Good morning. The Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to
get their living from the gospel. So he was saying that he and Barnabas should
not have to take care of themselves. For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing
to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the
gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will,
I have a stewardship entrusted to me. Paul had no choice but to preach the
gospel. It wasn’t just a job to him; he was divinely directed to preach by the
Lord Jesus Christ. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a
slave to all, so that I may win more. And then he lists various categories in
which he behaved acceptably to both sides of the issue. However, he did not compromise
himself or the gospel. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I
may become a fellow partaker of it. Father help us to do the things necessary
to bring others to Christ without compromising the gospel. Help us to be a
shining example to others.
Merry Christmas!
Good morning, and Merry Christmas! We are going to digress and look at the first Christmas. This was something that had been foretold centuries before; and yet people still did not understand what was going to happen. They were thinking that the Messiah was going to come as an adult and was going to re-establish the nation of Israel above all other nations. They were not expecting Him to come as a baby, supposedly born to a carpenter and placed in a manger. Many things had to happen at precisely the right time. You had to have the right person to be His mother and the right person to be His supposed father. You had to have a reason for them to be in Bethlehem on the night He was born – the census. It had to be when shepherds would be in the field near Bethlehem watching their flocks. And just at the right time – an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them...
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