Immanuel Church Wilmington Delaware

Luke 1:26-56

When Mary came to Elizabeth, she shared in song her hope and joy in knowing she would bear the Son of God. She prophetically declared that God would give grace to the humble, working mightily through ordinary people, and God fulfilling all the prophecies through the weak. We too should pursue humility, seeing that simple things have great value.

Luke 1:5-24, 57-80

We begin our Christmas series looking at the life of Zechariah. He and Elizabeth received a miracle from God in the birth of their son, John. We see his struggle with believing it initially, but his faith later in the fulfillment of God's promises. His son would become the prophetic forerunner to the promised Messiah, Jesus, the hope of the world.

Mark 4:1-20

God works in His people through the Word, Jesus Christ, by His Spirit. In this parable, we see 3 ways that the Word can be robbed from us, and a 4th way it can take root and bear fruit. We learn how we should respond to the Word that God sows in us, as well as what we should expect when the Word is sown deep in our life.

1 Peter 1:3-9

The message of the resurrection is more than just a message. It is our living hope, because the church is supernaturally equipped with an ability to live the resurrection life:  a life of love, of generosity, of meekness, of humility, as we share the Good News of Jesus Christ. As a result, our attachments should be to Him, not to people, ideas, or things.

Lamentations 5

As we conclude the study of Lamentations, we see the author recounting again the tragedies that befell the Hebrew people. Yet, as he made clear earlier, they had hope in God's faithfulness to His promises. We must remember that God's story is forever. Our story makes sense if we see it interwoven with His story. Don't get overwhelmed with the moment, but allow the past to give hope for the future.

Lamentations 4

Idolatry involves making something or someone who is not God like they are God. In our desire to be fulfilled, we place other loves before the One who can truly meet our need. Wrongly ordered loves include 1) wealth, success, and progress, 2) people and leaders, 3) governments and nations. May we make worship of God our priority.

Lamentations 3

As the author of Lamentations wrestles with his own story of trials and disappointments, he looks to God's story of mercy and faithfulness. He recognizes that God is committed to us, to draw us closer to Himself. God is in the process of making all things new. In the midst of our story, we must hope in God's faithfulness.

Lamentations 2

The nature of "lament" is not the exploration of the reasons for suffering, but more so, giving room for asking the questions and learning to cling to faith, even in the absence of answers. We must remember that we are the creation, not the Creator. We must learn to say," God I truly don't understand, but if I cannot hope in You, I indeed have no hope at all."

Lamentations 1

Pastor Dan begins a series on learning to lament. When rough circumstances happen to us as individuals, as a church, or as a nation, we must allow ourselves, and others, to express grief and sadness. It is not despair, but is girded with hope in the Lord. As David did many times in the Psalms, we must be willing to address our feelings, and yet rejoice in God's love and mercy.

The Bible is one long unified story of redemption, with Christ at the center. As Pastor Dan takes us from Genesis to Revelation to see God's plan, we revisit Israel's role in it. We cultivate our knowledge of God's divine perspective for the nations, and His heart for the world.