The focus this week is on the angels and their message. Next week we will look at how the shepherds respond.
The theme for the second Sunday of Advent is Faith and we light the Bethlehem candle. Advent is something of a journey as we moved toward celebrating Christmas Day. Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem involved a huge leap of faith and should make us examine ourselves and consider where our faith might lead.
The first theme of Advent is Hope and we light the Prophet’s Candle on the Advent wreath. There are many examples of messianic prophecy in the Old Testament as well as symbols and images that help us understand who Christ is and what he does. We are going to mention Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6 then take a deep dive into Genesis 22.
*Note: For a few years, the congregation at Unity consisted of a few senior widows. They had spent a lifetime in church, loved and supported their pastor, but that is not the makeup of a healthy growing church. Today we have a very different demographic, including families with young children. Teresa has often said that if you don’t hear babies crying then the church is dying. You may hear some crying babies in this sermon audio but that is a necessary function of a multi-generational congregation.
This parable from Luke 15 does not begin with the words “The kingdom of God is like…” but it illustrates the Gospel in simple terms that are easy to understand. This story should really be called “the parable of the forgiving father” because he had two sons, both wrong in different ways, that he loved and offered forgiveness to. We only know for sure that one accepted.
Last week we looked at the long parables in Matthew 13 and the explanations Jesus gave his disciples. In this sermon we will look at the other shorter parables and finish the chapter, making note of how each illustrates what the kingdom will be like.
Parables are a way of explaining things in terms that people already understand. In Matthew 13, Jesus shares several parables that each share some facet of truth about the kingdom. Today we will look at the two longer ones, the parable of the sower and parable of the weeds. These are the ones that Jesus later explains the meaning of to the disciples. Next week we will consider all the shorter parables in one sitting.
We are continuing our series of what Jesus taught about the kingdom of heaven and will finish up the sermon on the mount today from Matthew 6 and 7. Next week we will get into the many parables of Matthew 13, if you want to read ahead.
After last week’s sermon there was a question about divorce. So let’s go to Matthew 19 and talk about what Jesus said when he was asked questions about divorce.
The kingdom is coming, meanwhile some of us are already here. We need to live as citizens of God’s kingdom even while living among the nations and kingdoms of this world.
There are two separate occasions in the Gospels that record Jesus weeping. One is when he wept over Jerusalem, not because his feelings were hurt by their rejection but because he knew they would remain under God’s wrath. The other verse, John 11:35, simply says “Jesus wept.” It is famous for being the shortest verse in the Bible but originally there were no chapters or verses, those were all added later.
Jesus and his disciples arrived after Lazarus had died. Some questioned if the one who could open blinded eyes not have kept him from dying. Jesus had already told Martha that her brother would live again, and she believed he would in the resurrection “at the last day.” Jesus reveals to her that he is the resurrection. Jesus is not weeping because Lazarus is dead; he already knows what he is going to do. Look at verse 33: “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.” Jesus did not weep because Lazarus was dead, he wept because of the family members and friends that were weeping. They were hurting and mourning, and it affected him. Romans 12:15 tells us to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep. That’s what Jesus is doing here.
As a man, I can tell you that men are sometimes the worst at expressing their feelings. I sometimes quip that I have no feelings of which I’m aware. When my wife tells me that’s not true I admit to feeling hungry; and sometimes angry. The truth is that feelings were created by God and he uses them to inform us of things that are happening. Sometimes they are warnings that something is wrong or a sign that something is right; don’t forget to offer praise when things are right just like you pray for peace when things are wrong. We can’t always trust our feelings and they will sometimes get us into trouble. But ignoring them is like seeing that Check Engine light in your car and just pretending it doesn’t mean anything. A yellow light is not an emergency but it does indicate you might need to do something soon to avoid having more lights, perhaps red ones, show up in the future.
Read the full story of Lazarus in John 11.
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