Believe It Or Not, Jesus Is Coming | Luke 1:5-38

Bottom line: whether you believe God’s word or not, Jesus is coming...again.

Whether you believe God’s word or not, it will come to pass. Even when you fail to believe, God’s mercy is there for you. He disciplines his children when they fail to trust him. But he brings them back into fellowship as well. Just ask Zechariah. You can please God when you take him at his word. Just ask Mary. (Cf. Heb 11:3). Make sure you don’t miss the point for the pointer. The point is that God wants to walk in fellowship with you. He sent Jesus to restore our fellowship with him. That’s why he came the first time. The second time he’s coming to finish what he started. A re you ready?

Be Prepared To Answer | 1 Peter 3:15-16

Bottom line: Doing good means always being prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you why you have hope and to do so w/ gentleness, respect, and a clear conscience. That includes your enemies and your persecutors. Be prepared & ready to share with anyone why you have hope.

In the Old Testament, the tabernacle (and later the temple) was the place where people went to meet with God. This was God’s home as we see in our Old Testament passage for today (Ezekiel 43:5).

The message of our New Testament passage though is that the glory and presence of God is to be found supremely in Jesus. It is at the very moment that Jesus is rejected and crucified that God’s presence among people is finally and fully realized. From that point on there is no need for a physical temple. The only church building the New Testament speaks about is a building made of people (Ephesians 2:20–22), founded and built upon Jesus, the chief cornerstone. The holy temple in the New Testament is one made of ‘living stones’ (1 Peter 2:5) – in other words, people like you and me. This is God’s new home.

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