First Sunday, November 28
Text: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
The first Sunday of Advent I introduced our Advent theme for the year, coming from John 3:16-21. I talked about the great love God has for us. So much so that he sent his son, Jesus. I talked about the joy of coming and used my visiting Texas granddaughters as an example. We then showed a video.
Second Sunday, December 5
Text: John 3:18, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
The second week on this year’s Advent road brings us to faith. John’s account reminds us that there are two sides to the salvation story. On one side is God. “God so loved . . . that he sent.” That was his part. He did the heavy lifting. “Whoever believes,” that is our part, the easier side of road. That we will not be condemned to eternity without God is a wonderful gift from our God. And he did all the work for us.
Third Sunday, December 12
Text: John 3:18, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
There are many contrasts in our world. Soft vs hard. Sweet and sour. Rough and smooth. Clean and dirty. Old or young. Left or right. Light and dark.
On our Advent journey today, we think about light and dark. Day and night, good and evil. The coming of our Messiah is the bringing of light into our dark, cold, sinful world. And in the process, we have the opportunity to live eternity in the light of God’s goodness. So today we light the third Advent candle, Jesus is the light of the world.
Fourth Sunday, December 19
Text: John 3:21, “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
Years ago, there was a TV show, “The Liars’ Club.” Celebrities would take unusual objects, often antiques, and try and stump contestants as to their purpose. One would tell the truth and the others would make up a story, hoping to trick the contestants into thinking they were the truthful one.
Advent is about truth. It is about seeing things plainly. As we light the final candle of Advent, we bring light of truth into our world.
