Jesus' Christmas Gift to You . . .

This is a basic outline from which I based my Christmas Sermon this year at Cornerstone.

Jesus' Christmas Gift to You . . .

Change: Jesus brings transformational change from the inside out.

Healing: Jesus brings spiritual, emotional, physical, and relational healing.

Relationship: Jesus brings reconciliation with our Creator and Father in heaven.

Insight: Jesus brings wisdom about who you are and what you were created for.

Satisfaction: Jesus brings contentment and peace to a stormy world.

Truth: Jesus is the very definition of truth and reality.

Motivation: Jesus brings the passion for our action.

Abilities: Jesus brings empowerment.

Salvation: Jesus brings the only way to survive this life and enter into the next.

Jesus look-a-like...

I occassionally meet people who, in my opinion, look a lot like Jesus. Such was the case yesterday. Our local ministerial association gets together once a month for lunch and yesterday was my day to host the meeting. My usual fare is Dominoe's Pizza and that's exactly what I served yesterday. It was a small group of 10 or so representing only 4-5 churches. I was surprised to see a new face among us--a large man (not fat-just big) who was introduced by his pastor as a member of his church who has a ministry at the local nursing home. I was amazed to hear, as he shared, of his heart for the nursing home community and the extent to which he and his church provide care. Under his direction, every resident at the nursing home will receive a personal Christmas present from the church (they've actually been asked what they would like this year for Christmas). He spoke of being led by the Holy Spirit to get involved and how his ministry at the nursing home has led him to pursue ministry in a larger way--perhaps even vocationally. As we were cleaning up at the end of our meeting--he asked what I was going to do with the left-over pizza. I imagined that it might be a good treat for his family and I readily suggested that he take it with him. He wasn't asking for himself, though. He said that he wanted to take it to the nursing home and share it with the residents who rarely get pizza. Here is a man who gives his life daily as a volunteer for the forgotten people in the nursing home. He visits them daily, he talks with them, he goes with them to the hospital, he goes to their funerals. This Baptist pastor is humbled by the example of this Catholic layman. He looks a lot like Jesus!

The Koran Affirms Jesus...

Lee Turner has written a brief article for Pulpit Helps that details how the Koran both affirms and denies the unique nature of Christ.

The Koran rejects the biblical Jesus in four ways:

1. Jesus is not God (Surah 5:72-73).
2. Jesus is not the Son of God (Surah 9:30).
3. Jesus is not a member of the Trinity because there is no Trinity (Surah 5:76).
4. Jesus did not die (Surah 4:157).

The Koran affirms the biblical Jesus in seven ways:

1. Jesus performed miracles (Surah 2:87).
2. Jesus was strengthened by God through the Holy Spirit (Surah 2:87, 2:253).
3. Jesus is called a Spirit from God (Surah 4:171).
4. Jesus is repeatedly called the Messiah (Surah 3:45).
5. Jesus is declared to be righteous (Surah 3:46).
6. Jesus is called the Word of God (Surah 4:171).
7. Jesus is declared to be like Adam (Surah 3:59).

--Pulpit Helps, March 2007, volume 32, number 3