The Third Sunday of Advent

On this third Sunday of Advent, I would like  to share some thoughts with you from the 9th chapter of Isaiah.

The prophet Isaiah when writing this some 600 to 700 years before Christ was born is telling us that a child is to be born who will be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince Of Peace. This Child will be a great Light to those who walk in darkness. Their joy and rejoicing will be increased.

Isaiah is pointing out that the very region where the Assyrian armies brought darkness and death would be the first to rejoice in that great Light thru the teachings of Jesus Christ when his earthly ministry first began. Matthew 4: 12 thru 16 tells of this ministry that Isaiah had prophesied.

This great Light that brought joy and rejoicing to those depressed by the Assyrian armies would also bring joy and rejoicing to the whole world.  This great Light would bring the blind by a way that they knew not, it would lead them in paths that they had not known. It would make darkness light before them, and crooked ways would be made straight.

Over the last 2000 years many people have tried to tell us who this great Light is. On this third Sunday of Advent I ask you, Who do you say this Light is?

Is this great Light, the one you met as a child in Sunday School? Is this Light that infant  sleeping in a manger? Is this Light the good Shepherd welcoming his lost sheep back to the fold? Is this great Light the one who died on the cross for your sins?

This great Light is the word which became flesh and dwelt among us, the Lord Jesus Christ, who dwells within us and whom we proclaim to the world when we tell others the Good News.

During this Advent season, who do you say this Great Light is? And what does it mean to you?

2nd Sunday of Advent

On this second Sunday of Advent as we read from the 11th chapter of Isaiah, verses 1 thru 10 we see a prophetic picture of the future.

We see the prophecy of the coming Messiah from the house of David and that the Spirit of God will be upon him. He will have the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel, knowledge and might, he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will be quick in understanding and will not make judgments solely on what he sees or hears, but will make judgments with fairness and righteousness. With words from his lips will he slay the wicked who are against him.

This prophetic message is also a picture of the peace that will be for all in the glory of the future kingdom, which will be established when David's son returns in glory, and the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.

Luke 1: 32-33     He shall be great, and shall be called the
Son of the Highest; and the Lord shall give unto him the throne of his father, David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Advent message of Hope

As we come to a close of this Thanksgiving week of 2011 and are ready to enter the Advent season I would like to share a thought or two with you.

Our national tradition here in America sets aside one day each year as a day to give thanks to God for all that he has provided for us. For Christians, however, giving thanks to God should not be confined to a single day or to a special Thanksgiving service. Giving thanks to God should be a daily occurrence.

The Apostle Paul describes the worship in the new testament church as " Always and for everything giving thanks to God.” Paul talks to us about the grace of God of which we should be thankful. Paul says " I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace." For all of us the grace of God is the main reason for Christian Thanksgiving.

What do we mean when we talk about grace? Grace is God's undeserved love that he pours out on us. Grace stands for the remarkable fact that God has it in his heart to love us as we are, that his love is not determined by our unworthy or worthiness. It is his love that finds sin in our lives and leads us to salvation. This is the living center of the "Good News" the gospel of Christ. Romans 5:8 " God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." Always give thanks to God for his loving grace.

God wants his love to abound more and more in each of us so that his love may bind us into one family of God. God wants all national and racial differences to be wiped out in this community of love.

That is the way it should be in all of our churches today. Our giving thanks to God for this day is a Christian Thanksgiving only when it is prompted by love and when it expresses itself in works of love.

We thank God above all for our savior Jesus Christ, for it is Christ who purifies our hearts of selfishness and fills our lives with the fruits of righteousness. It is in this way that God receives true praise and glory.

The song of praise that God loves to hear is a life that shows God at work, a life of forgetting self and being obedient to the word of God.

As we enter this Advent season, four Sundays before Christmas, we are beginning a journey toward a stable in Bethlehem. It is both a time of joy and a time for contemplation.

As we set out on this first Sunday of Advent on our journey, let us begin with the hope and expectation that something wonderful is going to happen.

Remember the courage of a young Jewish maiden, named Mary as she sat out on the journey to Bethlehem to bear a child whose parentage was suspect in a society that had strict and sometimes deadly laws about such matters.

Advent reminds us that Jesus, was born in a stable; that Jesus has come and is here today in the form of the Holy Spirit and yes, Jesus will come again! When God stepped into human history; the Word became flesh; Divinity in a human body; these are the truths we celebrate during the Advent season.

Be expectant! Wait with open hearts for God to break into your life, and be ready to welcome the newborn Jesus into your home.