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Showing posts from December, 2017

2017 Advent Sermon 4: Ordinary People

Isaiah 9:6-7 6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Luke 1:47-55 1:47 "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 1:48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 1:49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 1:50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 1:51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 1:52 He has brought down the powerful from

2017 Advent Sermon 2: Building the Road

Building the Road Isaiah 40:1-11   Mark 1:1-8 Introduction: Waiting for Jesus Starting last Sunday, this is the season of the church year we call Advent.  Advent is the season of waiting.  It is the season of waiting for the coming of Jesus…And that means we wait with a real expectation that something remarkable is going to happen. Perhaps kids can teach us something of what this kind of waiting is like.  Kids wait for Christmas with strong feelings.  They feel impatience, wanting the day to come, and they feel really excited, because they know that there will be a present waiting for them on that day.  In Advent, we remember that when we wait for the Lord, we should have strong feelings, too—strong feelings, because we are expecting God to take real and powerful action for the good of God’s people. But the emotions of Advent are sometimes different than the emotions of excitement and joy...partly because Advent is about waiting for God’s strong action in a time