Matthew 4:1-11

Every day you find yourself in a boxing ring of sorts. Your opponent is Satan. He has been fighting mankind since the beginning. He outmatches us. He’s strong. He’s deceptive. He knows every trick in the book. He has studied your weaknesses. He’s going into this boxing match, this

“temptation match,” prepared. Are we?

Isaiah 8:19-9:3

The prophet Isaiah confronts our modern crisis of trust and meaning by showing that the real question is not where information is found, but whom we trust for truth and direction. Like people today who turn to endless sources—technology, media, or vague spirituality—Isaiah’s audience looked everywhere except to God, resulting in despair, darkness, and gloom. Isaiah’s rallying cry, “To the law and to the testimony,” calls God’s people back to the formative, trustworthy Word of God as the only sure guide for life, meaning, and hope. And Christ is the fulfillment of this testimony: the great light dawning in the darkest places, bringing joy where there was anguish and life where there was death. In a world still shadowed by sin and confusion, the Church is called to live and share this better story—bearing Christ’s light until there is, truly, no more gloom.

Matthew 8:1-4

Jesus gives a leper compassion and cleansing, giving him his whole life back. This is what Jesus has done for us too. He has cleansed us of sin and reaches us with compassion and forgiveness. His compassion now works new hearts of faith in us that also want to reach outcasts with the love of Jesus.

Nehemiah 8

The more we come to revere and understand God’s Word the more we see the truth of God’s Law. The Law unveils truths about us that make us want to weep. And yet, the more we come to revere and understand God’s Word the more we also see the truth of God’s Gospel. The good news of Jesus dries our tears and brings joy to our sin-weary hearts. Jesus is the one who takes us from weeping to rejoicing.

Isaiah 60:1-6

The terms darkness and light are loaded with meaning. Light is a symbol of knowledge, goodness, life, truth, happiness, salvation. Darkness is a symbol of ignorance grief, hopelessness, sin, evil, damnation. Sadly, darkness seems to be the world’s default setting. Isaiah agrees:

“See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples…”

But God assures us, our light has come. Jesus is the light of the world, the light and life of all mankind. Through faith in Jesus, light is now our default setting. Jesus overwrites it. We rise and shine with the light God shines on us trusting the Lord to take care of the rest : attracting people to his light and life.

Isaiah 61:10-62:3

Wrapping paper is usually tossed aside after the gifts are opened at Christmas. But today we find out that the wrapping paper God wraps us up with is the most valuable thing ever: the precious blood of Christ. Jesus wraps us with his garment of salvation and his robe of righteousness. The wrapping paper looks for more valuable than the object it’s wrapped around: us. But the reason God wraps us in Jesus’ perfect garments is because he treats us as his treasure; a shining crown in the palm of his hand.

John 1:1-14

God has entered our story. He took on flesh and entered into the darkness of the world to bring us light and life. There’s nothing more amazing at Christmas than this: God has come to dwell with us as one of us. Even as God set up his tent here on earth among us, his plan wasn’t just to commiserate or suffer with us. His plan was to suffer FOR us. To die FOR us. And to conquer death by rising from the dead FOR us. All these things he could do if he shared in our flesh and blood. Thank the Lord for Immanuel—God with us!

Titus 2:11-14

In Titus 2, the apostle Paul tells us that the Christchild was the appearance of God’s grace to all people. Christ’s appearance shapes us and changes us still today because he came to purify for himself a people that are his very own. This purification cost the price of redemption: Jesus Christ gave himself for us. His death on the cross, however, changes us. God’s people are redeemed from wickedness and now are eager to do what is good. This grace of God teaches us to live changed lives in the present age—lives as Christ’s own people who are waiting with certain hope for his coming again.

1 John 1:1-9

In words that echo the first chapter of his gospel, John proclaims what he, too, has “seen and heard.” Jesus has come to bring the light of salvation from sin, righteousness and fellowship with God. The Word of life has appeared for all the world to see!

Matthew 11:2-11

Jesus wasn’t matching up, point-for-point, with John the Baptist’s expectations. John was impatient for Jesus to clearly take up the work of Messiah and make it more obvious. When Jesus didn’t match his expectations he started to entertain the glimmer of a doubt. Maybe Jesus wasn’t the One who is to come.

John’s struggle here is an honest look at impatience and doubt in the life of a believer. Some of these same concerns might lurk in our hearts. But God dispels our doubts with his Word and points us to the many fulfilled promises of the past. We can trust that He will bring us to a future where every expectation will finally be met, point for point.