Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO Epiphany and our covenant with God Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA January 5, 2003 Main Scripture text: Matthew 2:1-12 For centuries, God had promised that he would send Israel a Messiah. Jesus was the answer to that promise. But from the beginning, God intended that salvation through the Messiah be for everyone, not just for the Jews. On Epiphany Sunday, we recall the time when the Messiah was first introduced to the Gentiles, when the wise men, or Magi, came from the East after Jesus was born. But is Epiphany simply the celebration of a past event? No, it is a reminder of who we are and what we are to be about. Epiphany is the reason for the existence of the Church! "Epiphany" literally means "a revelatory manifestation of a divine being." The manifestation of the Christ to the world is our responsibility under the covenant God has made with us. The purpose of the covenant is that Jesus -- the Messiah, the Son Of God -- be made known to the entire world through the Church. Epiphany reminds us of the responsibility we have under the covenant. We shouldn't expect the promises God has made to us as part of the covenant to be fulfilled unless and until we've given ourselves to the fulfillment of that responsibility. Supporting texts: Isaiah 60:1-6 | Psalm 72:11 | Genesis 12:1-3 | Acts 2:38-39 | Acts 8:4-25 | Acts 8:26-40 | Deuteronomy 23:1 | Acts 10 | 1 Peter 2:9 | Matthew 28:19-20 | Colossians 1: 27 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here. (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 030105a: Epiphany and Our Covenant with God. © 2003 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us