Immanuel [God With Us]
Jesus assures His disciples He’s Immanuel in Matthew 28:20, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Not only is He with us, He lives in us (Galatians 2:20).
The problem with an often-told story is trying to hear it the way it originally unfolded and affected people. The Christmas story is a prime example…familiar and predictable. But the events surrounding the birth of Jesus were anything but expected! So much so that most of the Jewish people who were eagerly waiting for their Messiah totally missed His arrival!
Insight for Living offers a number of helpful resources that can help you see the Christmas story from a fresh, new angle. See this wondrous event through the eyes of the ordinary, everyday people whom God chose to involve. You’ll come away with a better understanding of the original meaning behind it all and with a heart bursting with gratitude for the incarnation of the Son of God.
Jesus assures His disciples He’s Immanuel in Matthew 28:20, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Not only is He with us, He lives in us (Galatians 2:20).
Mary was a teenage girl. Joseph was an ordinary carpenter. But God chose these commonplace peasants from a backwater town to raise the Saviour of the world. Chuck Swindoll describes how and why God chooses His servants.
While Rome was busy making history, God arrived. He pitched His fleshly tent on straw in a humble Bethlehem stable. Reeling from the wake of the Greats—Alexander, Herod, and Augustus—the world overlooked Jesus.
As Christmas approaches, remember this, it is a perfect season of the year to remind us all: God keeps His promises. Never forget it.
Our sentimental approach to Christ’s birth sanitizes the event to the point where we re-cast the story for palatability, nostalgia, and commercial manipulation.
When the King of the universe stepped onto the human stage, choirs of angels sang the news of His birth. Prepare your heart for Christmas as you hear this special edition of Insight for Living.
You will be irresistibly moved to worship and wonder as you listen to Fullness of Grace, featuring the incredible choir and orchestra of Stonebriar Community Church with guest soloists and Chuck Swindoll’s message, “It’s Christmas…So?” Sing along with the Christ-centred hymns. Reflect on the humble beginnings of our Saviour. And rejoice that the Son of God is also Immanuel—the greatest gift we could hope for.
Every Christmas we all receive two amazing gifts from the Creator. First, we receive a reminder of God’s astonishing, unconditional love. Second, we receive a reminder of Jesus Christ’s audacious grace. In this message, let’s focus on the grace Christ demonstrated on the first Christmas day so long ago.
Yes, a baby boy was born to a virgin in a dirty stable. But this baby boy was not just any baby. He is God in the flesh—Immanuel, God with us. This message will explore the reason for Christ’s coming: God’s astonishing love.
At just the right moment, precisely as God had arranged it, and in keeping with a plan that He formed before the foundation of the world, the Messiah entered the scene of humanity.