Here are the completed notes from the Sunday Morning Service December 20, 2015:
Scripture: Luke 1-2
The setting of Jesus birth was far from ideal.
1. As we live out the call God has for our life, we may be misunderstood and ridiculed
- The shame Mary would endure as she accepted the calling God had for her being a young virgin carrying the very Son of God – Luke 1:26-35
2.God’s plans do not always match our plans, but God’s plans are ultimately far better
- The stock and sense of betrayal Joseph would experience as Mary confided in him about her pregnancy – Matthew 1:18-25
3.God is in complete control and will arrange the right circumstances for us to accomplish His will
- The timing of the trip to Bethlehem that was mandated by Rome was less than perfect (Mary was nine months pregnant) – Luke 2:1-5
- “Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.” – Dr. Charles Stanley
4.God does not call us to do what He does not enable us to complete
- The transportation was nowhere near appropriate for a four-day, approximately ninety-mile trip on donkey – Luke 2:6
5.God works all things together for good to them that are His and that love Him
- The accommodations in Bethlehem were less than perfect: A cave being used as a stable had to serve as a nursery – Luke 2:7
- The picture of the infant Son of God tolerating a stable’s dirt and foul odors is a fitting metaphor for the later scene of the Savior bearing the stench of sin as He died at Calvary. – John MacArthur
- “God assumes full responsibility for our needs when we obey Him.”
6.God’s provision comes in ways we may not expect, but it may require our humility
- The place Mary laid Jesus was far from what a new mother would want for her newborn baby: a feeding trough – Luke 2:7
- “As children of a sovereign God, we are never victims of our circumstances” -Dr. Charles Stanley
7.God’s calling may require us to adjust our plans and schedule
- The abrupt news of the babe’s life being threaten and the need to flee to Egypt – Matthew 2:13, 14
- “Listening to God is essential to walking with God.”