Series Introduction
It is a beloved childhood game: Hide and Seek. The participants run and hide and the seeker begins the search trying to find them. In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve heard the sound of the Lord God and they hid because they were afraid. They had listened to the lie of Satan and sin had entered the world. And God began to search, to seek, in order to save all of us whose fallen nature is now to run and hide. However, because of our sin it became necessary for God to hide himself in order to find us! In our fallen condition we cannot see God face to face in all his glory and live to tell about it. So God brilliantly concealed himself, when the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Son, took on human flesh conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. This Advent-Christmas God calls out to us from his Word – Ready or Not Here He Comes. Here comes your Savior. Here comes Jesus.
Here He Comes in Power and Glory
Sunday, November 29 – Advent begins with a shocking flash of lightning and the inevitable crash of thunder that follows. The world is ready to sing “Silent Night” and the Word cries out “Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying!” People are much more comfortable with Jesus’ first coming, star in the sky, baby in a manger than they are with his second coming, stars falling, earthquaking, sun and moon darkening. But it is his second coming for which Jesus commands us to be on guard and fully awake. Here is the great, grand finale of God’s plan for our restoration. Ready or Not Here He Comes with Great Power and Glory.
Here He Comes as King
Sunday, December 6 – We hear the word Christ and often think of it as simply part of Jesus name. But the word is a title not a name. It carries the meaning: “the anointed one” and anointing, pouring oil over the head, was the mark that established the identity of the one chosen to be king. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God who has come to rule and reign and restore all creation. The promise of God to send a Savior spoken in the Garden to Adam and Eve and repeated again and again throughout the Old Testament was fulfilled. John the Baptizer announced his arrival. Ready or Not – Jesus Comes as Our King.
He Comes as Light
Sunday, December 13 – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth … and darkness was over the face of the deep … And God said ‘Let there be light …” (Gen 1:1-3) But the creation was plunged back into darkness when humanity decided they could handle life by themselves without God. God did not abandon his creation, rather he entered into time and space to shine the light into the darkness. John came to bear witness: Ready or Not – Jesus comes as the Light of the world.
He Comes to Do the Impossible
Sunday, December 20 – Troubled and confused Mary responded to an impossible announcement with humble faith — “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). God is still announcing the impossible to us. Into a troubling and confusing world Jesus was born to rescue us from sin, death, and eternal separation from God. He entered time to make eternity with God our guaranteed future. Life has its twists and turns. We are often troubled and confused. We rest today in the certainty Jesus has come to do the impossible for us.
Here He Comes with Consolation and Redemption
Sunday, December 27 – The Gospel of Luke offers us the only two glimpses of the childhood of Jesus. Already as an infant (and next week as a 12 year old boy) Jesus presence makes a powerful difference. Simeon is waiting for the consolation of Israel and Anna for the redemption of Israel. These two extraordinary blessings are our also as we wait for Jesus to come again in glory.
Here He Comes Showing Us the Way to His Father’s House
Sunday, January 3 – After his birth we don’t hear again about Jesus until he is twelve years old. At about the same age as we celebrate confirmation (when a young person confirms the faith bestowed on them in baptism) Jesus also went through a similar ritual that gives us a glimpse of his divine identity. Separated from his parents in Jerusalem he hangs out in the temple and everyone who hears him were “amazed at his understanding and his answers” (v. 47). When his parents catch up to him and express their anxiety over not knowing where he was he responds: “I must be in my Father’s house.” Ready or not here comes Jesus showing us the way to the Father’s house.