Sermons

  Among Us: A Christmas Story   “Adoration” A few years ago, in fact it was during the start of the pandemic of 2020, I heard a story about a church that had been vandalized. The pastor of the church showed up early one Sunday morning to find the front door of the church building had been graffitied. Written in bright red spray paint was the words “God was here”. The implication was obvious. Whoever had committed the crime was making a bold commentary. God, His presence, His Spirit, no longer dwelled within the walls of the church. God, much like Elvis, had left the building. The criminal was merely reflecting the words of the atheist philosopher Fredrick Nietzsche. Nietzsche, in his book The Gay Science proclaimed that “God is dead”. He made this statement not once, not twice, but three times in his book.  The pastor, upset over the graffiti, unlocked the doors to the church and retreated to his office. He sat down in his chair frustrated. Why would someone write those words? Did

  Among Us: A Christmas Story   “Incarnation” Opening Illustration: Good morning Eastern Shore Baptist Church. Merry Christmas. This morning we start a 4 week Christmas series entitled “Among Us”. Over the next four weeks we will examine the most important parts of Jesus’ birth: the incarnation, adoration, adoption and lastly…on Christmas Eve…glorification. That morning will be especially important as we will share in our annual Christmas Eve communion and candlelight service.  Today we are talking about the incarnation. Do you know what that word means? Let’s break down the word. The noun incarnation derives from the Latin verb “incarno”, itself derived from the prefix “in” and “caro” meaning “flesh”. It means “to make flesh” or, in the passive, “to be made flesh”. In a nutshell, the incarnation means that God’s Son, who was a Spirit and never had a body, took on a human body and a human life just like ours.  Incarnation means that Jesus had a body and a soul, just like us. Inc