Beyond Bethlehem

About This Series:

In this new series, Stephen takes us on an investigation into the boyhood of Jesus to broaden our understanding of His life and, consequently, give us more reason to worship Him.

Sermons In This Series

1 - The Presentation of the Lamb

Much of our celebration of Christmas is derived from those well-known facts about Jesus’ birth -- i.e. He was born in a manger in Bethlehem, his mother was a virgin, and He was worshipped by onlooking shepherds. As a result, both our knowledge and worship sometimes end there. But in this series, Stephen takes you on an investigation of the boyhood of Jesus to broaden your understanding of His life and, consequently, increase your reasons to worship Him.

2 - Israel's Most Wanted

Jesus Christ became one of us, and like us, he experienced trials. It’s easy for us to look back with a smile upon the events surrounding the Christmas story. That’s because we’re looking back from the perspective of the cross and the empty tomb. We know how it ends. But imagine what Mary and Joseph must have experienced during the drama! While they experienced the delight of being new parents, they also experienced confusion, insecurity, and fear. They literally found themselves running for their lives. Here is the Christmas story through their eyes.

3 - Missing!

Your devotion to Jesus Christ should bring about change in your life That’s because there’s more to Jesus than just the story of the nativity. In this message, Stephen takes you to the well-known event in Luke 2:41-51 where Mary and Joseph didn’t know where Jesus was. Jesus being in the temple was an early Messianic demonstration that was pivotal to the Gospel.

4 - Parenting the Perfect Child

Jesus never stole from the cookie jar. He never disobeyed. He never fussed out his sister. So Mary and Joseph must have had it easy when it came to raising him, right? Not quite. In this message, Stephen reminds us why raising a perfect child is much more difficult than raising an imperfect one.

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