Walking With The Greats - The Life of Mary, Jesus' Mother

This week's service can be watched at
http://www.kbmlive.tv/

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"Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." 1 Corinthians 10:11

Today's Scripture Text: Luke 1:26-56

Today We Are Looking At The Life of Mary, Jesus' Mother.  What Took Mary’s Life from Ordinary to Extraordinary?

If there was anyone who was average, it was Mary.  We first hear about her when she is 15 years old and it was one of the most exciting times in her life.  It was normal in that culture, for a 15 year old girl to get married.

Suddenly God steps in and says to Mary, "I have better plans for you!"

LIFE LESSON #1: You May Have Plans, But God Has BIGGER Plans!

1. Character - vs. 30

FOUND FAVOUR - 'one's character is discovered and has attracted blessings.'

Mary made a choice to have godly character and it attracted God's Favour.  The Angel declared "God has seen your character and it has attracted His blessing.”

LIFE LESSON #2: We Don’t Live A Godly Life Because We Are Blessed By God; We Are Blessed By God Because We Live A Godly Life!

The blessing came on Mary's live simply because she desired to please God.

Seek God - His Favour Will Follow

2. Commitment - vs. 38

Mary had committed herself to God.

SERVANT - 'one who gives himself up wholly to another’s will'

Mary was His servant.  She said 'yes', no strings attached.

LIFE LESSON #3: When We Choose To Submit OUR Life, We Choose to Permit HIS Will!

We have to let go of our own will.  Some of us are strong-willed - and not only the outspoken ones.  Are you willing to say, 'not my will but thine be done'?  Saying 'Yes' to God will come at a high cost.  Mary being committed to God and being with child (out of wedlock) came at a high cost!

LIFE LESSON #4 When You Say “YES” to God Others Will Be Blessed.

CHALLENGE: Will You Say “YES” At Any Cost?

LIFE LESSON #5 Don’t Go To Just Anybody – Go To Somebody Who Has Wisdom & Faith

3. Continual Praise - vs. 46-47

LIFE LESSON #6 “In All Things Give God Praise”

When you are in the midst of a problem, let praise rise up within you.

CHALLENGE: When you are committed to God, He will use you.  But it won't necessarily happen the way you expected.  Your commitment will be tested.  Those around you won't have necessarily heard from God as you have.  A committed person says 'YES'; a committed person continues to praise Him - to rejoice in Him.  Even when those around you may not understand what God has said and is doing with you, stay committed and continue to say with Mary, "Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour!".

God, I am committing myself to develop godly character; I will lift up a praise when things get challenging while doing your will!

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Walking With The Greats - The Life of Joseph, Jesus' Step-Father

This week's service can be watched at
http://www.kbmlive.tv/

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"Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." 1 Corinthians 10:11

Today's Scripture Text: Matthew 1:18-25

• Have you been in a dilemma you can't solve?
• Have you ever had a situation where you weren't 100% sure how to handle it the right way?
• Has someone ever let you down?
• Have you ever felt alone and didn't understand what's happening?

Then today's message is for you!

Today We Are Looking At The Life of Joseph, Jesus' Step-Father

Joseph was not just part of the supporting cast - he was hand-picked by God to handle the task of raising Jesus!  So what kind of man did God choose to raise His only son?  The qualities He saw in Joseph, He is looking for in every believer.

1. Righteousness - vs. 19
   
   RIGHTEOUS - 'desiring to observe the Laws of God'.  Righteousness is a characteristic of God.  The Word does not say that Joseph 'became' a righteous man; it says he 'was' a righteous man. The Bible records that Joseph was LISTENING and Not Speaking! It had nothing to do with what he said and everything to do with how he lived.
   
   CHALLENGE: If you never spoke a word, what message would you give to those around you?
   
   LIFE LESSON #1: God’s Not Listening for Rhetoric - but Looking for RighteousnessRighteous is not based on your ability to debate or persuade.
   
   
2. Slow to Act - vs. 20
   
   The text says, 'Joseph considered this' - What was Joseph considering?  He was
   considering that he didn't want to shame Mary!  Wow!  Now that's character!  How would we have responded in the same situation?
   
   CONSIDER - 'To Deliberate, to Carefully Weigh One’s Actions'
   
   LIFE LESSON #2: When you are Slow to React, You Will Stay On Track.
   
   When situations don't go right, we need to be careful not to react, but to stop and patiently think through the situation. Passionate people need to learn not to be impetuous - while keeping their passion.
   
   
3. Quick to Obey - vs. 24
   
   In Matthew 1:20, God spoke to Joseph through an angel, but in Matthew 2:13-15 and Matthew 2:19-21 God spoke to Joseph through a dream.  Either way, God spoke and Joseph obeyed.  It would have been easy for Joseph to make excuses or come up with his own interpretation of the dream, but because of his character, he obeyed God.
   
   LIFE LESSON #3: We Don’t Live By "What Feels Good, Do It!"; We Live by "What God Says, DO IT!"
   
   Joseph had an assignment to impact lives.  The same holds true for all believers.  People's lives are impacted by how we live.  Live Right - Follow God's Word!  Joseph had character that counts!  Character that allowed him to trust God!  Your life can be an open book when you have the character that Joseph had.

CHALLENGE: If you never spoke a word, what message would your life give to those around you?  If there was a 'wiki-leak' on your life and the things you did in private were exposed, would you have some things to answer for; would it destroy you and your witness?  If you could never speak another word, would your life lead people to Christ; to God's mercy & grace?  Ask God to help you to bring glory and honour to Him through your life, both in public and in private.

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Please log your comments on how this week's message has been a blessing to you!  Simply click on the comments link immediately below this week's blog. Any comments already submitted will appear and you can comment below them.
(All comments are reviewed before publishing.) 

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NOTE:
The Blogger Navbar includes a button called "Share". When blog readers visit the 'HWC Sunday Message' blog, they can click "Share" to post the blog's URL to Twitter, Facebook, or Google Reader. If they navigate directly to an individual blog post, clicking "Share" in the navbar also lets them share the post by email. Once you have left your comment, please share this post on Facebook. This will allow many others the opportunity to visit the 'HWC Sunday Message' blog and be blessed by the message.  You can also subscribe to the blog with RSS feeds.  CLICK HERE to subscribe to HWC Sunday Messages with RSS. 

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