Grace At Fort Clarke Podcast

God not only has a star for the wise men, He also has a star for you. He will lead you and guide you to Jesus. It may come in many different shapes. All you need to know is watch out and follow Him closely. Pastor Steven and Annie Wang lead today’s devotional from from Matthew 2.

God showed the world that all are welcome, no matter our age, gender, or race, no matter what we have been, have believed, or have done in the past, Jesus came for all, and wants all of us to come to Him – He will accept us. Today's devotional is led by girls from our Grace Student Ministries on fire for Jesus. Have you let His words and promises settle into your heart?

Worship is a heart issue. The secrets of our heart are known by God even if they are not articulated by us. Let’s do the opposite and let nothing be in competition with our sincere worship to God. We will search carefully for Him knowing He is to be found. Jason, Hollie, and the whole Hills family lead us from Matthew 2:7-8

What is my response to Lord Jesus' birth? Am I wholeheartedly searching for Him and worshiping Him? What am I holding onto so strongly that the idea of Jesus ruling my life is unsettling or disturbing? Varun and Sarah Vas lead from Matthew 2:3-6.

The shepherds left their visit glorifying and rejoicing about what they had just experienced. It was all true, the angel’s song was true! In the midst of everything going on around her, Mary treasured and pondered all that she had heard in her heart. Imagine her expectation about her son’s life! She was already preparing to meet Him and see everything that Jesus would do. Paul and Eleanor Waugh lead us from Luke 2:19–20.

How might you take on the role of the angels this Christmas? Who needs to hear this Good News? The shepherds could have laughed the whole thing off as a kind of mass hallucination, but they believe that God has spoken to them, and they resolve to see for themselves what they have heard. Heather, Violet, and Parker Krzykowski lead from Luke 2:15-18.

Have you experienced any and "suddenly" moments recently? Life is full of "and suddenly" moments. Moments in time that can forever change our perspective. Will Smith leads us from Luke 2:13–14: "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'"

Imagine for a moment being one of the shepherds in Luke 2:8–12. You are going about your job, looking after the sheep, you like the solitary. However, the people in the nearby town don’t really respect you. Other shepherds haven’t helped. People think you are smelly, a likely thief, a bit odd and not deserving of much respect. Then in the stillness of the night, out of the blue, an amazing power surrounds you, God’s glory is in your midst. How would you feel? Would you be terrified like the shepherds or comforted? Carlos and Sarah Bernal lead us from Luke 2:8–12.

“She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” It is unbelievable to most of us that no one made room for this expectant mother, this kind of thing happens all the time. Refugees, immigrants, the poor… Does it matter – to the world, to us – if they are pregnant or not, sick or not, hungry or not, the same race or not? What if we started looking at people like if it they were Christ this Christmas season? Curtis, Linda, and whole whole Nutter clan lead from Luke 2:6–7 today.

Is God calling me to do something difficult? How can I be faithful to the work He wants me to do? What is the one step I can take today to be obedient to God’s call? Clayton Hunter leads us from Luke 2:1-5.

Imagine what blessings God has in store when you surrender and practice patience. Practicing patience does not mean waiting a lifetime; it means being still and patient enough to await God’s wisdom which always comes. Our Nursery team—Meagan Helms, Sierra Millinor, Alex Young, Anna Adkins—lead from Luke 1:68-69.

God is calling us to give more intentionally and relationally. That means giving more of our time, our energy, our memories, our talents, our presence. It’s a both/and. Spend less money and give more of yourself to the ones you love. It sounds obvious, yet we seem to have drifted away from this liberating, straightforward truth: The Father gave his one and only Son. God’s answer for the world’s problems has never been material things. God did not give us more stuff – even good stuff like work, food, or health. He gave us himself. The most priceless and personal gift of all. When we give relationally during the Advent season, this is what we remember: it’s an opportunity to worship as we remind each other of the gift that was given for our sake. QUESTIONS: • What was the most meaningful gift you’ve ever received? • In what areas of your life do you long to experience Immanuel? • When it comes to giving relationally, what most excites you? What will be the biggest challenge? • Which bin from the example in the

When is the right time to tell people about getting pregnant? Is there a right time to tell people about Jesus? Will you keep Him and what He has done in your life a secret this year? How can you begin to share this good news with others? Linda and Jacob Atem lead from Luke 1:39–45.

"and you will call Him Emmanuel (God with us)" Dan and Heidi Dias explore what was happening at the time these words were spoken in Isaiah 7:14, and invite to set your heart in that Truth during Advent. --- We apologize for the delay in getting this devotional out. One of our families are in the hospital and couldn't do the devotional today. Please pray for God to intervene in that situation and bring miraculous recovery.

Waiting is hard. Amanda Hodges leads us today from Matthew 1:22-25. "Now all of this took place so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled: Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will call him, Emmanuel. (Emmanuel means “God with us.”) When Joseph woke up, he did just as an angel from God commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he didn’t have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. Joseph called him Jesus."

esus—like almost every family—had black sheep in His family.A rebel who can’t seem to toe the line, another is making news because of an embarrassing antic. They are the ones in the family picture that others step away from so they are not too closely affiliated. Ray Merrill, Director of Facilities, leads today's devotional from Matthew 1:18–21.

Carlos and Lisy—pastors from our sister church in Caunao, Cuba—bring us a POWERFUL message from Luke 1:26-38. "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and t

In what ways can you intentionally slow down and spend time with the One who can meet you and powerfully intervene in whatever you are facing, just as He did for Abraham and Zechariah? The Dietrich family lead us from Luke 1:18-25.

When we allow Christmas to revolve around possessions, barriers are raised between our true selves and God’s command to love him above all things. Our Advent becomes less about preparing for Jesus and more about the busy schedules and expectations we’re carrying. Our hearts feel dissatisfied and are searching for something that can’t be bought in a store. So, we spend less. Instead of mindlessly shopping and spending more than we can afford, we take the time to think about our purchases. We resist the empire of more and declare that Jesus is worthy of our praise. By conserving some of the resources we would spend on material gifts, we can use them to make a bigger impact by giving to someone in need or making memories with those we love. This is more than just an invitation to say no to overspending, this is an invitation to a new way of celebrating. This year we can start a new tradition of spending compassionately and responsibly. QUESTIONS • The authors of Advent Conspiracy suggest that the fastest growi

Today the Empire of power, false peace, materialism, and consumerism seeks to capture our hearts and distract us from the daily presence of God, especially during this season of Advent. How are you praying for God to appear in your life this Christmas? Where are you longing to see a message of hope? Bonnie T. Ogle leads up into this devotional from Luke 1:11–17:  “On the right side of the altar of incense an angel of the Lord appeared. This terrified Zechariah and he fell before him out of fear. The angel said, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid because your prayers have been heard! Your wife Elizabeth will have a son and you will call his name John. There will be a lot of joy, celebration, and many will be glad. Many of the sons of Israel will return to the Lord, his God. He will go before God in the spirit and power of Elijah and turn the fathers’ hearts to their children and the disobedient to an attitude of righteousness. He will prepare people for the Lord.”