"Advent: The Fullness of Time: Blue Hour"

Luke 2:8-20

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."



Notes taken from Isaac Hunter's sermon...

*"Message of God comes to all kinds of people...The shepherds lived a rough, harsh life. They were able to spot an unblemished, spotless lamb."

*"God loves people because of who He is not because of who we are."

*"Come to Jesus and recognize He has come for you."

*"Jesus is not born in a place you expect it to happen."

*"God is not afraid of the mess."

*"Go to Jesus, have an encounter that changes you."



Philippians 2:9-11

"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

"Advent: The Fullness of Time: Midday

Luke 1:28-38
"The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her."

Notes taken from Isaac Hunter's sermon...
*"Always a story of grace and redemption...use broken people to further His kingdom."
*"Be driven by grace, not by guilt."
*"You need to know if you are it for God. God loves you more than you understand."
*"Expectations can ve very different from reality. We need to give those over to God."
*"Give your days and your moments over to Jesus."
*"They walked with God...God will be with you...These phrases are said over and over again throughout Scripture...Joshua, Abraham, etc."
*"Not only do you like who you are when you are around them but you see in others what He sees."

Advent: Fullness of Time: Daybreak

Luke 1:24-45
"After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

Notes taken from Isaac Hunter's sermon...
*"Elizabeth saw her blessing as a means to glorify God. She waited until it would affect someone else. She embraced the role, 'How can I be helpful?'"
*"God chooses to work in the context of relationships. God uses not just the circumstances but the timing for providential purposes."
*"The angel pointed Mary towards Elizabeth."
*"We need family...regular and spiritual."
*"Mary doesn't care about the inconvenience of the journey, she wants to hear what Elizabeth has to tell her."
*"You need people who love you that way. Elizabeth poured herself into Mary."

Philipians 2:5-7
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness."

"Advent: Fullness of Time"

Luke 1:5-7, 21-25
"In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years."

"Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. "The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."

Notes taken from Isaac Hunter's sermon...

*"They (Mary and Elizabeth) didn't know what their tomorrows would bring or how the story would end. What defined this era was the actions of God. It is the same with our era."
*"God really can't be known as all you need unless all you have is Him to hold onto."
*"We expect immediate feedback. Trust God in the outcome. Their hope was anchored in God. Motivation should not be a circumstantial reward. Be faithful in the middle of the story. We can trust God with faithfulness. Giving up cannot be an option."
*"Notice there is never a serene reaction to seeing an angel."
*"It is harder to be faithful when the prayer is answered than during the waiting/praying for it to be answered."
*"Silence always follows doubt. Everytime you choose to trust, you choose to participate in it."
*"Recognize that God is at work, even in the middle of the story."

Isaiah 40:1, 3, 9-11
"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!"
See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.
He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."

"I Don't Believe in Hopeless"

John 6:1-13
"Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Feast was near.
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"
Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." 13So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten."

Notes taken from sermon given by Tim Harmon...

*"Even in the darkest circumstances, there is hope. No matter how hopeless a situation, God's presence brings hope."
*"God is not asking about a solution but He does invite us into the process. Where God is present, hope abounds. Bring people to Jesus, the rest is up to Him."
*"God does not ask us to give what we do not have."
*"God can take the flawed, the broken, and sinful and do something extraordinary."
*"We are made perfect by what God has done. When we minister, God ministers to us."

"If I Sound Harsh, Lean In"

Matthew 15:21-28

"Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."
Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."
He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."
The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.
He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."
"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour."



Notes taken from Isaac Hunter's sermon...

*"He is waiting for someone to step up. Will you love people who are difficult to love?"

*"The one we think is least valuable to God recognizes their value to God and embraces that grace."

*"You always have the choice between hope and despair."

*"Keep offering it up to God."

*"Is there someone really hard in your life to love?"