Advent 12-23-2018

12-23-2018

Advent Candles

intro -

Welcome

We are so glad you were able to join us this morning

this morning we will continue in our series on Advent

We have defined advent as the coming of a notable person

That notable person is Jesus

The first candle

(light the blue candle)

Expectation of Hope

Jeremiah 33:14–16 NASB95

14 ‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 ‘In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. 16 ‘In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the Lord is our righteousness.’

Jesus brings Hope to the Hopeless

The second candle

(light the blue candle)

Preparation of Peace

Isaiah 40:3–5 NASB95

3 A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. 4 “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; 5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

the way you do that is by being honest and saying God, I am a sinner and I need you

last week we introduced the 3rd candle

(light pink candle)

Proclamation and Joy

we wont cover the gender reveal parties

Isaiah 9:6–7 NASB95

6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

See the coming of Jesus was going to bring about a new government, a new leader, He was going to bring about peace to a corrupt system in that time period

the big problem was they were looking for worldly answers from an Eternal God

They thought Jesus was going to ride in on his white horse and kick the romans out of the area

we think that too, that Jesus will come into our lives and fix all of our temporary problems

and make us happy

church that is why we often struggle with the joy of Jesus

because we are so focus on the here and now the temporary rather than the eternal

a lot of pastors struggle, myself included because they base their upcoming week on 1 hour during Sunday

because they like a lot of people focus so much on a temporary thing and expect Jesus to come in and fix just that one thing and make us happy

Jesus wants to come in because he has fixed the sin problem and bring us Joy!

this brings us to todays candle

(light blue candle)

The Revelation and Peace

Luke 2:10–14 NASB95

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

See the angel told Mary that Jesus was going to be coming

Then when Jesus was born the angels go to the church elect no, told the government people no, no see the angels told the lay people

in fact told the regular people

praise the Lord, He was reveled to everyone

Don't you find it interesting that he came to the shepherds first

Again we are looking for a savior to come in on his white horse and kick the romans out of the area

We were looking in all the wrong places

Jesus was born in a cave where they kept animals not some palace for a king

Church we shouldnt be afraid when God moves

Because Jesus brings about great joy, brings great news

Often times when things happen outside of our comfort zone we get scared and want to go back to our normal or our comfortable

The message of the angels was do not be afraid because they are bringing good news, great Joy

that good news church is that Jesus has come

Luke 19:10 NASB95

10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

This is the purpose for Jesus coming

Jesus came to seek and save those who need saving

Church that is everyone, because news flash everyone is a sinner

But you can be saved through faith in Jesus Christ

Mark 2:17 NASB95

17 And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus did not come to hang out with those who were already righteous

like there were any but no he came to find those who needed him and to save them, to heal them, to give them grace and mercy

Church the good news of Jesus Christ is that he was born to save us!

As we move into this time of invitation

if you are here and you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus, we want to invite you to start one today

maybe you are here and need to spend sometime at the altar