^{(Longhand sermon notes for the first week of Advent: December 1, 2024)}

I scrapped my sermon twice, once because it started to feel more like I was gathering research for one of my seminary theology courses, and again after I heard a new song. As I prayed about it, God gave me very clear guidance:

Keep it simple.

His response made me smile because one of my favorite quotes is “simplicity is genius.”

As I reflected of how to simplify the message of hope, I began to reminisce about one of my favorite holiday memories.

It was my first year spending Christmas with my husband’s family. On Christmas Eve, after dinner, the family gathered in the living room. Brad’s grandfather, a Baptist preacher, sat in a chair next to their simple tree, opened his Bible, and read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke. The children eyed the presents under the tree, but not one attempted to rush this moment. Even the littlest kids sat before him in rapt attention. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen, and I felt the meaning of Christmas more fully and completely than I ever had before. I fell in love with his family and this tradition that night.

The simplicity of the moment – much like the first Christmas.

In the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, we hear of the Angel Gabriel visiting Mary:

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[b] the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Mary was a simple girl, living a simple life, who gave birth birth in the humblest of circumstances to an extraordinary Savior – the promised hope fullfilled.

Today marks the first week of advent. Simply put, week one is referred to as the week of hope. The first candle of the advent wreath is called the Prophet’s candle. This week represents the hope and expectancy the Jews had looking forward to the coming Messiah. This week also acts as a call to Christians to watch and waith for Christ’s return. It is a time to simultaneously look back and look ahead.

Every Old Testament prophet foretold of the hope of the coming Messiah. Micah is one example. Micah 5:1-5 reads:

A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem

5 ^[a]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.

² “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans^[b] of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times.”

³ Therefore Israel will be abandoned
    until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
    to join the Israelites.

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 to the ends of the earth.

And he will be our peace.

This was written to a nation at war. However, it took 700 years before the promised deliverance came. War was still fought. Lives were still lost. The Assyrians still caused the destruction of Israel and Judah.Yet, hope remained.

Fast forward to what we read just moments ago; when the Angel Gabriel visits young Mary. So many people failed to recognize Jesus as the promised hope of salvation because he did not come the way they expected. He came lowly and humble, not with a sword to destroy Israel’s enemies. Rather, as the Christmas hymn, O Holy Night, tells us, “His law is love and his gospel is peace.”

If we consider the time gap between Michah’s prophecy and the fulfillment of that prophesy, we can see that God does not always meet our most urgent needs, but he will always meet our deepest needs. He did not send an army to save Israel and Judah. He may not save us from the uncomfortalbe, painful, heartbreaking trials of life.

Instead, 700 years later, he sent his Son, the hope of the world, to you, me, those who came before us, those who will come after us – to everyone. The hope of salvation is so much bigger than our fleeting issues of the day.

That does not mean he doesn’t care about our daily trials and tribulations. It means that his purpose – our purpose in him – is so much bigger than that. I could easily go down that rabbit hole, but not today. Not right now. Today, I want us to simultaneously look back and look ahead.

If we look back at Micah’s prophecy, we see that although people and circumstances in this life will fail us, hope remains. As we look forward, we know that our hope is in Jesus Christ.

Today, in Christ Jesus, hope dwells with us here and now. We don’t have to wait 700 years to experience his salvation. Our hope and expectation is that he is being revealed to us every day of our lives.

So, as you go about this week, consider the ways in which God speaks to you and how he offers unexpected hope in your life. Be on the lookout for Jesus and ask youself, “where did I see Jesus today?”

I mentioned at the beginning of the message that I scrapped my original plan twice. The second time was during the long drive home back from Houston on Friday. I heard a new song, a new take on an old classic – O Come All Ye Faithful.

The song is called Come All Unfaithful by Michael Boggs. As you listen, think about the hope of salvation we have right here, right now. If there is anyone who has never experienced that hope, I invite you to come now – today.

*Although I do not site sources for sermon prep the way I would for a research paper, I do want to give credit to a few specific sources:

• My always faithful NT commenteries by William Barclay – specifically The Gospel of Luke and The Letter to the Romans
• Biblegateway.com
• The Unexpected by Jason Turner – an advent video series on Right Now Media
• Everyday Advent by Brenda Drost – an advent video series on Right Now Media