One of the things that the Reformation did was restore a proper understanding of God’s grace. As I’m sure you can imagine, there would have been mass confusion over God’s grace. Is it something that can be bought?

No doubt, God’s grace was misunderstood during the time of the Reformation, but God’s grace continues to be misunderstood today. Fewer people seem to think it’s something that can be bought, but other misunderstandings have taken its place.

Hopefully, Romans 11:1-6 now makes a little more sense. Because it’s precisely what the Apostle Paul is doing in this portion of Romans 11 - he was helping the church in Rome better understand God’s grace.

This past Sunday we had the privilege of having Rev. Doug Hart preach from Psalm 111.

This past Sunday we had the privilege of having Rev. Doug Hart preach from Psalm 110.

This past Sunday, we had the privilege of having Rev. Taylor King preach from 1 John 2:28-3:3.

If someone was to ask you how Christ’s resurrection is impacting your life right now, what would you say? Even for the seasoned Christian it’s a difficult question.

Well, that’s precisely the question that Peter answers for us in our passage. We learn from 1 Peter 1:3-9 that Christians can have great hope (v. 3), security (vv. 4-7), and assurance (vv. 8-9) in life because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the King, but what we see in Zechariah 9:9-10 is that Jesus’ Kingship and Kingdom was not established by the tip of the sword, but rather through the humility of the cross.

This Sunday we had the privilege of having Rev. John Carroll preach from 2 Corinthians 9:8.

A successful career, wealth, and personal autonomy are not what will give value or meaning to your life.

Only faith in Jesus Christ gives your life meaning. And then, out of His abundant grace, God bestows more blessing upon you, like the blessing of your family.

Your legacy will not be in your work; your lasting legacy will be in your home.

May we all abandon worldly hope, self-reliance and empty religion, and look where Micah points us - a humble shepherd-king born in Bethlehem who came to make peace for us all by the blood of his cross.

Just as God led the people of Israel out of bondage and slavery, so Jesus leads you and me out of bondage and slavery.

God states that he is worthy of all glory, therefore, you and I should believe that he is worthy of all glory.

Why does God need to be glorified? Why should we glorify him? And lastly, is it even possible to glorify him?

This Sunday we had the privilege of having one of Providence’s temporary elders, Rev. Doug Hart, preach from Psalm 27.

Death, which is the thing that causes us the most pain and sadness in this life, the Christian can face with confident hope.

And of course that hope isn’t found in anything that you have done or in anything that you can do - rather the source of the Christian’s resurrection hope is only found in Jesus Christ.

We might say, “Jesus is the reason for the season,” or “don’t leave Christ out of Christmas,” or faithfully hold the line on, “Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays,” but in reality Christmas has turned into a season of excessiveness, consumerism, self-indulgence, gluttony.

Consumerism in the worst possible sense has almost completely taken over Christmas.

My point isn’t to condemn Christmas and all its fun traditions, rather, my point is the actual Christmas story, the one we just read from Luke, emphasizes the exact opposite of the stereotypical Christmas experience!

Luke 2:1-7 stresses the simplicity of Christ’s birth.

We all have a spiritual addiction to sin. Jesus said it most clearly when he said, “no one is good except God.”

You and I need outside help. We need a spiritual intervention!

And I think that’s precisely what we see in our passage this morning. We see the Lord taking drastic measures in order to redeem sinful humanity.

And how would he do it? By becoming just like you and me. By leaving the heavenly throne room and taking on flesh.

Because ultimately, in order for there to be hope of redemption, God had to intervene. The God of the universe would momentarily suspend the natural laws that govern our world in order to miraculously create a life that would redeem us from our sins.

As many of you probably know, on October 31st 1517, one of the most famous events in all of history took place. Martin Luther, a young Roman Catholic monk at the time, nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church in Germany sparking what we refer to as the Protestant Reformation.

Naturally, many protestant churches celebrate the last Sunday in October as Reformation Day. Last Sunday was Reformation Sunday, but we’re pretending that it’s today this year. Next year I’ll try to get it right.

I think it’s fair to say that in many ways the Protestant Reformation mirrors the passage of Scripture I just read about the rediscovery of God's law under King Josiah. Josiah’s discovery of the Law and the Protestant Reformation share something in common: they both shared a deep value for the Word of God.

This Sunday we had the privilege of having Mr. Brock Page visit Providence and preach from 1 Peter 5:6-7.

Brock worked with Pastor Jake at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Florence, SC, where he is currently the pastoral assistant. Brock also attends LAMP Seminary.

This past Sunday while Pastor Jake was away, we had the privilege of hearing Rev. Doug Hart preach on Psalm 77.

There are so many cliches that tell you and me how to live our lives: “Carpe diem.” “Live life to the fullest.” “Make the most of every moment.”

These cliches assume that this life is all we have and therefore we must squeeze every drop out of it. All there is, is the here and now, so you better make the most of it. Seek all the pleasure you can find. Accumulate all the wealth you can.

But Jesus gives us a very different perspective.

One of the challenges of work, often, isn't the work itself. It’s prioritizing the right tasks. Task triage is always harder than the tasks themselves. It’s true for our careers, our personal lives, and the church as well.

Acts 2:42-47 is such a beautiful passage because it encourages and reminds the people of God to put first things first. To continue to prioritize the right things.