Dec 6th - In Person

So did they explain this (Advent wreath) to you last week?

In the 1800s, there was a Lutheran German pastor named Willart who wanted his children in his congregation to understand Advent better. So he made an Advent wheel. We call it an Advent wreath cuz we have these boughs in there. And then each candle: you had the prophecy candle you had the Bethlehem candle you had the shepherd's cattle and you had the angel candle. Each had a story to tell in Advent. And of course Christmas Eve we're going to light a white candle because that's the Christ Candle.

So if there's a quiz at the end of the sermon, you know all that.

Please pray with me. Lord God, Heavenly Father, we come to you and we give you thanks and praise for your being here for us. We think of Advent: that Latin word that means "coming" and we know it's talking about the second coming of Christ and how we go about that. Bless us with your spirit Jesus in Your name. Amen.

Grady Nutt was a Baptist minister but he was also a stand-up comic. One of his more hilarious stories was about a seminarian who was taking care of a rural church. And he got the call that one of the members died and they asked him to the funeral. He had never done a funeral before.

So he talked to one of his professors and he got kind of the idea of what to do, and he headed out towards the widow's house to talk about the service and the scriptures and the songs and everything. Condolences, of course, but he gets there and the house was full of people offering their condolences before COVID.

So they looked around for a place where it was quiet, and the only place they found was the bathroom. So the widdow sat on the edge of the tub, and as Grady said, the seminarian sat on the "other seat." Well, it went pretty well.

They talked about what scripture they wanted, what songs they want to sing, and he was able to hear a little bit more about her husband and what kind of man he was and those kind of things. And they prayed together. And as they got up, The widdow got off the tub, and the seminarian got up and automatically flipped the lever.

As Grady says, you know you just can't unflush.

I do not know how much comfort - and that's what I was talking about today - that seminarian gave that widdow, but I am sure she had a few chuckles for a long time to come.

I'm going to preach for a while here on Isaiah 40 for the prophet says "Comfort, comfort, ye my people. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem." Now, the prophets in the Old Testament were kind of a unique group.

A lot of people think the Old Testament is just law and the New Testament is gospel, but that's not necessarily truth. Although there is some law. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, especially Amos. Amos was really upset because they weren't treating the poor or the widows or the orphans properly, and so he ripped into the people of Israel. Isaiah was one of those that does a little bit of both. As I have up on the screen here, he brought comfort to the afflicted, but he afflicted the comfortable.

And how often that is. You know, one of the things we have to understand is that, you know, God has blessed His people. And God chose the Israelites.

He chose His people. You go back to Genesis 12: 1-3 and God said to Abram, later called Abraham "Go to the place I want you to go." And then in verse 3, He says "I'm going to bless those who bless you. I'm going to curse those who curse you. And through you all the people will be blessed." And that was a reference to Jesus. Because through the line of Abraham, Jesus would come. But being chosen people also means that God expected a lot for the people of Israel and that's why we reached for the Old Testament. They did good for a while and then they didn't do so good for a while.

God had to chastise them. Some people say punish. I like the word chastise just a bit better because when we think about punish, we have to remember in the Old Testament, it says that God weeped for his people. He did not want them to fall into sin.

I remember when my children were younger, and I had to discipline them. Then after I disciplined them and I said I loved them and they weren't sure.

Because they didn't like the discipline. And the people of Israel were very much the same way. But God chose them. And some people say God chose America. Because of all the prosperity we have, and we have to be a little bit careful with that. Because remember what Jesus said in Luke chapter 12. "Everyone to whom much was given of him, much will be required. And from him to whom is entrusted much, they demand the more. We have been blessed with much. But we're blessed to be a blessing. Sometimes we forget that, we get kind of selfish. That it's mine, mine, mine. We're just here to take care of it. That's all we do.

Next, we think about this and what it means for us. We need to listen to the prophets.

