Archives for December 2014

Sermon: "From His Fullness" The preaching passage: John 1:14-18 During this Advent season and through the new year, we'll be examining the first chapter of John's Gospel. Contained in this lengthy chapter are powerful, eternal truths that reveal the glory and the grace of our salvation and, moreover, the glory and grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Our desire is to onc...

"Come, Thou long expected Jesus / Born to set Thy people free / From our fears and sins release us / Let us find our rest in Thee" -Come Thou Long Expected Jesus Rest is a significant idea that is portrayed in both the Old and New Testaments. There are examples of rest from war, rest from work, and so forth. But all of that rest, though in some ways manifested in physica...

"Mild He lays His glory by / Born that man no more may die / Born to raise the sons of earth / Born to give them second birth / Hark! The herald angels sing / 'Glory to the newborn King!'" -Hark the Herald Angels Sing In the above lyrics, it is tempting to speed past that first line without even thinking. After all, this is Christmas, right? Let's get to the birth part, ...

"Truly He taught us to love one another / His law is love and His gospel is peace" -O Holy Night A favorite for Christians around the world, "O Holy Night," derived from the French poem "Cantique De Nol," places the hearer in the setting of Christ's birth as described in the gospel of Luke. The first two stanzas illustrate not only the physical scene, but also the unprec...

"O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
 / Our spirits by Thine advent here
 / Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
 / And death's dark shadows put to flight" -O Come, O Come, Emmanuel The power of sin lies precisely in that it affects the whole person. Sin not only creates an infinite gap between God and man, it also dominates our very way of living. B...

"Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! /
 Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
 / Light and life to all He brings
 / Risen with healing in His wings" -Hark the Herald Angels Sing "But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings" (Malachi 4:2). Malachi, the prophet whose book is the last of the Old Testament, wrote ...

Sermon: "Rejection and Reception" The preaching passage: John 1:9-13 During this Advent season and through the new year, we'll be examining the first chapter of John's Gospel. Contained in this lengthy chapter are powerful, eternal truths that reveal the glory and the grace of our salvation and, moreover, the glory and grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Our desire is t...

"Go tell it on the mountain / Over the hills and everywhere / Go tell it on the mountain / Jesus Christ is born" -Go Tell it on the Mountain Celebration and proclamation naturally occur at the birth of a long awaited child. Birth announcements are sent through the mail, gifts are presented to the newborn child, and social updates are made of the child's weekly and monthl...

"Joyful, all ye nations rise / Join the triumph of the skies / With the angelic host proclaim: / 'Christ is born in Bethlehem' / Hark! The herald angels sing / 'Glory to the newborn King!'" -Hark the Herald Angels Sing For one who was in reality the newborn King, Jesus' birth was anything but earth-shattering news at the time. No trumpets blared in palace gardens. No her...

"Long lay the world in sin and error pining / Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth /
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
 /For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!" -Oh Holy Night Any celebration of the Christmas season must be accompanied by reflection on the very reason Christ came to this earth: for our sin. Ever since Adam and Eve took tha...