Dennis R. Wiles
First Baptist Arlington
November 30, 2025
Flourishing Together
First Baptist Arlington
2025 – 2030
2025: Flourishing Together: Rooted in Christ
1 Corinthians 2:6-16 (Gospel Guide: Matthew)
ADVENT 2025: The King!
November 30 – December 31, 2025
Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.
Matthew 2:2
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus!
Isaiah 11
Theme for 2025: Flourishing Together: Rooted in Christ
Theme for Advent 2025: The King!
K --- December 7: Born The King, Ne’er a Prince!
I ---- December 14: Identity Gift
N --- December 21: Now and Not Yet!
G --- December 28: Go Now!
HOPE!
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus!
“I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the Lord Almighty.
-Haggai 2:7
CONTEXT OF ISAIAH 11 – God shares a word of promise and hope amidst the judgment rendered through the power of foreign powers like Assyria.
HOPE FORETOLD: God promised to bring forth new life from the “stump” and the “root” of Jesse, father of King David.
Isaiah 11:1 – A shoot from the stump of Jesse and a Branch that will bear fruit!
Branch – Hebrew – “netzer” – core consonants – n-tz-r
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteous Savior.”
-Jeremiah 23:5-6
Isaiah 11:10 – The Root of Jesse
HOPE FULFILLED: At Christmas, we celebrate the fulfillment of this hope! Jesus is the Christ, the Son of Jesse, the Son of David, the Root and the Branch!
Branch – Hebrew – “netzer” – core consonants – n-tz-r – Nazareth!
But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
-Matthew 2:22-23
For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 9 and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing the praises of your name” . . .
. . . And again, Isaiah says,
“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
-Romans 15:8, 12-13
I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.
-Revelation 22:16
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE: The story continues to be written! God has given us hope for the future. He will send His Son to earth again to make all things right!
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
-Isaiah 11:3-9
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus!
