Good morning. Our Advent series this year is Christmas Nostalgia. Nostalgia is described as a sentimental or wistful affection for the past.

You know the kind of thing, rose-tinted glasses, visiting the town you were once born in, looking at old photos of your childhood, or of a wedding perhaps. For Scotland fans, after waiting 28 years to make it to the World Cup finals, there’s been a lot of nostalgia kicking about this week. Remember Brazil? 1998 is what the fans have been talking about, and here we go again.

(0:51 – 1:16)

2026, in fact, it’ll be the fifth time in seven World Cups that we’ve played and faced the greatest team in the world. C.S. Lewis, when talking about nostalgia, talks of something in the universe that we now feel cut off from. A desire to be on the inside, but we’re looking from the outside.

(1:17 – 4:50)

The memory of our past, good images of what we really desire, but things that can turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of worshippers. There’s certainly been a few World Cup hearts broken when Scotland were placed in Group C, even before all the nostalgia of 1998 and before. So what do you think of when you think of the nostalgia of Christmas? What memories of Christmas past do you conjure up in your mind? Is it the big family dinner? Getting a Christmas stocking, perhaps? Memories of childhood where everything was done for you, and now as a parent you’re doing everything.

A decent-sized selection box, as with the sugar tax. Chocolates seem to have reduced in size somewhat, or is that just me? Having Schlurr, Viennetta and Ferrero Roche and feeling very fancy. Or the bumper radio times.

However good your Christmas is this year, it probably won’t match up to your rose-tinted memories of Christmas past. When you’ve forgotten about the arguments, the stress, the tears and the tantrums that will often accompany any big family occasion. And with this by way of introduction as much to the next three weeks, as to today, please turn with me in your Bibles to Micah chapter 5, page 933, if you’re using the pew Bibles.

Micah chapter 5 verse 1. Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod. But you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come from me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.

Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labour bears a son and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord, his God. And they will live securely for then his greatness will reach the ends of the earth and he will be our peace.

When the Assyrians invade our land and march through our fortresses, we will raise up against them seven shepherds and even eight commanders who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. He will deliver us from the Assyrians when they invade our land and march across our borders. Amen.

(4:50 – 6:34)

And this is the word of God. So here we are on the 7th of December, 18 days till Christmas, enjoying our first Advent service. So it’s official.

Trees are popping up everywhere. Our tree has even made it to the box beside me. Black Friday deals are in the past and we can finally say we’re almost at Christmas.

I want to take you on a journey in the next 20 minutes from no hope to hope. From 2,700 years ago to the present day and into your future. Have you made plans for Christmas this year? I want you to pause just for 10 seconds and I want you to think about what you’re going to be doing for Christmas.

Have you got that picture in your mind? Are you visiting family? Do you have family coming to you? Perhaps you’re helping in a homeless shelter. Are you having a curry or are you having full Christmas dinner with all the trimmings? Will there be presents under the tree and excited children or are you past the stage of toys and tantrums and it’ll simply be a glass of wine and a Christmas movie? Whatever your Christmas that you just thought about looks like, I imagine for each of us we are looking forward to Christmas. We’ll spare a thought for people this year who are not looking forward to Christmas.

(6:36 – 10:36)

So our first point, no hope at Christmas. In Scotland, drugs deaths although reduced in 2024 were still by far the worst in any country in Europe. More than three drug deaths every day in Scotland.

With thousands of people addicted to drugs across our country, are they looking forward to Christmas or are they simply craving their next hit? Scotland has the worst life expectancy in Europe. We were once the murder capital of Europe. 22% of the most deprived areas in Scotland can be found on our doorsteps in Glasgow.

Life expectancy is 18 years lower in the parts of the south of Glasgow than it is in other parts of the south of Glasgow and more affluent areas. Over 34,000 households in Scotland are assessed as homeless. More than 10,000 children are spending long periods of their lives stuck in temporary accommodation.

Our suicide rates are increasing year on year with two suicides every day in Scotland. Men three times more likely to commit suicide in those in rural areas and deprived areas more likely than those in urban and affluent areas. And what about the families left dealing with the consequences afterwards facing a Christmas of pain and heartache? The Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland only last week were highlighting that there was a mental health emergency facing Scotland with cases doubling whilst the workforce was being reduced by a quarter.

