Pastor Prince

What are you afraid of?  Each of us has our own set of fears!  The scriptures talk about fear often.  One of those times involved a prophecy about the Messiah. In Isaiah 7, King Ahaz and all his officials are terrified!  Two nations were marching against them, and they were more than capable of destroying them. In that time, a message for Ahaz came to the prophet Isaiah.  The message was that he wasn't to be afraid.  God was going to deal with the nations marching against him. Isaiah said God wanted Ahaz to name a sign that his words were true.  When Ahaz refused, the prophet said the Lord would choose a sign himself.  A young woman would become pregnant and bear a son.  She would name the son Immanuel, which means "God with us."  Before that son grew to know right from wrong, the kings and nations Ahaz feared would be only a memory! Centuries later, Matthew 1 records that a young man was upset and fearful.  His...

Christmas is supposed to be a happy time!  At least that what our cultural Christmas says!  It's supposed to be all about silver bells, shopping, and stuffing our bellies with goodies! But for many people, it isn't! For them, it's a time of sorrow.  They're grieving.  Some grieve the loss of loved ones.  Others grieve the loss of work, or the loss of community, or the breakup of a marriage, or alienation from friends or family.  Still others grieve the violence and injustice in our world. We seem to be light years away from peace on earth! But one of the great themes of the scriptural presentation of Jesus' birth is joy in sorrow. Isaiah 35 records a message God sent his sorrowful people.  They were in exile in Babylonia.  They were sorrowful because they were away from their homeland in a strange place with no hope of returning home. But in Isaiah 35, the prophet says God is going to bring them home in a joyful procession through the...