A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth.
Luke 1:39-40 (NLT)
Why should I make the journey to engage in community?
In community, the ______________ of God comes alive in me.
At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:41 (NLT)
In community, the _________________ of God comes alive in me.
Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”
Luke 1:42-45 (NLT)
In community, the ___________________ of God comes alive in me.
Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him. His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.”
Luke 1:46-55 (NLT)
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.
Most people want to have a perfect Christmas and it leads to busyness, family dysfunction, loneliness and financial stress. In this series, we will give God’s remedies to these Christmas ailments.
Wes Olds is a 1993 graduate of The University of Kentucky and received his Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary in 2002. Prior to coming to Grace Church in 2006, Wes began a multi-cultural, urban church called The Rock-La Roca United Methodist Church in Lexington, KY (2002-2006). While there, he co-founded Lexington’s “Room in the Inn”, a ministry of hospitality and shelter for homeless men. From 1997-2002, Wes was a Pastor with Youth and Evangelism at Centenary United Methodist Church in Lexington. From 1994-1997, Wes was Pastor with Youth at Christ United Methodist Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and from 1991-1994 was the Director of Youth Ministries at Versailles United Methodist Church in central Kentucky.
Wes has served as an adjunct instructor at Asbury University, a ministry mentor with Asbury Theological Seminary and has been a contributing writer for several projects with Group Publishing and United Methodist Communications. He has been a guest speaker and worship leader for retreats at local churches and conferences for youth and adults.
Wes is a leadership coach for Spiritual Leaders, Incorporated (SLI) training pastors on creating generative leadership environments. Through SLI, Wes has facilitated yearlong incubators for over 75 pastors in Florida, Kentucky, and Kansas.
Wes is married to Becky and they have one teenage son named Caleb. Wes loves music and plays guitar, enjoys fishing, sports, history and hanging out with his friends and family.
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How to Have the Perfect Christmas - Part 3 - CC | Sermons | Grace Church
A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth.
Luke 1:39-40 (NLT)
Why should I make the journey to engage in community?
In community, the ______________ of God comes alive in me.
At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:41 (NLT)
In community, the _________________ of God comes alive in me.
Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”
Luke 1:42-45 (NLT)
In community, the ___________________ of God comes alive in me.
Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him. His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.”
Luke 1:46-55 (NLT)
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.
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