Young people aged 18 to 34 are far more likely to be pushed into debt at Christmas than any other age group. So it’s not all mistletoe and wine, turkey and trimmings and fun and laughter at Christmas. Now be honest with me, is this what you wanted to hear when you came to church this morning? Andy, we don’t want to hear about hopelessness at any time, especially at Christmas.

I started with this today as I wanted us to realise that for many around us Christmas 2025 will be a very difficult time. A few minutes ago I read from the Old Testament from a prophet called Micah. Now a prophet in the Bible was someone who spoke on behalf of God.

Micah was living in Israel over 2,700 years ago. Life was not great for those living in Israel at that time. In fact, the nation of Israel had already been split into two kingdoms with Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

Let me give you the briefest of potted histories. The whole of Israel were known as God’s people. However, the kingdom of Israel in the north had already fallen to the Assyrians,

and in the south, under the reign of Hezekiah, like other kings before him, the people of Judah had turned from God. They were facing an invasion from the mighty Assyrian army who were coming for the southern kingdom of Judah. They were encamped around Jerusalem, laying siege to the city.

And this is exactly where we find ourselves in Micah chapter 5 verse 1. Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod. So hopefully that verse makes more sense to you now having had a bit of the context.

Micah the prophet of God is saying troops get ready. There is a siege at the door. This is a dire situation for the nation of Israel and the people of Jerusalem.

(10:38 – 11:23)

Micah as a prophet is speaking to the people on a number of different levels as we will see. If we were to read on to verses 10 to 15, we would see because of the way that the people had turned from God, including Hezekiah their king, Micah is predicting judgement, destruction of horses, chariots, cities and strongholds. Micah, as a prophet, was telling the people and the king, you have Assyria laying siege to Jerusalem.

You have disobeyed God. And what happens when you disobey God? Judgement comes. Hold on a minute, Andy.

(11:24 – 15:35)

This is supposed to be Christmas nostalgia, a nice Christmas talk, tinsel and presents, maybe some jokes about the wise men. And so far you’ve given us a dire state of our beloved country of Scotland. And now you’re telling us about the dire state of Israel over 2,700 years ago and how they were facing judgement because they were not obeying God.

Is this not a bit heavy? For a Christmas message? Well, it’s into this bleak landscape that Micah speaks great words of hope, the first Christmas hope. Micah the prophet speaks words of God to people on three different levels. First, he’s speaking to the present situation.

We’ve already seen the call to marshal the troops in verse 1. And in the second half of verse 5 and verse 6, Micah promises that when the Assyrians march through the Israelite fortresses, we will raise against them seven shepherds, even eight commanders who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword. Micah is promising the people who are struggling. He’s promising the people that God can deliver them from the Assyrians.

Verse 6b, he, that is God, will deliver us from the Assyrians when they invade our land and march across our borders. This is not just a call for the troops to get ready, but a heartfelt urging for the people to trust in God. And later after warning them about the judgement that is coming if they do not obey God in verses 10 to 15, Micah urges them to repent.

Chapter 6 verse 8, he has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and walk humbly with your Lord. I’ll say that again.

What does God require of you today in 2025? To act justly, to love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. This is what’s before them, a simple choice, face judgement or seek repentance by asking for forgiveness for the things that you have done wrong. 2,700 years later, this simple message has not changed.

Reject God, disobey His commands, and face judgement, or accept God and His rule over your life, and accept His grace, and His mercy, and forgiveness. This is a simple choice, yet it defines our entire lives and our eternal futures. But there’s more, Micah the prophet speaks into and foretells the future.

So he’s spoken to them about their present condition, and now he foretells the future 700 years before the actual events take place. What am I talking about? Verse 2, but you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times. Bethlehem, in the district of Ephrathah, within the southern kingdom of Judah, is the predicted place where an amazing thing will one day happen.

Bethlehem is the town of Israel’s thus far greatest king, David. Bethlehem is a small town, small among the clans of Judah. This is God’s pattern.

(15:36 – 16:33)

The weak will humble the strong. The last shall be first. Just look at the life of David.

