Pride in Your Son But a Sword for Your Soul

Episode Summary. Mary, one of the godliest women who ever lived, agreed to bear God’s child and what does she receive? A sword to her soul. Few song writers I know have put Simeon’s promise that a sword would pierce Mary’s soul to music. It isn’t sung about by children’s choirs in Christmas pageants. But Luke's account of the true Christmas story ends on the ominous note of suffering caused by the opposition of the kingdom of darkness to Jesus’ kingship claim, just as Matthew’s Christmas story ends with the weeping of Bethlehem for the children slain by Herod’s fear of Jesus’ rule—reflecting this same opposition of the kingdom of darkness to Jesus’ kingship. This episode reminds us of the kingdom of darkness’s fierce opposition to the rule of the Prince of Peace and what to do about it.For Further Prayerful ThoughtWhat are the implications of these two facts: men love darkness because their deeds are evil, and we are called to be light to the world?Which two cultural lies do you hear most often? How best could you raise a question about whether that assumption is really true?How can you do a better job of defeating sin in your own life by using the spiritual armor and weapons Jesus has given us? NEXT WEEK NEW SERIES: Successful Spiritual Leaders at Home. Please let the men of your church know about this new series. You can print a PDF to give to others, download the PDF onto your computer and email it as an attachment, or just send an email with this link to the PDF, which explains what the series will cover. Here is the link.For the printed version of this message, click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues, click here.To make an online contribution to enable others to hear about the podcast: (Click link and scroll down to bottom left)