The Son of Man

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 145:1-13

Psalm 145:1–13 ESV

I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.

Advent Reading 3

The third candle is pink and symbolizes joy. It is called the “Shepard’s Candle,” and is pink because rose is a liturgical color for joy. The third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday and is meant to remind us of the joy that the world experienced at the birth of Jesus, as well as the joy that the faithful have reached the midpoint of Advent.

But today the question that I would like us to ponder for just a little bit is: Why does advent bring us joy? Why is it that some Jewish child born in a manger 2000 years ago means for us joy beyond measure? We could start by remembering the song: JOY TO THE WORLD, for the next line is: The Lord has come!

In the Advent season we remember what theologians call the miracle of the incarnation. That God became man. That in the person of Jesus Christ was one who was fully God, and therefore perfect and divine and fully man, and therefore able to relate to and save us. The Lord has Come, he did not leave us to our own devices, he did not abandon us (though we surely deserved it) instead Christ condescended to become man. In this state of Humiliation for him we find great joy for us.

But the song continues, verse 2: Joy to the world, the savior reigns! This season is a time of great joy because we recognize that as Peter said, he is the Christ, the messiah. But truly he is our SAVIOR, in that he saves us from sin and death. He saves us from the enemies that have plagued mankind since Adam sinned. He is a perfect savior, and he saves us to the utmost. There is no one so lost that the grace of God cannot reach them, no one so defeated that they cannot find victory in Christ. He is our savior. But our savior who reigns. He ascended to heaven and is now seated at the right hand of the father almighty. We looked last week at The scene of revelation 5 where the Lion of the tribe of Judah reigns and rules and receives all praise. That is why we have joy.

And so this morning have joy, be of great cheer, our perfect savior rules and reigns. May we be encouraged in the light of this third advent candle.

Sermon:

Good morning Church! I was glad when they said to me let us go and worship in the house of the Lord!