Because they still speak to us today. If I were to leave church here today, I'd go back to Wausau, and I drive 90 miles an hour the whole way, what's going to happen? Well, if the law law doesn't catch up to me, the laws of nature will. Cuz if I'm going 90 miles an hour, I'm going around some of those curves that are on those roads, what's going to happen? The laws of nature are going to go over, and I'm going to meet the immovable force. Either that oak tree that's off of the road, or a car coming the other way cuz I went into the other lane. It's the same with the prophets. I mean, some people say or think "Weren't they like spoilsports?" No. They were doing it for our protection. They were doing it for our benefit. They were doing it for God to be able to bless us and them.

It's not the 10 suggestions. It's the Ten Commandments. And all too often in our culture today, that's not the case. You go by the NBA and it's no harm, no foul.

Or if it's just me, what's the big deal? If I'm not hurting somebody. All those phrases come out again and again. Yet the prophets still speak to us today. Because we need to understand that God Himself will soon be coming. I said the word Advent in the Latin means "coming." It means the second coming. We live on this side of the cross. For the people of Isreal, they lived on the other side. They're waiting for this Mashiach the Hebrew word for Messiah, the Anointed One. And even in our text for today, you see some of those Messiah promises coming out to us. The last verse speaks very good about that. It says: He tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in His arms. He carries them close to His heart. He gently leads those who have young. Or you think about Isaiah 7:40. It says, "This will be a sign for you. The virgin will conceive and bear a son and you shall call His name Emmanuel, which means God With Us.

That's your name of your Church Emmanuel: God With Us.

Yes, we are His people and God is coming for us and He's coming soon. Meanwhile, that means you and I. You and I get to do what we were created to do. Cuz we were created to worship. It's what we're doing today, and we were created to share Him until He comes again. What a joy it is. What a joy it is.

Meanwhile, as we think about comfort, we have to understand what that means. I think most of you knew the man on left - that's JFK. But you may not know the woman on the right. That's Rose Kennedy. That's his mother.

And the story that I want to share with you happened when she got married, and she married into affluence. The Kennedys had money. And to be honest, she was spoiled. She was one of those rich snobs. So they came, and they had their first child: a beautiful, beautiful girl. But as time went on, they realized that there was something wrong. Their daughter, intellectually was not there. That she would probably have to be institutionalized for her whole life. It caused Rose to be very bitter, very angry towards God. In fact, it got to the point where she refused to go outside, because she was afraid if someone asked her about her daughter, what she would say in reply.

Well, after this had gone on for a couple months, their maid turned to her one day and said, "Mrs. Kennedy, if you don't let this go, it's going to ruin you. If you don't let that anger out of your sight, it's going to completely consume you. Here's my suggestion. I think you should pray this prayer: "Dear Lord, use my heart to be a manger for the birth of the Christ child." Well, Mrs. Kennedy didn't take it well. She fired the maid on the spot. But later that night, she was laying in bed, and she was tossing and she was turning.

All of a sudden, she realized what she had to do it. She got down on her knees.

And she prayed, "Dear Lord, let my heart be a manger for the birth of the Christ child."

She said something happened. She says, "You know, I've always been religious. I'm Catholic. And I believe in Jesus. But that night, Jesus came and lifted the anger from my heart. It took away the bitterness that was consuming me because of what happened to my daughter.

By the way, they hired the maid back. And she lived with the Kennedys until she died.

I'm thinking about that in this Advent season and what it means for you and I. I think it's an appropriate prayer, don't you? So what I'd like to do is I'm going to pray that, and I'm going to pause, and you silently to yourself, you pray this prayer as I do this, please.

Dear Lord, make my heart a manger for the birth of the Christ child.

cuz that's what Advent is all about, people.

It's probably the one month where I don't think Jesus is coming. Because we're preparing for his birthday. The trees are up. The lights are all around us. But at the same time, we're preparing our hearts. For them to be the manger for the birth of the Christ child. That's why the manger is still empty. On Christmas Eve, guess what's going to be in there? Yeah, a baby as we celebrate the birth of Christ. But until then, we just prepare. We make ready. Make ready for the peace, make ready for the joy, make ready for the love that is to come. In His name, Amen.

And now may the peace that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.