Luke 1:26-37 – Matthew 1:18-25

Holy Night – Part One

Again and again in the Old Testament, God promises a broken and pained world that he will send a Messiah — that is, a Deliverer — to start to renew and restore all things.

Genesis 3:15

Isaiah 9:1-7

Micah 5:1-4

Because the coming of the Messiah was a long time coming, it was easy for God’s people to start to think of it as an impossibility. Most scholars agree that by the time we enter the period of the New Testament, nearly 400 years had passed since the last messianic promise had been given by God — and the Messiah still hadn’t come.

Two messages that broke the 400-year silence — the angels’ messages to Mary (Luke 1:26-37) and Joseph (Matthew 1:18-25)

Luke 1:26-37 – Matthew 1:18-25

I. The coming of the Messiah, Jesus, was never to be thought of as an impossibility, because all things had already been proven possible for God.

Today marks the beginning of Advent:

(1) the word “advent” means “coming,”  

(2) the season of Advent, which leads up to Christmas Day and includes four Sundays, is a time to reflect on the coming of Jesus to begin to renew and restore a broken and pained world, 

(3) it’s also a time to look ahead to when Jesus will come again to finish the renewing and restorative work he started at Christmas.

God has indeed promised the Messiah, Jesus, will come again: 

Matthew 24 & 25  John 1 & 2  1 Thessalonians & 2 Thessalonians  Revelation

Because the second coming of Jesus has been a long time coming, it’s easy for us to start to think of it as an impossibility.

As we consider what Joseph & Mary may have been thinking, we may also be experiencing doubt, distraction, or discouragement such as: “Maybe the powers of the world hold too much power for Jesus to topple them. Maybe the powers beyond this world hold too much power. Maybe we’ve sinned too much, and we’re undeserving. Maybe too much is needed by way of miracles to pull this off.”

II. The second coming of Jesus is never to be thought of as an impossibility, because all things have already been proven possible for God.

This is a time leading up to Christmas Day to remember the coming of Jesus. It’s a time to remember how his coming brought about a great turning point for the world. The world had been hounded by hopelessness, shame, great sadness, and the coldness of self-concern and self-preservation, and his coming caused a great turning toward hope, peace, joy, and love. Each of the four Sundays in Advent speak to these four themes, respectively: hope, peace, joy, and love. We’re going to speak to each in the four Sundays of Advent, and we’re going to do so by exploring the angelic messages that were passed along either in the days leading to the holy night of Jesus’s birth or on the holy night itself. We’ve already covered the first angelic message this morning, haven’t we? “Nothing is impossible with God.” Which, of course, gives us hope — a confident expectation that nothing is impossible for God, because nothing ever has been.

Hope November 30

You’re probably familiar with the practice of the lighting of the Advent candles — four candles arranged in a circle (for Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love), with another larger candle in the middle (often referred to as “the Christ candle”). The lighting of the Hope candle takes place on the first Sunday of Advent, the lighting of the Peace candle on the second Sunday — and so on. The lighting of the Christ candle often takes place on Christmas Eve, but traditions vary. (Some wait until Epiphany in January.) Your church might already take part in this practice, but if your church has yet to do so, this series might be the perfect time to introduce it into the life of the congregation. If you decide to take part in the practice, you could explain the tradition and then during the conclusion of the sermon, you could light the first candle — the candle for Hope.