The First Sunday of Advent
Today is the fourth Sunday before Christmas. That means it is the first Sunday of Advent. But what does that mean? Well, it means a new sermon series, that’s for sure. But what else does it mean? What is Advent all about? I’m so glad you asked.
Advent: to come or arrive.
The word ‘advent’ comes from Latin. It literally means: to come or to arrive. It creates a sense of patient waiting and expectation. That’s why we’re calling this sermon series, “Great Expectations.” Advent is all about expectancy.
Advent calendars
My first exposure to advent that I can remember was in High School. I was part of a club that was trying to raise money one year by selling advent calendars. I didn’t know what advent was, but I was given a bunch of these calendars to sell. The calendars were square, made out of cardboard, with a little thickness to them. On the front were pictures of December and Christmas. In the cardboard were little perforated doors with the numbers one through twenty-five on them. On the first day of December you punch out the little door, open it up, and inside was a piece of chocolate in the shape of a toy or something. On the second day you open the little door marked number two, and inside was a piece of chocolate in the shape of a snowflake. This goes each day until the 25th, Christmas Day, and behind that little door is the biggest piece of chocolate of all.
So I had all of these calendars to sell. I wasn’t much of a salesman, but I knew that a salesman had to believe in his product, so I took one out and gave it a try. Door one opened. First chocolate found and tasted.
I found out that the little doors actually could be opened before the day on the door. “I wonder what the shape is behind door two?” I opened it. Then door three, door four, door five. You get the idea. I don’t remember for sure, but I don’t think I actually sold a single calendar that year. And I don’t think a single one of them actually made it unopened until December 25th. (Great fundraiser -- I paid for each one.)
Advent stories
Years ago we found out about advent stories that you can start at the beginning of advent, reading a portion of the story each night with your family, concluding on Christmas day. (I didn’t read ahead. There was no chocolate involved.)
Advent wreaths
Many of you are aware of advent wreaths. These are green wreaths that sit on a table with a place around the wreath for four candles. The candles are lit during the four Sundays before Christmas, the four Sundays that make up advent.
*** Ushers: Pass out candles ***
Candle 1 – The Prophet’s candle.
This is traditionally a purple candle. It represents the hope of Jesus’ arrival that was given to the prophets of the Old Testament who foretold the coming of the Messiah.
Candle 2 – The Bethlehem candle.
This candle is also purple. It reminds us that God came in a humble manner to a small town called Bethlehem. (It also represents preparation.)
Candle 3 – The Shepherd’s candle.
This candle is traditionally pink, or rose, signifying that advent is now half over. Its focus is the joy that the shepherds had when they heard the message and went to see Jesus.
Candle 4 – The Angel’s candle.
This candle is purple, like the first two. It speaks about the angel’s message of peace and good news to all men.
There is a fifth candle. It is a white candle. It is not part of the wreath, but placed in the center and is lit on Christmas Day. It is called The Christ Candle.
The Light of Advent is Jesus
Jesus came as God in the flesh. Just as the prophets foretold, to the small town of Bethlehem, as the Shepherd’s witnessed and about whom the Angels sang. Jesus is the center, the focus, the reason and the meaning of Advent.
We will be dealing over the next few weeks with traditional advent themes. This week we will talk about the Light of Advent, Who is Jesus. We will also talk about the Faith of Advent, the Hope of Advent and the Promise of Advent.
John 1:1-18 (NKJV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
THE GREAT ADVENTURE
Jesus is the Light of Advent:
1. To see what we never could have seen.
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. v.5
That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. v.9
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. v.18
The basic position of an agnostic is that there may be a God, but there is really no way to know if there is one or not. An atheist says there is no God. That’s a tough position to prove. An agnostic gets around the need for proof by saying, “He may be out there but we’ll never know because He is too far beyond us.”
It would be true that we would not be able to know God if He hadn’t chosen to reveal Himself to us. “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.” This is not a natural understanding, but a supernatural one. It is called revelation.
Revelation
Real blindness
A friend of mine from college was in a car accident and lost his sight entirely. I spent some time with him in Portland recently. I asked him if he was entirely blind or if he could make out some blurry shapes. He said he was totally blind. He said, “You could turn a light on in a dark room and I wouldn’t even know it.”
Jesus came to give us spiritual light and to provide spiritual sight to see what we never would have seen otherwise. What is that? God. (verse 18)
Hebrews 1:1-3 (NKJV)
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Colossians 1:15 (NKJV)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
John 14:8-9 (NKJV)
8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
We can see supernaturally what we never could have seen naturally.
