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Church of the Nazarene East Rockingham Campus

The Names of Jesus Part 1 East Rock

Emmanuel, God with us.

Today we begin our Advent teaching series “The Names of Jesus”

Throughout this series we are looking at a few of the different names that the scriptures give to Jesus. Names In the bible often hold far more meaning and importance than what we are accustomed to in our time. Names often spoke of a persons character and even their destiny. The same is true for Jesus.

We begin our series today with a name for Jesus found at the very heart of the Christmas story. Emmanuel.

Matthew 1:18-19

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

Mary and Joseph are pledged or betrothed. Betrothal was similar to our idea of engagement, except it was legally binding. During this betrothal Mary has been found to be pregnant.

Here we need to slow down and walk with the characters in the story.

Mary was likely a teenager, pledged to be married. The gospel of Luke records that she was visited by an angle to tell her that she would bear a son. She knows the stigma that will bring. The potential punishment of stoning by the law. But, she says yes.

Jospeh. He’s been working hard to prepare his home. He loves Mary, they have hopes and dreams together. And now this.

This is the scene, this is the confusion, the tension, the hurt, the frustration and fear. Joseph ponders his options.

This is the story of God coming to be with us.

Matthew 1:20-21

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

One night in the midst of this turmoil an angel of the Lord comes to him in a dream.

The angels message confirms Mary’s story that it was a work of the Lord in her life. She was telling the truth.

Joseph needed to go ahead and taker her as his wife. He had a part to play in what God was doing too

Matthew 1:22-23

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

As Matthew is recalling the story of Jesus’ birth, he pauses to help is readers make a connection.

Quoting from the Prophet Isaiah hundreds of years before Jesus was born, Matthew recalls the time when another child was born as a sign of God’s presence with his people and his faithfulness to them.

In the birth of Jesus, Matthew sees the prophet Isiah’s words fulfilled in a much more meaningful and powerful way.

What was true hundreds of years before in the nation of Judah, is now fulfilled completely in the coming of Jesus.

Jesus is not just another sign- he is literally God with us, stepping into our messy and complicated story for our salvation.

Emanuel is God with us.

Over the next few weeks as we journey towards Christmas, we will look at a few of the other names given to Jesus in the scriptures.

We will see Jesus as a wonderful counsellor, the prince of peace. He is Savior, sent to save his people from their sins. Then finally on Christmas Eve, we will see Jesus as the light of the world, dispelling darkness and brining hope

Each of these titles is revealing of the very nature and character of Jesus and they invite us to know him more. That’s certainly true of Emmanuel

The name Emmanuel invites us to recognize that God is with us. To believe that He is not aloof, unaware of the messiness and challenges of our daily lives. But he is with us, regardless of how we feel.

He is Emmanuel, God with us.

Ronda Paulson is the Founder and Executive Director of Isaiah 117 House. Isaiah 117 House is a nonprofit which provides transitional support for children in foster care and for those who come around those who come around those kids during that time. The Isaiah 117 House was founded on the scripture passage Isaiah 1:17
“Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.”

Isaiah 117 House Rockingham website link

https://linktr.ee/isaiah117houserockinghamcova

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Church of the Nazarene East Rockingham Campus

ThanksGIVING Part 2 East Rock

“Generosity flows from a heart of compassion.”

Today we are concluding our 2-part teaching series on ThanksGIVING.

This series is not about a percentage to give, or a guilt trip into doing something. This is about coming to see God’s compassionate heart lived out through our generous actions in the world.

Today we are going to look at a story in the bible of people giving beyond their means.

Before we can dive into unpacking the teaching text of 2 Corinthians 8, we need to get a running start at what’s happening.

During this time the believers in Jerusalem were really struggling.

Scholars aren’t sure what exactly was happening in Jerusalem that led to such dire circumstances. Whatever the reason, the bible tells us people in Jerusalem were in need.

While all this is going on in Jerusalem, the Apostle Paul was traveling around the Roman empire preaching and teaching the gospel and he wanted to help.

As he was going to different cities to preach, he was collecting money to give to the church in Jerusalem to relieve their suffering.

As we come to our teaching text in 2 Corinthians 8, Paul is highlighting the generosity of one specific group of believers from the region of Macedonia.

2 Corinthians 8:1-2

And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.

As the Christians in Jerusalem were struggling, the Christians in Macedonia were having a hard time as well.

Here again, we aren’t exactly sure what was to blame for their plight. It’s believed that persecution of Christians was severe in this region effecting their ability to provide for basic needs.

Whatever the cause was, the language Paul uses to describe their condition is stark. He said they were under a “severe trial”. And it was so severe was the situation left them in extreme poverty.

The word here literally translated means “down to the depths poverty” or we might say- they were at rock bottom or dirt poor.

For all that their circumstances had taken from them, it did not take their joy. It didn’t stop them from taking action to love others.

But notice that as Paul holds up the example of the Macedonians, he says “Let me tell you about the grace God has given them”

This whole conversation about generosity is because the grace of God. It was his divine enablement, his favor at work in their lives.

2 Corinthians 5:3-4

because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

We don’t know how much they gave because Paul never tells us. And that’s probably because the amount doesn’t matter at all. Generosity is not about an amount.

Paul says they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond. I think what he is trying to say here is that they gave more than what was comfortable.

It was sacrificial giving, it stretched them, and they wanted to do it.

2 Corinthians 8:5

And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.

For the Christians of Macedonia, their generosity was an outflow of their relationship to the Lord. They saw their generosity as and expression of love and devotion to the Lord.

They realized it was part of their service to him as their Lord and savior. Even in the midst of their own extreme trial and poverty, giving wasn’t an optional part of their lives. It was a priority.

That’s the Macedonian generosity.

For the remainder of Chapter 8 and all of Chapter 9 Paul talks and teaches about generosity following the Macedonian example.

I want to share some things that really stood out to me about the Macedonians story.

Here’s the question I have been asking: How do I take a step of faith in that direction?

The answer would be different for each of us, of course, but a few things have really stood out to me in this story.

They gave themselves to the Lord, they received his grace.

The kind of generosity the bible calls for, the kind that the Macedonians show us- It won’t happen on our own. If we are going to experience the kind of generosity we read about here- we have to start by giving ourselves to the Lord. We have to give our lives to him. We need to be experiencing new life in Christ, his transforming grace at work in our lives.

The Macedonians joyfully refused to miss out on what God was doing in their world.

They caught the passion and the vision of how God was moving to meet the tangible needs of people around them, and they weren’t going to miss it for anything. They believed in the mission of the church and they were willing to leverage their lives to see the mission happen. And friends, we too have to see the connection between our generosity and the movement of God’s kingdom in our world.

Finally, they acted on the call to generous living.

True generosity wont stay hidden inside our hearts or our minds, it MUST be expressed through actions in our world. We can talk about giving and generosity every Sunday of the year and not be any closer to what God really desires for our lives. We have to act. We have to give. Just do it.

That’s what the Macedonians did. That’s why we are talking about them 2000 years later.

Will you live into the grace of giving and see your world changed?