Sermon Video: "comfort my people, says your God", Isaiah 40:1-5

The prophet Isaiah offers a word of hope and comfort to the generation to follow that will experience the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian Exile: "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God."  Why?  In the aftermath of tragedy, where does the comfort come from?  The Promise of God.

Isaiah was told to encourage them that their exile would mark the extent of God's wrath and that he would soon send forth those to prepare the way to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.

Matthew calls upon Isaiah's words 500 years after the Exiles took comfort from it to proclaim that John the Baptist had fulfilled the prophecy a second time when he prepared the way for the Messiah, offering a message of repentance prior to the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.

Lastly, in any generation, we live by faith just as our ancestors did, we too take comfort from our knowledge that God keeps his promises, that no matter how we feel about the present or the future, God is working in our world.  Our calling is to remain faithful, here and now, knowing that like always God's word will stand.

Sermon Video: Advent Witnesses part 3 - Elizabeth: A Secondary Blessing - Luke 1:39-44

Continuing to examine the first Advent through the eyes of its eyewitnesses, we turn to Elizabeth, the long-suffering wife of the priest Zechariah. After waiting decades, Elizabeth is blessed by God with a miraculous pregnancy. At her sixth month she receives a visit from her much younger relative Mary, at which point both the child in her womb (John) and the Holy Spirit give Elizabeth an amazing experience of wonder and joy. Elizabeth (and Zechariah) is the first to experience the 'ripple effect' of the Advent of the Son of God, the first to receive God's grace and mercy as part of Jesus' redemptive plan. Those ripples continue to this day, as the coming of Jesus continues to spread joy, grace, and reconciliation in our world.

Sermon Video: Speaking Truth to Power - The Martyrdom of John the Baptist, Mark 6:14-29

 When confronted with a morally repugnant situation, John the Baptist spoke with clarity, unafraid of the power wielded by Herod Antipas. As a result, he was imprisoned, and eventually martyred. Why did he speak? Because he represented God, and God's Word on the matter was clear. When called to speak, we need the three things that John had: (1) A righteous reputation that doesn't allow our words to be dismissed, (2) Knowledge of the Truth, and (3) the courage to speak, especially to those with power. While you or I may never speak before a king or president, our own families, workplaces, and communities also have those with power, when they abuse it, when they utilize it for immoral purposes, we too must speak up.

Sermon Video: Jesus: Baptism, Temptation, and Proclamation - Mark 1:9-15

What does it take to get something big started? How much planning, what preparation? As the Gospel of Mark unfolds, Jesus travels to the Jordan to be baptized by John, and then into the Wilderness where he was tested by Satan. Following these two episodes of confirmation (the Spirit descending like a dove and the voice from Heaven on the one hand, and the ability to resist the Devil on the other), Jesus takes up John's message of repentance, adding to it the Good News that the Kingdom of God has come near (because he is here).

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Sermon Video: Jesus' Opening Act: John the Baptist, Mark 1:2-8

It is not often that the Opening Act gains tremendous popularity, but John the Baptist, the one sent by God to prepare the people of Israel for the Messiah, drew large crowds to see his unique style and hear his message. What was that message? A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. In other words, the same call as the prophets of old: repent. At the height of his popularity, John understood that his time in the sun was limited, and that the one he was the prelude to was far superior. Why? Because John could only wash with water, Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit.

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Sermon Video: The Promise to Abraham fulfilled by Jesus - Luke 1:39-56

Following her incredible encounter with Gabriel, Mary journeys to visit her older cousin Elizabeth, who herself is in the midst of a miraculous, although natural, pregnancy.  When Mary arrives, the Spirit moves both Elizabeth, and John in her womb, to acknowledge the magnitude of what the will of God is beginning to accomplish through the child Mary is bearing.
After Elizabeth's blessing, Mary responds with a humble speech, full of references to the Scriptures and modeled after that of Hannah, which extols the glory and righteousness of God, and ends with an acknowledgement that God is indeed remembering the promise that he made to Abraham to bless all nations through his descendants.  Within one generation of Mary's words, the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be preached even beyond the borders of the Roman Empire, establishing a Church that would grow to encompass more of humanity than any other creed.

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Sermon Video: The great and dreadful day of the LORD - Malachi 4:1-6

What does the future hold?  Nearly every culture and religion has an explanation about how the world will one day end, most viewing it as a time of judgment.  Through the prophet Malachi, the LORD warns that a "great and dreadful" day of judgment will one day come, a time when the wicked will be destroyed with fire and the righteous will find healing and renewal.  The only hint as to when this day will arrive is that is will be after the return of Elijah, an event that Jesus would later equate with the arrival of John the Baptist.  As the people of God, we do not know when the day of judgment will come, but we do know with certainty that such a day is coming.  Let us then be ready, walking morally upright before our God, so that he will find us ready if that day be soon or not for many generations.