2. To be what we never could have been.
Did anything look familiar to you when we began reading this passage? “In the beginning…” If you think you’ve seen it somewhere before, you have. John had heard it before too.
Genesis 1:1-3 (NKJV)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
There are numerous, significant similarities between the beginning of John’s gospel and these verses in the creation account: beginning, God, created, darkness, “God said”/the Word, and light. This is no coincidence. It is also not a case of plagiarism, as if John was copying another writer.
Genesis 1 is the story of creation. John 1 is the story of re-creation.
Re-Creation
Since Genesis 1:1 there has been a supernatural story running right alongside of the story of creation and natural history. Jesus came to ignite that supernatural part of the story. He came to ignite a spiritual reality that is naturally impossible:
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. v.12-13
Notice the distinction being made here between the natural and the supernatural. Three things are mentioned here in the negative:
Blood: It is not a lineage issue, passed on from one family member to another;
Flesh: It is not a matter of strength or natural drives;
Man: It is not culturally or intellectually attained.
“But of God.” We are talking about spiritual re-creation. Scripture says, “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation.” You no longer need to be driven by or limited to who you are, naturally. Jesus came to take you beyond that.
We can be supernaturally who we never could have been naturally, Children of God.
3. To know who we never could have known.
I am not talking about knowing intellectually, but knowing relationally. Jesus came as the light of advent to make possible supernaturally relationships that would be impossible naturally.
Relationship
This supernatural relationship begins with God. Jesus came to warm that relationship that had turned cold. It doesn’t stop there.
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. v.16
Grace
Consider the word ‘grace.’ It means ‘unmerited favor,’ or simply getting more than you deserve. It is relational generosity. It is overlooking faults and extending unconditional love. It is extending forgiveness when wrongs have been committed.
The word grace is used 23 times in the Old Testament. There are 929 chapters in the Old Testament. On average, ‘grace’ is used once every 40 chapters.
The word grace is used 128 times in the New Testament. The New Testament is much smaller than the Old Testament. There are only 260 chapters. That means that grace is used on average once in every two chapters, or every other chapter. The New Testament is a Grace Explosion!
Grace for grace
Now here is an interesting phrase, “grace for grace.” It is clearly speaking of a great abundance of grace. You know when parents of multiple kids have a limited amount of rooms to put them in they use bunk beds. Well, this is bunk grace. Grace on top of grace. More grace than there is room for. But that’s not all.
It is grace for grace. You have grace for the purpose of showing grace to others. The flame of a candle can be extended without being diminished. If you are holding a lit candle and I need a light on my candle I might ask you to light my candle with yours. If you say to me, “I’d really like to, but I can’t give you a light because I need all the flame for myself. I can’t spare any.” That wouldn’t make sense. You can light my candle and another candle and another candle and another candle without losing any of your flame. That’s what it means to be extended without being diminished.
Grace is like that. The supply to you is unlimited. It is also for you to pass on to others. This supernatural relationship is not just about you and God. It is also about you and other people.
Grace: unmerited favor, relational generosity, unconditional love, forgiveness. God extended it to you so you could extend it to others.
The Peace Village
A friend of mine just got back from Rwanda, Africa, where she visited a place called the Peace Village. During the mass genocide a million people were killed in tribal wars over a hundred day period. Pastor Gahigi’s wife and five kids were all killed by a man from a rival tribe. This same man hunted Pastor Gahigi for three months to kill him, too.
It took four or five years of bitterness before Pastor Gahigi was able to finally and fully forgive. He began ministering in a prison containing the very people who killed his family and others in the village. Then he met the man in prison who had killed his own wife and five kids. God gave him complete forgiveness for this man.
Pastor Gahigi began the Peace Village, where previous victims and perpetrators lived together, including Pastor Gahigi and the man who killed his family. The man told Pastor Gahigi he knew for sure that the forgiveness was for real when they were working on a building together with the pastor at the top of the wall and the other man down below. When Pastor Gahigi was handed large bricks and he didn’t throw them down on this man, he knew that he was really forgiven.
Grace for grace is for you to have relationships that go beyond natural relationships. Don’t seek to hurt those who have hurt you. Forgive. Be generous in relationships.
CONCLUSION
The sixth candle of advent
What you hold in your hand is the sixth candle of advent. Jesus is the light of the world. His light inspired the prophets to talk about his arrival. His light shone in the humble city of Bethlehem. His light was seen by the shepherds and heralded by the angels.
But that’s not all. His light comes to people like me. Like you. You’re the sixth candle of advent. Will you receive His light to see what you could not have seen; to be what you could not have been; and to know who you could not have known? Are there relationships in your life where you need to extend grace?
