Cross of Christ Lutheran Church - Liverpool, NY (WELS)

A King was born in Bethlehem. The concern people had was perhaps understandable from a certain perspective. We have to ask ourselves, do we let those same kinds of concerns affect how we receive this newborn King in our hearts?

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news!

It was a silent night. Not that it was untypically quiet, in fact, everything about that night was typical. It was just as quiet as any other night. There was no noise of a conquering army camping outside Jerusalem. No riots in the city streets. No festival celebration for the emperor. The shepherds were out watching their sheep in the outskirts of the small town of Bethlehem, just like every other night. Suddenly, everything changed.

We deal with all these real problems. But the things we hear about at church—forgiveness, grace, peace—those feel spiritual, mental. They’re concepts. They don’t feel adequate to deal with the real world. I can hold a wad of cash in my hands. I can’t hold redemption and holiness. So what will fix our very real sins and very real problems?

It seems like the older we get, the better we are at patiently waiting for good things. Unfortunately, the older we get, the more exposed we are to the other kind of patience—the kind of patience that involves patiently enduring bad things. God wants us to have both kinds of patience.

John the Baptist, a great prophet, came preaching in the wilderness of Judea for one purpose. He came to prepare hearts for a very special arrival. How will you prepare? Well, what’s the occasion and who’s coming?

Christmas is coming; what are you looking for?

Why is the world such a mess? Why doesn’t God do something about it? It’s not necessarily wrong to wonder this. Many people in the Bible have cried out, “Where are you God?” It’s the very complaint that God’s prophet Habakkuk brought before the Lord.

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. After this comes a 400-year period without any new prophets from God. It’s almost like God is going away for a time, and these are his final words of love and warning. Malachi gives us a picture of the coming of the Messiah and the end of the world.

It’s so rare that when someone dies for a good person or a good cause, we celebrate them. On the scale of heroism, Jesus’ sacrifice for the world is out of this world. Unlike other examples, God’s love for us and Jesus' death make no rational sense. Why did he die for us?