Weekend Sermon -- A New Birth

      This is the last message before Christmas. I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and I want to thank everyone for reading the messages over the last year. 

      I am going to keep things a little shorter for our Christmas message today. I want to focus on the idea of new birth. On Christmas, we celebrate the fact that the baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The angels announced the birth of the Savior to the shepherds who were abiding the fields keeping watch over their flocks by night. The shepherds came and worshipped the new born king. We also know that the wise men followed the star and brought their gifts to the infant Jesus. 

     The birth of Jesus brought a great change into the world. The light came into the world. The Messiah was born into the world. The Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world was born among us. 

     The birth of Jesus brought joy, hope and love to the world. The incarnation of Jesus, His sinless life, His sacrificial death on the cross and His bodily resurrection have made it possible that we might have a new birth. 

     In John chapter 3, we are given the record of Jesus' encounter with a man named Nicodemus. Jesus told Nicodemus that unless one is born again, one cannot see the kingdom of God. As Jesus told Nicodemus, that doesn't mean that a person is reborn physically. It means that we all need a spiritual new birth.

     This new birth takes place when a person places his or her faith and trust in Jesus. The Bible says that we confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 

     In II Corinthians 5:17, we are told that, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."   When we come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord, the past is behind us. We are forgiven and made new. We have a spiritual new birth in Jesus Christ. 

     I hope that during this Christmas season that you will accept the gift of love and forgiveness from Jesus. He will change your life completely. Amen.

Prayer Requests

     Please pray about the storms headed toward where I live. We are supposed to have a lot of rain. Pray that there won't be flooding or problems caused by the rain. Thank you.

     Pray for those recovering from natural disasters. Those in Tennessee, the US Northeast, China, Acapulco and many other places need our prayers. 

     Continue to pray for peace. Pray for peace in Israel, Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan this week. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those living in the nations of Myanmar and Uzbekistan. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, the verses will be posted on Tuesday. I will have a message for the New Year. May God bless you all.