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Sermon Video: "I the LORD do not change" - Malachi 3:1-6

The physical realm that we inhabit is in a state of constant change, everything we know changes, with only one exception.  There is only one thing that doesn't change: God.  The prophet Malachi, in response to the complaint of the people that God's justice was absent, responds by speaking of the messenger to come who would prepare the way for God himself to come among his people.  This dramatic change, for us, does not harbinger a change within God, for Jesus the Son of God was still one with the Father, even while taken upon himself humanity.

What does it mean that God does not change?  It allows for humanity a sure foundation for morality and ethics, for they can be built upon the changeless character of God, and it provides hope and security for we know that the promises of God will never falter, for God does not change.  In the end, it is the changeless nature of God which allows his people to exist, for despite their ample shortcomings in conforming to his holiness, they are not destroyed, for God has promised to redeem them and make them into a holy people, and God does not change.

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Sermon Video: The Birth of John the Baptist - Luke 1:39-66

The Christmas story continues with Mary hurrying to visit her relative Elizabeth, a woman to with whom she can share the story of Gabriel's visit as even now Elizabeth is in the 6th month of her miracle pregnancy.  The unborn John "leaps" in the womb of Elizabeth, prompting her to remark on the blessing that Mary has been given as the one who will bring the Lord into the world.  Following Mary's song of praise, the son of Elizabeth is born to much fanfare as word of the birth spreads far and wide.  At this point, the words of Gabriel are fulfilled and the boy is named John, but not until Elizabeth speaks up (and is disregarded) and then Zechariah confirms it in writing.  Zechariah's speech returns to him (after 9 months of silence) and he begins to praise God, adding to the general amazement and wonder as to what John will one day become.
As the birth of Jesus approaches, all eyes are on John, the one who will a few short years from now travel into the desert to prepare the way of the Lord.

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Sermon Video, The Promise of John the Baptist - Luke 1:5-25

The opening act to the Christmas story begins with the morally upright priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth.  This ideal Jewish couple have only one problem, they can't have kids.  What would be seen as a difficulty to be overcome today was a shameful deficiency in the 1st Century.  While serving in the Temple, Gabriel appears to Zechariah and promises that God has answered their prayer in the form of a miraculous child who will take up the mantle of the prophet Elijah and lead his people back to their God as well as prepare the way for the Lord's advent.  If this is God's opening act, imagine how amazing the Messiah must be.

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Sermon Video: Jesus' winnowing fork - Luke 3:15-22

Why was Jesus baptized by John the Baptist, and why did John tell everyone that the Messiah would be carrying a winnowing fork? Oh yeah, and why is John talking about untying somebody's shoes?


The humility of John is on display as he denies that he is the Christ. Furthermore, he assures the crowds that the Messiah will baptize with the Holy Spirit, a more potent and permanent baptism than the water with which John is baptizing.
 
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Sermon Video: "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance" - Luke 3:7-14

When the crowds began to come out to the Jordan to John to be baptized he responded with dire words, calling them a "brood of vipers".  Why would John respond harshly to those seeking to repent?  The answer lies in the covenant that God's people had broken by wandering away in disobedience.  John doesn't criticize new believers, nor should we, his message is for those within Israel (and the message is the same today for the Church) who already know God's grace but fail to act upon it.  What should we do to confirm our repentance?  We must produce fruit through acts of kindness in service to others, only then will the genuine nature of our repentence be confirmed.

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Sermon Video: "a baptism of repentance" - Luke 3:2-6

How do you go about preparing the world for the coming of the Messiah?  If you were John the Baptist, charged with this very mission, what would you do?  John's answer is to preach "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins".  In other words, John knew that God's people needed to repent of their sins, turn their lives around, and start following God once more.  If they did that, Jesus' message would be heard.  The same hold true for us today, when we humble ourselves, confess our sins, and begin serving the Lord we open our eyes to see God's salvation and our ears to hear his Word.  When we do that, God can work mighty deeds through his people.

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Sermon Video: Christmas with Mercy and without Fear - Luke 1:49-50,68-75

Long before our favorite Christmas carols were written Mary and Zechariah spoke words of poetry to commemorate the wonders that God was doing with the birth of John and Jesus.  In their words we learn that God, whose mercy had sustained his covenant people in the past, is now extending that mercy through the advent of his son.  The birth of Immanuel will allow men to approach God without fear because his holiness will fulfill our obligations before the holy God who created us.

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