Zechariah knew that God was intervening to deliver His people as he proclaimed being saved from our enemies. God had not sent any prophets for 400 years. Now, as Zechariah broke his silence, God again gave prophecy. As he received his voice back, Zechariah praised God for what He was doing. Luke 1: 69 He has …
Jesus connects His resurrection and the Kingdom. Acts 1: 3 During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God. [1] Jesus’ resurrection is foundational …
God gives us the promise of Messiah after the fall of Adam and Eve. Amid their sin and its consequences, God gave them hope. Genesis 3:15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.[1] The Scripture …
Simeon knew he would see Messiah, but how was this possible? Luke 2: 25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would …
Leaving the old life behind is what happens when the Lord begins to transform us through the work of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman, her life was filled with regret and shame. She went to the well in the hottest part of the day to avoid other women who disapproved of …
The woman at the well discovered that Jesus is the Messiah. John 4: 26 Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”[1] Jesus will not declare this openly again until the week before His death. The Jewish leadership found this frustrating. John 10: 24 The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep …
Receiving God’s gift of salvation is the greatest gift we will ever receive. A Samaritan woman approached the well to draw water in the heat of the day. It was then she saw Jesus, who was resting by the well. Being a woman who had been married five times and living with another, she went …
The God who warns gave the wise men a dream, so they didn’t return to Herod in Jerusalem. God directs Jesus’ life to accomplish His divine plan for salvation. Jesus came to a hostile world that wanted to take His life from the beginning. God Warned the Wise Men Herod was so ruthless that he …
The story of the visit of the wise men shows how they were investing in worship. They gave their time and treasure to travel to worship the baby Jesus, the new king of the Jews. Their worship was not just lip service nor a casual, token hour of worship. The Pattern of Worship of the …
Herod claimed that he, like the wise men, wanted to worship the newborn king. But false worship doesn’t fool God. Matthew 2: 8 Then he (Herod) told them (the wise men), “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and …