Jonathan Edwards preaches in his sermon The Excellency of Christ that a feeble infant could conquer Satan:

His infinite condescension marvelously appeared in the manner of his birth. He was brought forth in a stable because there was no room for them in the inn. The inn was taken up by others, that were looked upon as persons of greater account.

The Blessed Virgin, being poor and despised, was turned or shut out. Though she was in such necessitous circumstances, yet those that counted themselves her betters would not give place to her; and therefore, in the time of her travail, she was forced to betake herself to a stable; and when the child was born, it was wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. There Christ lay a little infant, and there he eminently appeared as a lamb.

But yet this feeble infant, born thus in a stable, and laid in a manger, was born to conquer and triumph over Satan, that roaring lion. He came to subdue the mighty powers of darkness, and make a show of them openly, and so to restore peace on earth, and to manifest God's good-will towards men, and to bring glory to God in the highest, according as the end of his birth was declared by the joyful songs of the glorious hosts of angels appearing to the shepherds at the same time that the infant lay in the manger; whereby his divine dignity was manifested.

HT: DG

In his book, Radical, David Platt recounts his experience teaching in the underground church in China:

“…Then finally you round the corner and walk into a small room.

                Despite its size, sixty believers have crammed into it. They are all ages, from precious little girls to seventy-year-old men. They are sitting either on the floor or on small stools, lined shoulder to shoulder, huddled together with Bibles in their laps. The roof is low, and one light bulb dangles from the middle of the ceiling as the sole source of illumination.

                No sound system.

                No band.

                No guitar.

                No entertainment.

                No cushioned chairs.

                No heated or air-conditioned building.

                Nothing but the people of God and the Word of God.

                And strangely, that’s enough.

                God’s word is enough for millions of believers who gather in house churches just like this one.His Word is enough for millions of other believers who huddle in African jungles, South American rain forests, and Middle Easter cities.

                But is his Word enough for us?”

We’ve been blessed with many wonderful things.  However, is his Word enough?

Here’s a challenge to you from Pastor Jamie to prepare your heart for the focus of our Messiah in December:

Grasp the overall sweep of the story of God in the Bible in 2 weeks. 

 Week 1

Sunday - Genesis 1-3 
Monday - Genesis 12-17
Tuesday - Exodus 1-3, 12
Wednesday - Exodus 14, 19-20 
Thursday - Joshua 23-24; Judges 1-2
Friday - 1 Samuel 8, 16; 2 Samuel 7, 11; Psalm 105 
Saturday - Isaiah 7, 9, 11, 35, 52-53, 65

Week 2

Sunday - Jeremiah 30-33; Ezekiel 36-37, Zechariah 9; Malachi 3-4 
Monday - Matt. 1:1; Mark 1:1-15; John 1:1-18; 5:39-46; Luke 24 
Tuesday - Mark 14:1-16:8 
Wednesday - Acts 1-2; 13:13-49 
Thursday - Rom. 1:1-6; 16-17; 3:9-31; 5:12-21; 8:18-23; 1 Cor. 15:1-23 
Friday - Heb. 1:1-4; 10:19-12:2 
Saturday - Revelation 1; 20-22

We’ve been blessed with much, so we have much to be thankful for. Gratitude is more than an attitude—it is also an action. One of the ways our attitude of thankfulness becomes an action is by blessing others. 

I stopped by Care Net in Rockland a couple of weeks ago and asked the director what things people can be involved in and help with. Carol Green sent me a list of tangible things as well as ministry opportunities that you could do to bless others. If you're looking for a way to be used, there are many opportunities of service for both men and women. Much of the tangible things such as repairs or donations the men can be involved with. Note especially the volunteer services toward the end. I'll post what she sent below:

Care Net needs

(Please check with center before giving or purchasing any items.  Gift certificates for lowe's, home depot, walmart, target, etc.  are welcomed and encouraged!)   ♥ indicates urgent need
 materials needed:

