Sermon - 1st Sunday in Advent
Today was the first Sunday in Advent and I delivered the sermon!
Psalm 33, verses 16 - 22
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love be with us, LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.
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Romans chapter 5, verses 1 - 8
5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
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Let us pray. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable to you, O Christ, our strength and our redeemer, amen.
The four weeks of Advent celebrate hope, peace, joy and love. Today is the first Sunday in Advent, so our theme today is 'hope'. As the reading from Psalm 33 demonstrates, the Old Testament is a grand story of hope. It concerns the nation of Israel. The Jewish people struggled with each other, their enemies, their friends, and yes - they struggled with God. They continue to struggle with God this very day.
The nation of Israel held onto their hope fiercely. There were many prophets, priests and kings who guided them with laws, but their hope was not in these powerful men. Their hope was not in the laws. Who was their hope? As Psalm 33 said, they learned over and over again that they could not put their hope in their king, they could not have hope in their personal strength, they could not place their hope in military might, they could not hope in the strength of their animals or livestock, and they could not even hope in their farmland or the food they made. Throughout the Old Testament it is always the Lord God who saves them from their enemies and helps them survive during times of famine. The people of Israel hoped for a Messiah, and they continue to hope for one.
The New Testament continues the story of hope with the person of Jesus, who is the affirmation of that hope. With His birth, history itself - the history of humanity - changed forever. Jesus is not only an affirmation of that historical hope, but He is a promise of the glory to come. He is the promise that the Kingdom of God will come.
As the reading from Romans chapter 5 says, we are no longer justified by the Law. We are now justified through faith. Jesus is not a God of laws, but a God in person. A suffering God, who gives us not Laws but His presence. God suffers with us because He is with us.
When Jesus arrived the nation of Israel did not recognise Him as the Messiah. They hoped for a Messiah who would defeat their enemies in battle and establish an earthly kingdom. They interpreted Messiah through their understanding of how the world works. However, as Christians, we believe that Jesus is God as He truly is; His true personality and identity is not an earthly ruler, but a suffering servant.
The reading continues to speak about God's love demonstrated through Christ dying for sinners. No matter who we are, what we have done or what has been done to us, the grace of Jesus is sufficient for us. His grace is sufficient for you. Our hope is in Him, as it ever was, for by His grace we are saved from God's wrath. We are saved from destruction through the obedient suffering of the Son of God.
As we celebrate the Christmas season, let us remember this: 'advent' is the coming into the world of the birth, life and death of Jesus. He is fully God and fully Man. He is a bridge that extends fully in both directions. One end of the bridge touches us here on Earth, is firmly rooted here with the Holy Spirit, and the other end of the bridge touches Heaven, is firmly rooted there with God the Father. Jesus reconciles us with God; He is the bridge between Earth and Heaven.
We are a new people with Christ within us. As the apostle Paul said,
1st Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 12:
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
As a new people in Christ, we still wait for the Kingdom to come, but we now have that glass through which we can see the truth, and catch glimpses of the glory to come. Amen. Let us pray. Lord, from the beginning of the world You gave Your people hope in Your unfailing love. Let us remember Your Son during this Advent season, so that His grace will save us from death, and give us life everlasting in Your Kingdom to come. Amen.
Psalm 33, verses 16 - 22
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love be with us, LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.
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Romans chapter 5, verses 1 - 8
5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let us pray. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable to you, O Christ, our strength and our redeemer, amen.
The four weeks of Advent celebrate hope, peace, joy and love. Today is the first Sunday in Advent, so our theme today is 'hope'. As the reading from Psalm 33 demonstrates, the Old Testament is a grand story of hope. It concerns the nation of Israel. The Jewish people struggled with each other, their enemies, their friends, and yes - they struggled with God. They continue to struggle with God this very day.
The nation of Israel held onto their hope fiercely. There were many prophets, priests and kings who guided them with laws, but their hope was not in these powerful men. Their hope was not in the laws. Who was their hope? As Psalm 33 said, they learned over and over again that they could not put their hope in their king, they could not have hope in their personal strength, they could not place their hope in military might, they could not hope in the strength of their animals or livestock, and they could not even hope in their farmland or the food they made. Throughout the Old Testament it is always the Lord God who saves them from their enemies and helps them survive during times of famine. The people of Israel hoped for a Messiah, and they continue to hope for one.
The New Testament continues the story of hope with the person of Jesus, who is the affirmation of that hope. With His birth, history itself - the history of humanity - changed forever. Jesus is not only an affirmation of that historical hope, but He is a promise of the glory to come. He is the promise that the Kingdom of God will come.
As the reading from Romans chapter 5 says, we are no longer justified by the Law. We are now justified through faith. Jesus is not a God of laws, but a God in person. A suffering God, who gives us not Laws but His presence. God suffers with us because He is with us.
When Jesus arrived the nation of Israel did not recognise Him as the Messiah. They hoped for a Messiah who would defeat their enemies in battle and establish an earthly kingdom. They interpreted Messiah through their understanding of how the world works. However, as Christians, we believe that Jesus is God as He truly is; His true personality and identity is not an earthly ruler, but a suffering servant.
The reading continues to speak about God's love demonstrated through Christ dying for sinners. No matter who we are, what we have done or what has been done to us, the grace of Jesus is sufficient for us. His grace is sufficient for you. Our hope is in Him, as it ever was, for by His grace we are saved from God's wrath. We are saved from destruction through the obedient suffering of the Son of God.
As we celebrate the Christmas season, let us remember this: 'advent' is the coming into the world of the birth, life and death of Jesus. He is fully God and fully Man. He is a bridge that extends fully in both directions. One end of the bridge touches us here on Earth, is firmly rooted here with the Holy Spirit, and the other end of the bridge touches Heaven, is firmly rooted there with God the Father. Jesus reconciles us with God; He is the bridge between Earth and Heaven.
We are a new people with Christ within us. As the apostle Paul said,
1st Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 12:
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
As a new people in Christ, we still wait for the Kingdom to come, but we now have that glass through which we can see the truth, and catch glimpses of the glory to come. Amen. Let us pray. Lord, from the beginning of the world You gave Your people hope in Your unfailing love. Let us remember Your Son during this Advent season, so that His grace will save us from death, and give us life everlasting in Your Kingdom to come. Amen.