawn us to Jesus.  He has given us forgiveness of our sins against Him.  He has given us eternal life.  And He has blessed us in so many ways.  And Christmas is a wonderful time of year to pause and sing the Song of Mary:  "My soul does magnify the Lord."

Adapted from:  https://radical.net/podcasts/pray-the-word/my-soul-magnifies-the-lord-luke-146-48/

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout..."  1 Thess 4:16 (KJV)

Advent is the period of time that leads up to Christmas, and the season of Advent emphasizes our anticipation of the coming of the Lord.  The English word advent is derived from the Latin advenire, "to come to."  Often you will hear the first coming of Jesus Christ called the first advent, and the second coming of Jesus Christ the second advent.

Advent emphasizes the hope we have in the coming of the Lord, and the Lord comes to us in several different ways.  The Lord came to us in the Incarnation, when he was born of the Virgin Mary.  The Lord also comes to us regularly in our own lives as Christians, but specifically on the Lord's Day as we gather to worship.  Finally, the Lord will come to us at the end of this age when he will make all things new.  The purpose of Advent is to remind us of Christ's first coming and to help us remember that he will keep his promise to come again to judge evil and wickedness in this world and to deliver his church.

Adapted from:  James H. Grant Jr., 1 & 2 Thessalonians:  The Hope of Salvation, ed. R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 107-8.

Adapted from:   https://radical.net/podcasts/pray-the-word/my-soul-magnifies-the-lord-luke-146 -48/

"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him:  and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."  Matthew 2:11

It was a number of months after Christ's birth before the Magi made it to Bethlehem to worship the Christ child.  It was many days after "Christmas" then, and today, the Sunday after Christmas, we are just a few days after the day we traditionally celebrate Christ's birth.  And for many, and maybe you, we find ourselves ready to get on with the business--whatever it is.  So we might ask, "But what is the business, anyway?"  What is the main thing in your life?  And in pondering this, consider another question:  "Is there any correlation between the focus of the Christmas holidays--and what drives and motivates your life after the Christmas decorations are gone and the gifts stored away?

Many just want to get Christmas out of the way, along with all it's "clutter."  But others are still basking in the reality of the meaning of Christmas, the Incarnation.  It is these persons who see Jesus, not as a babe in a manger sitting in a display under the soon to be removed Christmas tree, but He is a living person, whom many know - a reality who has become a living presence.  For these persons, Christmas is so much more than a festivity.  And as they are enriched by this celebratory time, they begin to ponder the coming year and the impact His presense in them can make on others in the upcoming year.

What impact will Christ's presence in your life make in 2025?  The King of kings Jesus--the One who became flesh at Bethlehem, the One who wants to touch the lives of people through you today--compels us to look around us to see who needs us to be His hands and feet.  Will you be the presence of Jesus for someone - for many someones in 2025?  "Getting on with business" after Christmas must include the risen Lord who will someday return from heaven.  As you "get on with business," make sure dispensing His love and grace is your business.  May we enter the New Year with eyes that see those who need Him most.

Adapted from:   http://www.guidelines.org/sermons/what-to-do-after-christmas-is-over/