•   ♥Update furniture for waiting room and counseling  room: New  or reupholster existing (couch, loveseat, two chairs)
• New Front door: (est. $600)
• Dehumidifier for cellar (est. $159)
• New table for conference room: 6-foot table, wood ($70)              

materials & services

• ♥Remove and replace unsafe steps
• ♥Paint client entrance (labor and supplies)
• ♥Walkway 1 and 2:  replace UNSAFE paved walkways at entrance and back yard with SAFE walkways
• Paint house trim, porch, and garage (labor and supplies)
• Complete kitchen remodel: floors, countertops, cabinets, wall covering, possibly appliances  
• Ceiling fans with lights (2 @ est. $75 each)
• Back deck railing remove and replace with legal railing
• Pressure washing for exterior walls and roof areas. 

blessing shed

• Shelves for baby clothes, accessories, diapers (cost: $200.00) 
• Racks for maternity and children's clothing (2) round clothing racks  
• Bins to organize clothing, shoes, etc. (need $200 to purchase 20 bins)
• Dehumidifier (cost: $159)

volunteer services only

• Parenting instructor: 5 hours per week instructing young mothers how to raise their children – curriculum will be provided
• Landscaping: Weeding, mulching, planting, trimming, snow shoveling, salt/sand for ice            
• Electricians: needed to be "on call” for center emergencies
• Mechanics: needed to help clients with their cars            
• Window Washers: people to wash exterior windows (upstairs & downstairs)
• Porch screens installed

♥ GREATEST NEED: PRAYER♥

I'm reading an excellent book on Christian ministry by Paul Tripp called Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change. The author reminds us from 2 Corinthinans 5:20 that we are called to be ambassadors for Christ (see passage below). The implications for an ambassadorial life are tremendous if we would take the time to think about them. Here are a few I've thought of:

1. The ambassador is not the king.                                                                                                                                                                                  He doesn't set the agenda, but lives for the impulses of someone greater than himself.
2. The ambassador is to reflect the values of the kingdom and king as a representative.                                                                                               He is to live out something greater than himself.
3. The ambassador's work is never done as a representative.                                                                                                                             He must always represent the kingdom.
4. The ambassador is intentionally looking for opportunities to share the glories of the king and his kingdom.                          He doesn't just work on the church campus or on Sunday. He does his most important ambassadorial work during the week wherever he happens to be.
5. The ambassador must be in communication with the written will of the king.                                                                                                He understands the agenda and the desire of the king and seeks to pursue obedience.
6. The ambassador depends on the resources of the king and kingdom to do his job of representing.                                   In a foreign land he will run out of resources quickly and needs to appeal and request from the king the promised resources to get the job of representing in his life and words completed.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Cor. 5:17-21


Think of some other things things an ambassador has to know or do to represent his king and add them to the comments below.

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
-C. S. Lewis

Rebecca Pippert:

"What does it mean that anything is the lord of our life?

Just this: Whatever controls us is our lord. The person who seeks power is controlled by power. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by the people he or she wants to please. We do not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our life. If Jesus is our Lord, then he is the one who controls, he has the ultimate power. There are no bargains. We cannot manipulate him by playing "let's make a deal." If he is Lord, the only option open to us is to do his will, to let him have control. Jesus remains Lord whether we accept him or not. His lordship, his essence, is not affected by our choice."

Your answer to this question reveals the state of your heart.

"If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?" 
-God Is the Gospel

Sunday morning Don Champeon will be with us to update their situation in Venezuela. If you remember when he was here last time, he shared that the situation there was tense and something probably had to give. He'll share in the Bible study hour and then in the AM service. 

In the evening, we'll revisit a topic we began in June that is vital for the believer to grasp. We'll look at Part 2 of the truth that God's display of His glory and the deepest joy of our soul in Him are one and the same thing.

Here are the points I'll attempt to explain:

• Sin is sacrilege and suicide
• Heaven will be an ever-increasing joy in an inexhaustible God
• Hell is chosen by unbelievers when they refuse to be happy in God
• Evangelism is laboring to waken a taste of God in the nations
• Preaching is luring people out from sin's pleasures to an all-satisfying God