Biblically Based, Christ Centered, Caring Community in Annapolis, MD
This 4-week series was taught during the 2013 Advent season. in ‘Christmas Carols’ we look at biblical texts that underlie the great themes of our most beloved Christmas Carols – themes of hope, peace, love, and joy.
Christmas Carols
Because of the coming of Christ, God is with us, delivering us from our enemies and saving us from our sins, as He delights in us and sings His song of love over us.
Zephaniah 3:14-17
The angels’ song announced that Christ had come to bring glory to God and peace to the people of earth.
Luke 2:13-14
The prophets spoke of the Messiah who would come to restore the hope of God’s people.
Isaiah 42:1-4
This lengthy series looks at the complex relationship between modern Christians and the technological world in which we live. As disciples of Christ, we are called to be part of our modern world, contextualizing the Gospel so it will be accessible to our friends. However, we must be aware of the unique but ever-present dangers that come with our culture, age, and technology, understanding that the world will always try to seduce our hearts away from Christ and the Gospel. In this series we explore these dangers, equipping us to be faithful followers of Christ in the iWorld.
The blessed life for which we were created is not found in the technology of the iWorld and the glow of its screens but in the Presence of God and real human relationships.
Psalm 20:7
We were created for real, physical, face to face relationships, but the iWorld encourages relationships mediated by various forms of technology.
2 John 12; 3 John 13-14
We are called to community, serving one another and putting the needs of the community ahead of our own, but the iWorld encourages radical individualism.
Philippians 2:4
Christians are called to a life of self-denial and bearing the cross in order to follow Jesus, but the iWorld encourages a life of indulgence and instant gratification.
Luke 9:23
We need consistent times to rest and remember redemption, but the iWorld is relentless in its opportunities and demands, giving no room for this.
Mark 2:27
We are called to live for that which endures – things which have been passed down for generations, and which should be passed on to generations to come. But we live in a world of perpetual novelty, which is dominated by the trendy and the trivial, and is often disdainful of that which has gone before.
Psalm 78:1-8
Walking with God requires us to give focused, sustained reflection to God, His Word, our lives, and the world in which we live. But we live in a world of constant distractions, making sustained, focused reflection and living very difficult.
Luke 10:38-42
Christians must be vigilant to keep themselves from Idols – anything we look to in place of God, assigning it god-like powers to give us what should be sought in God alone. Idolatry is rampant in the iWorld, and is concentrated in and perpetuated by technology.
1 John 5:21
We are called to engage our current culture, contextualizing the Gospel so that it will be accessible to our friends, but we must be aware of the unique but ever present dangers that come with each culture, age and technology, understanding the world will always try to seduce our hearts away from Christ and the Gospel.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
To grow spiritually, we need to be devoted and follow a plan of studying Scripture, applying it to our lives, and passing it on to others.
Ezra 7:10
All of our possessions belong to God, and we are called to give generously to support God’s Church and His work.
1 Chronicles 29:10-18
The Gospel is the glorious news of God’s saving grace, and it shows us how Christ saves us from our sin and is received by faith alone, apart from our works.
Romans 1:16-17; 3:10-24
Jesus is the true man of prayer, showing us both the necessity of prayer and how we should pray. In John 17, His longest recorded prayer in Scripture, we learn the concerns which should guide our own praying today.
Christians should pray and live with the reality and values of eternity in their view.
John 17:24-26
Christians should pray and work to be unified and to see the Gospel spread so that the world might believe in Jesus.
John 17:20-23
This teaching gives a Christian response to suffering a tragic, untimely death and also the suicide of a believer. It also contains an extended special time of communion for the church.
2 Corinthians 1:3-11
Christians should pray and work to walk in visible unity, both with the local and the universal church.
John 17:20-23
Christians should pray for strength from God to be able to fulfill our call to be in the world but not of it.
John 17:6-19
The foremost concern in our prayers should be that God would be glorified and known.
John 17:1-8
Jesus is the true man of prayer, showing us both the necessity of prayer and how we should pray.
John 17:1