Jesus is the Object of Our Faith
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction: The Advent season is a time to consider all that God has established for this world in Jesus Christ. His love for humanity has been established and advanced through the Lord Jesus Christ. By placing our faith in Jesus we acknowledge the supremacy of God’s plan and the glory of His grace.
Have Faith Despite the Problems (1:18-19)
Have Faith Despite the Problems (1:18-19)
Personal Problems (1:18) - “18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.”
Luke 1:29-31 (NLT) - “29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.”
Galatians 4:4 (HCSB) - “4 But when the completion of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons.”
Public Problems (1:19) - “19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.”
Deuteronomy 22:23-24 (NLT) - “23 “Suppose a man meets a young woman, a virgin who is engaged to be married, and he has sexual intercourse with her. If this happens within a town, 24 you must take both of them to the gates of that town and stone them to death. The woman is guilty because she did not scream for help. The man must die because he violated another man’s wife. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.”
Leviticus 20:10 (HCSB) - “10 If a man commits adultery with a married woman-if he commits adultery with his neighbor's wife-both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.”
Have Faith in God’s Plan (1:20-21)
Have Faith in God’s Plan (1:20-21)
God’s Plan is Divine (1:20) - “20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.”
Psalm 94:18-19 (HCSB) - “18 If I say, "My foot is slipping," Your faithful love will support me, Lord. 19 When I am filled with cares, Your comfort brings me joy.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 - “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Isaiah 30:21 (HCSB) - “21 and whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: "This is the way. Walk in it."
God’s Plan is to Deliver (1:21) - 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
Genesis 3:15 - “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and though shalt bruise his heel.”
Isaiah 45:21-22 (HCSB) - “21 Speak up and present [your case]- yes, let them take counsel together. Who predicted this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the Lord? There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is no one except Me. 22 Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other.”
John 1:29 (HCSB) - “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
Acts 4:12 (HCSB) - “12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”
Have Faith in God’s Promises (1:22-25)
Have Faith in God’s Promises (1:22-25)
God’s Promises Through His Word (1:22-23) - “Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”
Isaiah 7:14 (HCSB) - “14 Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.”
Isaiah 9:6 - “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Matthew 5:17-18 (HCSB) - “17 "Don't assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished.”
Luke 12:17-18 (NLT) - “17 This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah concerning him: 18 “Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen. He is my Beloved, who pleases me. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.”
John 1:14 (HCSB) - “The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Illustration: 1 Kings 8:24 - “24 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.”
Faith is Practiced Based in God’s Will (1:24-25) - “When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her 25 but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son. And he named Him Jesus.
John 15:14 (HCSB) - “You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
Hebrews 11:8 (HCSB) - “8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
James 2:21-26 (HCSB) - “21 Wasn't Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was perfected. 23 So the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness , and he was called God's friend. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way, wasn't Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by a different route? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
My faith looks up to thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior Divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away,
O let me from this day
Be wholly thine.
This famous hymn is a thoroughly 19th century American work in both its poetry and music.
Born in Little Compton, R.I., Ray Palmer (1808-1887) grew up in the Boston area and attended Phillips Academy and Yale University.