Was he the oldest or the strongest? No, he was the youngest. Whilst the Israelite army were scared to fight Goliath, David stood up and was counted. Jacob was the younger twin brother, and he was chosen to be first.

Joseph was the second youngest of 12 sons of Jacob, but God had great plans for him. Bethlehem, small among the clans of Judah, God often chooses the weak to humble the strong. So next time you are feeling weak and you can’t possibly speak up for God in your place of work or in your school, just remember how God can use the weak and the small for great things.

(16:34 – 18:07)

Out of Bethlehem will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times. David might have been the greatest king of Israel, but out of David’s town, in the royal line, a promised Messiah chosen by God will come to be ruler over Israel. This promised Messiah is from old, from ancient times.

Micah is doffing the cap, as you were, to the ancient promise made to Abram in Genesis 12. He’s also doffing the cap to the prophecy about Jesse, David’s father, in Isaiah chapter 11, verse 1. A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, from his roots a branch will bear fruit. From ancient times, forefathers of Israel who are promised to be made into a great nation and from whom were prophesied, from whom the Messiah would come.

And we can go back even further. As Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was there at the very beginning, the creation of the world. John chapter 1, verse 1, in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning. Through him, all things were made. Without him, nothing was made that has been made.

(18:08 – 19:47)

The Messiah was from old, from ancient times. Verse 3, therefore, Israel will be abandoned until the time she who is in labour bears a son, and the rest of his brothers will return to join the Israelites. Micah continues speaking into the next 700 years, which we can see from this side of history, just how the Israelites may have felt abandoned.

History and the Bible tell us that the Israelites did cry out to God for help with the Asyrians, and God came to their rescue. We see this in 2 Kings 19, verse 35. That night, the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 in the Asyrian camp.

What a deliverance! But it wasn’t long before the people of God returned back to their old ways, their old ways of sin, and soon they felt abandoned or left to their own disobedient devices. As a number of years later, the Babylonians invade and carry them off into exile for 70 years, and this starts a period of 586 years where Israel and Judah feel almost completely abandoned, apart from a short period coming out of exile. But the whole time with no king, and it appears that God has properly given up on them.

(19:47 – 20:22)

Not only did Israel and Judah have no king, they did not hear from God, no prophets, nothing for 400 years from the time of Malachi, the last record of God speaking to his people through his prophets. Into this silence in Bethlehem, a mother, as it says in verse 3, goes into labour. Hundreds of years of Israel and Judah’s history laid out like the third trimester of a pregnancy.

(20:23 – 21:44)

It’s amazing that God gets his prophet to announce this some 700 years before it happens, and how God uses Caesar Augustus, the most powerful world leader of the day. It could probably be argued that our most powerful world leader of the day is President Trump, and there he was at the FIFA World Cup doing his thing. But God uses the most powerful world leader of the day.

He uses Caesar’s decree to get Joseph and Mary to travel all the way up to Bethlehem, when Mary is heavily pregnant, as Joseph belonged to the line of David and had to go back to the town of his origin, all in order that when the Messiah was born, he would be born in Bethlehem. So into this 400 years of silence, a baby cries out, a Messiah is born. 700 years later, Matthew quotes Micah, chapter 2, verse 6 of Matthew’s gospel, but you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.

(21:45 – 23:00)

This shows us a couple of things that the Jewish scholars of the day saw Bethlehem as the promise from Micah, as a messianic promise. And the prophecy was so accurate that King Herod practically used Micah’s prophecy like Google Maps. The promise to the rest of the brothers returning to join the Israelites as a reference to the spiritual brothers of the Messiah, the wider group of disciples following the Messiah.

Jesus inaugurates his kingdom and filled with the Holy Spirit in the upper room in Acts, 120 are sent out to turn our world upside down. The prophecy continues and ramps up even further in verse 4, he will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach the ends of the earth. And the beginning of verse 5, and he will be our peace.

(23:02 – 23:59)

Here we see the prophecy about the Messiah in 700 years time, but also how this stretches to a third level. So we’ve seen how Micah speaks to the people in their present situation. We’ve seen how Micah is speaking to the people about what’s going to happen 700 years time.

And he speaks to us now, 2700 years later and into our eternal future. Micah promises that the Messiah will stand. In the Hebrew, that is that he will endure, that he will reign forever.

