Sermon Tone Analysis

Echoes in advent recap

When we think about Christmas we often think about

good food

lights

presents

family and friends

traditions

As we have walked through our Echoes in Advent series we see that the people of God were hoping for something far different than we hope for.

They were hoping for redemption from exile

They were in slavery to Rome

They were far from the presence and glory of God

They were waiting to be brought back from exile into the presence of God himself

They were waiting for a king

To be brought out of slavery they were waiting for the great king who was promised

They were waiting for the messiah to come, and rule like David.

They were waiting for a good king, who like David would fight for them and be their champion

They were waiting for the kingdom to be established because the prophecy stated that when the king comes, he would sit upon the eternal throne of David.

They were waiting for blessing that would go to all the nations

When the messiah comes he was going to come and bring all the nations of the world to himself.

Like the three wise men who traveled from the east following the light to find Jesus, so the nations of the world would come to the light of the messiah.

You see the hope and the promise given was not only for

the Jewish people in exile

A kingdom that will be an eternal kingdom

for all the nations of the world to be blessed through God’s people

But the hope of the Messiah is that he would come and bring with him a whole new creation.

A whole new world!

And this is what Jesus birth represented, a whole new world.

We could look at the gospel of Mark and see...

How mark begins his gospel in such a way that calls our attention to and the creation week

How Mark presents Jesus as one who has the same creative power as God in

How Mark even structures his whole gospel according the the creation week.

We could look at Matthew and see...

How he book ends his gospel with creation language

How in the great commission Jesus restates the creation mandate (take dominion over all things) for the new creation, go into all the world and make disciples.

We could look at Luke’s gospel and see

How Luke uses his genealogy to intentionally connect Jesus to Adam

We could also look at Romans how Paul tells us that Jesus himself is the second Adam.

The new and greater Adam who is the firstborn of the new creation

Who’s excited for tomorrow!?

Who’s excited for tomorrow!?

Kids, what is the main thing you’re excited about?

Popular presents

Wireless head phones

Wireless head phones

Drone with 4k video

Coffee or Chocolate

Essential oil defusers

for kids

Ninjago

Nintendo Switch

Ipad or tablets

The new Xbox 1 X

Dolls and action figures

Board game and video games

New clothes and new jewelry

Gift cards and cash

These are only some of the many different types of presents that will be received tomorrow morning.

Not only do we look forward to Christmas for the presents but also for the good food

Turkey and mashed potatoes with gravy and stuffing

pies and cookies

Eggnog and hot chocolate

Maybe its pizza or take out Chinese

Maybe you have a Christmas tradition with a special breakfast lunch or dinner that you look forward to every year

Presents, food, fun

I remember growing up we spent Christmas morning at our house with my parents and two brothers.

and in the afternoon we would go to my grandparents house where we would see my aunts and uncles and my cousins

We would bring our favorite new toys and look forward to seeing my cousins so we could all play together the rest of the day.

As I’ve gotten older I really look forward to the fun of Christmas, being around friends or family and truly just enjoying the day together.

You see, leading up to Christmas all the presents, all the food, and all the fun is something you hope for, something you look forward too!

Its an idea that becomes reality.

If the idea just stayed an idea how disappointing would that be.

Example:

I did all my Christmas shopping this year on amazon

I looked at the gifts, I read the descriptions, I compared prices, I looked at the pictures, and read reviews

I bought a friend a pour over coffee brewer

according to the many reviews the best pot of coffee is made with the pour over method.

Its supposed to be smooth and rich

not bitter

the particular brewer I got him was ergonomically friendly

So what if i printed out the picture of the coffee maker

with all the reviews

with all the features

with all the instructions

with the description included

and gave him the picture for Christmas, would that be a good present?

Essentially what i gave him was an idea of a present

he never would be able to feel the pour over brewer in his hands

he never would have enjoyed the aroma of coffee

And most importantly he would not have experienced the flavor of a cup of coffee

The idea of a gift is not a gift at all.

What makes a good gift is when the gift is real, physical, you can taste it, touch it, smell it, enjoy it, play with it, listen to it.

Illustration:

I think one of the most dangerous things that has happened and is happening to Christians today is that we have accepted and are satisfied with the idea of Jesus, the idea of his kingship, the idea of his blessings or even the idea of holy living.

We have accepted a piece of paper with a description of Jesus and have become satisfied enough.

We praise God for the idea of our redemption while never actually living in freedom

We thank God for the idea of forgiveness while we live under a mountain of guilt

We are so thankful for God faithfulness while we live in a constant state of anxiety

We say that Jesus is the king of our hearts, yet he has no powerful over our bank accounts

You see the idea of Jesus of as king over our heart is great.

But giving him lordship over my checking account is very real, not just an idea, but something that i can feel