12/18/2022: Fourth Sunday in Advent

SERIES THEME: COME, LORD JESUS!

The Latin word adventus means “coming.” The last words in Scripture are “Come, Lord Jesus!” Thus, the season of Advent begins with the end in mind. We enter a new Church Year with our eyes fixed on the End—capital “E”—when Jesus Christ will come and destroy this sin-broken world.

If that is what Jesus and his angels are coming to do—destroy the universe with fire (2 Peter 3) why would we cry out, “Come, Lord Jesus”? Because we know that Jesus has come into our world once before. The Son of God became the Son of Man. From the manger to the cross, Jesus did everything necessary to redeem mankind. As this new Church Year walks us through the entire life of Christ, we see God’s promises of deliverance fulfilled… God’s plan of salvation completed. And so, when Christ comes again, while the universe will be destroyed, we know God’s people will be ushered into a new, glorious, everlasting kingdom.

Advent is necessary to prepare us for Christmas. It enables us to understand the true significance of Christmas. For Advent allows us to see that because of what Christ did when he came the first time, believers need not fear when he comes again. Instead, we yearn for it. Come, Lord Jesus! God bless the worship of your King.

THEME OF THE DAY: COME, LORD JESUS! AS IMMANUEL   

This time of year it is so easy to get caught up in the beautiful trappings of Christmas and forget why this birth had to take place. Mankind fell into sin. Sin brings an awful burden. Hatred and oppression. Suffering and pain. Guilt and shame. The devastation of death. These are all natural consequences of sin. And what can we do about any of it? Nothing of substance. We can numb ourselves to pain, but we cannot avoid it. We can fill our life with distractions in an attempt to forget about our guilt. But our conscience is always nagging. And death… no one avoids that.

Man can do nothing to shake off the burden of sin. Therefore, the Church prays that God would come in power to remove that burden for us. Since the Garden, there has been only one plan to do that: God would take on flesh and blood. To do what mankind could not do—remove all the burdens of sin—God became man. When you look into the manger, what do you see? A baby? Yes. But, more. That is Immanuel, “God-with-us.” The Son of God became Mary’s son, so that he could do for us what we could not do for ourselves.

God bless your worship.

Pastor Adam Mueller will preach on James 5:7–11, “Bloom Out Of Season”

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