Hundreds of years before the coming of Christ, Isaiah predicted the components of the coming of the “Kingdom of Heaven” inscribed in the Gospel of Matthew, and breathed into the Gospel of John.

When the Holy Spirit inaugurated the advancement of the kingdom, we see Jesus at a synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth revealing the planting of the first flag of declaration with these words: ”Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Listen to both the Old Testament and New Testament parts to God’s brilliant plan to build and establish a people for His Glory.

Do you have any role models? The world offers up people like Kanye West, Lady Gaga, and the like.

Some role models want us to be like them…but is there maybe a better role model for us?

Are you old enough to remember the old TV game show called, “To Tell the Truth”? In the game, they would describe a character’s accomplishments and then the contestants would try to guess which person on the panel was the right one. Sometimes people were so amazed at who the real person was!

In today’s message, we are going to discover something really amazing. It was something that King David discovered when he started thinking about building a house for the Lord. He thought, “Surely God wants a beautiful home, because…I have a beautiful home made from cedar”. Nathan encouraged him to dream big because…the Lord was with him.

But then the Sovereign Lord gave Nathan His word. “Did I ask for this? Now let me tell you what my plans are.”

Today, Pastor Steve encourages you not to dream big…but to sit before a sovereign lord and allow him to establish your house. Allow God to remain on His throne. If you think your plans are good, wait until you see God’s.

Pastor Johnny Diaz might shake up your view of the Nativity!

Scriptures: Matthew 2:1-12
Psalm 72:10-12
Psalm 110:3
Isaiah 60:1-6

Traveling for most people may be a blast, but for Pastor Johnny, driving anywhere for more then a couple hours is just not worth it! Especially if he doesn’t get anything out of it.

As we venture into this study of the traveling Magi, you have to wonder, what made their trip so worth it?

There is a phrase in Romans 13 that gives urgency to the teaching Paul is presenting… “Understanding the present time, the hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”

This is a teaching that everyone needs to understand. It is the difference between eternal life and eternal death. It is the difference between having a relationship with God and fooling yourself into believing you have one, but don’t.

The teaching is not cryptic. It is clear and understandable and therefore we are responsible for it.

Phillip stood in the rubble of what used to be his together life.  He faced a devastating announcement from his wife that she was leaving him.  The preceding months had been a
step-by-step walk, away from the very principles that made his marriage seem rock solid. A betrayal of trust, an uncaring word and the refusal to admit anything was wrong were among the most devastating.

Is it any wonder that God consistently compares our relationship with HIM as a marriage? We walk along insisting everything is just fine, ignoring how God is speaking to us, betraying HIS trust in us, living how exactly how we want.  And then we wonder where the relationship went.  This morning God calls us back to proper relationship direction.

Have you ever played that old game “guess who”? It’s a simple game with several characters with distinct features, and by the process of elimination, one would throw down the other characters and shout out the identity of your opponent. One would say the phrase “You are…fill in the blank”.

Today, Pastor Johnny Diaz tells us that Jesus, our Lord, played that same game with His disciples.

As believers we look forward to the coming of the age when Christ will be the ruler of our world.  But in scripture there is a message that even makes living this life all the more exciting!  Even before the second coming, Jesus begins to establish a new kingdom.  He told his disciples to go preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

What does “at hand” mean?

Shachah – the hebrew root word for worship, means to bow down, crouch, fall down flat, pay homage to.  

It is in the new testament that we find God seeking for a specific kind of worshiper.  One who openly and genuinely comes before him with lifted hands of surrender, and hearts available to transform…so that he can make them a new creation.

Moses wasn’t looking for an assignment.  

He was just minding his own business, tending the sheep.

He was rejected by the Israelites, and run out of town by the Egyptians.

He wanted to defend his people but that backfired on him.  So, with a bruised ego and seeking to isolate himself, he was on the backside of the desert licking his wounds and living a simpler life when God entered his life.