I. Introduction In the fall of 2003 the founders of our church went over a long list of potential names for this local assembly of believers. After a time the list was shortened to four final possi-bilities. I think one of the four was “Soul’s Harbor,” but I’m not sure. In any case, nine of […]

I. Introduction It’s Sunday morning, January 2, 2011. It’s also the eighth day after Christmas. Could there be a more appropriate day to open our Bibles to Luke 2:21 and read, “And when eight days were completed before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus…”? Two thousand years ago a new life began in […]

I. Introduction Virtually everyone knows the correct answer, the right response, to the question, “What is the sum of two plus two?” There is only one correct answer, isn’t there? But ask yourself this. How many incorrect answers are there? Well, here are a few of them. Three. Five. Forty-eight thousand, three hundred eleven and […]

I. Introduction Welcome to our final Sunday morning worship service before Christmas. In a few minutes we will turn to The Gospel of Luke and spend some time in seven of the most well-known verses in the entire Bible. In them we will see that God is always in control of both men and events. […]

I. Introduction Have you ever made a promise that you didn’t keep? Have you ever made a promise that you later found you couldn’t keep? If you’re anything like me, you have learned that promise-making is far easier than promise-keeping, haven’t you? Why? It’s because broken promises are indicative of a fallen and sinful people. […]

I. Introduction Abraham said, “God will provide the Lamb, my son.” Peter said, “(…you were redeemed) with precious blood, as of a lamb…the blood of Christ.” Isaiah said, “Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter…” The Apostle John said, “And I saw…a Lamb standing, as if slain…” “Worthy is the Lamb that was […]

I. Introduction When I was a new Christian someone said that one of the best ways to study the Bible was to look for God in every passage you read. The point was that if the Bible is God’s book (and it is), and if the men who wrote it were empowered and enlightened by […]

I. Introduction The Westminster Shorter Catechism is arguably the finest document to emerge from the Protestant Reformation in England. Completed in 1647 and approved the following year, its primary purpose was to educate believers in Bible doctrine and the core beliefs of the Christian faith. Few documents outside of the Scriptures themselves are so rich […]

I. Introduction A virgin birth! That’s impossible! We all such know things can’t happen. Why, we’re intelligent and rational people, aren’t we? We like to think that we understand the natural world around us and how it functions. (Actually, we really don’t, but we like to think we do.) We like to think that we […]

LUKE 1:26-33 I. Introduction “A child will be born!” How many parents have heard those words with great joy and anticipation? Ever since the births of Cain and Abel it has been obvious to all who see a pregnant mother that a child will soon be born. But it’s only very recently that the baby’s […]