(Isaiah 9 & Luke 1) The peace we all seek is the same that the prophets longed for and prophecied. The peace we long for is only possible when we dwell with God. At Christmas, God comes to dwell with us in the person of Jesus Christ–our source of true and lasting peace.

(Part 7 in a seven part series on Desires)

(Luke 8:26-48) Both the man possessed with a Legion of demons and the woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years needed Jesus to heal them, to save them and to return them home. We all have a longing to belong, for permanence, for places which we were made for–we desire to be home. But in this life our desires go unsatisfied. . . only in Jesus can we feel at home and so enter the eternal home we were truly made for.

(Part 6 of a seven part series on Desires)

(Luke 7:36-50) In the search for significance and meaning we stray far from our God intended order (Gen 1) because we are inherently sinful (Gen 3). Rather than seeking our significance in God who created us, we seek to be gods and find significance on our own. In Luke 7 a sinful woman lays down her source of significance at Jesus’ feet while he is the guest of a Rabbi. The Rabbi who hosts the dinner party cannot see that he is seeking to be his own Lord & Savior and will not acknowledge who Jesus is.

(Part 5 of a seven part series on Desires)

(John 2:1-11). Jesus first miracle is turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana. What does this say about what Jesus came to do? He came to bring a kingdom of celebration. Jesus is the source of all of true joys–of our longings for happiness fulfilled.

(Part 4 of a seven part series on Desires)

(John 4) We all desperately long to be loved and accepted, to be known deeply and intimately. But because we are alienated from God, we are alienated from each other. Jesus reconciles the woman at the well to God the Father so that she can be reconciled to herself–her sin and need–and be reconciled to the community that has rejected her.

(Luke 15:25-32) The older brother obeys his father and follows all the rules to obligate his father to him, to get his father’s stuff. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus implicates Pharisees who through their moral goodness and religious performance seek to control God. All of us have Older Brother tendencies. We assume God grades us based on our performance, based on what we have done…The gospel says he accepts us based on what Jesus Christ has done (Part 2 of a seven part series on Desires)

(Luke 15:11-24) The younger brother desires freedom, to find heaven on his own. He does not realize that what he really needs can only be found in his Father’s house, until he finally comes to his senses and returns. But even then he is not fully prepared for the lavish love and generous grace of his Father. Is it any different with God our Father? (Part 1 of a seven part series on Desires)