The point is that Christmas is not a singular event disconnected from the rest of our lives—or eternity. Christmas is a continuation of God’s redemptive plan for us.
There would be no redemption story without a Christmas story, and there cannot be a Christmas story without a more extensive narrative. The Father had to bring the Son into the world in a particular way to fulfill the promise of Genesis 3:15.
Enslaving sin had captured us and sentenced us to death. We needed a Savior. Jesus swallowed death with His death. He suffered so we would not suffer eternally. The Father’s Christmas gift to us was much more than a baby in a manger. https://lifeovercoffee.com/a-theology-of-gift-giving/
The shocking and inspiring story of Sophie Ottaway.
Watch the full interview here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/podcast/ep-490-sophie-ottaway-engineered-at-birth-to-be-a-girl/
Focus on the Cause, not the Effect, so you can remove the cause and not be affected by the effect.
A local church’s worship value is not primarily about the music but the lifestyle because you never ask, “Are you worshiping?” The reason is that we worship all the time. God made us for worship—wired us for worship, you could say.
Worship is part of what it means to be image-bearers. Who could do otherwise? The better question is, “What or whom do we worship?” https://lifeovercoffee.com/three-characteristics-of-a-fantastic-local-church/
Whenever a person chooses sinful anger, he is, in effect, giving the other person control over him. It’s counterintuitive. In his anger, he is like a marionette, a puppet on a string.
Anger toward someone is the total submission of their thoughts, attitudes, emotions, and behaviors to the other person. It is not self-control, as governed by the Spirit of God, but someone out of control or under the control of another spirit. https://lifeovercoffee.com/podcast/ep-110-help-for-the-angry-person/
