This Christmas Eve, Pastor David led us in a reflection on an ancient Christian hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” which has lyrics that date back to at least the 9th Century. The seven stanzas of this hymn contain a powerful message that you won’t want to miss. Listen in to this message and celebrate the great truth that Jesus Christ is indeed here with us – and that he will be here again soon!
One of the most profound truths of the Christian faith is easily overlooked at this time of year. We are in the season of Christmas, of course. (More technically, we are in the season of Advent; in the church year, the season of Christmas doesn’t begin until Christmas Day. But guess how long Christmas lasts? From December 25 until Epiphany, January 6, which is a total of – you guessed it – twelve days!) During this season, our thoughts turn toward the birth of a baby in Bethlehem, a small town outside Jerusalem, over two thousand years ago. We remember that birth because of what that child would do later in his life. He grew up to transform lives through his teachings, miracles, compassion, death, and resurrection. Jesus Christ changed the world as an adult, so we joyfully remember his birth. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for the gospel writers to make note of a child born to an unwed mother in a town far from her home. Right? Continue reading →
On this first Sunday of Advent, Pastor David preaches from Isaiah 2:1-5, a prophecy about a time when all nations will stream to Jerusalem to worship God in his temple. How does this passage point back in time to Jesus’s birth? And how does it point forward to his return at the end of the age? Click here to listen in, and let’s see the hope of Advent together!
Today, I took the afternoon (as I often do on Thursdays) to finish up the sermon for Sunday morning. A good bit of my time in sermon writing is spent in thought, prayer, and meditation, and so I often find myself looking out the windows of my church office while I organize my thoughts. Today, I saw something I haven’t noticed before, something that interrupted my train of thought, something I’d like to share with you:
The snow on the roof is melting in the sunlight, and water drops are falling off the edge of the roof onto the ground below. Suddenly, a few birds – cardinals, from the looks of one of them – land on the edge of the roof, bend over, and drink from the water droplets as they trickle off the edge of the building.
photo by ccho
I think what struck me about this scene is just how odd of a drinking position that must be for the birds. Can you imagine jumping into a stream of running water, facing downstream, bending over, and drinking until your thirst is quenched? I suppose the birds found this water much more palatable than the running water in nearby Bullock Creek – a stream from which neither birds nor humans would drink willingly!
These birds went to where the water is, and they found satisfaction for their thirst. Water is fuel for life: nearly all species of plants and animals depend on water for survival. So we too, in our daily lives, need spiritual refreshment and nourishment. Where do we find water for the soul?
“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” (John 7:37-39 NIV)
Friends, in your everyday walk of faith, go to where the water is: even Jesus Christ, the one whose birth we celebrate this season, whose glory was revealed on the cross and in the empty tomb, whose Spirit dwells in those who believe, whose return we await with great hope and anticipation. Drink deeply from this source of life, no matter if it seems like a strange thing to do from the world’s perspective. There is no better way to live!
As people of faith in Christ Jesus, we celebrate this current season with special fervor and religious anticipation. The Christmas season, while maddeningly materialistic and terribly self-centered in our American culture, still holds special meaning for Christians. We want to encourage people in our community to “keep Christ in Christmas” – yet at the same time, we should remember why we celebrate this season and what it means for the faith.
photo by Per Ola Wiberg
We are people who believe in an “already and not yet” kingdom of God. God’s reign over the universe broke into this world in personal, tangible form through the person of Jesus Christ. This was the content of Jesus’s preaching (see Mark 1:14-15), and this was the reason that Jesus was born into the world (see John 18:33-38). He reigns in our hearts in the present tense. He conquers sin in our lives in the present tense. His rule is already secure because of his nature, his work on the cross, and his empty tomb.
And yet the kingdom of God is not yet completely fulfilled. We await Jesus’s return at the end of the age, at which point his kingdom will come in its completeness and perfection (see Revelation 22:6-21). There will be no more suffering in the future tense. The presence of God will fill us with heavenly light in the future tense. We yearn for Christ to return even within our lifetimes so that we might witness his reign being made complete.
We are “already and not yet” Christians. We believe in an “already and not yet” Lord, one who has already atoned for our sins but has not yet brought about the ultimate fullness of his kingdom.
This ties into our observance of the season of Advent, the season in which we celebrate the “coming” (“advent”) of Jesus Christ: both his birth into the world and his second coming at the end of the age. We are “already and not yet” Christians who celebrate an “already and not yet” Lord!
We tend to focus on the past tense story of Christmas, the birth of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem, during this season. Let us always remember, though, that our faith points us toward a future tense story of Advent, which is the return of Christ in final victory and triumph. Even as Jesus came to earth in the form of a tiny, humble baby, so he will return again as ultimate, undisputed, unmistakable King.
Who needs Black Friday sales, Cyber Monday advertisements, nonstop secular Christmas songs, and stereotypical American indebtedness to celebrate this season? Let’s celebrate Advent, in word and in deed, as people of true faith.
