And we shall call Him Emmanuel

(which means “God with us”) Matthew 1

 

The gospel makes no sense at all–until it does.

 

2000 years ago, in a remote village, Jesus changed the course of human history.

 

And for those who would dare proclaim Him King, He changed their individual eternity.

His GOSPEL–It is free, but we must choose it.

His GOSPEL–It is for all, but it must be chosen.

His GOSPEL–It does not discriminate, but it divides.

And it is rooted

In LOVE~ His love saves us

In COVENANT~ His death seals our eternity 

In COMPASSION~ His decision to save us is rooted in Him knowing EXACTLY who we are and saving us anyway.

In HOPE~ His life opens up all of our options.  We now have a future, and a God who loves us just as we are.

 

As we read through the gospels, we see that each of them use different lenses to tell us this same message.

  • Matthew tells His story inside the theme that He (Jesus) is the King of the Jews.

He is the King of the Faith

  • Mark tells His story inside the theme that He (Jesus) is the Humble Servant of the Nations.  

He is the Servant of All

  • Luke tells His story inside the theme that He (Jesus) is 100% man, born into sin, into flesh, and into imperfect humanity.  And yet, He found a way to overcome it and STILL be perfect.

He is the Firstborn of all Mankind

  • John tells His story inside the theme that He (Jesus) is 100% the Son of God Himself.

He is the Son of God

 

The teachings of Mark:

 

Mark 1 4And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

 

All of us…ALL OF US…come to the end of ourselves.  We realize that we simply are not good enough. We realize that we fall short even of the standard that we set for ourselves.  How can we possibly meet the standard of a perfect God?

 

And yet…that is why He came.

 

And that is why John baptized.  So that we can die to ourselves and confess that we simply do not measure up.  So that we can be clean. Baptism is the symbol of us being clean–Jesus is the way that it actually happens. 

 

Come To The Fountain

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL6eCfEQrQ8

 

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

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Coach J