December 11: The Third Sunday of Advent
But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. –Luke 21:34-36
I was walking through Dillard’s recently and felt myself humming along to O Holy Night being piped out of the loudspeakers. When they got to “Long lay the world in sin and error pining,” I snickered to myself convinced that if it weren’t for the sentimentality of the tune, they wouldn’t play this song about how our souls need Christ to save us from our sin sick ways (“’til He appeared and the soul felt its worth”). I don’t know about you, but thinking about my depravity and the fallenness of the world doesn’t really get me in the mood to go out and spend money!
It’s good to remember during this Advent time that when Jesus walked on the earth, the Scriptures we call the New Testament didn’t exist. So, when the prophets wrote in the “Old Testament” about the coming Messiah, they were looking forward to and prophesying about the coming of the Messiah, not a second and final coming like people today like to insinuate and preach. For them, the coming of Jesus was one singular event with a beginning and an end. They imagined “the day of the Lord” bringing a man, the Messiah, who would come to redeem his people from the curse and set up his kingdom. You can see why the crude beginning in a stable manger celebrated by a scraggly group of stinky shepherds would trip them up a bit.
They expected glory; they got humility. They wanted victory; He appeared defeated. They wanted immediate satisfaction; He said it would be like leaven working its way through a lump of dough.
When Luke wrote these words above, he was following in the footsteps of Old Testament prophets who wanted to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted with the truth to be revealed. In both cases, they would tell what God has done in the past, and that depending on who you are, the day of the Lord would be wonderful or terrible for you. The point was to shake you from the hypnotizing stupor of the world’s sights and sounds.
So, hear these words as you think of how long our collective souls have been erring and pining and fall on your knees in worship of the Son of Man. For if you stand in your own strength, you will surely fall. But for those who believe, they shall stand in the strength of Christ and never face the fear of sin or death again.
And that’s the gospel! Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.
The related hymns we’ll sing are:
Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending
Amazing Grace
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
CHRISTMAS PARTY AT THE BALTHROPS’
The annual Christmas party at the Balthrops’ will be this Saturday evening, December 10 from 6:00-8:00. Everyone at Redeemer is invited. We’ll have food, fellowship, and some carol singing. Please plan to attend!
CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP SERVICE
The Christmas Eve service will be Saturday evening, December 24, at 6:00.
CHRISTMAS MORNING WORSHIP SERVICE
We will have worship at the usual time (10:30) on Sunday, December 25, but there will be no Sunday school that day.
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sunday school for children (in Joshua) and adults (in 1 Peter) continues. Coffee and other treats are served at 9:15, teaching begins at 9:30, and we break to get ready for worship at 10:15.
Visitors are always welcome!