Matthew 3:1-12

During Advent, John the Baptist helps us to prepare productively. The production God wants is fruit that grows out of a repentant heart. Through the warnings of his law and the comforting assurance of his gospel, God turns us into healthy trees that will naturally and inevitably produce all kinds of good fruit. John the Baptist may come across as harsh in his preaching of repentance but his ultimate goal is to point us to the Savior.