“Where do you abide?" "Come and you will see.”

John 1:35-51

Two important things are happening in this passage. First, little by little, we’re told who Jesus is. Notice all the different ways that people refer to him in this passage: Lamb of God, Rabbi or Teacher, Messiah, the one about whom Moses and the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth, Son of God, King of Israel, Son of Man. Each time Jesus gains a new follower, our understanding of who he is becomes a little bit richer. And that’s the other important thing happening here. In this passage, Jesus is beginning to gather followers.

Christ Reveals God

John 1:14-18

If we ask the question, “What is God like?” our answer is simply, Jesus Christ. If we want to know what God is like we look to him. He is the primary revelation of God to us. But, more than that. If we ask the question, “What are humans supposed to be like?” the answer is the same, Jesus Christ. This is the beauty of our Lord’s incarnation. Because our Lord is divine, he reveals God to us. On the other hand, because our Lord is human, he reveals what humanity is supposed to be.

O Come, All Ye Faithful

Luke 2:21-40

The events of this passage take place not long after our Lord’s birth. I would sum up this passage in two words: faith and faithfulness. You have the holy family: Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. Mary and Joseph are faithful, devout people. Luke goes out of his way to remind us, over and over, what they are doing is in fulfillment of the law. These are faithful people. Then we have Simeon and Anna. They have faithfully waited for the Messiah to be come. And behind all of this is God who is faithful to the promise and whose Holy Spirit is present throughout this passage. This passage is rich with examples of faith and faithfulness. So, let’s begin with the holy family.

Advent: Expecting the Unexpected

Matthew 11:2-15

Every year, during Advent, we talk about John the Baptist. That may seem a little odd. Why John the Baptist? If Advent is a time of waiting and preparing for the birth of Christ, if Advent is a time of waiting and preparing for the coming Kingdom, why talk about John the Baptist? Well, there’s a few reasons. If you think about it, John was the quintessential Advent preacher. Right? If you want to see what Advent preaching looks like, John is your man. I mean, think about his message: Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand! That’s Advent, right there. The dawn is about to break. God is coming to set things right, so get ready, the hour is near. If Advent is a time of waiting with anticipation for God to act, then John is the one who comes along and says, “Your time of waiting is almost over.” So, John was the quintessential Advent preacher.

The True Light

John 1:6-9

Isaiah 2:1-5

This is the season of Advent. That word “advent” means “arrival.” You can imagine an ancient city whose king has been away, but they’ve gotten word that he’s coming back, and so they start to prepare. They fix what’s broken, they clean the streets, they get things ready for their king’s arrival. That’s a pretty good image of Advent.

With Great Grace Comes Great Responsibility

Jeremiah 23:1-6
Colossians 1:11-20

In many churches, Christians profess their faith by reciting the Apostles Creed. The Apostles Creed, as you probably know, is a very ancient statement of our faith. But it is not the most ancient. Probably the earliest profession of faith was very simple with only three words: Jesus Is Lord. That was it. Jesus is Lord. At first blush, the confession that “Jesus is Lord” seems simple enough, after all it’s only three words. But, as we’ll see, it covers a lot of territory. Actually, it covers all the territory.

The Glory of God is a Living Person

When Philip requests from Jesus that he show them the Father, Jesus replies, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Let us all agree: that is quite a claim. If I were to say to you, “Friend, if you have seen me, then you have seen God,” at the very least you would be doubtful. Most likely, you would be worried. And yet, that is our Lord’s claim. If we have seen him, we have seen the Father.