Today is the fourth Sunday before Christmas. That means it is the first Sunday of Advent. But what does that mean? Well, it means a new sermon series, that’s for sure. But what else does it mean? What is Advent all about? I’m so glad you asked.
Advent: to come or arrive.
The word ‘advent’ comes from Latin. It literally means: to come or to arrive. It creates a sense of patient waiting and expectation. That’s why we’re calling this sermon series, “Great Expectations.” Advent is all about expectancy.
Advent calendars
My first exposure to advent that I can remember was in High School. I was part of a club that was trying to raise money one year by selling advent calendars. I didn’t know what advent was, but I was given a bunch of these calendars to sell. The calendars were square, made out of cardboard, with a little thickness to them. On the front were pictures of December and Christmas. In the cardboard were little perforated doors with the numbers one through twenty-five on them. On the first day of December you punch out the little door, open it up, and inside was a piece of chocolate in the shape of a toy or something. On the second day you open the little door marked number two, and inside was a piece of chocolate in the shape of a snowflake. This goes each day until the 25th, Christmas Day, and behind that little door is the biggest piece of chocolate of all.
So I had all of these calendars to sell. I wasn’t much of a salesman, but I knew that a salesman had to believe in his product, so I took one out and gave it a try. Door one opened. First chocolate found and tasted.
I found out that the little doors actually could be opened before the day on the door. “I wonder what the shape is behind door two?” I opened it. Then door three, door four, door five. You get the idea. I don’t remember for sure, but I don’t think I actually sold a single calendar that year. And I don’t think a single one of them actually made it unopened until December 25th. (Great fundraiser -- I paid for each one.)
Advent stories
Years ago we found out about advent stories that you can start at the beginning of advent, reading a portion of the story each night with your family, concluding on Christmas day. (I didn’t read ahead. There was no chocolate involved.)
Advent wreaths
Many of you are aware of advent wreaths. These are green wreaths that sit on a table with a place around the wreath for four candles. The candles are lit during the four Sundays before Christmas, the four Sundays that make up advent.
*** Ushers: Pass out candles ***
Candle 1 – The Prophet’s candle.
This is traditionally a purple candle. It represents the hope of Jesus’ arrival that was given to the prophets of the Old Testament who foretold the coming of the Messiah.
Candle 2 – The Bethlehem candle.
This candle is also purple. It reminds us that God came in a humble manner to a small town called Bethlehem. (It also represents preparation.)
Candle 3 – The Shepherd’s candle.
This candle is traditionally pink, or rose, signifying that advent is now half over. Its focus is the joy that the shepherds had when they heard the message and went to see Jesus.
Candle 4 – The Angel’s candle.
This candle is purple, like the first two. It speaks about the angel’s message of peace and good news to all men.
There is a fifth candle. It is a white candle. It is not part of the wreath, but placed in the center and is lit on Christmas Day. It is called The Christ Candle.
The Light of Advent is Jesus
Jesus came as God in the flesh. Just as the prophets foretold, to the small town of Bethlehem, as the Shepherd’s witnessed and about whom the Angels sang. Jesus is the center, the focus, the reason and the meaning of Advent.
We will be dealing over the next few weeks with traditional advent themes. This week we will talk about the Light of Advent, Who is Jesus. We will also talk about the Faith of Advent, the Hope of Advent and the Promise of Advent.
John 1:1-18 (NKJV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
THE GREAT ADVENTURE
Jesus is the Light of Advent:
1. To see what we never could have seen.
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. v.5
That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. v.9
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. v.18
The basic position of an agnostic is that there may be a God, but there is really no way to know if there is one or not. An atheist says there is no God. That’s a tough position to prove. An agnostic gets around the need for proof by saying, “He may be out there but we’ll never know because He is too far beyond us.”
It would be true that we would not be able to know God if He hadn’t chosen to reveal Himself to us. “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.” This is not a natural understanding, but a supernatural one. It is called revelation.
Revelation
Real blindness
A friend of mine from college was in a car accident and lost his sight entirely. I spent some time with him in Portland recently. I asked him if he was entirely blind or if he could make out some blurry shapes. He said he was totally blind. He said, “You could turn a light on in a dark room and I wouldn’t even know it.”
Jesus came to give us spiritual light and to provide spiritual sight to see what we never would have seen otherwise. What is that? God. (verse 18)
Hebrews 1:1-3 (NKJV)
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Colossians 1:15 (NKJV)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
John 14:8-9 (NKJV)
8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
We can see supernaturally what we never could have seen naturally.
