O Holy Night…
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:11-12
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
“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. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:9-11
Could you imagine being one of the few who beheld the King that holy night? There’s a quote that says, “Wise men still seek Him today.” The only knowledge worth anything in Eternity is truly knowing Christ. His presence and redeeming love far outweigh any gift ever given!
Wishing You and Your Family a
Merry, Blessed and Love-filled Christmas!
Word: 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 – What is Unseen
…Do not lose heart…
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:7-18 (New International Version)
Word: Ephesians 3:16-20 – According to His Power
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints,
To grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever…”
Ephesians 3:16-20
Word: Ephesians 5:8-15 – Live As Light
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
Ephesians 5:8-15
Recent SOAR Updates: Video Pick: “How He Loves” by Kim Walker, Word from John 15 & Thinking About Love
Check out some of the latest posts from SOAR:
How He Loves…Always
He loves me?
Sometimes experiencing what we call romance in this world leaves us wondering what love truly is. You feel that happy pounding and patter in your chest when he reveals a bouquet of roses and candy. Getting hurt though can peel away the layers of our hearts, like someone plucking the petals from a flower…
Video Pick: How He Loves Us – Kim Walker & Jesus Culture
How He Loves Us – Kim Walker / Jesus Culture
This video and song are a great declaration of God’s love for us. Featuring Kim Walker and the Jesus Culture Band, the song is from their “We Cry Out” CD/DVD, available on jesusculture.com.
“He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy…”
Word: John 5:9-17 – “No Greater Love…”
John 5:9-17
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.