When I was a young man living in Canada, where hockey is king, there was a man that started playing for the Edmonton Oilers named Wayne Gretzky, # 99. The Oilers were not my team but it was hard not to watch and follow his career. Wayne Gretzky played the game of Hockey like no other person before or since, setting many records in the NHL. He has a nickname in part because it phonetically works with his last name, but mostly because it describes the kind of player he was. He is known as “The Great Gretzky!” Great in his name refers to the fact that he is a hockey player who played in a way that was beyond the normal of his peers. 

In Luke 2 we read about the Angels announcing the birth of Jesus with this famous statement: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”  The third Sunday of Advent focuses our attention on Joy, but Advent joy is no ordinary joy. This is Great Joy! Joy that is beyond the normal description of joy. In 1 Peter 1 this joy is described as “inexpressible and glorious joy!” In 1 Peter 1 we are going to see what is the foundation and reason for a joy of this kind. 

The devil wants us to settle for things that bring a shadow of joy and happiness through pleasure in the things of this world. But as with all things from this temporal world, that joy is temporary and even shallow. The joy we receive in the Advent of Jesus is Great Joy! Are you looking for Joy? Great Joy can be yours in Christ Jesus. Join me this Sunday as we discover the Great Joy of Advent.

For the next few weeks we will be back in the Gospel of John. This Sunday we will be in John 10 where Jesus makes 2 of his “I Am” statements: I am the gate and I am the good shepherd. These “I Am” statements remind us of the name God gave himself in Exodus 3 – I am that I am. In the “I Am” statements, Jesus is making a clear statement that he is that same God that spoke to Moses, but is now in human flesh. 

Shepherds, with their sheep, were a common sight in the ancient near east and were used all throughout scripture to illustrate spiritual truth. Most notably Psalm 23 is a prophetic description of what The Messiah would be like. In Jesus’ claim to be the messiah he identifies himself as not only a shepherd of the sheep, but as The Good Shepherd. The word “good” is the operative word that adds clarity to the kind of shepherd Jesus would be. Good means more than just good at his job, or better in comparison to others. The word good in this statement means the perfect one! The one who is worthy and will fulfill the role of that shepherd perfectly. 

The interesting thing about sheep is that they are rather dumb animals and incapable of their own care and protection. In this story, guess who the sheep are? That’s right, it’s us! Shepherds are tasked with the care and protection of the sheep, and Jesus, as our good shepherd will do that perfectly for us. When we admit our need for God’s care and protection, Jesus comes as our good shepherd. Join me this Sunday as we look at Jesus teaching on the Good Shepherd

Since the fall of man as recorded in Genesis 3 there has been a striving among people for greatness in this world. In the book of Genesis we see this happening in the first offspring, Cain and Abel. Cain wanted to be better than his brother so much that when his sacrifice was rejected and Abel’s was accepted, Cain became enraged and killed his brother. The Tower of Babel is an example of mankind reaching for greatness to rival God. That pursuit for greatness is seen in the rivalry between Esau and Jacob, as well as Joseph and his 10 older brothers. In this Sunday’s text, Matthew 20:20-28 we see the quest for greatness in the eyes of the world is still very much part of the human experience. The disciples are inquiring from Jesus who will be the greatest in His new Kingdom – the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus’ response had to shock the disciples – it may shock you. The way to greatness in the Kingdom of Jesus comes through serving others. Join us this Sunday as we look at the Healthy Habit of serving others as a way to love what God loves.

Serving Opportunities

Click Here for a response form to serve at our church

Cape Fear Network Strategic Partnerships

First Fruits in Wilmington

Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity

NC Mission Opportunities

SEND Relief

Additional Resources:

Book Chapter – Self-Right­eous Ser­vice Ver­sus True Service

Book Exerpt – Ser­vice: A Prac­ti­cal Guide

Book Exerpt – The Grace of Giving

This Sunday we are starting a Church Wide Campaign – Healthy Habits for Spiritual Growth. The elders of the church have established a discipleship pathway, through which, we desire to lead our congregation to a closer relationship with God as well as strengthen the ministry of our church. Healthy Habits is one phase of the discipleship pathway. Over the next 6 weeks what I preach on Sunday will be reinforced through a Bible Study during the week. All of our Small Groups will be doing these studies, but if you are not in a small group you can do them individually with the materials provided in our weekly newsletter / digital program. We are asking our congregation to make a commitment to participate in the Healthy Habits Campaign in the following ways: 1) to attend or watch on YouTube each of the Sunday services 2) to do the Bible Study through the week, either in a group or on your own and 3) regardless of where you are in your spiritual journey, ask God to reveal areas of your life He desires to change during our Healthy Habits Campaign. You can share your commitment digitally or by paper copy and placing them in the plastic receptacle on the stage at the services this Sunday.

This Week’s Resources

• Book – The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg
• Book – The SPIRIT of the Disciplines – by Dallas Willard
• Book – Celebration of Discipline – by Richard Foster
• Article – Duty or Delight
• Book – The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Reading & Prayer App – Lectio 365

Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week with the Triumphal Entry of Jesus on Palm Sunday. The details of Palm Sunday definitely stand out from just about anything else in the New Testament. Jesus rides on a donkey with people singing, laying down their coats and palm branches for the donkey to walk on. The pathway is described in detail and Jesus is celebrated rather than condemned. The crowd that celebrated Jesus on Palm Sunday would chant “Crucify him! Crucify him!” in just a few short days. It is natural to ask what is happening on Palm Sunday? 

The Old Testament is rich with prophecies concerning Jesus and the work He came to do. This passage is the fulfillment of a lot of those prophecies.  The Jews of that day were looking for a Warrior King like David to fight their nationalistic battles for them. Jesus comes to offer himself as King, just not the kind of King they were looking for. The fact that Jesus rode on a donkey conveys the type of Kingdom he would offer the people; a Kingdom of peace. 

Palm Sunday is one of the happiest days in all the gospel narratives but it is an echo of the saddest day in all of the Old Testament; the day God’s Glory departed the temple. It is not a coincidence Jesus traveled the same path back to the Temple that the Spirit followed when it departed in the Old Testament. On Palm Sunday Jesus offers his Glory that would at first be rejected by the people, only to be ultimately fulfilled in the Glory of the Cross. It is through the cross that Jesus offers to be the King of our lives, inviting us to enter His eternal kingdom and Glorify Him. Join us Sunday for The Return of the King.