LOOK AHEAD: Episode 4

Message Recap

Christmas reminds us that God gave himself fully to this broken world. Think about that, God in his immeasurable fullness, gave himself fully, to us! Is that what you think when you think of Christmas?

Did you know O Come Emmanuel—dates back between 8th & 12th century Europe
Short lines sung before & after reading of Psalms
All begin with “O”. The O Antiphons
General term 'antiphony', which may be used for any call & Response They are sung or recited at Vespers from December 17 to December 23. Each antiphon is a name of Christ, one of his attributes mentioned in Scripture. O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law: come to save us, Lord our God!

EMMANUEL MEANS GOD WITH US.

Matthew is speaking to a Jewish audience who is awaiting their savior.
Yet, CHRIST, A PRICELESS GIFT WAS MET WITH CLINCHED FISTS AND UNRECEPTIVE HEARTS FROM HIS OWN PEOPLE.

21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel"—which means, "God with us." Matt 1:21-23

What sent the shepherd back into the field rejoicing? They realized the gift God had given.
What caused the wisemen to fall to their knees and worship? In Matthew 2, they realize who had arrived on the scene.

They realized that God was not far away and uninvolved or just watching from a distance, that he became flesh to be with us. The Word became flesh!

Hard to believe that?, Don’t feel Christ near you? Are you in the midst of a trial? Ashamed of what you’ve done.

Before you leave today, I want you to know God is with you!

God is, God was, and God will be!

EMMANUEL—GOD WITH US

GOD IS WITH YOU.

28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Luke 1:28

God is with you as companion when you feel alone.
God is with you as healer when you are sick.
God is with you as your guide when you are lost.
God is with you as your hope when you are Hurt.
God is with you as your strength when you are weak
God is with you as Savior when you sin.
God of all comfort who comforts us in our troubles is with us in the storm to get us through the storm.

Parakaleo is a greek word that means to come along side of. If you don’t see him now, Jesus is there with you and has been with you in every storm and will not abandon you when the next one comes. It is better to be in a storm with Jesus than anywhere else without him.

GOD WAS WITH YOU.
Sometimes it’s easier to see his presence in the past than in the present. Joseph was beaten, thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, false accused, suffered in prison before he was made the second most powerful man in the world at the time.

But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. Gen. 39:21 NKJV

When we fell on financial hardship, God was with us every step, and provided for us.
In the 7 car pile up – we all went home, God was with us, he protected us and kept us close to himself
When a Loved one Died—God was with us and carried us in our grief.

GOD WILL BE WITH YOU.

Looking ahead, there's so much that can happen in 2021, God has so much planned and we have no idea what he has in store. But we know this, nothing can separate us, our doubts, mistakes, disappointing moments, failures and sins do not disqualify us from the radical love of God, he never leaves us, and even if we find ourselves alone this Christmas, those in Christ are never truly alone.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

Fear no evil—He is with me!

Is, Was, and will be.

NO QUESTION THAT GOD IS WITH YOU.
REAL QUESTION: ARE YOU WITH GOD?