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
Peace December 7
Joy December 14
Love December 21

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.

Matthew 6:9-13

Praying according to God’s Purpose: “Kingdom come, will be done,”

Praying on Purpose – in alignment with God’s purpose

What would your neighborhood look like if each person received God’s love? What would your neighborhood sound like if each person shared God’s love with others? In what ways would the daily interactions change if each person shared God’s value on peace? What needs would be met and what challenges would be overcome if each person looked to Jesus as Savior King?

“Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” – Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13

“We can approach God with confidence, honestly confessing our need and heart condition. At the same time, we can learn to speak faith and align our heart, emotions, and confession with the Word of God. We can learn to pray the prayer of faith.” – Wendell Smith

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power (as it is working) and produces wonderful results.” – James 5:16

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf and give thanks for them.” – 1 Timothy 2:1

“’Don’t be afraid, Daniel,’ he said to me, ‘for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia.” – Daniel 10:12-13 CSB

• Prayer Topics for the church? God’s instrument for His purpose here and now!
• Pray according to God’s Kingdom / Jesus Movement Purpose. Pray for the lost.
• Praying for God’s purpose > current events.

This service has been helpful to me, in keeping up with the news. The free account has been better than several paid services I’ve used. For local news I use a digital subscription to The Baltimore Banner and for the USA, The Pour Over: https://www.web.thepourover.org/subscribe?ref=Kw6vI7VQq4

Corruption? “So don’t judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.” – 1 Corinthians 4:5 (CSB)

Praying for the miraculous, according to God’s value system & power, over famine/war

What should we do? Plan it. Pursue it. Weekly Prayer Calendar ideas

Closing Prayer:
“O God, we acknowledge that too often we have not had confidence in Thy power to bring light out of darkness, good out of evil; by faith we believe through Thy chosen one Jesus the Carpenter, People’s Leader, Chosen One, Prisoner, Defendant, Condemned Man and Confident Man, that good will indeed overcome evil, love overcome hate, and life overcome death.” – M. Moran Weston 1972 Good Friday Declarations of Awareness
“Loving Savior and Ever Present Friend, we thank you this morning for the opportunity to pray for ourselves and for others. We know that no prayer goes unanswered. We trust you Lord, and we love you. We know that you will be steadfast – Oh thank you Jesus.” – Nancy Lynne Westfield I Must Tell Jesus

Matthew 6:9-13

How do we know what Jesus’ followers believed about their participation in God’s Kingdom?

“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” – Colossians 4:2

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him (Jesus). Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13 NLT

Purpose – in alignment with God’s purpose

“Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” – Matthew 6:9-13

What do we learn? Why is New Testament prayer passionate? Because it is personal, persistent, and on purpose. We can all participate in God’s Kingdom by learning to pray fervently.

Questions to ask ourselves: Is prayer a priority to me?

What should we do? Plan it. Pursue it. Weekly Prayer Calendar ideas