My Notes

 Follow the Ark The people of Israel were crossing over to the promised land after their wilderness journey. There were specific instructions for this crossing over. The crossing over required overcoming a flooding river Jordan.  Verse: Joshua 3:1-3,13,17 1 Early the next morning Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia Grove[a] and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing.  2 Three days later the Israelite officers went through the camp,  3 giving these instructions to the people: “ When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and follow them 13 The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.” 17 Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riv...

 Merry Christmas!

God of the impossible  Mighty power of God to do impossible things Verse: Luke 1:37 37 For the word of God will never fail To understand the God of the impossible, we need to know two aspects -  The Work of God and  The Ways of God (Character) Verse: Psalm 103:7 7 He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. There was a revelation that Moses had that the common people didn't receive. And let us try to understand what was revealed to Moses through Genealogy of Jesus Genealogy The genealogy may be a bunch of names but there is something that we could learn.  Verse: Matthew 1:18 18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. But before this big announcement there were 42 names. Of the many names there was a little boy David. His story is best known for the killing of Go...

 Title The story of Christmas was a disruption.... Mary was betrothed to be married to Joseph. As in any marriage preparation, there was an excitement among both families. But God came in and gave Mary and Joseph a purpose - to bring the savior into the world. This turn in this preparation was not easy but we remember Mary and Joseph because she yielded to God's plan.  This disruption (Mary's encounter) has three important points 1) Favor Favor There was something about Mary. God favored her. It is really something to be a favorite. Verse: Luke 1:30  30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God !  And why did this favor was bestowed. What it about Mary that God turn around and pay attention. Something about her heart - Humbleness Verse: Luke 1:48 48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. The state of the heart is what God looks into. And the nature of the heart is only...

 Divine Interventions Verse: Matthew 1:20 20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit Joseph and Mary was destined to be vessels through which the Messiah would come. But he was disappointed with the news that Mary was carrying. He wanted to drop the whole plan. But God intervened to help him carry through. Do not thwart the call of God!!! Do not Quit!!! The call of God on Joseph was simple. He was to take care of Jesus through childhood. It wasn't fancy and what made it worse, the news of Mary's pregnancy.   How does this apply to our life? Our life has a purpose. We complain, quit what God intended for us to do. But don't give up. God is with you to fulfill his purpose. And when finally when Joseph decided to go ahead, he probably had to deal with gossipers. It was probably hard to conceal the news ...

 Aligning Myself to God God created us and the first story in the Bible was one where he allowed them the choice between the tree of good and evil. God commanded them to follow him but our choice to follow him should be our own. And God is calling us to align ourselves to His will. The different words we use for this alignment is Repentance. Repentance is turning around and turning to God. And God is so loving that he shows us where we need to align ourselves to God. And this is specific to the person. God is a personal God. And that is why we have testimony time in church. We hear about the unique way that God works with people to have them aligned to Him. Alignment also means that there is a standard that needs to be adhered to. The standard is the Bible (Word of God).  Verse: Isaiah 55:6-11 6 Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. 7 Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he...

Christmas Wallhanging (Maiden Mystery Mercy of Christmas) The event of Christmas have 5 women (Maiden) as part of the introduction - Tamar, Rajan, Ruth, Bethsheba, Mary. Mary was brave enough to accept God’s plan for her life. And that is why we have Christmas. The other women took bold steps and God brought this out. There were all women who didn’t enjoy a good repute among the people of her time.  Well, Christmas was a risk for the people at that time. It is a risk today as well. Rahab Rahab was a prostitute and was a woman of disrepute. She was also running a place to stay for travellers. And so she was also part of the conversations that happened at her place of business. And she had heard of Israel and the fright that captivated the people of Jericho.  Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them (Josh 2:8) The call of God lead her to divine appointment. She had to get to the two men and speak to them.  I know that the Lord ...