2. To be what we never could have been.
Did anything look familiar to you when we began reading this passage? “In the beginning…” If you think you’ve seen it somewhere before, you have. John had heard it before too.
Genesis 1:1-3 (NKJV)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
There are numerous, significant similarities between the beginning of John’s gospel and these verses in the creation account: beginning, God, created, darkness, “God said”/the Word, and light. This is no coincidence. It is also not a case of plagiarism, as if John was copying another writer.
Genesis 1 is the story of creation. John 1 is the story of re-creation.
Re-Creation
Since Genesis 1:1 there has been a supernatural story running right alongside of the story of creation and natural history. Jesus came to ignite that supernatural part of the story. He came to ignite a spiritual reality that is naturally impossible:
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. v.12-13
Notice the distinction being made here between the natural and the supernatural. Three things are mentioned here in the negative:
Blood: It is not a lineage issue, passed on from one family member to another;
Flesh: It is not a matter of strength or natural drives;
Man: It is not culturally or intellectually attained.
“But of God.” We are talking about spiritual re-creation. Scripture says, “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation.” You no longer need to be driven by or limited to who you are, naturally. Jesus came to take you beyond that.
We can be supernaturally who we never could have been naturally, Children of God.
3. To know who we never could have known.
I am not talking about knowing intellectually, but knowing relationally. Jesus came as the light of advent to make possible supernaturally relationships that would be impossible naturally.
Relationship
This supernatural relationship begins with God. Jesus came to warm that relationship that had turned cold. It doesn’t stop there.
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. v.16
Grace
Consider the word ‘grace.’ It means ‘unmerited favor,’ or simply getting more than you deserve. It is relational generosity. It is overlooking faults and extending unconditional love. It is extending forgiveness when wrongs have been committed.
The word grace is used 23 times in the Old Testament. There are 929 chapters in the Old Testament. On average, ‘grace’ is used once every 40 chapters.
The word grace is used 128 times in the New Testament. The New Testament is much smaller than the Old Testament. There are only 260 chapters. That means that grace is used on average once in every two chapters, or every other chapter. The New Testament is a Grace Explosion!
Grace for grace
Now here is an interesting phrase, “grace for grace.” It is clearly speaking of a great abundance of grace. You know when parents of multiple kids have a limited amount of rooms to put them in they use bunk beds. Well, this is bunk grace. Grace on top of grace. More grace than there is room for. But that’s not all.
It is grace for grace. You have grace for the purpose of showing grace to others. The flame of a candle can be extended without being diminished. If you are holding a lit candle and I need a light on my candle I might ask you to light my candle with yours. If you say to me, “I’d really like to, but I can’t give you a light because I need all the flame for myself. I can’t spare any.” That wouldn’t make sense. You can light my candle and another candle and another candle and another candle without losing any of your flame. That’s what it means to be extended without being diminished.
Grace is like that. The supply to you is unlimited. It is also for you to pass on to others. This supernatural relationship is not just about you and God. It is also about you and other people.
Grace: unmerited favor, relational generosity, unconditional love, forgiveness. God extended it to you so you could extend it to others.
The Peace Village
A friend of mine just got back from Rwanda, Africa, where she visited a place called the Peace Village. During the mass genocide a million people were killed in tribal wars over a hundred day period. Pastor Gahigi’s wife and five kids were all killed by a man from a rival tribe. This same man hunted Pastor Gahigi for three months to kill him, too.
It took four or five years of bitterness before Pastor Gahigi was able to finally and fully forgive. He began ministering in a prison containing the very people who killed his family and others in the village. Then he met the man in prison who had killed his own wife and five kids. God gave him complete forgiveness for this man.
Pastor Gahigi began the Peace Village, where previous victims and perpetrators lived together, including Pastor Gahigi and the man who killed his family. The man told Pastor Gahigi he knew for sure that the forgiveness was for real when they were working on a building together with the pastor at the top of the wall and the other man down below. When Pastor Gahigi was handed large bricks and he didn’t throw them down on this man, he knew that he was really forgiven.
Grace for grace is for you to have relationships that go beyond natural relationships. Don’t seek to hurt those who have hurt you. Forgive. Be generous in relationships.
CONCLUSION
The sixth candle of advent
What you hold in your hand is the sixth candle of advent. Jesus is the light of the world. His light inspired the prophets to talk about his arrival. His light shone in the humble city of Bethlehem. His light was seen by the shepherds and heralded by the angels.
But that’s not all. His light comes to people like me. Like you. You’re the sixth candle of advent. Will you receive His light to see what you could not have seen; to be what you could not have been; and to know who you could not have known? Are there relationships in your life where you need to extend grace?
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