Is that not encouraging? He will shepherd his flock. What does this remind us of? We’ve been studying John’s gospel. John chapter 10, verse 11 is what you should be shouting out to me.

(24:00 – 24:55)

Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. But more than just this, remember that the Messiah is from old, from ancient times.

I read yesterday in Genesis 49, Jacob blessing his sons just before he dies. Jacob says to Joseph, Joseph is a fruitful vine, tying in with our thoughts that we were having in community group this week. And Colin’s sermon from two weeks ago in John 15, a fruitful vine near a spring whose branches climb over the wall. With bitterness,

archers attack him. They shot him with hostility, but his bow remains steady. His arms stayed supple because of the hand of God, the mighty one of Jacob, because of the shepherd, the Messiah, the rock of Israel.

(24:56 – 25:51)

Micah, the prophet, and Moses, the author of Genesis, both pointing forward to the Messiah, the capital S, Shepherd. Jesus, the promised Messiah, will shepherd his flock. Jesus will protect and guide his flock.

Jesus will provide for our every need. So much so that age 33, Jesus, the good shepherd, actually lays down his life for his flock. Jesus died on a cross, and I know I’m jumping to Easter, and it’s not even Christmas yet.

But he dies on a cross to take upon himself our sins, to save us from the death and judgement that we deserve. Jesus will do this in God’s strength. And the verse continues, and they will live securely.

(25:51 – 26:37)

We can be assured of security because of what Jesus achieved on the cross for us, conquering death and Satan. Jesus is able to give those that put their trust and faith in him eternal life and glory. That’s proper security, not just a solid home or a good life insurance, but an eternal promise of a place in heaven.

Just a few weeks ago, John chapter 14, verse 2, in my father’s house are many rooms. I am going there to prepare a place for you. We have the ultimate insurance policy, the ultimate security found in Jesus, the promised Messiah.

(26:38 – 27:31)

For his greatness will reach the ends of the earth. The goodness and knowledge of Jesus, the Messiah, was only just spreading beyond Israel when Jesus was not only crucified, but rose again, back to life, defeating death. From this point forward, the church age, the good news about Jesus spread and spread and spread to the very ends of the earth, which we see in Micah.

This is our present reality being prophesied 2,700 years ago. This is our hope for this Christmas and for our future. And with that, we come to our final point.

(27:31 – 28:26)

Hope for this Christmas and for our future. He will be our peace is how verse 5 starts. Never a truer word of comfort has been uttered.

No one wants to be abused, attacked, or have another country invade us. We all ultimately want peace. Peace is what the Messiah promises.

In a country at war, Jesus still promises peace. And for eternity, Jesus will be our peace. And you know what is truly awesome? David and Micah both believe in the same God that we’ve been thinking about today, a God who keeps his promises, a promise keeper.

(28:28 – 31:10)

If I was to give Andy Hunter £100,000 to invest, I’m not going to do it, Andy, but if I was going to give you £100,000 to invest, I would like to think that you would do some research. You would make sure that you are investing in a company with a proven track record so that you didn’t lose out. Who better to trust now and for your eternal future than God who has delivered on every promise that he’s ever made? Our God has a track record for reliability.

He has delivered on promises made 2,700 years ago, and he will deliver on his future promise to return. This track record gives us such confidence for our future. In the same way that Micah predicted the Messiah’s birth, we can trust the words of Christ himself.

Jesus is the reigning and future King. Do you believe in his death and resurrection? Are you obeying his word? Jesus brings you peace, so take away any worries that you might have and place them on him, and trust in his promise for your future. John 14 verse 3, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you may be where I am.

In the final words of the Bible, God’s written words to us, we have Jesus saying, look, I am coming soon. My reward is with me, and I will give each person according to what they have done. And yes, I am coming soon.

Christ has promised to return, and Christ will return. So what do you do with the ultimate gift this Christmas? Jesus Christ. Will you reject and disobey him and face judgement? Or will you accept Jesus as your Messiah, as your Saviour, the only true hope this Christmas? My prayer is that this Christmas, you will accept this awesome and fully paid for, free gift of eternal life with God.

Amen.

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