Month: December 2023

The Gifts of Advent: John 1:14

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*I’m recovering from a cold this week and my voice just isn’t there. You’ll have to accept just reading this one today. Happy Monday!

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever been around one of those people who were just different in the best possible way? Something about them – and you never could quit put your finger on exactly what it was – just drew you in. You wanted to be near them. At the same time, you never quite felt like you deserved to be near them. The closer you got, the more you became aware of just how much you fell short of their goodness and you didn’t really like that. The odds are pretty good that what you experienced from that person was a taste of the glory of God. As we get closer and closer to Christmas Day, let’s reflect today on one of the greatest gifts of God’s coming near in Christ: glory.

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Songs of the Season: 1 Peter 2:24

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“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Sometimes a song is just right. Why it hits that mark is hard to fully explain. And, different songs manage to accomplish this feat for different people. But when it happens, you just can’t forget about it. I don’t mean that it is just permanently stuck in your head. That wouldn’t be much fun at all. But rather, you keep coming back to it. Even when you haven’t actually listened to it for quite some time, you find yourself humming along with it from totally out of the blue. Today’s song of the season is one of these songs for me. This morning, I’d like to share it with you.

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The Gifts of Advent: Matthew 1:24

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“When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Think about the last time you got a gift that you didn’t want. While I can’t remember the gifts specifically, I remember a few Christmases when I opened something and had to swallow my disappointment so as not to hurt the feelings of the giver. Sometimes gifts that seem hard in a moment, though, prove later to be among the best we have ever received. This next gift of Advent we are going to talk about this morning doesn’t feel like a gift at all at first. Sometimes it feels more like a curse. Yet if we will receive it, it will prove to be utterly transformative in our lives. Let’s talk today about the gift of obedience.

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The Gifts of Advent: 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

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“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

You’ve experienced it before yourself. If you have children, you now have the joy of seeing it through their eyes. I’m talking about the delight of Christmas morning. The glad anticipation of what waits under the tree builds and builds until everyone finally rushes in there for the great moment of discovery. Yet what is it that most thrills us in that moment? It is the gift of something new. We delight in new things. The season of Advent is a celebration of something new coming into our lives. Let’s talk this morning about the gift of new and just how it transforms us.

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The Gifts of Advent: Luke 2:10-12

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“But the angel said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When was the last time you were truly and completely happy? Depending on your circumstances, that could have been quite some time ago. Maybe you can’t even remember the last time that happened. For you, every day is a slog. Work is a drudgery. Family is just frustration. Friends are fleeting. And social media sucks most of the rest of the life out of you. The thought of being happy is a nice one, but not something you see very often. Well, our next gift of Advent is not happiness. But it can lead to it in some most unexpected places. Let’s talk today about the gift of joy.

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