Bible Verses for Sunday Service December 10, 2023
1 John 4:9
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
Announcements:
Gather with us on Christmas Eve to celebrate the birth of the Savior. Bring your family and friends.
On Sunday, January 7, we will have a representative from Heart Cry missions society, Hunter Gately. He is the coordinator for the ministry in Eastern Europe and he will be giving us a report and challenge regarding the work being done there. We will have an opportunity to give to the ministry of Heart Cry.
It’s time to get everyone an updated church directory. Please provide us with any contact information for you that needs updating. Also, if you are not in the directory, we would like to have you listed. You can use the insert to provide your information and leave it on the foyer table.
You can also use the church update directory form to let us know how you would like to receive prayer chain requests and information. We send requests for prayer via email, text or phone.
We will have a Deacon’s meeting on December 28, and our annual business meeting will be on Sunday January 14.
Sermon:
Continuing in Hebrews, Pastor Jim spoke on Hebrews 1:4-7, 14. He titled this sermon “A Better Name.” In this portion of scripture, the writer of Hebrews deals with the belief that the Messiah, Jesus, was less than the Angels. Pastor reminded us that we think of angels at this time of year because they heralded Jesus’ birth to the shepherds. Angels also announced the arrival of John the Baptist and Christ to their respective mothers. An angel also advised Joseph on what to do about Mary. Although they have done so much, it is a mistake to think of them as on a par with Jesus. Pastor covered this scripture in two points.
To begin, Pastor pointed out that the writer of Hebrews makes plain that nowhere in scripture does it ever refer to angels as sons of God. But that is the title used of the Messiah, Christ, Jesus. Son suggests equality with God. He did what only God can do, die for us so that in dying we are not condemned by believing in Him. Another aspect of Jesus’ relationship to God is His submission to the Father’s will, a will that He suffer and die for us as an atoning sacrifice. The relationship of Son also has an aspect of the pleasure given to God the Father, the joy in the work of Son doing His will so perfectly. All these qualities distinguish Him from Angels, who never had such a relationship to God.
Another way of thinking about this is to look at the duties implied in the name angel. It means messenger, a messenger for God, doing His will in communicating information to us here on earth. But messengers created for worship. Also messengers created for service to God in heaven. Jim Elliot had an insight into this aspect of Angels. He noted that God makes his ministers “a flame of fire.” This caused him to wonder if he was ignitable with fervent love and service? Or, was he made of asbestos, other things distracting him from Christ.
Pastor closed by asking us to think about this in our admiration of Jesus, to make sure he was in first place in our lives, particularly as we approach celebrating His birth on earth.
Accessing the Service, Bulletin and Sermon Outline:
Here are the pages from the bulletin, click on the images below to see them full size:
If you would like to have the sermon outline, you can download it here, a pdf file.
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